The Lent study will begin on Ash Wednesday.  Everyone is welcome to join the study group after the Wednesday 9.15 services during Lent, study at home on your own, or in groups.  Please let Alex know if you would like a copy of the study printed for you, otherwise we can send you a pdf copy via email.

We have had some kind volunteers offer do the teaching/storytelling at Sunday School.  This means we are half way to reinstating regular Sunday School: we still need one parishioner each week to sit in as support adult (two adults is a ChurchSafe requirement). You are not required to prepare anything at all, do set-up or even participate if you don’t want to; just sit on a chair and share the children’s joy as they learn, wonder and discover.  You would be back in the service in time for Holy Communion. If each of you could do it just once a year, we’d be able to hold Sunday School regularly.  Please put your name down for a date or two on the noticeboard – our youth are vital to the parish.  * They need this and we need them * 

Sign-up sheet at back of the church for helping with:
– Ash Wed Service 7pm 22^nd Feb – screen, sound, welcomer, sidesperson
– World Day of Prayer – Friday 3^rd March at 10am. Our parish is hosting it this year and we need volunteers for sound, screen and playing piano.

Grahame, who was a student in the parish in 2022, God willing, will be ordained a Deacon at a service to be held at St Georges Cathedral, 7pm, on Thursday 23rd February. 

Chris Albany has sourced some free Covid RAT tests to share with the church.  If you need some, please help yourself at the back of the church. 

Don’t forget to sign up for Shrove Tuesday pancakes – Tuesday 6.30pm – it will be a fun evening.

Good morning all,

I’m a bit late with my email to you this week- it’s been busy!

On Monday I was invited to celebrate the Eucharist with Mothers’ Union Ladies at St Gregory’s, Quinns-Butler, where we sang carols and enjoyed a lovely lunch. On Tuesday I went to Opal Parkside Carine Nursing Home to take my final service there; yesterday the Advent Study groups met for the final time; and shortly I’m off to Lady McCusker Amana Living nursing home for the last time. So many goodbyes…. But a lot of joy, too.

Today is the last Toddler Jam for the year, and I thank everyone who has been involved. It takes a team- a small team, but nevertheless- to run Toddler Jam, and I know those who take part enjoy it very much. It is pure delight to see the little ones dancing and playing- maybe you might consider taking part next year?

On Sunday we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent and light the four candles in the Advent Wreath. Those of (ahem) a certain vintage who remember Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett might understand why this can be called Two Ronnies Sunday…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUNVFrRy-cE

While you’re looking at You Tube, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFoFOZmSIfY It is ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ performed in Jerusalem, sung in English and Hebrew, and it’s wonderful.

On Monday at 7pm we have our ‘Blue Christmas’ service, which is for everyone- particularly if you find this time of year difficult, are sick of the hype surrounding Christmas, are mourning someone who has died, or for any reason would just like a quiet, reflective time. You can bring a photo of a loved one if you like.

Our annual Nativity Play will be at 3pm on Christmas Eve and is followed by an (optional) short communion service; then Midnight Mass begins at 11pm. Christmas morning there is one service at 9:30am. There are still a few gaps in the roster so please check on Sunday to see if there is a place you can fill. It seems that unfortunately nobody is available to live-stream the Christmas morning service, so we will do the Midnight Mass; and you can watch it when you choose.

My final service will be on New Year’s Day at 9:30am (no 7:30 that day): 2023 brings new beginnings as well as endings. I hope you might be able to come and celebrate with Allan and me.

Here is the Collect Prayer for this week:

Almighty God,

you have made us and all things to serve you:

come quickly to save us,

so that wars and violence shall end

and your children may live in peace,

honouring one another with justice and love;

through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord,

who lives with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Good afternoon all,

This morning 12 of us gathered for the first of our Advent studies; I hope others might come along tonight. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t done any preparation- come along, as we ponder about Advent and all that it means.

Our Warden Marian, continuing her passion for recycling, has made about 6kg of old, used Advent candles from church into 20 recycled new candles!  All the candles will be at church on Sunday after both services and can be purchased:
– $10 – Single Wick candles
– $15 – Double Wick candles

All profits go back to the Parish. 

The Stirling Community Sustainable Fair is on Saturday 3 December.  Marian has been invited to run a workshop on Recycling at the Fair, and there will also be lots of other interesting things happening. 

Looks like a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and maybe buy some Christmas presents too!

Tomorrow, God willing, I’ll be taking a service at Lady McCusker aged care centre; and in the evening Diocesan Council meets. I was elected to continue as a member of Diocesan Council for the next 3 years. We will be discussing the motions that were accepted at Synod, and what actions may need to be taken.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Rector

Good afternoon, friends,

I hope all is well with you and yours.

