Online service, 17th May

Our current sermon series

This week we continue our series in the book of ‘Deuteronomy’. Today, Pastor Chadd will be speaking from Deuteronomy 30 about God’s plan to turn curse into blessing.

St Paul’s Pantry Ministry

As our world continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, there are many people in our local community who are being placed under severe hardship. Therefore, we are thankful for our ongoing partnership with St. Paul’s Pantry ministry (that provides essential grocery items for some of our community’s most needy people).

Please contact Pastor Chadd, Yen, Parisa or Margaret for information about how you can continue to support this valuable ministry. Thank you.

Covid-19 update

We thank the Lord that Australia has been spared much of the global catastrophe of COVID-19. Thank you also to all our members, who have patiently supported each other throughout this period. Although we are separated by distance, we are united in fellowship and worship of the one Lord.

It is a good sign that the Prime Minister and NSW Premier have lifted some restrictions to social gatherings. We encourage members to resume fellowship in-person with each other (5 visitors to homes, or 10 outdoors) while still respecting social distancing guidelines. Perhaps you could meet in each other’s homes to do Sunday worship together while accessing online services. It is still not possible to meet at church yet, and no meetings or activities are to resume there except by approval of pastors or deacons. The Lord has been faithful and merciful to our nation and to our church. May we offer our thanks and honour to God in response as His holy church.

Diaconate has drafted a Post COVID-19 Reintegration plan for our ministries:

Sunday services onsite at church will likely not re-commence until September/October. Churches need to be particularly cautious about public health, due to the large number of people, many of them elderly, meeting in closed spaces, involving activities such as singing and fellowship. We must be vigilant about physical distancing and hygiene.

Contact tracing in the event of a church member testing positive for COVID-19 is also critical – therefore we encourage all church members to download the COVIDSafe app so that members can be aware (and contacted) if they have been exposed, particularly if at a church activity.

During the 4-5 months before on-site services resume, we encourage members to continue to pray for the nations suffering from COVID-19, also giving thanks for Australia’s safety. Please continue to enjoy the convenience of on-line church services. But we also encourage you to re-connect with other church members in fellowship as the restrictions are lifted. Perhaps you could meet in each other’s homes to do Sunday worship together (still respecting social distancing guidelines). The Lord has been faithful and merciful to our nation and to our church. May we offer our thanks and honour to God in response as his holy church.

Read more in the latest church bulletin E_CP10_May-17-2020 Web (PDF).