17 May 2020
Christianity & Crisis
Church News
The Uniting Church in Australia
MINISTRY TEAM:
Minister of the Word / Team Leader: Rev Cameron McAdam
P: 9787 1683 M: 0425 774 780
Playgroup Coordinator: Barbara Mort
P: 9787 1683
Youth Engagement Coordinator: Tim Gordon
P: 0401 875 505
Pastoral Support: Shona Potts
P: 0424 787 204
Communication & Administration: Sally Mullins
P: 9787 1683
OUR VISION AND MISSION
Following Jesus and walking together, the Village Church
aspires to live God’s unconditional love. We live Christian faith with integrity
and meaning and, with a servant heart, we offer a place of welcome, care,
inclusion and healing.
MISSION:
We will live out our vision by:
• Following Jesus who lived with integrity, honesty and justice.
• Building community both within and beyond the church.
• Nurturing a questioning and living spirituality.
• Fostering an inclusive and welcoming spirit.
You can find us at:
fb.com/villagechurchmteliza @villagechurchmteliza
www.mtelizaunitingchurch.org.au
ORDER OF SERVICE
Christianity & Crisis
Sunday 17 May 2020
9:50am Livestream Service welcoming
SONG Christ be our light
WELCOME
PRAYERS
SONG Your grace and your hope
PERSONAL REFLECTION Sarah Last
READING Deuteronomy 15: 1-3, 7-11
REFLECTION Justice - Care for all
Quiet reflection and prayer
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
OFFERING PRAYER
SONG TIS 690 God of the poor
BLESSING
MUSIC
Sunday
May 17 10:00am Morning Service led by Rev Cam McAdam
Live streaming of service on Facebook
10:45am Morning tea catch ups via Zoom invitation
** Let Cam or Shona know to join a group
Monday
May 18
Tuesday
May 19
Wednesday
May 20 10:30am Men’s Coffee morning tea via Zoom invitation
** Advise Ken Sleep to join meeting
Thursday
May 21
Friday
May 22 7:00pm Village Youth Zoom catch up
led by Tim Gordon
Saturday
May 23
Sunday
May 24 10:00am Morning Service led by Rev Cam McAdam
Live streaming of service on Facebook
10:45am Morning tea catch ups via Zoom invitation
The Village Church Services www.facebook.com/villagechurchmteliza
WHAT’S COMING UP?
This week’s livestream service is supported by:
Personal reflection: Sarah Last
Bible reading:
Music: Margaret Brown, Andrew Stork & Lorraine Pritchard
Technical support: Tim Gordon
Flowers: Jennifer Collet
Facebook support: Steph Hill
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK THAT WAS ON
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA...
This Sunday in our livestream
service, Christianity & Crisis, our
focus will be Justice – Care for all.
We will be challenged by the
question…
What concrete actions could we
take to encourage a better
future world?
The theme for National Reconciliation
Week 2020 is ‘In This Together’. In light
of the current COVID-19 crisis, this
theme is more relevant than ever.
Let’s stand together to re-imagine our
nation and continue to pray, act,
and walk for Reconciliation.
“So may our wake-up call, our
experience of creation and its
beauty and wonder across this
time, encourage and drive us to
think, re-feel and revision the
place of humans in nature.
And may we see God’s creation,
ever unfolding...as a companion
with us.”
Cam McAdam
This week...with Cam
It feels like a lot has happened in this last week and as we prepare for Sunday.
This week we have seen the first tentative step to reduce restrictions and get
our community out and working again. For churches, restrictions have
changed for pastoral occasions like weddings and funerals, and a small
religious gathering can be held with 10 people present, providing a criteria is
met including social distancing, cleaning and recording certain information.
Whilst worship and church life are important, safety of our people and our
community is more important. For the Village Church, our facilities remain
closed, although our intention is to re-open the Church office from Tuesday 26
May, in line with the return to school for children in junior years. We will
however continue our live-stream worship and all our online activities for the
foreseeable future.
We will work towards having communion together via our live-stream service
at the beginning of June. Our Church Council will meet next week and begin
the detailed work of planning for the coming months, safety our main priority.
Also, this week, we have heard the devastating news of such significant job
losses across our country – news we are told that is likely to get worse.
As a church we will need to consider how we support our local community,
how we minister to families and individuals affected, and how we offer
spiritual and pastoral leadership at such a challenging time.
