Men’s Convention

Good news – after a one year hiatus (due to the WHAC weekend away last year) we’ll be back at Men’s Convention this year.

The program looks great, with two excellent speakers in Gary Millar and Paul Grimmond, talking about Work. We’re going to go to the middle weekend, and you can either go up on the Friday night and stay in the WHAC mansion, or just go up on the Saturday morning and join us at the mansion for a coffee first thing. Either way, Steve Lange is the man to see.

Another Lewis

In some more good news, Miles Benjamin was born to James and Jane Lewis during the week. It is great news, and we pray for them and their ministry at Christ Church Bexley.

Official PARISH REAP Launch – THIS WEEK

We may not cut any ribbons, but this week is the official parish REAP launch. So if you haven’t done it yet, then now is a good time to jump on board the REAP train.

The REAP journals contain a bible-reading plan for the year and provide space for us to go through the 4 steps (Read Explore Apply Pray) of thoughtful bible reading:

• Read a passsage from God’s word everyday
• Explore God’s word as we think about what it means,
• Apply God’s word as we reflect on we should live in light of that word, and
• Pray as we ask God to help us change.

Many of us at WHAC are already using it, and hopefully more will start this week. You can take a look at them up the back at WHAC. They’re only $8.

Annual Women’s Autumn Dinner

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

February 11th - Paintball. Chris is the guy to see.

February 24-25th - Katoomba Men’s Convention. This year it’s on Work, see Steve for details.

Feb 26th - Connect Group Leader and Co-leader Training 2-4pm @ NAC.

March 25th - Easter Mission. So many of the details are secret at the moment. But what I can say is that we will be holding a big family Jazz night with a very accomplished musician, among other cool lead-in event to Christmas.

New Series – Mission

This week we start a new series on Mission. Over these four weeks we will be looking at: God’s Mission, Our Mission, Reaching our Community, and Reaching the World. It should be a great way to start the year, and the perfect lead into our Easter Mission.

Australia Day

Unfortunately we received a message at around 6:30am that the Australia Day celebrations at the 3rd Settlement Reserve had to be cancelled. The ground was too wet to hold any significant event. It was of course such a shame that after so much preparation, by so many members of WHAC, that we didn’t get the opportunity to mix with our community. But, with the Easter Mission coming up we will have a lot more opportunities coming up. Stay tuned for more!

Parish Calendar

The annual parish calendar has been uploaded for this year, and you can check it out here. It’s not a comprehensive calendar (for instance WHAC hasn’t put their upcoming events on there), but it is very useful if you have family members in the kids and youth programs at NAC.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

January 29th – Connect Group Leader and Co-leader Training 2-4pm @ NAC.

February 1st – The Boardroom. A meeting just for the blokes that we have at the Winston on the first Wednesday of every month. It kicks off at 8pm, and it’s a good time to chat as Christian men about what’s going on in the world, and you are encouraged to invite your mates along.

February 11th - Paintball.

March 25th - Easter Mission. So many of the details are secret at the moment. But what I can say is that we will be holding a big family Jazz night with a very accomplished musician, among other significant events…

Connecting with OUR COMMUNITY ON Australia Day

WHAC is once again helping out at the Australia Day breakfast at the 3rd Settlement Park, Corner Oakes Road and Edison Pde, beginning at 7am. We’re running a stack of activities, such as face painting, kids craft, throng throwing competitions, plus we have a stack of WHAC goody bags to hand out.

Please come along, and if you have one, please wear your red WHAC shirt. It’s a great opportunity for us to connect with and serve our community, and let them know about WHAC.

PAINTBALL – Need NUMBERS THIS WEEK

Don’t forget that WHAC is going paintballing on the 11th Feb! Tickets are free, so you will just need to buy your own ammo. Put it in your diaries and make sure you tell Chris on Sunday that you’re coming.

BBQ and Swim

After our last Sunday meeting a number of us enjoyed a lovely afternoon at the Castleys. The kids especially enjoyed it, with the slide into the pool, the trampoline, water pistols and the sausages being some of the highlights. We’ll have another one of these in about a month. If you’d like to volunteer to host please do, and please remember that everyone is welcome.

