Prayers for those affected by fires
Dear friends,
Thinking of all those affected by the fires and terrible weather conditions this week.
We continue to pray for those heroically battling blazes, those supporting communities in safe zones and evacuation centres, those struggling to save homes and animals, those burdened by worry and uncertainty, and – most of all – those who have already lost everything. Our hearts break.
Please stay up-to-date with RMS warnings and alerts, and look after yourselves, your loved ones and your neighbours.
May God guard and keep you.
Rev Claire Wright
Moderator’s Drought Appeal
As weather patterns become more extreme, we experience more and more weather events that leave communities devastated by drought, fires and floods.
If you or your Church would like to give to these crises the Moderator’s Appeal distributes funds where they are most needed.
There are a couple of ways you can give to the Moderator’s Appeal:
To give by Cheque
- To give by cheque simply mark your envelope Moderator’s Appeal, PO Box A2178, Sydney South NSW 1235.
- Please make the cheque out to “The Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of NSW and the ACT”.
To give by Bank Transfer
Our Bank Account Details:
Bank: Uniting Financial Services
Account Name: Moderators Appeal
Branch: L9 / 222 Pitt St, Sydney 2000
BSB: 634-634
Account: 100044774
Once you have made the donation, if you need a receipt, please call 02 8267 4342. If you have any questions or concerns contact us by calling 02 8267 4342 or email fmsg@nswact.uca.org.au
To give by credit card
Go to the Moderator’s Appeal page to securely pay by credit card – click here.
For more information
If you have any questions or concerns contact us by calling (02) 8267 4342 or email fmsg@nswact.uca.org.au
Please note that donations given to the Moderator’s Appeal are not tax deductible.
For more information about how the Moderator’s Appeal assists in times of crisis go to the Disaster Response page – click here
Bathurst Uniting Community Markets
Saturday, 14 September 9:00am to 1:00pm
You may have read in the Western Advocate about the city wide fund raising campaign in support of Poppy Stanton, the 4 year old girl in need of a Star Pups assistance dog to help manage her Retts Syndrome (a rare and incurable neurological disorder).
The Stantons are one of our Play Group families.
This month, our markets will be donating all stall fees and any other fund raising efforts as our own contribution to this appeal.
The third ‘mark of mission’ of God’s Church is ‘Tend: responding to human need in acts of loving service’. And sometimes it’s individual human need that catches at our hearts…
If you can help, by holding a stall, spreading the word, bringing friends, shaking a fund raising tin or just being
there to add to the ‘buzz’, please do!
Celebrating the Season of Creation
September 1 to October 4 has been designated by the world wide church as the Season of Creation.
In this season, God’s Church is called to reflect on, celebrate and pray for God’s creation, as a sign and sacrament of God’s presence in the world and as a sacred trust given to humankind to care for and tend.
Over the next four weeks, Rev Claire will be leading us in exploring different aspects of God’s creation: oceans, flora and fauna, storms and cosmos.
Our services will be full of fun and curiosity and beauty, as we reflect on waves and whales, whipbirds and willows, clouds and constellations and what they tell us about God, and our place in the world.
Come ready to to immerse yourself in wonder and invite your friends to church for something a little different, especially if they care for the environment!
Easter 2019 @ Bathurst UCA
You are warmly invited to remember, reflect and rejoice with us this Easter season.
We believe that the life and death and life of Jesus Christ are the climax of the greatest story ever told, and that the events we call ‘Easter’ mark a radical turning point in the history of the world:
a victory of healing over brokenness, Life over death, and Love over all, which continues to ripple down the ages. We think that’s a hope worth celebrating and sharing.
So please, join us if you can.
If you’d like to learn more:
- Visit us any Sunday at 9:30am for Family Worship
- Browse our website for service times, activities and opportunities to connect
- Contact the church or our minister Rev. Claire Wright.
Bathurst Uniting AGM & Discussion
All members of the congregation are invited to participate in this important meeting that deals with the opportunities and challenges for our church. There will be a brief time on typical AGM items but most of the meeting will be discussing the areas of:
- Ageing Population and our Church
- Our Buildings – both Opportunities and Challenges
- Challenges with the Church’s finances, (available after the 15th)
- Our Church and the Broader Community
The meeting has been designed for those present to participate and contribute their ideas.
Following are some discussion starter sheets for each of these topics to stimulate thinking about the opportunities and challenges. Click on each to read further.
Ageing population and our Church
What does it mean to be a Presbytery Representative
Bathurst Uniting Church Budget Papers
Please come along and share your thoughts with us on the 22nd.
Helping the homeless is a true act of faith
WHAT a fantastic gesture from the Bathurst Uniting Church to support the homeless in our city.
From June 14, the church will have the capacity to house five men a night in a vacant room at the back of the William Street site.
The men will have access to sleeping mats, bedding and basic meal facilities, as well as a toilet, during the winter months.
More importantly, they will be safe and warm as the worst of Bathurst’s winter starts to bite.
The project is an example of faith in practice, an example of all that can be good about the church.
The initiative is also supported by an expert advisory group, with representatives from the church, Anglicare, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Bathurst Catholic Diocese, HopeCare, The Bridge Community and Wellways Australia.
This newspaper has said before that the measure of a society is the way it treats its most vulnerable and the Bathurst Uniting Church has set a shining example for us all.
It would shock most residents to think that our prosperous community could be home to people forced to sleep rough, but that is the sad reality.
As they huddle under bridges or in doorways, these people are not only at the mercy of the elements but also any passing thug that cannot keep quietly to themselves.
By throwing open the church doors the parishioners at the Bathurst Uniting Church are also throwing open their hearts, offering support and hope to people at their greatest time of need.
And all it took was some clear thinking and the will to make it happen.
“We have some areas that weren’t being used for anything else that can be used for this project, so that is the main advantage,” co-ordinator Julie Greig said.
“It’s an issue of social justice. Buildings are empty while people are sleeping out on the streets.
“We’re called on as a church to look after the weak and vulnerable who don’t have a voice normally, so that is where we are coming from.”
Sounds simple, but then came the hard work of making it happen.
The initiative will begin on a trial basis but we can only hope it is a success and becomes a permanent fixture.
As a society, we must do more to tackle homelessness. Bathurst is fortunate that the Uniting Church is leading the way.
From the Western Advocate editorial page here.
‘Be-Friending Month’ @ Bathurst Uniting
We talk a lot about community and family and relationships here at Bathurst Uniting, and it is important to our identity and mission as a church that everyone is welcomed and feels that they belong. But not everyone finds it easy to connect socially. And sometimes it’s surprising how little we really know our ’neighbours’ – even within the church – especially since we’ve been blessed to add a number of new people to our fellowship in the last year – not least, our brothers and sisters from Perthville. How do we enfold people in Christian community – at, but also beyond, our Sunday morning gatherings?
I’d like to challenge us to make this month ‘Be-friending Month’. The challenge is, sometime during June, to invite to coffee/tea, or lunch, or dinner – or otherwise to ‘get together with’ – one or two people you don’t know well, or don’t usually socialise with, from church. Perhaps someone who is new, or on the margins a bit… Share a hobby, or a group, or a meal, or a film… Perhaps you’ll encourage someone and help them feel that they belong. Perhaps you’ll make a new friend or two. And if you’re really up for a challenge, try adding to the mix a person or two from outside the church. But please start somewhere, this month. ‘By this shall all people know that you are my disciples,’ said Jesus, ‘by your love for one another.’
Rev. Claire