This Sunday we will continue our current preaching series, Christianity & Crisis,
the very timely theme being, ‘Justice – Care for all’.
Bible Study
Christianity & Crisis
Justice – Care for all
Welcome each other and share.
➢ Share experiences about what you are seeing in the community
currently. What are you experiencing?
➢ Has our community become more caring of people across this pandemic
time?
Reading Deuteronomy 15: 1-3, 7-11
➢ Take a moment to reflect on the passage as a group, what jumps out of
the text?
Some thoughts…
The essence of the book of Deuteronomy, as one writer suggests very simply,
‘is the worship of one God, and a humanitarian concern for the wellbeing of
the community – the hallmark of both Jewish and Christian religions.’
From the earliest and most ancient writings in scripture, there has been this
clear and present attitude toward people in need; an attitude that may
have diminished or been lost in legality by Jesus time, but present hundreds
before him.
In this law is an understanding that everything we have comes from God –
we don’t own it, but rather it is entrusted to us. There is encouragement to not
be hard hearted or tight-fisted toward the needy, but open handed, willing,
giving liberally, ungrudgingly, and generously, always concerned for the
wellbeing of our neighbour. This is at the very heart of who we are as Christian
people, the spirit of being generous to the poor permeates the whole
tradition and length of our faith, right back to the most ancient of times.
Question…
1. As people of God, drawing on our long-held faith traditions, how can we
be part of casting a vision for a way forward – post Covid-19?
2. What concrete actions could we take to encourage a better future
world?
Prayer
Spend time in prayer, holding your thoughts, and if in a group, your
conversation and time together, before God.
What’s been happening in the life of our
Church Community?
‘Sunday Selfies’…
It was fantastic to receive so
many photos from morning tea
groups getting together after our
livestream service last week. You
may even spot the beautiful
Mothers day flowers in one of the
photos which Ronda and Bill
Jenkins spoiled us with. A
magnificent addition to our
service.
There is no question there will be a
big cause for celebration when
we can all come together again
in person as a united church
community. Until this time, our
morning tea gatherings are one
great way to keep connected.
All happening in the Meneilly household
During this time of isolation, Eseta has
relished the opportunity to complete
some long time, planned patchwork. As
seen below, there is a baby's throw over
for Chris' name-sake nephew of the
Meneillys in Fiji, a doona cover for Ava,
and a throw-over using up all the
left-over pieces.
The family have also built a new chook
house and pen for three laying hens, and
even had a visit from a Kangaroo, who
was more frightened of the family, than
they were of him!
An update from the Pepperell’s during this time...
Some recent activities of Roger and Betty Pepperell during this period of
isolation (and for which they have been grateful), has included some walking
on the beach area in Safety Beach on a glorious
Tuesday afternoon, eating a lovely fish meal during
the week, and doing a 1000 jigsaw puzzle of a church
in Russia.
Men’s Zoom catch up...
The Men’s group enjoyed another good catch up on Wednesday morning.
There were 17 participants in all, with some only able to join for part of the
time.
Ian Johnston shared another new invention, ’The Ultra Lo-Tech Water
Detector’ which is also shared in Church News and there was plenty of jokes.
All welcomed the slight easing of restrictions, with isolation from family
members particularly hard on some.
Ladies Zoom Catch up...
This photo was taken from a recent ladies Zoom catch up. The group is
starting to build momentum, with a fortnightly catch up on a Saturday
afternoon.
At this stage, there are 15 on the
mailing list, although not everyone
can make the catch up each time.
The ladies are quite creative and
have enjoyed learning more about
each other.
Anyone interested in joining, can
contact Marilyn Mason.
Book Review & Recommendation
by Kate Driver
THIS IS GOING TO HURT Adam Kay
I listened to the audio version of this book, it
was narrated by the author and was
fantastic!
It is a memoir taken from Adam’s diary
entries as a junior doctor working in the NHS
in England.
It highlights the ridiculous expectations of
the junior doctors and goes through some
laugh out loud scenarios that
Adam encountered.
I found it to be a very enjoyable read and
have recommended it to friends in my
book club who have also enjoyed it!
Church Office hours update!