First some good news- WE HAVE A CLEANER!!! A lovely lady named Jeanne; Alex has emailed everyone on the cleaning roster to thank them and tell them they are now off the hook!

So what we need now is for all the people who were at the Annual Meeting, who voted to have a cleaner AND said they will contribute to the cost, to please start making your contributions towards paying the cleaner. It will cost the parish around $3,000 per year. At the meeting of Parish Council last night our Treasurer informed us that we have had another month with a deficit, so we need to be able to cover this added expense.

Here are some photos from Sunday afternoon’s Blessing of the Animals; it was a really lovely and enjoyable time, and the doggies were all so good!

The Synod of the Diocese of Perth meets this weekend; if you would like to read about what Synod is for and what happens there is information on the Diocesan website: https://www.perth.anglican.org/church/governance/synod

I will be attending along with John Hillyer and Ed Scott; please remember us in your prayers; Archbishop Kay as she chairs Synod; and all the people responsible for organising this meeting of 400+ people from all around the Diocese. Each parish sends their priest and two lay representatives; also present are Anglican Chaplains from health, aged care and justice, and representatives from Anglican schools, Anglicare, and other Anglican organisations. Synod begins at 8:30am Saturday until 6:30pm and reconvenes on Sunday at 1pm until 6:00pm.

There will not be a Meditation Group tomorrow (Thursday) as Grahame will be at the Cathedral for the service with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The group will meet on Thursday 14^th.

Here is the Collect Prayer of the Week following the Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost:

Generous God,
whose hand is open to fill all things living with plenteousness:
make us ever thankful for your goodness,
and grant that we,
remembering the account that we must one day give,
may be faithful stewards of your bounty;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Happy Monarch’s Birthday!

My phone calendar says today is the Queen’s Birthday holiday, Allan’s says it’s the King’s Birthday….. anyway it’s a beautiful day and I hope you can get outside and enjoy the spring sunshine.

The ‘news flash’ is that in place of the Men’s Breakfast this Saturday (1^st October) we are having another ‘combined’ get-together, which means EVERYONE is invited to come along at 9am. There will be morning tea and a presentation by yours truly, and it will be lovely to see you there.

On Sunday (2^nd) there will be a short service of Blessing of the Animals, to thank God for all the creatures that are important to us: the furry and feathery ones, the tiny and terrifying ones (I’m thinking of spiders…), the slithery or supportive ones- our pets and other animals. We will meet under our lovely patio at 2:30pm, and if your pet isn’t happy (or suitable) to bring along then a photo will do. This will not be a communion service and might be something to which you can invite grandchildren, neighbours etc. who don’t generally go to church.

Albie the Rectory Cat (and my office assistant) is elderly, grumpy, and would probably howl and yell if we brought him because cat carrier = vet, so he might miss out.

Here is the Prayer of the Week following the Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost:

O God,

you declare your almighty power

chiefly in showing mercy and pity:

mercifully grant us such a measure of your grace

that, running in the way of your commandments,

we may obtain your gracious promises,

and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Good afternoon friends,

You will find attached a letter and an article regarding the launch this week of the ‘Diocese of the Southern Cross’, which has been reported in the news; I hope it helps to explain the situation and will gladly attempt to answer any questions you may have.

Tomorrow- Saturday- is the Recycling Hub, open from 9 to 11 am; maybe I’ll see you there! Marian will take your recyclables on Sunday following each service if you can’t get to St Nic’s tomorrow.

This is from the Revd. Dr Elizabeth Smith, in response to the events of this week:

It’s a big week in the Anglican Church of Australia. Some people have formed a breakaway church. We can pray for our parish to be a place where everyone will be at home, including LGBTQIA+  people and their families and friends. We can pray for God to give us the kind of unity that shows the love of Jesus for all of us. Here are some prayers that anyone could pray for their local church.

Revd. Dr Elizabeth Smith

God of love, we pray for the unity of your Church in all the world.

God, give us grace to persevere in communion with one another

through differences of opinion on many matters.

Keep us true to the Good News of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.

Teach us to embrace with joy the diversity you keep on giving us:

women and men, old and young, gay and straight,

people of faith from every race and language and culture.

Show us the face of Jesus in every one of our neighbours. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Dear Friends,
Does anyone know how to build an ark? We’ve certainly had some rain lately and isn’t it good! Be careful when you’re driving; I was on the freeway yesterday when it was raining hard, there was little visibility, and many cars had no lights on- I could only see the cars in front when their brake lights were on. No wonder there are more crashes in wet, wild weather.

