Posts by Manningham UC (Page 5)

Posts by Manningham UC (Page 5)

Saturday 10 December

Lord, please guide us this Christmas and beyond to be faithful in offering your gifts of upholding, healing, compassion, time and loving to those we know and those we are yet to know

Friday 9 December

Thank you for the example of Ruth in following her heart with integrity and returning with Naomi to know God May our journeys with God and our examples to others reflect that same dedication as we navigate the ups and downs of life

Thursday 8 December

God’s love is a gift, a gift we are called on to experience and share May this be our gift to others this Christmas

Wednesday 7 December

Open our hearts and guard our words this Advent season May our words and actions be free and generous gifts that reveal God’s love and care for every person

Tuesday 6 December

Thank you for your mercy and your willingness to uphold us when we falter, when we rely just on ourselves May we take the time to stop, trust, give thanks, be humble to your will, and to do our best

Monday 5 December

Lord, thank you for the path and examples for living you have provided Please guide our feet and our hearts as we aim to walk openly in your footsteps day by day, especially in this Advent period

Sunday 4 December

Open our eyes Lord Help us to find your presence in others in our diverse world May we offer your love and welcome freely with generosity and warmth

Saturday 3 December

God, we are ready We anticipate the advent of your love and example coming to us through Jesus this 2022 Christmas May we stop, worship, feel your presence, and share that love and that presence with others

Friday 2 December

Lord thank you for loving us Thank you for being gracious about our mistakes May we learn to keep your messages, guidance, and the examples of Jesus before us, guiding our actions every day

Thursday 1 December

God, thank you for the example and expectations we find in the life of Jesus Help us daily to try to walk in his ways and to find your love and his example in unexpected places May justice and mercy be our daily goal

Tuesday 29 November

Lord we are blessed by your mercy Help us to remember your promise and your covenant May we offer rainbow connections and caring to others

Sunday 27 November

God, we are ready Open our hearts to anticipate your coming and your return May we slow down this Christmas period and wait on you

Introduction

We will start with a thoughtful reflection on the Advent Conspiracy theme from our Church Council Chair, Chris. Thank you Chris. Advent focuses on our preparation for celebrating the birth of Jesus, the gift of God to humankind. The gift has a deep and often life-long personal impact on those who receive and accept it, and who strive to live by the example of Jesus. In our everyday world, the concept of gifts at Christmas is also prominent but with…

Sankofa #21

Structures, Governance, and Polity  Last Saturday members of the Church Council met to continue to review our structures, governance, and polity of Manningham Uniting Church. Rev Duncan Macleod facilitated the workshop. Recently General Secretary Mark Lawrence announced that Duncan will take on the role of Executive Officer of eLM in February as the permanent replacement for Jenny Byrnes, who retired earlier this year. I believe Duncan did a good job in facilitating last Saturday. We haven’t reached a consensus yet.…

Sankofa #20

Introduction It is worth noting that in the first century, it was common phenomenon for a spiritual leader to have disciples. John the Baptist had disciples (Matt. 9:14); and Pharisees had disciples (Matt. 22:16). Jesus himself had many disciples other than the renowned twelve (Matt. 10:1; (Lk. 22:11). Jesus called his disciples to a new and different life. The new life called for a paradigm shift in their thinking, affections, actions, reactions, worldview, and perspectives. Disciple, learner, follower– these words…

Sankofa #19

Introduction Came back last Sunday morning. Nearly missed our flights. We mistook our flight to leave on Sunday midnight rather than Saturday midnight. We had dinner on Saturday evening at my second sister’s place. For whatever reason my nephew, Sim decided to check our itinerary and realised that our flight was due to leave at midnight. Thari and I quickly packed, showered and left for the airport. Arriving at the airport we weighed our luggage and realised that we had…

Kindess Month – November

World Kindness Week is celebrated around the World from 7 November to the official World Kindness Day on 13 November. Annually, on 13 November, the world joins hands for World Kindness Day, a day highlighting random good deeds and positivity. The idea behind this started with the 20-nation member World Kindness Movement (WKM) which crystallised at a conference in Tokyo in 1997 when the Small Kindness Movement of Japan brought together like-minded kindness movements from around the world. The WKM…