12th December Bulletin
The Anglican Parish of Tamborine Mountain
PARISH BULLETIN
12th December 2021
Third Sunday of
Advent
Sentence for the Day
Do not fear. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love.
Zephaniah 3.16–17
Collect
Almighty God,
you sent your Son into a world
where the wheat must be winnowed from the chaff
and evil clings even to what is good:
let the fire of your Spirit purge us of all corruption,
so that, purified, we may wait eagerly for him
whose coming is certain, whose Day draws near,
your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer for our New Parish Priest
We give you thanks, O God
for calling your servant Fr Tom to come amongst us as priest and pastor.
Strengthen and sustain him as he prepares for this transition.
Be with us as we welcome him into our midst,
that we may faithfully minister together
in the name of the one who said to his disciples,
‘I am among you as one who serves’,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Liturgy: via PowerPoint + APBA Colour – Purple
Readings: Zephaniah 3.14-20 A Song of Isaiah Philippians 4.4-7 Luke 3.7-18
Fr Peter writes:
Our focus today is on JOY. The prophet Zephaniah encouraged the people to rejoice and exult with all your heart as the Lord has taken away the judgements against them; The Song of Isaiah encourages the people of Jerusalem to shout and sing for joy as the Holy One of Israel in in their midst; and Paul writes to the Philippians exhorting them to rejoice in the Lord always as the Lord is near.
There is much encouragement in those readings, but the gospel set for today takes us back to the message of John the Baptist to prepare for the coming of the Lord. He answers the question, ‘What should we do to experience the nearness of the Lord in our lives?’ Live honest lives, content with the income we are entitled to, dealing honestly and respectfully with others and sharing what we have with others in need. In other words, living in community with a real sense of contributing to the community. Change our attitude from, What’s in it for me? to How can I contribute?
Have you tried the ABM Advent reflections Songs from a Strange Land: An Australian Advent Calendar · Anglican Board of Mission (abmission.org) which relate to our Australian perspective. These daily reflections continue right through the Christmas season to Epiphany. You can download the App to your smart phone, iPad or Tablet and take them with you wherever you go. You may find them helpful to focus during this busy time of the year. Or if you are a Facebook user, the parish page also has daily Advent reflections .
Let us open our hearts and minds to the Lord as we continue our journey together and experience the nearness of God.
Peter+
Labyrinth Message
This week's labyrinth message for you to "walk with" is : I wonder how you respond / have responded to someone who confronts you with an "uncomfortable truth"? I know that, unfortunately, I often pridefully respond along the lines of "What do they know?" .. or "I've got an excuse …." or, worse still, "Who are they to say this to me ?" …rather than first prayerfully considering their message and discerning if perhaps they may be some [ or even a whole lot ? ] of truth within it. The Gospel for this week reminds us that the folks who heard John the Baptist's "Divine uncomfortable truths" responded by humbly asking "What do you want us to do?" May we likewise this week seek Divine guidance and strength to amend our ways when He points out where we may have wandered from His path for us.
Parish AGM #1
We will be holding the first part of the Parish AGM at St George’s on Sunday 19th December. Nomination forms are on the entry table.
Please approach people and consider seriously who you want in each position.
Nominations need to be with Fr Peter by COB Friday 17th December.
No nominations will be accepted from the floor on the day!
Prayers of the people Prepared by the Footsteps Team
Dear Lord, we ask that you protect the world’s population from the Covid virus. Let the world leaders recognize their responsibility in sharing knowledge and resources to overcome the poverty and hopelessness experienced by so many.
God of light and love in your mercy, hear our prayer
Lord, Christ died on the cross and rose again to bring forth the new creation the prophets revealed. Help your Church to be full of faith, hope and love, always seeking to be guided by the Holy Spirit in order to support the excluded. Lord as our shepherd, lead us into your light.
God of light and love in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord, please help our community to turn away from false values and instead turn to you. Help honesty and fairness to grow. Give people in our community a firm hope for the future and a yearning to live sustainably. Please help faith in you to grow.