Community Connections

We’re currently in the process of planning a major outreach initiative leading up to and including Easter, and we would value your prayers. Please ask that God would help us to plan wisely, and that God may use these events to bring many to understand and embrace God’s great love for us.

REAP Journals

With the new year firmly underway, and with many of us now starting to get back into our usual patterns, it’s a good time to jump on board with the REAP Journals to help us to thoughtfully explore God’s word every day.

The REAP journals contain a bible-reading plan for the year and provide space for us to go through the 4 steps (Read Explore Apply Pray) of thoughtful bible reading:

• Read a passsage from God’s word everyday
• Explore God’s word as we think about what it means,
• Apply God’s word as we reflect on we should live in light of that word, and
• Pray as we ask God to help us change.

Many of us at WHAC are already using it, and more are starting each week, and you can take a look at them up the back at WHAC. They’re only $8.

Upcoming Events and Reminders

January 26th - Australia Day Breakfast and Activities 8am-10am

February 11th - Paintball.

March 25th – Easter Mission

Ruth

With the new year also came the start of a wonderful new series on the book of Ruth. Last Sunday Neil spoke to us from chapter 1. Neil highlighted how Naomi’s trust in God meant that despite her circumstances, she would continue to look to God to provide for her. This week Stefan will speak to us from chapter 2, as we find out how that turned out for her…

The Adventures of Tintin

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what a photo is capturing. This was taken just after the screening of ‘The Adventures of Tintin”, which a number of our men went to see on Wednesday night in instead of our usual meeting at ‘The Winston’.

But what is Matt doing? Is he wiping a tear from his eye? Was the film that good? Or is he about to thump Dave to his right? And why was Steve so quick to stand up and leave? I was there, and I don’t even know the answers. But it was a fun night all the same, and so we might occasionally do something a bit different in the future for the men’s monthly catchup… please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Rosters

I have just uploaded the most up-to-date version of the roster. You can check it out by clicking on “Rosters & Events”, followed by January.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

January 7 – 13th - CMS Summer School, Katoomba

January 15th –  BBQ n swim @ Castleys

January 26th - Australia Day Breakfast and Activities 8am-10am

February 11th - Paintball!

CHRISTMAS MEETINGS @ NORTHMEAD AND WINSTON HILLS ANGLICAN

It’s going to be an exciting week this week, with the Christmas Eve and Christmas day meetings! Please invite everyone you know along, because it will be a great opportunity for them to hear about God’s gift to us in the Lord Jesus.

SPECIAL January SERIES

In our Sunday meetings in January we’ll be working our way through the book of Ruth. We’ll be hearing from our rector Neil Macken, followed by Stefan, and then two talks from Dave Pocknall. It should be great – and you’ll get more out of it by reading ahead.

CMS Summer School

CMS Summer School (7– 13 January 2012) is a good opportunity for our church family to hang out together in the beautiful Blue Mountains.

Now while registration for kids to get into the kids’ program has closed, it’s not too late for adults to register online for all or part of CMS Summer School, and there is still accommodation to be found – through local estate agents, wotif.com.au, stayz.com.au – at varying prices.

But if you can only go for one day, make it Monday 9th January, so that you can come along to a picnic lunch with everyone else from Northmead Anglican. If you are coming up for a day, then you need to register by 9.00am, before the teaching session with Peter Jensen. After that is morning tea from about 10.30am, followed by a choice of missionary seminars from 11.00-12.15. The afternoons are then free, but there is an evening session every night at 7.00pm.

REAP JOURNALS

Don’t forget that this Sunday you can still buy yourself and others a Christmas present!

The REAP journals are designed as helpful tools to assist us in reading the bible regularly. They contain a bible-reading plan for the year and provide space for us to go through the 4 steps (Read Explore Apply Pray) of thoughtful bible reading:

• Read a passsage from God’s word everyday
• Explore God’s word as we think about what it means,
• Apply God’s word as we reflect on we should live in light of that word, and
• Pray as we ask God to help us change.

Take a look at them up the back at WHAC. They’re only $8.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

December 24th - Northmead’s Got Talent – Special Christmas Eve Family Service, 5pm at Thomas Street

January 7 – 13th - CMS Summer School, Katoomba

January 15th –  BBQ n swim @ Castleys

January 26th - Australia Day Breakfast and Activities 8am-10am

February 11th - Paintball!