ANGLICAN
THE boot sale is on again this weekend so the usual call for helpers for this afternoon and tomorrow will be much appreciated.
On Tuesday the residents of Hope Aged Care were treated to a service of praise and worship led by Denis with the sermon from Peter and music from Joan.
All hope these opportunities will continue and spread to Alcheringa and Logan Lodge in Swan Hill, also Jacaranda at Nyah West.
Everyone is mindful of the need to be cautious concerning COVID and its variants, but also for the social needs of those in lockdown who have in past years enjoyed and contributed to the fellowship of the church.
GRAIN SHED
‘GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.’ 1 Chronicles 16:34
As we enter into 2022, let’s keep our focus on what is good and positive so that we can experience peace through the power of God.
Whatever lies ahead may be uncertain, but one thing we can know for sure is that God’s love for us never changes.
Our Sunday service time has changed and is now at 10am only. Our doors are open to all so come along and listen to Pastor La’Mont continue in the series, The Awesome Power of Vision, and also farewell some key family members as they move away from Swan Hill.
For all our young families the Grainshed Kids desk is open for registrations for 2022.
For those interested, our online service is available Sunday afternoon on our Grain Shed Church pages on Facebook and YouTube.
A big thank you to all who joined us at our special Christmas Eve service and helped bless the Good Kitchen with a collection total of $1200.
‘Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed’. Proverbs 19:17
UNITING
AS we start a new year, we might decide to make new year resolutions.
We might want to lose weight, get fitter, be kinder.
As a Christian community, we might want to make a resolution that has an ancient history and continues to have an impact today.
No, it is not spending more time praying or more time reading the Bible. Although they are good things to do, it is practising the art of mercy and being merciful, that we are called to.
In her book, Searching for something, KT Marie Wallis tells of a time that she met Mercy, a 12-year-old girl in the village of Mwandi, Africa.
She had Cerebral Palsy, which affected her right side, and a large scar on her left knee.
KT helped this young girl to exercise her limbs and regain use of her hands by touching her scars.
She writes, “I touched scars that carried a burden of pain I still can’t comprehend to this day. I touched the ugly wound [that had] been neglected for two years, and the more time I spent in the presence of her pain and her scars, the more I saw Jesus in her eyes. She taught me that when mercy is a part of our lives, we will see Jesus in the most unexpected of places.”
In the Bible, in the book of John, chapter 12, we read of Thomas who does not recognise Jesus after his resurrection.
Jesus tells Thomas to touch his scars and it is at this point that Thomas recognises the face of his saviour.
Sometimes the scars people carry are not visible at first and we can be surprised when they are shared or made visible.
Practising mercy means we sit with the person who trusts us to share the pain with us.
There are times when sharing our own scars can open the door for mercy to be experienced.
God’s mercy extends to all people. As we come to a new year, may we be a people who know and live in the mercy of God and make decisions based on God’s mercy for us and for others.
The Swan Hill Uniting Church congregation meet every Sunday at 10am in the Beveridge Street building.
You are always welcome.
