Community News

At Church this Sunday

Talk-series-slides

A man went out to build a house. He cuts down one of the great trees of the forest and prepares planks to be seasoned. He then plans and measures the dimensions of his house accurately. When he builds his house he finds that he does not have enough timber to finish the roof. So the man sits in his bedroom, getting rained upon, mourning his miscalculation.

Whoever has ears to listen, listen!

An economist spends years saving his money and investing wisely. His prudent actions have slowly resulted in growing his financial portfolio so that he is able to provide for his family and retirement. So he goes to meet with his bank manager. However he finds all his money is gone through a collapse in all the markets. Therefore he gathers everything he has and once again prudently saves.

Whoever has ears to listen, listen!

Imagine these and similar stories were the entire content of our teaching whenever we gathered. What would you learn? What would you understand about God and how he is ruling over his creation?

When Jesus started to teach with stories, his disciples likewise couldn’t comprehend what he was saying (Mark 4:10).

Why did Jesus teach in parables? Why do some reject the good news?

Come along Sunday to hear Jesus answer these questions from Mark chapter 4.

Baptism and Confirmation

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Each year we have a parish Baptism and Confirmation service, which will be held on the 15th of September. It’s always fantastic to hear others publicly express their trust in the Lord Jesus, so please save the date.
If you would like to be baptised and/or confirmed, now is the time to let us know. Classes start this Sunday, so please be in touch.

Term 3 Rosters are Up!

Take a look under the ‘Resources -> Members Resources’ section above for the new Winston Hills rosters.

Ride for Refugees

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The ‘Ride for Refugees’ is on again this year. You can ride, pay others to ride, or come along to help on the day. Come and talk to me on Sunday for more information, or check out the website.

Anglicare Refugee Training

Anglicare is co-ordinating the Sydney Diocesan response to Australia’s humanitarian intake of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Sydney Anglican parishioners, churches and agencies have shown great enthusiasm and energy in responding to the Archbishop’s call to provide a warm and generous welcome to the thousands of refugees who have been displaced due to the Syrian conflict and are arriving in our city.

Over the coming months and years there will be opportunities for people to get involved with formal programs and informal community and parish connections that support refugees, people seeking asylum and new migrants settle into their new home. Anglicare has developed and is delivering training to assist individuals and groups who would like to be involved with supporting and loving their new neighbours. Training will assist those involved in understanding past and present issues facing new arrivals and engaging in ministry in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way.

Training will be offered over two modules, with additional electives available. Modules 1 and 2 are available on Saturdays, weekdays and weeknights throughout 2016. Module 1 covers issues such as cultural backgrounds and understanding the refugee process and Module 2 builds on this to cover working effectively with new arrivals. Electives will be available in 2017 and include: Understanding mental health in the refugee context; working with Muslims; accidental counselling which includes self-care.

We encourage anyone interested in getting involved or continuing their ministry with refugees to participate in Anglicare Refugee training. Anglicare will continue to offer other specialised training for ministries such as ESL.

If you would like more information, including dates for the training, or to register go to the Anglicare Refugee Training website.

Weekend Viewing

To go with the Olympics, here’s something else to watch. It’s on how GAFCON started…