Newsletter

Sunday 17th February, 2013 First 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. Collect for today O Lord, Who for our sake fasted forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may ever obey Your godly will in righteousness and true holiness, to Your honour and glory, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God world without end. Amen Today’s Readings First Sunday in Lent read by Eric D Readings: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and Romans 10:4—13 GOSPEL Luke 4: 1—15 PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE led by Hal S-C We pray for those in need: Ron Teague, Peter Little, Dorothy Furnival, the Swaby family , Dianne Cordes. Tommy Ferguson, Bob Arnold, Ann Daughtry, Pat Pater, Susan Daulby, Janet Phillips, Jan and Mollie, Eddy Klose, Allan Pressley, Robyn Keynes’ sister Pam .. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mark Williams, Anthony Taylor, Ray Dixon HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY - Meg & Don Baker YEAR’S MIND— Jack Stauner, Ray Holdernesse (1993) PREPARATION FOR NEXT SUNDAY Lent II Readings: Genesis 15: 1 …..18 and Philippians 3: 17—4:1 GOSPEL Luke 13: 1—9 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 5.30pm Evening Prayer with Wendy MOTHERS’ UNION - meets third Thursdays each month at 2.00pm—next meeting Febru-ary 21st –Fr. Warren will celebrate the Eucharist with a Lenten focus, and a planning meeting will be held . Suggestions for speakers etc., please, - and a small plate of afternoon tea t o share. Margaret Pressley, (Group Leader) WALKING CHURCH First Saturday of each month at 5.00pm at Belair National Park gates near railway station bridge. Saturday week, 2nd March Friday Morning HI Tea and Coffee is on again from 8.30am. Don’t miss the chance for a yarn Anna Kelly is calling a meeting of people on the Sanctuary Roster for TODAY at 9.30am—all volunteers are asked to attend please. Someone lent Fr. Ron a large swag of old photos of Holy Innocents’ when the 20 year anni-versary magazine of the move to this building was published. Since then, the person who lent them has not claimed them. Please catch up with Fr. Ron if you know whose photos they are. Lenten Studies are to be held on Luke’s Gospel. Meetings for next week, Sunday 11.30am in Church, Tuesday 10am in foyer, and 7.30pm at the Rectory. Official lists are available in the foyer—changes will be noted each week in these pages. You are reminded of the forthcoming WORLD DAY OF PRAYER on Friday 1st March at 10.00am at Holy Innocents’ Church. France is the focus under the banner ‘I was a stranger and I welcomed me’ in a service prepared by French women. 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 Stephanie Lloyd 8278 4260 and Lucinda Hale 8278 8814 POWERPOINT ROSTER – Next Sunday Barb Capon or Trevor Tregenza Following week Min Araki or Ron Keynes READER AND INTERCESSOR ROSTER Next Sunday Reader Iris D Intercessor Max A Sunday after Reader John F Intercessor Ben L SANCTUARY ROSTER Next Sunday Flowers No flowers Brass Margaret Carruthers Cleaning Group 2 The Commissioning Service of (Public) School Chaplains is to be held at St. John’s, Coro-mandel Valley at 10 am on Sunday 24th February. All are welcome to attend and support the new Chaplains. Here are some various activities in Lent, to enable parishioners to contribute to the work of the ABM, the Anglican agency for overseas mission. 1. Making Palm Crosses. Palm crosses are distributed on Palm Sunday. Each year a group undertakes to make crosses from palm tree leaves. It is a tricky process, though quickly learnt, or re-learnt. All crosses in excess of those needed for distribution in the par-ish will be directed to the Auxiliary of the ABM in Adelaide. They will sell them to other par-ishes, the proceeds going to the ABM. In addition, we need a supply of palm fronds, in good condition. From each ‘good’ frond - clean, and not old and dry - about 30 or more crosses can be made. Help in supplying these will be welcome. 2 The Lenten Envelope Appeal In this annual appeal, all parishioners are invited to con-tribute weekly. Your contribution can be placed in a special envelope, which will be availa-ble on the first Sunday in Lent, and may be returned with your offering on Easter Day. All of us can remember the work of the Anglican Board of Mission as a part of our Lenten discipline of prayer For more information, please contact Joan Durdin (8178 0704) RONBLOG on today’s Gospel - Even when I was young, I could never see how those temptations ever constituted the slightest challenge to Jesus, or what it would matter if He gave in to these. Then I stopped being so very literal and the reality struck me. The temptations of Jesus were severe and hugely significant tests of our Lord, in His selection of the nature of His leadership. If ever you watch someone altruistically choose politics or somesuch as a career, intending to change the world, and then surrendering to the dishonesty and jiggerypokery, you will understand that enormity of the challenge. Each of the three tests represents differ-ent challenges, as Jesus sought ways of gaining a following and helping people to see what He was on about. They are also challenges to His perception of leadership, and this is some-thing so few people grasp. So let’s look at them one by one. The first test was about turning stones into bread. People then, as now, would real-ize straight away the direction in which this test was taking Jesus. In an Empire that ruled people through their stomachs, (give them bread and circuses) Jesus knew, as you do, that lots of people will surrender their whole being on the chance of getting something for nothing, but aware people know how destructive that path really is. Small wonder that Jesus rejected that path! It would be far harder to go in the direction He knew He should, but He also knew that He would lose both integrity and credibility if He chose the easy way. (Dare to note that sin so often consists in choosing the easy way rather than the true and effective way.) The second test was perhaps the most sinister. This falling down and worshipping Satan needs to be expressed in simple and straightforward terms. Jesus was challenged here to turn the truth into the lie, and the lie into the truth. Propaganda, spin and other names are given to this falsehood these days, but it remains THE LIE. Imagine the damage that would ensue had Jesus followed this path! You know the damage caused when leaders track this sort of way. The third test was to throw Himself down from the Temple – or if you like to astound people by His capacity to do miracles. Few Christians realize that Jesus refused miracle as a means of gaining a following. (He often used them as teaching tools, or signs -  - as John calls them in his Gospel.) This approach to people may titillate and lead them to ask for greater and more remarkable things. But there is small chance of miracles changing anything, and certainly not in the direction Jesus sought change in people. I know of very few other leaders who remained true to what is important. And it is hugely important to realize that just as Jesus saw the need to operate that way, so do His people of every day and age!