Weekly letter from St Luke's - 10 September 2021

Dear fellow parishioners

This week we welcome Rev'd Libbie Crossman who will be celebrating at our 7am and 9am services. At 9am the children will be enjoying "end of term" MESSY KID'S CHURCH with Tim & Kate and friends. Please invite your young family and friends to come along for great fun and a wonderful message. We'll all share a sausage sizzle after the 9am service. The weekly 'taking faith home' leaflet is here. Thank you to Rev’d Bill Crossman for his time with us last Sunday. We appreciated his ministry and teaching. He summed up his sermon with the following message. “Mark’s story of the Syro-Phoenician woman (who approached Jesus, begging him to drive out a demon that is possessing her daughter) invites us to identify with the woman in her desperation and trust. It also suggests that the tight boundaries of righteousness the church is all too prone to draw around itself will often be breached by outsiders who under the prompting of God’s inclusive grace will show us something about ourselves. (Byrne, Brendan. A Costly Freedom – A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel. Strathfield NSW St. Paul’s Publications 2008 p 127.) On a sad note, this week we heard of the passing of one of our dear friends at St Luke’s, Gwen Williams, who died peacefully on Tuesday 7th September. Please uphold Gwen’s family in your prayers as they mourn her loss and remember with joy her life with them. We all remember Gwen as an amazing, gentle and strong woman who inspired us with her quiet faithfulness and care for others. Gwen’s funeral will be held at St Luke’s next week but the details are yet to be confirmed. Evening prayer will continue at 6pm from Tuesday to Friday on Zoom. Instructions on how to connect are available on the link below. Our 9am service will also be available by Zoom however we will not be recording services during Rev'd Timothy's leave.

I remind you of upcoming events - the parish study groups recommencing on 28th and 30th September; a regular opportunity for Contemplative Prayer on 2nd the 4th Tuesdays commencing on 28th September; a parish Car Boot Sale on Saturday 2nd October; and a Quiet Morning with Rev'd Sarah Plowman at St Francis College on Saturday 9th October. If you need to contact anyone during Rev'd Timothy's leave, please phone the parish office (3848 2123) or one of the Wardens. kind regards Chris Bromwich (Warden) PS The ABM Bees have been busy making delicious honey. Thank you Dimitri for your ongoing support for this ministry for ABM. Honey is available for sale at the back of church (250g jars for $4 and $500g jars for $6)