The August edition of the Messenger is out and you can find it here:

Attached is a letter from our Deacon, the Revd. Annette Des Fosses, who is also a School Chaplain. We have supported Roseworth Primary School in the past: there are many children with special needs, who are disadvantaged or from difficult home situations, and the Camp is particularly beneficial for them. It costs $200 for each child, and Annette has said that anything we can contribute will be of great help. If you would like to make a donation, you can either pop cash or cheque in an envelope clearly marked ‘For Roseworth Year 6 Camp’ and put it in the collection plate; or do a bank transfer to BSB 706 001, Account no. 30003057 Anglican Parish Carine-Duncraig and mark that it is for the school camp. Any problems- let me know.

You may remember that at the Annual Meeting of Parishioners back in June we voted to employ a cleaner for St Nicolas’ and you may be wondering what’s happening. The process was held up because the Human Resources person at Church House was away on leave and we needed to wait until she came back this week, so now we can go ahead! The advert is attached; please feel free to pass it on to anyone who might be interested, put it on a public noticeboard near you, and let folks know we have this position. Watch this space.

This morning I went to Opal Carine Aged Care to do the monthly Communion Service for the residents, one of whom is Mary Bannister and another is Rose Anderson, Cindy Gold’s mother. They were both at the service today, which was lovely; I gave our love to Mary and she sends her love to you all. I usually do two nursing home services each month: one at Opal and the other at Lady McCusker Amana Living. There is a fair amount of preparation to do, and now of course anyone entering an aged care facility must have shown proof of vaccination and do a negative RAT beforehand; but it is a joy to be there and to offer the opportunity for worship to people who are no longer able to attend church. Many elderly people, who have been regular church attenders, miss it terribly when they can’t be with their parish community any more. Most of us take it for granted that we can choose whether we attend church or not; for people in poor health or in aged care the choice is not there. Opal has had a serious Covid outbreak recently with over 70 residents contracting the virus; but thanks be to God, no one has died as a result. Please pray for caregivers working in residential and home-based aged-care; they do a wonderful job, are not paid very well, and deserve our respect and support.

Parish Council meets tonight at 7:30pm; please keep our Wardens and Councillors in your prayers.

Here is the Collect Prayer of the Week for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Grant to us, Lord, we beseech you,
the spirit to think and do always such things as are right,
that we, who cannot do anything that is good without you,
may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna
The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Dear Friends,

I hope there was no storm damage at your place and you didn’t lose power. I think half the leaves in the neighbourhood were piled up at the Rectory front door this morning! We had a few small branches in the church carpark but nothing major; I heard on the radio some suburbs being referred to as ‘chainsaw city’. The wind has been wild but isn’t it good to have decent winter rain?

Toddler Jam was lovely this morning; it’s so good to see little ones having fun. Speaking of which- our 9:30 service last Sunday included some young musicians, who also participated in Revd. Liz’s excellent sermon. If you weren’t there you might like to check out the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bvHITOZJj8 

It was a little sad that there were only 4 children from 2 families at church; if you used to bring your children to church but haven’t been for a while, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you can let me know whether it is covid or something else that’s keeping you away? And we’d love to know whether you are watching the online services.

The Meditation group recommences this Thursday at 6pm and all are welcome to come for an hour of peace and prayer.

Men’s Breakfast is on Saturday at 7:30am and the wonderful Richard Offen is presenting: not to be missed!

The Friendship Group will celebrate its anniversary next Monday (8^th), 12 noon, with a meal at TOMS ITALIAN Restaurant: 1 North Beach Road (North Beach Shopping Centre) Upstairs. RSVP to Sandra Boylan please sage-me@outlook.com  

Please remember in your prayers all attending the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England; Archbishop Kay and Bishop Jeremy are there and are posting daily updates here: https://www.perth.anglican.org/news-and-events/news/lambeth-conference-2022-daily-updates

As you know we were given permission to use the Common Cup- to offer the wine to communicants– in June. Whether to take the wine or not is your own decision, and receiving communion in one kind, just taking the bread, is fine. However, we do NOT have permission to intinct- to dip the bread into the cup. If this was your usual practice pre-Covid, please know that we may not do this any longer. If you have any questions or thoughts about this I am very happy to have a conversation with you. I have attached a copy of the ‘Eucharist Q&A’, written by the Reverend Jacob Legarda, Archbishop’s Chaplain, which was in the June edition of the ‘Messenger’, and recommend it to you. Lots of detailed explanations in there!

Here is the Collect Prayer for this week, following the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Almighty God,

whose beloved Son for our sake

willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross:

give us courage and patience

to take up our cross daily and follow him;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God bless,

Lorna

The Reverend Lorna A M Green

Rector