Newsletter

Sunday 24th February, 2013 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. Collect for today God of our ancestors, Whose chosen servant Abraham was given faith to obey Your call and to go out into the unknown; endow Your Church with such faith that we may follow You with courage, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen Today’s Readings Lent II read by Iris D Readings: Genesis 15: 1 …..18 and Philippians 3: 17—4:1 GOSPEL Luke 13: 1—9 PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE led by Max A 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, Bonney Tomlinson, Allan Pressley (in Flinders.), Eva and Ben Forster HAPPY BIRTHDAY Anna Kelly, Nuree Kim, Raquel Williams HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY - Lois and David Hall YEAR’S MIND— Erica Carter (2003) PREPARATION FOR NEXT SUNDAY Lent III Readings Isaiah 55: 1 – 9 and 1 Corinthians 10: 1 – 13 GOSPEL Luke 13: 31 – 35 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 WALKING CHURCH First Saturday of each month at 5.00pm at Belair National Park gates near railway station bridge. Next Saturday 2nd March Friday Morning HI Tea and Coffee is on again from 8.30am. Don’t miss the chance for a yarn Lenten Studies are to be held on Luke’s Gospel. Meetings for this week are , 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 notified 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. We are hosts! Pancake Night The donations from the Pancake evening amounted to $86 and with the promise of a further donation we should easily make $100. Thanks to the hard work from everyone involved, it was a wonderful evening. Traditionally the proceeds from this event have gone to the ABM Lenten Appeal. Yvonne Caddy The second of our READY, SET, GO Children's Ministry Events is set for 3.30pm on 17th March. More detail will be available soon, with advertising and invites for giving out. Watch out for a donkey or two, as well. The Annual Vestry Meeting of the Parish will be held after Church on Palm Sunday 24th March,. Reports need to be in hand for printing a fortnight before that date please. 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 Min Araki or Ron Keynes Following week Cynthia Macintosh or Don Caddy READER AND INTERCESSOR ROSTER Next Sunday Reader John F Intercessor Ben L Sunday after Reader Paul H Intercessor Vanessa D SANCTUARY ROSTER Next Sunday Flowers No flowers Brass Bonney Tomlinso Cleaning Cleaner 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. 2. The Lenten Envelope Appeal In this annual appeal, all parishioners are invited to contribute weekly. Your contribution can be placed in a special envelope, which will be available 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) Parish Directory We are looking for someone to spend the time collating the information we need to produce a revised parish directory. It is not difficult work, just some chasing up and encouraging people to get their details in. If you are interested please see Warren or Wendy. RONBLOG on today’s Readings Today’s Gospel? Conventional wisdom, in Jesus’ day, was that if you suffered an accident (and the more horrific the more the point was ’proved,’) then you were obviously a sinner of some notoriety and extent. However as in similar situations and discussions, our Lord made quite clear that such a viewpoint was quite ridiculous and totally unjust. Our Lord also made it quite clear that one of the things very important in any person’s move towards real maturity, was to take responsibility for acts and actions. I do not become mature by acting with immaturity; I do not bear fruit by accident or automatically. Maturity and discipleship emerges by one making sensible and valuable choices. Nor do I become an idiot by accident. Today’s readings, particularly in this Season of Lent, say something rather powerful to me – and a little intro may be of some use first, though. When, our son-in-law was ordained Deacon, one of the bright sparks of this Diocese – where Jeremy was ordained – preached on the difficulties of being called to the priesthood in such a tenuous time as ours. That preacher then indicated his conviction that when a century or so passes, people of that day and age will look back longingly, wishing that they had been part of this rather stressful time. They would have longed to have been part of what, to them then, would clearly be God at work in His world in away not seen for many centuries. Now, in my twilight years, I find people in congregations becoming quite unsettled because ‘what will happen to our church, Ron, when we pass away, and there is no one to follow us?’ And my answer is always the same. ‘Who knows, but God will be there and the Church will continue because the Spirit of God will ever be at work in people, and call them as He called Abraham all those millennia ago.’ The Church is not ours, but God’s. And as the Biblical record has shown since Abraham, God is always one who brings life out of death, something out of nothing, and although the experience may be a painful and difficult one, truth, love and compassion will survive, and one needs to keep one’s eyes open to see this all work out. Fear not is the constant Biblical injunction.