On Wednesday night a few members of our church family were present at Event cinemas in Newcastle for the premier screening of “For the love of God: How the church is both worse and better than you ever imagined”, a new documentary project jointly produced by the Bible Society and the Centre for Public Christianity. It explored the way that throughout history, Christians have ‘shaped the landscape’ for better and for worse and how many of the most central and important values in our society – things like human rights, charity, humility and non-violence – can all be traced back to a single source: Jesus of Nazareth. I encourage you to check it out for yourself (details can be found here: https://fortheloveofgodproject.com/).
One of the really powerful moments in the film centres around the difference between music and the people who play it. The presenter of “For the love of God” sums it up like this:
“Jesus gave us a beautiful tune. When Christians have played that tune well, great things happened: Hospitals were founded. The poor were cared for. Slavery was abolished. But when Christians played that tune badly, disastrous things happened. Crusades. Witch hunts. And racism.”
As disciples of Jesus, this is a great reminder for us to listen out for that beautiful melody: by getting to know God’s word to us, by reaching out to God in prayer, and by living our lives together as we seek to follow where he leads. In John’s Gospel (Jn 14:5-6), Thomas asks Jesus “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” and Jesus replies ” I am the way, the truth, and the life.” As we continue our journey as followers of Jesus, we can have confidence in Jesus words; “if you really know me, then you know my father.”
Every blessing for the week to come,
Mark
This bulletin was emailed to members of the parish on Saturday 2 June 2018 – if you would like to join the Weekly Bulletin email list, please call the church office on 02 4927 5399 and we will happily arrange this.
St John’s Women’s Guild monthly meeting this Monday
The St John’s Women’s Guild will hold their monthly meeting in the Church hall on Monday the 4th of June between 9:30am and 11:00am.
Morning Prayer at St John’s
A reminder that on Tuesday Mornings at 9:30am we gather for a simple service of morning prayer. If you are looking for an opportunity to join others in prayer and the sharing of scripture or simply something different in your regular prayer routine please come and join us. All are welcome.
Supporting St John’s Church
We encourage members of St John’s to support the ministry of our parish by giving directly to the parish account, rather than bringing cash to church. If you can do this, our account details are:
BSB: 705-077
A/C: 00040401
Name: St John’s Anglican Church Newcastle
Thank you to all members of our parish who are able to support ministry in this way.
The Hub – A Jesus Community
The Hub are a community of people who exist to encourage, disciple and train each other to live lives for Jesus. Each we through the school term, we come together for KoG (our primary-school kids’ group), Dinner, Worship: Your Way and Youth (our high-school youth group). We encourage you to keep this growing ministry in your prayers and to consider whether you are able to make the Hub everything that it can be. Currently we are looking for people to assist us with the meal we share together on Friday night and would love to hear from you if you are able to be involved. Costs are reimbursable and you are invited to come and join us as we eat, share and fellowship together! If you would like more informaiton or would like to be involved please contact Rob on 0425278063/rob@saintjohns.com.au or Mark on 0403901348/markthornton@saintjohns.com.au.
Flowers in Church
This year, we have had flowers in church for weddings and special occasions only. If you would like to commemorate a special date or a special person by donating a display of flowers to the church, please let Jennifer Benson know on 02 4952 6279.
Rosters:
3 Jun. 2018 | 10 Jun. 2018 | |
9:00 am | ||
Welcomer | Amanda H & Penny P | Jennifer B & Howard B |
Leader | Thomas P | Sebastian T |
Preacher | Murray W | Mark T |
Communion | Murray W | Ken Y |
Server | Xander G | Matthew B |
Candles | Isobel P & Sebastian T | Amy D & Josephine T |
Bible reading 1 | X X | Helen C |
Bible reading 2 | X X | Ken Y |
Prayers | X X | David B |
Chalice | Paul Y & Cathy B | Rob W & Mark T |
Kids Church Leader | X X | X X |
Kids Church Helper | X X | X X |
Refreshments | Lance W & Dianne W | Ken Y & Margret Y |
Counters | Nona B & Penelope Y | June W & Penelope Y |
Flower Arranger | June W | June W |
Brass Cleaner | Jenny W & Helen C | |
10:45 am | ||
Welcomer | Prue H | Liz A |
Leader | Mark T | Ken Y |
Preacher | Murray W | Mark T |
Communion | Murray W | Ken Y |
Music Leader | Mark T | Mark T |
Music 2 | ||
Drums | ||
Prayers | *Volunteer needed* | Liz A |
Refreshments | *Volunteer needed* | *Volunteer needed* |
5:00 pm | ||
Welcomer | *Volunteer needed* | *Volunteer needed* |
Leader | Mark T | Rob W |
Preacher | Mark T | Mark T |
Communion | X X | X X |
Prayers | *Volunteer needed* | Carey G |
Music Leader | ||
Music 2 | ||
Kids Church Leader | Messy Church | Murray W |
Kids Church Helper | Messy Church | |
Creche Leader | Messy Church | Bec D |
Creche Helper | Messy Church | Lauren P |
Refreshments | Dan T | Valerie G |
Tidy after service | ||
Activity 1 | ||
Activity 2 | ||
Activity 3 | ||
Activity 4 | ||
Activity 5 | ||
Activity 6 |
Upcoming at St John’s:
Sunday, 3 June 2018 | |
9:00am | Traditional Communion service |
10:45am | Informal Communion |
12:30pm | Baptism of Alice Checkley |
12:30pm | Hall booking: Weightman Family Event |
12:30pm | Baptism of Hudson Weightman |
5:00pm | Messy Church |
Monday, 4 June 2018 | |
9:30am | St John’s Women’s Guild monthly meeting |
Tuesday, 5 June 2018 | |
9:30am | Morning Prayer |
Wednesday, 6 June 2018 | |
10:00am | St John’s Playgroup |
7:00pm | Wednesday Night Bible Study Group |
Thursday, 7 June 2018 | |
9:30am | Hall booking: Mini Sports 2018 sessions |
Friday, 8 June 2018 | |
4:30pm | The Hub – KoG |
6:00pm | The Hub – Dinner |
7:00pm | The Hub – WORSHIP: Your Way! |
7:30pm | The Hub – Youth |
Sunday, 10 June 2018 | |
9:00am | Traditional Communion service |
9:00am | Sunday School: Christian Maturity: Eternal Perspective |
10:45am | Informal Communion |
5:00pm | Evening service |
5:00pm | Kids Church: Christian Maturity: Eternal Perspective |