Newsletter

Sunday 4th March, 2012
Second Sunday in Lent

WELCOME to Holy Innocents—we hope you enjoy this time of prayer as we reflect on Scripture together and celebrate the Eucharist. Breakfast is available in the Hall after the 8 am service and morning tea after the 10 am. All are welcome. Sunday School is in action …..

Collect for Lent II
God of all times and places, in Jesus Christ, Who was lifted up on the cross, You opened for us the path to eternal life: grant that we, being born again of water and the Spirit, may joyfully serve You in newness of life and faithfully walk in Your holy ways; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

TODAY’S READINGS read by Paul H
Readings Genesis 17: 1—7 & 15-15 and Romans 4: 13—25
GOSPEL Mark 8: 31—38
Fr Ron’s Notes available at http://www.anglican-belair.blogspot.com/

PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE led by Vanessa D
We pray for those in need: Ron Teague, Peter Little, Jenny Jeffrey, Dorothy Furnival, the Swaby family , Lynda Knight, Dianne Cordes. Blake Vause. Ivanka Cosic, Jim (fighting cancer;) Jake and Gail. Michelle in NY, Eddie Barber and Judith Manning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Allan Jennings, Jill Hilbig, Barbara Almond, Stacey Hargreaves, Marilyn Little
HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
YEAR’S MIND— Bessie Barrett (2008) Basil Marston (2003) Doris Kelly (1995)

PREPARATION FOR NEXT SUNDAY Lent III
Readings Exodus 20: 1—17 & 1 Cor. 1: 18—25
GOSPEL John 2: 13—22

REGULAR GROUPS AND BOOKINGS
PRAYER CIRCLE meets noon on the 2nd Tuesday each month at 36 Penno Parade North
BIBLE STUDY 10am Wednesdays at Pressley’s
THURSDAY 9.30am Eucharist
SINGING GROUP Meets after the 10am service each Sunday. All singers welcome
MOTHERS’ UNION - meets third Thursdays each month March 15th at 2.00pm in the Germein Room. Guest Speaker is Carlien Walter, manager of the MU Centre and Bookshop. All are welcome. Margaret Pressley Group Leader
HELPLINE
Part of being a Christian community is the support offered to each other in times of need. We offer short-term delivery of food where needed, local transport, phone calls, and other types of assistance. Call Iris Downes on 8278 3260 and Marlene Dixon on 8278 8568..

POWERPOINT ROSTER –
Next Sunday Craig Deane or Trevor Tregenza
Sunday after Min Araki or Cynthia Macintosh
READER- AND INTERCESSOR ROSTER
Next Sunday Reader Arndrae L Intercessor Ben L
Sunday after Reader Hal S-C Intercessor Sue D-T
SANCTUARY ROSTER
Next week Flowers Marilyn Little (no flowers)
Brass Yvonne Caddy Cleaning Susan Lee
\Christmas Bowl
Thank you to all those who donated to the Christmas Bowl Appeal via the envelopes distributed at Christmas through our Church. Our contribution totalled $630 which was a great response.
Pancakes for ABM
Our donations on Shrove Tuesday raised $189.35 for ABM. A wonderful night, enjoyed by all. Thank you everyone for your generous donations which will assist our ABM project.
Mark your diary please ......
(a) The Parish Annual Vestry Meeting on 25th March and
(b) Wedding May 5 Private function in Hall May 6
(c) St John's drama production in hall afternoon and evening of May 31 and June 1
(d) St John's Exams 17-20 July and 29/10-14/11
Details of Lenten Studies with Warren
Thursday mornings 10.30am to 11.45am From 23rd Feb to 29 Mar (but not 15 Mar)
Sunday mornings 11.45am to 12.30pm in the Church starting 26 Feb
Monday evenings 7.45pm – 9.15pm at the Rectory, 12 Gulfview Road, Blackwood. Starts 27 Feb
Faith of the Elders
The ‘Faith of the Elders’ Exhibition will occur on Sunday the 25th of March at 5pm with wine and nibbles and Bishop Tim Harris opening the event. The church will become a gallery for the evening as we display photographic portraits of 12 of our ‘elders’ alongside their stories of faith and connection with the church. It’ll be a combination of faith, art, local history and celebration. Another Holy Innocents activity designed to open our doors to the wider community.
Bible study/discussion for young adults.
This week (hopefully) Stephen will be beginning a Bible Study/discussion group for the young adults in our congregation. We’re wanting to support these fantastic young people as they grow in faith. Please pray for the group as they meet on Sunday evenings.

The Flea Market – 19th May 2012 How YOU can help make this a successful event…..it is planned to keep the Flea Market / Jumble Sale to a manageable level with stalls mainly occupying the hall.
1) Please save items for the stalls. We request that items are 'handable'. There will be no auction, so if there are large items and they are not sold, please take them home after the flea market. Clothes, books, household goods etc are very welcome. If you wish to bring items for sale between now and the flea market we can arrange for storage. We can also arrange pick-up of the smaller items prior to the market. If we receive goods beforehand, or are advised that you have items for the market it wiIl assist us to plan how many stalls will be needed on the day.......and reassure us that we have sufficient items for sale !!
2) We will serve Morning Tea (our thanks to Greg) and Joy is willing to convene a cake stall. Our Green fingered Clare and Angus have offered to run a plant stall. Can you offer assistance with cakes, biscuits and help on the day??? Suitable items for a Raffle would be very welcome – perhaps we could sell tickets prior to the event!
3) If you have any suggestions at all please share them with us so that we can make a success of the day. Perhaps you can convene a stall or run a barbeque.
4) Lastly but most important please offer your help in whatever capacity to Yvonne Caddy or Graham Baines.

RONBLOG …… on today’s Readings
I have to say that I am left wondering how long this Faith of ours will persist in this land – not because of the irrelevance of Christianity, but rather because of the increasing intensity of the cult of the ego that seems to be overtaking almost everything of value. Have you ever wondered the same thing?
This is not a response of despair, but it is a signal that there is a threat, not just to the Faith but indeed to our very culture and country. I suspect that it all began deep in the hearts of rather too many human beings. In the USA, it tends to be expressed as the ‘right to happiness’ – whatever that really means. It exploded onto the sporting scene with enormous payments to players in football, cricket and basketball. It continues with the obscene remunerations to big company CEOs, and expectations of everyone that their pockets will be filled. Quite recently it shows up in the bitter struggle for leadership of the Prime Ministership, - which underlines the damage to which I refer. Perhaps the most sinister emergence is the cult of youth that demands everything at no cost, and the ugliest challenge of the terrorist – because there lies exactly that profound demand that others conform to the expressed demand ... or dies. If you think that I exaggerate, then please stop and ponder a little more.
Whilst this is not the whole picture, I ask you to ponder the extent to which the Gospel which means so much to you actually looks like extreme folly to much of the rest of the world, and particularly to those who are young – or at least younger than many of us. Baby boomers are into the ego well enough: Gens X and Y tend to be almost embedded. Thankfully, that does not mean everyone, but it does encompass far too many.
Please go back over today’s readings and look at all that is being said about choice and discipleship. For those who use it in worship, today’s Sentence for the day covers the whole gamut: Jesus said, if you want to become a disciple of Christ, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. What looks like death of a sort is really quite the opposite!

Items for the Newsletter need to be sent to Fr. Ron at 8298 7160 or ronpkeynes@internode.on.net by Tuesday afternoon please …….