With some lessening of restrictions and with school children progressively
going back from Tuesday 26 May, the Church Office will also re-open from
26 May and the standard hours will apply:
Monday & Tuesday: 930am-12:30pm
Wednesday: closed
Thursday: 930am - 1:30pm
Friday: 9:30am - 2:30pm
As social distancing measures will continue, if possible, please contact the
church office in advance so we can maintain safe practises for everyone.
How is COVID isolation different from
other times of isolation?
An extract from Jenny Vass’ thought provoking reflection
Sunday 7 May
“So how is COVID isolation different?
Obviously, it is on a much larger scale, and doesn’t only affect us, but is on a
global scale. Also, many of us are well, which makes the enforced restrictions
difficult for some, and causes hardship for others.
So how should we respond?
Use the mental resources you have built up over a lifetime to relieve yourself
of boredom and frustration of a monotonous routine, and reach out to others
through various outlets to keep yourself connected with friends and loved
ones, sharing the wonderful new things you have discovered, or returned to
now that you have time.
Take the things we can do to not only benefit yourself, but others as well. I
am not a crafty creative person, but I do find solace outdoors, and am
grateful that we have been allowed this freedom locally. When walking I am
aware of heightened senses, the fresh smell of newly mown lawn, the
fragrance of trees after rain, the uniqueness of creation around us. Feel the
roughness of the ironbark and the smoothness of a gum, rejoice in the
emerging fungi heralding the beginning of a new season, celebrate the
freedom of the soaring birds entertaining us with their bird song. I take photos
as I walk or from the garden to share with others not able to get out. While
we older folk can’t yet go further afield to practically help, we can give to
organisations and the church so they can continue to support others hurting
at this time.
This is a time for practical faith. Among some of mum’s things I came across
an order of service celebrating the 20th anniversary of combined
Presbyterian and Methodist worship in Casterton. On the back they had
printed John Wesley’s Rules for Christian Living and I will leave you with his
words”.
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
Can you guess who has just shared their 50th Wedding
Anniversary in our congregation?
On Saturday 16 May, two very special members of our congregation
celebrated a wonderful milestone of 50 years of marriage. Can you guess
who this couple is? We have it on good account they have not changed
too much from this photo…
Baked Brie and Goats
Cheese
This baked cheese meal can be
enjoyed with some things to dip and
add. The recipe is adapted slightly
from the one that came with the
cheese baking container (with lid, not
pictured).
Ingredients and Method:
• 1 piece of King Island triple cream
brie (it was oblong rather than
round, so it didn’t fill the
container). You could also use camembert…
• Put slivers of garlic and rosemary into the top of the brie.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of white wine.
• I diverted from the recipe by adding goat curd into the spaces on
the sides of the oblong brie, and then stuff some halved cherry to-
matoes in as well. So we ended up with a goaty cheese sauce
around the brie.
• Back to following the recipe, I chopped a red onion, cooked it slowly
in butter and then added 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. This was served as
a side add-on rather than on the dish.
• Bake the cheese for 15 mins at 175C.
• Afterwards I sprinkled on some good quality local smoked bacon
(Kanmantoo), cooked and blitzed to a crumb.
• We had cheesy sticks and bread to dip into it, some torn up
flatbread, the caramelised onion, olives, fresh cherry tomatoes.
Rich? Yes? Yummy? Yes. Will we do this again? Yes!
Favourite Recipes…
With extra time on our hands and more people cooking at home, we thought
it would good to share some favourite recipes.
This week, Craig Mitchell, the Presbytery Minister—Church Development for
Port Phillip East Presbytery, has shared some recipes with us. Craig is a
fantastic cook and has even established his own website of recipes:
craigcooks.com.au. The recipes he has shared with us are some of his
favourite, simpler recipes. For anyone more adventurous, Craig has lots of
other recipes on his website and many with quite a few ingredients.
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Here’s a tasty and simple soup
adapted from a recipe by Charlotte
Binns-McDonald in Delicious magazine.
Ingredients (Serves 6)
• 1 large brown onion or 1 leek,
diced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and
diced
• 3 cloves garlic – diced
• 750g broccoli – chopped (but
shave some tiny bits off the top and
save them to top the soup at the end)
• 6-7 cups of chicken stock
• 1 large handful of spinach leaves – chopped
• 3-4 wasabi leaves – chopped (optional – but we have them in the
garden!)
