Weekly Notices - 25 Aug 2024
A couple of days ago, our Lectionary Reading came from Matthew’s Gospel and talked about the land owner calling men in at different times of the day to become paid labourers in his vineyard. In this parable, we find that after being promised the standard wage for the day across the board, those who were employed first began complaining about the equality of the wages paid.
We find this happening in our every day lives, even today! And we forget that God’s Grace and Generosity is spread equally across everyone He cares for. It is not our prerogative to find fault in the distribution of God’s Grace; we are not to question what others receive and let it cause envy in our hearts.
Our duty is to love God and be thankful for His Gift of Grace, and to love our neighbour as we do ourselves. Those are His commandments, and to live our lives as followers of Jesus, we should be reminding ourselves of this every day.
To build our relationship with God means we ought to be building and maintaining relationships with those around us, and sharing God’s Grace, so freely given! This is how we abide in God and He in us and find eternal life: this week’s Gospel challenge.
May God bless St Aug’s, Your Friend and Vicar, Kofe
Vicar Kofe
Today’s service
Theme: “Our relationship to God and the church”
Sentence: Jesus said, ‘It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63
Collect:
God of Israel old and new,
write in our hearts the lessons of your law;
prepare our minds to receive the gospel
made visible in your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Readings: Ephesians 6: 10 – 20 & John 6: 56 - 69
Parish News
Centennial Weekend - 12th & 13th October
Please diary this event which will start with tours and a Variety Concert on the Saturday and a Combined 10am Service on the Sunday followed by lunch at the Takahe Restaurant.
Tickets for this luncheon are now available from the Parish office.
Missing Communion Chalice
One of our Communion chalices has gone walk-about, and this is a plea to anyone who may have seen it, to contact the Vicar please. On this note, I encourage all those rostered on as Communion Assistants at each of our respective services to please be a little more careful when packing our Communion vessels away. I do appreciate the work you do; however, it has been noticed that on the odd occasion, the vessels have been left sitting on the credence table instead of being washed and put away.
Vestry
Please hold Vestry in your prayers as its Vicarage Working Group journey through the sale and purchase of a vicarage. Open Homes are now beginning to take place, so please also pray for Leni & I as we battle to keep the home tidy.
Diocesan Prayer Community - Reminder
The Diocesan Prayer Community has been operating since March this year. This Community identifies the issues which challenge our Diocese (and parish!) and join each other in praying for those issues.
At the Special Synod a few weeks ago, I discovered that other parishes have embraced this concept, and parishioners have enthusiastically signed up to be part of this Community. I urge us all to deeply consider signing up to pray with others from other parishes! We receive regular updates and forms of encouragement from our Archdeacon of Regeneration & Mission, and it only takes a few minutes of our time each day or week.
Please let the Vicar know if you’re interested. If you want a copy of the flyer in last week’s newsletter, please contact the office.
Our People, Our Place
Do keep those wonderful “Our People, Our Place” profiles rolling in!
St Aug’s & Beyond…
City Mission ‘Food Bank’
We have recently heard that the City Mission ‘Food Bank’ is VERY short of supplies as it struggles to feed the needy over this long and cold winter. So please, if you are able, do donate (non perishable) food into the City Mission food basket at the back of the Church. Grateful thanks!
Bell Ringers
The Christchurch Handbell Ringers are looking for new members. Many of you will recall an event or occasion where you had the pleasure of watching this very special group of musicians. Over the years, like many other groups, their numbers have faded, and they are desperate for more people to join them. They gather for practices every alternate Friday at 1:30pm in Dallington, and all they ask is that you have a reasonable knowledge of music. Please contact Andrew Cox.
Living Faith Conference
PRAY DISCIPLE INSPIRE - Bring your parish team and join us for the 2024 Living Faith Diocesan Conference! With Guest Speakers: Elanor SANDERSON, Dallas HAREMA, Grant NORSTWORTHY
This will be a great opportunity for spiritual growth and encouragement as we hear from inspirational leaders who canhelp us grow in confidence in our faith and get better at making new disciples. There will also be a Q & A discussion panel to address your questions.
This conference is for everyone - younger, older, exploring faith, new to faith and the seasoned Christian.
So bring a friend, join a group and register!
Tickets $40/pp, see Jo Ashton Martyn for these, or, scan the bar code on the poster below for this event at the back of the Church, or visit www.bit.ly/LivingFaithConference
Helpful info
Giving
Online Giving - “Green” Tokens (trial) for the Offertory Plate
Hey lovely people, now that the majority of you donate ‘on-line’ we have created green tokens for you to place (if you wish) into the offertory plate. These tokens will then be blessed at the front of the Church along with any other cash/envelopes. If you would like to join those who give regularly online, you can find all the details you’ll need on the Giving Page.
Groups
It’s easy to connect and get involved with some great social and faith-focused groups that meet regularly across the parish. You can find out about all our regular groups on our Groups page. If you have any questions, just click the contact button to connect with the group’s organiser.
Need prayer?
We’d love to pray for you. See the ‘Prayer Support’ section on the Help & Support page for more information on how we can help with your prayer needs. There are confidential and anonymous options available.