21st November Bulletin

19 Nov

Written By Sonya Gubbins

The Anglican Parish of Tamborine Mountain

PARISH BULLETIN

21stNovember 2021

Reign of Christ

Sentence for the Day

‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom

and might and honour and glory and blessing.

Revelation 5.12

Collect

Everlasting God,

whose will is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son,

our Lord and King:

grant that the people of earth,

now divided and enslaved by sin,

may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for 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 – White

Readings: 2 Samuel 23.1-7 Psalm 132.1-12 Revelation 1.4b-8 John 18.33-37

Fr Peter writes:

Through the Christian year we consider the life, teaching and example of Jesus and how people responded. Today is the last Sunday of the Christian Year known as the Feast of Christ the King or The Reign of Christ. Most of us have not lived most of our lives under a king but a queen and in these days of political correctness the second name might be more appropriate, The Reign of Christ. This title reminds us that our focus is not so much on the person but the ‘reign’ of the sovereign.

Yes, Jesus is male, and we can think of him as king. We may even think of the chorus ‘Our God reigns’ but what does that mean in my life? … in your life? What is different in my life if I acknowledge the sovereignty of God? Does it change the things I say? The way I relate to people? The choices I make? As we move into the New Christian Year are we going to repeat what we have done before, or have we deepened our commitment to the ways of Jesus? Have we grown spiritually in the past year?

Last weekend it was announced that Fr Tom would be the next appointment as priest of this parish. So not only are we moving into a new Christian year, but we are preparing to receive a new permanent priest from the other side of the world. We will make that journey together. We do not know how long that journey will be, but we know that we have been called to make it together. I have been appointed for three days a week with you and I pray we can make the most of that time. I plan to vary the days of the week when I am in the parish so I can get to know as many of you as possible and visit the various groups and ministries. I plan to use your training, skills, experiences, and ideas to build a strong foundation on which Fr Tom can begin his ministry here. We will be growing as a post-COVID-19 21st century manifestation of the Body of Christ in this place.

Let is affirm the Reign of Christ in our personal life, in our community and in the world. Peter+

Meditation (a weekly thought from Barbara)

Being, just being, knowing He waits for you, a loving invitation to just be. A blessing in itself, being accepted as you are. Come as you are.

Labyrinth Message

This week's labyrinth message for you to "walk with" is : I wonder what sort of King you think God is ? … what sort of Kingdom is His ?.. and how does He rule it ?

The Gospel for this week gives us some ideas … Pilate was perhaps fearing the emergence of a rebellion against the Empire … But Jesus had other ideas of His Kingship … which involved people becoming His subjects by choice - without force or fear. I wonder what Jesus may be inviting you to join with Him and others to do? … perhaps you are being called to help build up His Kingdom in some way at your home / work place / parish / community this week?

Prayers of the people Prepared by Anne

We pray to God our Eternal Father through our Saviour Jesus who is both Christ the King and the Son of Man and who understands our needs and the needs of this world.