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup grated cheddar
• 2/3 cup of cream
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 4 rashers good quality bacon – fried and diced
• 1 large chicken breast – cooked and shredded
• Cook the onion or leek gently in butter for 5 mins, then add the garlic
and potato cook for a few minutes.
Method:
• Add the broccoli and just enough chicken stock to cover. Cook for
at least 20 mins or until soft.
• Add the chopped leaves and stir in for a couple of minutes.
• Allow to cool, then blitz with a food processor.
• Reheat soup and add cheeses, then cream. Be careful not to boil it.
• Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
• Serve sprinkled with reserved broccoli tops, corn, chicken and
bacon.
Simple, easy and tasty.
Ultra Lo-Tech Water Detector By Ian Johnston
This is an ultra-lo-tech invention for detecting indoor water leaks in places
hard to see, especially on floors under dishwashers and washing machines in
kitchen and laundry.
A malt-o-milk biscuit is inserted under the baseboard of the detector and
harnessed to a rubber-band powered mechanism applying mild bending
stress to the biscuit. When the floor is flooded the biscuit gets wet, becomes
soggy, and suffers catastrophic loss of tensile strength, causing biscuit
fracture, retraction of the tensioning mechanism and the switching on of an
alarm.
(Research in biscuitology reveals that Malt-o-milk biscuits are the “gold
standard” for this invention. Tim-tams are waterproof, custard-creams have
excessive section-modulus, and slimming wafers that look and taste like
polystyrene are of no mechanical use at all, except as a digestible platform
for the eating of thick layers of chocolate fudge.)
Repeated false alarms may be an indication that the structural integrity of
biscuits is being compromised by hungry mice.
Untitled Artwork
by Chris Tompkins
A work in water colour and
coloured pencil
This artwork is a response to the
burn-off of plant matter and
depicts the pile of ash with the
last flames. Collected, charred
items are around and in the ash
and the viewing perspective is
from above, looking down.
I started by rubbing the actual
ash onto the paper, then
proceeded with paint and
pencil. This gives the piece an
authenticity to the burnt material.
As I progressed I found that I had
drawn a cross and that my
subconscious thought had
brought the Easter message of
the Resurrection to the forefront
of my brain. I added the 3 nails nearby and diagonally opposite through the
flames, angel wings, as the angel had appeared to Christ’s tomb after Christ
rose from the dead.
So the painting/ drawing depicted two stories. One of the powdery residue
from a burn-off, being the destruction of burning. Secondly, of Christ’s
Resurrection.
Some words people have used as reaction to viewing the painting are:
explosive, symbolic, shattering, world swirling in turmoil, passion, intense,
cleansing, crosses to bear, weapons, destruction and the Phoenix. Thank you
to everyone for the comments.
Upon thinking about the Phoenix, which was a mythical bird of great beauty
and only one of a kind, living about 500 years in the Arabian wilderness, I
could see there was yet another story here. The Phoenix flew into a funeral
pyre and burnt itself, going up in flames.
After it’s death and destruction, it rose from the ashes in the freshness of youth.
A cyclic regeneration or a born again experience.
Christ and the Phoenix are both symbolic of immortality.
Making an offering...
If you would like to make a financial offering to the church, here's 2 options:
• You can make a direct deposit into the Village Church’s
General Statement Account: BSB 633 000 Account No: 143 632 834
• Another option now available will be to deliver your offering to the
church office (using the inside office mailbox to provide some anonymity)
on a Friday between 9:30 & 2. Please note that with this exception, the
church facilities remain closed, and we ask anyone dropping off an
offering to respect the required social distancing restrictions in place.
We hope this helps open an opportunity for people to make an offering to
the church at this time. It will certainly help the church.
Cameron
Are you interested in a Jigsaw?
A member of our church community has wonderful, very
funny, 1,000 piece jigsaws, which they would be happy to
donate if anyone is feeling lonely or bored and/ or likes
colour, shape, form ,pattern and humour. Please contact Cameron or Shona
if you’re interested.
Mandatory ZOOM updated required by all users!
As part of Zoom’s security updates, they are requiring all users to update to
Zoom 5.0 by May 30th. Failure to complete this update will mean you will not
be able to connect to Zoom meetings. You can complete the update
straight away by visiting https://zoom.us/download.
Please note that this advice applies to everyone who joins the meeting.