Posts from April 2024
The Challenge
I came across the article by Swee Ann entitled Love is the way – Love God and Love Neighbor. I found it an interesting read. One part of the article stood out to me. It was this comment. “One of my laments for the church is that we are becoming increasingly corporate. In the process, we lose our soul.” I guess I am uncomfortable with the statement. But why? I asked myself. There was a time in my life when…
Easter Services – recap
Maundy Thursday Sally led a Taize style service in the Chapel attended by about 30 people. The service was a lovely quiet meditative service of readings and reflection as a lead in to Easter. Sally led the á capella singing of Taize chants with the congregation enthusiastically joining in. Directions for Using a Towel To be used for:Drying dishes.Wiping eyes.Mopping spilled milk.Coping with sighs.Cleaning stains.Creating scandal.Holding on when it’s too hot to handle. Washing feet.Softening jars.Binding wounds in a world…
Spectrum – March Recap
At our Spectrum meeting on 5 March we had an excellent attendance to hear Bruce Sullivan talk about the ‘Happy Home Children’s Home’ situated in Nepal. Bruce loves to travel the world, often to very remote parts of our globe, to pursue his interest in trekking and at the same time he uses the opportunity to improve the lot of those with whom he meets. He was indeed an enthusiastic speaker and the interest he takes in the people who…
Emerging Church – March Recap
At Emerging Church on Sunday,17 March, Tony and Zoe elected to tackle the question of how to love your enemies as part of our overall theme of Love God, Love your Neighbour. They said that for most people, including themselves, loving your enemy was extremely hard to do. In fact, it requires a change of mind. Tony set the scene by showing a trailer of the BBC series Earth, alerting us to the fact that mankind had been around for…
Catch Your Breath – A neurodiverse ‘Friendship Group’
Manningham Uniting Church is preparing to launch a new ministry in the form of a Friendship Group for neurodiverse young people aged 12-16, called Catching Your Breath. The phrase catch your breath commonly refers to the act of slowing down to enable you to breath normally after a period of intense physical exertion. Likewise, we live in a fast-paced world, bombarded by stimulation and mental challenges that can leave us emotionally breathless, especially for those who live with anxiety and…
Letting it go
Introduction My eldest brother and my second brother were in the timber business together more than 50 years ago in Singapore. They used to import logs into Singapore from neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, the business went pear-shaped. My second brother blames my eldest brother till today. He has not learned to let go of the past. Because of that, there’s no possibility of reconciliation and new life. I feel sad and angry for both of them. Let it Go I like…
Easter Labyrinth
This Easter the L&D Portfolio (Learning and Discipleship) also created a Labyrinth in the Auditorium for anyone to journey on. The Labyrinth goes back to Greek mythology and was frequently used as a Spiritual practice and aid to meditation. This is the purpose of our Labyrinth during Holy Week. Some have been grown as part of a garden, but many simpler ones, like ours, are used indoors. This one is several years old and was painted by a group from…
Doubting (Daring) Thomas
Yesterday at Family@10 we explored the story of Doubting Thomas with an alternate name being posed for him as ‘Doubting Daring Thomas’. With a collection of stations on offer, we were able to engage further by looking at the story through poetry, craft, beads and wordfinds!