Bulletin Announcements – 24 April 2016
- School break is here. Sunday school will have holiday programs for today. We encourage Year 5 and 6 children to join the service during these weeks. Term 2 Sunday school will start on 1 May. Play Group will start 26 April.
- Come to Equip 2016 and turn your ordinary Saturday into an eXtraordinary one! Equip is an annual Christian conference for women of all ages. Held on Saturday 28th May 2016 at Rosehill Gardens Event Centre, this year’s theme is “Freed” – as Christians we have been freed by Jesus, but what does Christian freedom look like? If you would like to come along, Ladies’ Fellowship is organising a group from WSCCC to attend this valuable conference together, so please see Jocelyn Lin or Alice Cheng for more details.
- Short Term Mission to Taiwan – Ever wondered what our missionaries do? Or pondered if you are called to be one? Here is your chance to experience it first hand and see what God is doing through our missionaries in Taiwan. GMC is sending a 8-person short term mission team to Taiwan in early December. The trip will be for 3 weeks, covering Puxin, Donggang & Taipei where our missionaries serve. You can learn more details at the Taiwan STM Information Afternoon, today 3:30pm at WSCCC Strathfield Hall. If you are interested to join the team, please let a GMC or pastoral team member know. Expressions of interest will close on 15 May.
- For the coming Combined Service on 29 May at Trinity Grammar School, we have planned to form a special choral and band/orchestral group from all congregations. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Ruth Choong of CP@10, Pastor Andrew Bardsley or Jonathan Chow of Strathfield 9, Ley Wan Tio of Strathfield Mandarin, and William Sit of the Cantonese congregation.
- The Diaconate is calling an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at 12:30pm Sunday 8 May, 2016 at the Strathfield chapel for members to vote 2 motions:
- To rescind the motion from the Annual General Meeting of 7th October, 2012 (AGM minute item 4), whereby the Croydon Park Mandarin congregation (CPM) was given branch church status of WSCCC. The Diaconate and the CPM Management Committee have agreed that CPM’s future should instead be to continue as part of WSCCC, and not to pursue forming a separate legal entity. The status CPM would then be one of the six congregations of the wider WSCCC.
- To amend the date of each Annual General Meeting of WSCCC to be held on the final Sunday of each September. This is instead of the current date, which is the first Sunday of October, always a long weekend.
If any members are unable to attend, then proxy voting forms will be available from deacons.
Ariel writes – a weekly Scriptural devotion:
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Romans 3:20 NIV)
The Law of God silences every mouth and holds the whole world accountable to God. How is the Law able to do this? Maybe the best way to understand the Law of God is this: it is a mirror. A mirror that reflects God’s holiness and also a mirror that reflects our sin. On the one hand we look at God’s Law which states; “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14), and we’re confronted with a God who is completely faithful. The Law which states; “You shall not lie.” (Exodus 20:16), and we’re confronted with a God who never lies. Thus, it reflects God beauty. Yet on the other hand we read the same Law and we’re confronted with our sin which causes us to commit adultery, even with our hearts and eyes. Our sin which causes us to lie even to our friends, family, children, and spouse. Thus, it reflects our ugliness. Therefore, the Law of God is both the most amazingly beautiful yet disgustingly ugly mirror in this world and this is how it holds us accountable to God.
from pastor Ariel