God of light and love in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Be with all who are sick and suffering from disease, frailty and progressive disease. Help all who treat and care for them and may your peace that passes all understanding strengthen the sick and all who look after them. May your goodness, love and peace abide in all health institutions. Lord, we name aloud or in our hearts those known to us who are suffering pain or loneliness.
God of light and love in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord, thank you for those who have departed this life and now have the joy of your peace. Thank you for dying for us and rising to new life, conquering the darkness of death and bringing forth the joy of the everlasting kingdom.
God of light and love in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of hope and peace, hear our prayers, and grant that what we have asked for in faith, we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Year’s Mind Anniversaries this week
Beryl Jenyns, Sylvia Perkins, Raymond Curtis
Meditation - a weekly thought
Special blessings and insights are reserved for those on the margins of life, for the devout and humble. Joseph and Mary accept the news about their baby. Shepherds heard the angels sing "Glory to God". Wise men came and worshipped. Elizabeth was stirred to praise when the baby jumps within her. She blesses Jesus and Mary. Mary can't contain herself and bursts into song. Simeon dies at peace and Anna blesses the Infant. Reflect on a time when you may have received an insight about God? What stands out most for you in the Christmas story?
Please Note Meditation is in recess and will resume in January.
Name Badges
Please remember to wear name badges. We all have a memory block sometimes so they can often get us out of trouble! And of course they are very useful to help Fr Peter get to know us better.
Parish Bulletin
The Parish Bulletin is now emailed weekly to the email address we have on file for you. If you are not receiving it please check your ‘junk mail’ box. If you find it there this issue can be changed by ensuring you have the current parish email address in your Contacts. You can always find this on the back of the bulletin, along with a lot of other very useful information. The bulletin is also uploaded to our website weekly.
Upcoming Events
Sunday 19th December, 11.15am Parish AGM#1—Elections
Sunday 2nd January St Luke’s End of Year Fellowship
Christmas Service Times
22nd December 6.30pm - Carols by Torchlight - St Luke’s
24th December Christmas Eve Service on the Lawn - 5.30pm - St George’s
24th December Midnight Eucharist -11.00pm - St George’s
25th December - Christmas Eucharist - 8.00am - St Luke’s & 9.30am - St George’s
26th December - Christmas 1 Eucharist - 8.00am - St Luke’s & 9.30am - St George’s
REGULAR HAPPENING, SMALL GROUPS & DATE CLAIMERS
DGS Atrium/Footsteps Sun 9.20am @ St George’s during term time
Little Lukies Mon 3:00pm @ St Luke’s during term time
Meditation Tue 8:00am @ St George’s In Recess
Bible Study Wed 1.30pm @ St Luke’s
Emergency Relief Weekly @ St George’s by appointment
Friday Bible Study 1st/3rd Fri 10:00am @ 502 Main Western Road 30th April
Evening Service Sat 5:00pm @ St George’s
Parish Directory
Locum Priest Fr Peter Moore 0429 679 011; peter.moore@anglicanchurchsq.org.au
Churchwarden Delma McCrae 07 5545 1856 delma.mccrea@live com
Churchwarden Peta Tierney 04 1325 8332 peta.tierney@hotmail.com
Churchwarden Roy van Litsenborgh 07 5545 3032
Priests with Permission to Officiate:
The Rev’d John Corner, The Ven Allan Paulsen
Parish Office
Phone: 5545 2919 Thursday & Friday; Email: tamborinemountain@anglicanchurchsq.org.au
Parish Bank Details: BSB 704-901 Account No. 00000450
Emergency Relief Bank Details: BSB 704-901 Account No. 00015232
Parish Nominators
Anne King 5543 4249 gullygumfarm7@bigpond.com
Peta Tierney 0413 258 332 peta.tierney@hotmail.com
John Noble 5545 4022 noblejw@bigpond.net.au
Readings for Next Week 19th December 2021 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Micah 5.2-5a Song of Mary Hebrews 10.5-10 Luke 139-45