Weekly News 18/4/2024
This Week’s Messages from Rev Allison
*Sunday 21 April
Readings. – Acts 17:1-9, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Mark 13:9-11
*Hunter Community Alliance (HCA)
Fourteen of us from Toronto joined a huge delegation of 180 Uniting Church people from across the Hunter Presbytery, at the HCA Founding Assembly. People of the UCA showed up and stood up, in solidarity with members of the other 35 organisations who make up the Alliance. It was a wonderful moment to celebrate and be proud of ourselves as Church, standing alongside the community in the Hunter, in all its strength and diversity.
We called on the State and Federal leaders present to make commitments to action on housing, homelessness and climate action.
Photos and summaries will be appearing over the next few days on Facebook:
Toronto Uniting Church https://www.facebook.com/TorontoUnitingChurch/
Hunter Community Alliance https://www.facebook.com/HunterCommunityAlliance
Newcastle Hunter Uniting Churches https://www.facebook.com/groups/355308324527501
Prayer for Peace
Please see the Blog on this Website
Presbytery Prayer for this Week – Each week we have been asked to pray for a particular church in The Hunter Presbytery area.
21st April Caves Beach Uniting Church
Caves Beach Uniting Church has an elderly congregation blessed by God’s love. We are aware of the increasing challenges and uncertainty faced by many within our community. We feel the need to share God’s love and provide ways and means for others to come to church and experience comfort and security. We sense this is the time to act so we support the step of faith being led by our Church Council to provide ways and means to outreach to the community.
Prayer: May God bless our proposed mission outreach and may the Holy Spirit be present in all our Church Services and activities. May all we do be to God’s glory. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Notices for the Coming Weeks
Uniting Church T-shirts for Sale
Black with UCA logo and Uniting for the common good in the Hunter on the front
Keeping Faith Doing Justice Building Community on the back
sizes still available: medium, 3X large, 4Xlarge
$25.00 each check out on Sunday – Contact Gwenda if you’re interested
Work by the late Gordon Rintoul
Some of you will have known and will remember Coral Rintoul’s late husband, Gordon. Gordon was a very talented artist who sometimes painted on a very large scale. One of his works, Lost Landscapes, was filmed and set to music. Please click on the following link to see this amazing artwork.
Toronto Knitters Continued Support for the Homeless and Marginalised
Photo of some of the 50 Beanies which were delivered last week to St Stephen’s Church Macquarie St. Sydney.
Our contact at St Stephens’s Mrs Judith Barton wrote on 8th April –
“Today at Early Bird Café we did 277 meals for take-out, a combination of a sausage sizzle, veggie burger, and our famous egg and bacon rolls. We have noticed an increase in numbers (50%) with a lot more women attending as well. We also have sourced ‘plateitforward’ hot meals which we make up as frozen meals, which are popular with our clients.
What a privilege it is to be able to be part of this ministry outreach.
One of our volunteers, a year 10 student from Sydney Grammar, has been volunteering on Saturday morning, in conjunction with his Duke of Edinburgh Award. In his report he spoke of the experience of being part of this Organisation, the skills he has gained, in making him a more well-rounded individual.”
We, at Toronto also feel it is a privilege to be a “small part” of this ministry outreach.
Many thanks
Laraine
Workshop on being a Welcoming Church on 27th April 2024
Please see Coming Events on this Website
Workshop for Thriving as a Small Church Saturday May 11th
Please see Coming Events on this Website
Dates for your Diary
Church Council Meeting – Tonight, Thursday April 18th at 7pm (Please note new time)
Singing Practice – Friday April 19th at 10am
Christian Meditation – Friday April 19th at 11am
Sunday Worship Service –Sunday April 21st at 9am – Rev Allison Forrest
Prayer for Peace – Sunday April 21st – in your own home
Worship Team – Thursday April 25th at 10am
Kinship Carers – Thursday April 25th
World Vision Lunch – Saturday April 27th at Warners Bay Bowling Club
Men’s Coffee Morning – Monday April 29th at 10am at Jules by the Lake, Rathmines
Jan’s Thought for the Week
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
Prayers for the Week
Sunday
Sing God’s praises!
Monday
God’s healing for our Toronto Uniting Church Family, be they ill, sad, lonely, facing surgery …
Tuesday
Pray for those in prison, their families and friends. Remember the prison staff. Pray also for the people of Kairos Prison Ministry and their work.
Wednesday
The Refuges in our area – those seeking assistance and those working to give assistance.
Thursday
ANZAC Day.
Friday
People, world-wide, working for Social Justice for all.
Saturday
Think today about those people who feel they have nothing for which to be thankful.