26 October 2014 Welcome to St John’s

26 October 2014
Welcome to St John’s
Welcome to St John’s especially if you are visiting with us today. We’d love to
keep in touch with you, so if you leave us your details we’ll let you know
what’s happening here at St John’s.
Community Central
Community Central is the way that we get together in
small groups at St John’s. Every second Tuesday we meet at
6.30pm for a meal, then we have a short together time, and
then break into small groups for discussion, prayer and encouragement. Community Central is on Tuesday October
28 at 6.30.pm. You are welcome.
Freedom Sunday
For the last few years we have celebrated Freedom Sunday. It is sponsored
by World Vision, and marks the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the
UK, inspired by William Wilberforce. However, we realise that slavery is still
very real in our world, and so we focus on those issues. Freedom Sunday is
November 23. This year we welcome The Honeybees again at our morning
service. Our speaker at 11am and 6pm is Amber Hawkes from International
Justice Mission.
Some Super-Advanced Notice!
The St John’s Whole Church Weekend Away is only four months away! Next
March 20-21 we are heading down to Stanwell Tops Conference Centre again.
Last year’s weekend away was a real blast, so don’t miss out. Put the dates on
your calendar now! More details to follow.
Save the Date
Thursday 11 December Twilight Christmas Markets
In under two months, our annual Twilight Christmas Markets is on! This seasonal event aims to bring the local community together by providing an evening of entertainment– and we aim to raise some money for Rough Edges as
well.
Stay tuned for more info, and let Ed know if you want to get involved.
A Night of Prayer and Ministry
Over the last few months we have held a couple of ‘Prayer
and Ministry Nights’. They have been very encouraging, very
exciting nights– but perhaps you don’t know what goes on at
one of these. So….
What we are looking to do is to create a safe space to explore and express
some of the gifts of the Spirit that are mentioned in the New Testament. For
instance, 1 Corinthians 12 talks about messages of wisdom, messages of
knowledge, gifts of healing, prophecy, speaking in different kinds of tongues and
so on.
So our pattern has been to spend some in worship, singing songs of praise and
reading from the Scriptures. Then Ed lead us in a study from the Bible about
how some of these gifts are described and expressed in the New Testament.
Then we prayed ‘Come, Holy Spirit, Come’, and waited quietly. Soon, someone
had a word of encouragement, which they spoke about. Someone else in the
group felt that that word was very pertinent to them. So we prayed for them
for a while. And then we did that again.
It is a very simple, very gentle, very ‘un-hyped’ time. If you are open to this, you
are very welcome to come along. Our next evening is Tuesday 4 November at
7.30 in the Upstairs Lounge.
Finding our way forward
We are delighted for Brad and Mary, and their family, about their move to Watson’s Bay. But it does raise an issue for us– what does the future look like here
at St John’s.
The answer is that we need to wait upon God and listen carefully to his leading. The Parish Council are meeting for a Planning Day on Saturday November
15 (which they planned months ago!). A key agenda item will be considering
our next steps as a church and how we want to respond to the vacancy
caused by Brad leaving.
Those of us making that decision would crave your prayers. We really want to
know what God would have us do next. Please pray for us.
Volunteering Information Nights
Monday 10 November, at 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm in the church hall. These no
obligation evenings are for people who are interested in finding out about
becoming a volunteer for St John's Community Services at Rough Edges at
Night or CAPP. Attending one of them is a pre-requisite for applying for
training, so please pass the message along to anyone you know who might
be interested in volunteering. RSVP welcome but not necessary to
[email protected].
The Rough Edges Christmas Party
The Rough Edges Christmas Party is on Friday 19 December.
Would you like to be part of the planning team? Or help out at any time at
all?
It’s so much fun to create a wild, themed Christmas Party for the Rough
Edges Community. Last year we had a Bush Dance theme and you have
seen Ed and Jane dance up a storm on the dance floor. Who knew they had
such talent? As the saying goes, many hands make light work, so it would be
great to have you involved. Please email me (Alice) at
[email protected]
Isaiah 35:1-10
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4
say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9
No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10
and those the LORD has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
WORLD NEWS
Pakistan: High Court confirms Asia Bibi’s death sentence
16th October, 2014
Today (16 October), the Lahore High Court dismissed Asia Bibi's appeal and upheld the
death sentence which was passed on her four years ago under Pakistan's controversial
blasphemy law. Asia's lawyer, Shakir Chaudhry, immediately announced that an appeal
would be filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The two judges who heard the appeal, Mr Justice Anwar Ul Haq and Mr Justice Shahbaz
Ali Rizvi, listened to arguments put forward by prosecution and defence lawyers. Over
twenty mullahs attended the court hearing, reflecting the pressure that often accompanies court hearings in blasphemy law cases.
