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Preparing for the re-opening St Luke’s Buildings

Dear friends,

As we prepare to re-open our buildings and find new ways of gathering together, the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania have a team of people working on providing advice to congregations about how to proceed.

I encourage everyone involved in Ministry and Mission at St Luke’s to become familiar with these regular updates so that any face to face gathering you are involved in is organised in a way that will keep all participants safe.

This weekly update can be found on the Synod Website here and is updated every Thursday.  There is a pastoral letter for the moderator at the beginning of the update linked below which I encourage you to read:

VIC-COVID-FAQs-June-25

Currently Church Council is working through a recovery checklist to ensure that we are ready to safely open the buildings again.  The areas we must consider include:

  • How to limit attendance numbers to the maximum 20 people and whether to allow non-members to attend
  • Whether attendance by people (including Ministers) in any of the vulnerable groups should be discouraged
  • How to ensure that persons who are unwell do not attend
  • How to ensure social distancing is maintained, including on entering and exiting the building
  • What changes to worship will be required to ensure the safety of all attendees, including eliminating/minimising the touching of shared items (eg microphones, books, pulpits, collection plates)
  • How to ensure personal hygiene and building cleanliness meet minimum standards. See new Safework Australia guide linked to Recovery Checklist at: https://victas.uca.org.au/ download/668/faq/8852/recovery-actonplan-checklist
  • Ensuring that bathrooms are properly provisioned with soap, disposable handtowels and sanitiser
  • What signage may be required to ensure the observance of all measures by attendees at all times
  • How to maintain a record of all people who attend, including contact details, and
  • How you will respond to unwell people attending, and attendees with suspected/ confirmed Covid-19

As you can appreciate, some of these are tricky issues to address.  For now, we have set up a station in the foyer where we ask everyone attending the building to sanitise their hands and sign in and out of the building.  This is so that we can contact anyone who may have been potentially exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 as soon as we are made aware.

Posters have been placed around the building advising people on the steps we must take to keep everyone safe while we are in the building.  We will keep you advised of other measures as we put them in place.

If you wish to use the St Luke’s buildings to meet or for other church business, please contact Robyn to arrange booking the space and to receive any further information you will need to host the activity safely.

Grace and Peace to you all,

Robyn.

 

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Weekly Prayers from Beth

Dear friends,
From our Zoom prayer gathering on Wednesday 24th June:
Paul shared a portion of Matthew 25: 35-40.  “I was hungry…. “  Please read it for yourselves.  If we help someone in need, we are really serving Jesus.
Prayer points:
  • For friends and family members struggling with ill health
  • For friends transitioning from independent living to supported care in distant places
  • For those families who find themselves suddenly bereaved and grieving the loss of a beloved family member
  • Pray for those struggling to understand the language and the requirements of COVID restrictions. Many are despairing, confused and insecure.  Pray that ethnic communities will not be victimised.  Pray also that they will receive support they need.
  • Pray for the family and Pacific Islands communities mourning the murder of Solomone.  Praise that the family was able to publicly forgive the perpetrator.
  • Pray for all the homeless people in Geelong and elsewhere and for the agencies who are offering support of food, warm clothing and shelter.
  • Pray for all those who are depressed and despairing at this time of protracted isolation and restriction, as the weeks drag on and with the realisation that there is still a long way to go.
Much to pray about today and every day.  How blessed we are to have a loving Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who hears our prayers, spoken and unspoken, and we are never abandoned.  Jesus is our Forever Friend.
Beth
From the 17th of June:
Hi everyone,
For your times of prayer, these are the points raised from Wednesday the 17th of June:
Paul shared with us Psalm 86, where the psalmist is praising God and asking for his help in need (thanksgiving and prayer).  A great psalm to read again.
Paul reminded us that those on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus, but he is with us at all times, and hears our prayers.

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

  • Praise that William was found alive and well.
  • Praise that a drug being tested in UK is showing favourable signs of reducing effects of COVID.

Prayers for others:

  • Prayer for Church Council as it discusses the protocols for safely coming out of COVID, and the work and ministry of the church.
  • Prayer for bereaved families
  • Prayer for those known to us who are unwell
  • For young people with mental health issues – those who are broken-hearted and broken-spirited – may they find the help and resources they need to relieve their mental pain
  • For those who are sleeping rough.
Love and peace to you all.
Beth

 

For personal daily reflection, we offer this Daily Examen from Amelia Koh Butler  

to help your daily connection with God.

If you wish to join in with the Wednesday morning prayer gathering on Zoom, please contact Robyn for the meeting details: info@stlukesuca.org.au

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Christ Church Winter Woolies and Wonders Market

From our friends at Christ Church in Geelong:

Don’t miss the Winter Woolies and Wonders Market

at Christ Church Hall, cnr Moorabool and McKillop Streets, Geelong…

on Saturday 27th June 2020 from 9.30am- 1.30pm….

including –

  • knitted and wearable items
  • cakes and slices
  • jams and preserves
  • plants and bargain bins!

… and lots more too!

….social distancing and all health restrictions will be met, and there’s lots of on site parking! …don’t miss this great opportunity to get that special present for that special someone.. or for yourself! …

…don’t miss the 2020 Woolies Market!

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House Church Sunday 19th July: A Christian Perspective on Racism

Black Lives Matter  …  All Lives Matter  …  A Christian Perspective on Racism.

Date:                Sunday 19 July 2020

Time:                5.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Venue:              Zoom meeting.  Link to be advised.

Speaker:           David Manks.


Please find attached Background Papers.  You are not necessarily expected to read all of the Background Papers in preparation for House Church.  However, if you could read some it will assist our discussion.  This discussion has been rescheduled from the June meeting, which was abandoned because only a few could attend.