The court hearing was adjourned for over an hour while the judges considered their verdict. When they returned, they announced that they had dismissed the appeal and confirmed the death sentence.
Asia's husband, Ashiq Masih, who attended the court hearing, said:
"This appeal was supposed to be a ray of hope, but the rejection of the appeal has shattered our
confidence."
Abdul Hameed Rana, senior supreme court lawyer who represented Rimsha Masih in
2012, said:
"The history of this trial confirms the problems emanating from Pakistan's legal system. Extrajudicial confessions, incongruencies within testimonies from prosecution witnesses, along with procedural glitches from the police, have been ignored."
He remains optimistic that the Supreme Court of Pakistan will probably acquit Asia Bibi.
However, it is feared that it may be several years before the Supreme Court hears her
case.
Following the court hearing the mullahs - including Qari Saleem, who brought forward
the initial complaint against Asia Bibi - congratulated each other and chanted religious slogans. "We will soon distribute sweets among our Muslim brothers for today's verdict, it's a victory
of Islam," Saleem told reporters outside the courtroom.
Reaction
Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK, said: "It is not surprising that the judges were swayed by
pressure from local influential Muslims, but I had hoped that justice would prevail and that the
case would be judged based on its merits.
"While the rest of the world condemns such draconian laws, Pakistan continues to persecute its
minorities simply because of their religion.
"I have to now remain hopeful that the Supreme Court judges will look at the case objectively
and allow the final appeal, eventually acquitting Asia."
Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association, which has long campaigned for Asia Bibi's freedom, said;
"This is a devastating blow to the humanitarian cause for Christians in Pakistan.This news of the
failure of her appeal has had a hugely demoralising affect on minorities in Pakistan, who feel the
legal system has regressed - despite promises of reform. Asia had great hope that this appeal
hearing would be the start of a new freedom. However, the rejection of the appeal will have no
doubt shattered her confidence and resolve. She will need our prayers and support. Her family
have had to live in protected accommodation which will continue for the foreseeable future.There
seems to be no escape from the hell this family has undergone, quite the opposite it seems to get
worse despite all our efforts."
(AFP, Church Times, CLAAS)
Background
Asia Bibi (48) is a Christian farm labourer from the Punjab village of Ittanwali in northeast
Pakistan, 75km from Lahore. On 14 June 2009, she was working in the fields with a group
of Muslim women. One of the women asked Asia to fetch water and she did so, but the
other women said that it should not be drunk as it had been brought by "an untouchable"
and was therefore unclean. A heated argument arose, and one of the women reported to
the local imam (mosque leader) that Asia had said: "Jesus Christ died on the cross for me what did Mohammed ever do for you?"
The imam filed a case with the police under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. After Asia was
beaten by some local men in front of her children, the police came and took Asia into custody for protection. A mob demonstrated outside the court during Asia's hearing on 8
Nov 2010 and the judge, bowing to extremist pressure, handed down the death sentence. Asia is the first woman to be sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws. She has
appealed against the verdict.
Two politicians who expressed support for Asia Bibi, Governor Salman Taseer of Punjab
and Minorities Minister Shabhaz Bhatti, were assassinated for expressing their support.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours
Now and for ever. Amen.
Supporting St John’s
Support the ministry here by setting up a Direct Deposit with your bank to
Westpac Bank:
St John’s Anglican Church
BSB 032-032 Account Number 811-496
Weekly Offertories
Budget 2014
Actual
Surplus (Deficit)
19th Oct
$1,635
$1,392
($243)
19th Oct YTD
$68,670
$56,612
($12,058)
Rosters
11.00 Service
26th October
2nd November
Celebrant
Brad Kemister
Brad Kemister
Deacon
Jonathan Adams
Lilian Walls
Communion Assistant
Jonathan Adams
Lilian Walls
Speaker
Ed Vaughan
Ed Vaughan
Reader One
Felix Chong
Chris Bertinshaw
Prayers
John Kippax
Mark Woodhouse
Warden
Chris Bertinshaw
Chris Bertinshaw
Welcomers
Lilian Walls
Ian Coleby
Steve Smart
Jonathan Adams
Morning Tea
Joanna Knight
Renie Roberts
Katharine Parsons
Renie Roberts
We acknowledge the Gadigal
people of the Eora nation,
the traditional custodians
of the land on which we meet.
Our Sunday services
11am Communion - A classic Anglican service
6pm - Contemporary Worship
Messy Church - 9.30am on the first Sunday each month
Evensong - 3:30pm on the second Sunday each month
Getting in touch
St John’s Darlinghurst
120 Darlinghurst Rd., Darlinghurst NSW 2010
PO Box 465 Kings Cross 1340
Parish Office Tel: 9360 6844
Email: [email protected]