Background Papers

Supper:            NA

Worship:          Judy Clark

Apologies:       St Luke’s Office info@stlukesuca.org.au or 5244 2997

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Geelong Churches UCA Celebration Service this Sunday 21st June 2020

Dear Friends,

Come and join the celebration.

This Sunday Uniting Church Congregations in the Geelong region will be sharing in a service to mark the anniversary of the Uniting Church.

The service will include an interesting conversation with Rev. Dr, D’Arcy Wood and Rev. Dr. Geoff Thompson on the significance of The Basis of Union.

The service will commence at 10 am on Zoom (note the link below which is different to usual St Luke’s Sunday service link).

Here is the order of service:

UCA Celebration Liturgy

The service will be available on Youtube after Sunday morning.

Grace and peace,

Paul

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Messy Church Resources for 19th June

Hi Messy Church Friends!

Our next Messy Church Zoom will be 4:30pm Friday 19th June- put it on the calendar! Our theme will be “Do not fear- Just have Faith”

You can read it in the Bible in Mark 5 v21-43 as well if you want.

Some fun things are happening during our actual Messy Church Zoom including an Obstacle course- but more on that later!

You will need:

*a play script which we will need volunteers to act out during our session- so have a look, print it out and see what part you would like to play before the session starts.

A Risk of Faith

*some Prayers and Blessings to print out to copy out onto your craft.

Messy Prayers

Before the meeting have ready :

  • A Piece of cloth or card big enough to write on and decorate for a book mark or even a wall hanging.
  • Some felt tip pens , glue and flat things to decorate your craft , zig zag scissors or you might even try sewing on your cloth.
  • Your best acting voices 
  • Plus, think about what you could use in your house to create an obstacle course – maybe under chairs, over cushions, under a blanket- you might even create a tunnel??

Sounds exciting doesn’t it? 

The ZOOM link has been emailed, if you didn’t receive it, please email Robyn at info@stlukesuca.org.au and she will send it to you.

We miss you, we hope you’re well and safe, and we look forward to seeing you again on June 19th.

Love from St Luke’s Messy Church

 

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Sunday 14th June: Online Worship – Biodiversity and caring for creation

Hello friends!

This week’s worship online is presented by Paul and the St Luke’s Environment Action Team.  Thanks to Claire, Ian, Michelle, Jean and Lloyd for working with Paul to prepare this thoughtful devotion, and thanks to everyone who contributed photos and footage – featured at the end of today’s video.

O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thorn bush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
– Walter Rauschenbusch

You can watch today’s online worship here:

The hymn “All things bright and beautiful” is included within today’s service, but if you are looking for another tune for today, here’s “This pretty planet”:

https://youtu.be/DCwAbfRkJ4E

If you would like to explore ideas of biodiversity and our faithful response, you might like to check out the Faith Ecology Network here: https://www.faithecology.net.au/

And the Uniting Church’s Just Act page here:

https://justact.org.au/

What position should the Synod take in response to climate change?

The Synod of Victoria and Tasmania meetings have passed resolutions relevant to climate change since 1977. However, the last resolution of a Synod meeting that directly addressed the issue of climate change was in 2008. Members of the Synod congregations have been expressing greater concern to the Justice and International Mission (JIM) cluster that the Synod needs to play a more significant role in responding to climate change.  The JIM cluster believes there is a need for the Synod to update its position on the urgency of addressing the causes of climate change and the actions that need to be taken in response.

The consultation paper that can be downloaded from this page explores how serious is the threat of climate change. Based on the assessment of the danger, the paper explores what actions we as Australians should be taking as part of the global effort to respond to climate change. It proposes a position for the Synod to adopt at the next Synod meeting.

 

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Community Appeals Underway at the moment

Friends, the office is receiving  quite a few end of financial year appeals for support from local community organisations as well as our Uniting Church agencies.  I thought I would post them here in case these are causes you would like to support.

Anam Cara House: https://www.givenow.com.au/anamcarahouse19

Barwon Health Foundation: https://barwonhealthfoundation.org.au/

Frontier Services Bush Chaplaincy:

https://frontierservices.org/the-trusted-friend-who-turns-up-at-the-gate/

UnitingWorld: https://www.unitingworld.org.au/keeping-hope-alive/

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Sunday 7th June: Online Worship – Trinity Sunday

Last week we focused on the energising and enlivening power of the Holy Spirit as we celebrated Pentecost.

This week we are marking Trinity Sunday.

The marking of Trinity Sunday is about celebrating the very nature of God.

Today is all about praising God for who God is.

For celebrating God’s revelation of Godself to us in the persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Here is today’s worship service online:

And for singing today, try this musical version of the St Patrick’s Breastplate prayer:

You might also enjoy listening to this beautiful meditation on the mystery of the Holy Trinity from Malcolm Gordon:

 

We cannot let this day go past without referring to the great cry from people of colour to end police brutality and the entrenched targeting of black people by police both in the US and in Australia.  May this movement finally bring change so that black people no longer have to live in fear of their lives from the people who are meant to protect them.  This lament was written by Mark Miller to express the pain and sorrow of this experience:

Merciful and Just God,

Our hearts are concerned with systems of injustice which strip people of their dignity and their very lives. Help us to be those who would seek peace with justice, who would fight for those who are oppressed, offer voices for the voiceless and dignity for all humankind. Be with us this day and guide our steps toward a more just world in your name.

AMEN

 

Footnote:

In pre-COVID times, this weekend would have been the National Celtic Festival in Portarlington.  Sadly, the Festival was cancelled for 2020.  As an acknowledgement of the Uniting church’s Celtic heritage from it’s Presbyterian ancestors and a celebration of unity in Christ, here are 300 churches from all over Ireland singing “Be thou my vision” and sharing the Aaronic Blessing in multiple languages: