Happy New Year
It’s a different kind of party
Happy New Year! No, not that New Year, even though this edition of Inside Story covers December 2007 and January 2008. Rather, I’m referring to the church year, commencing on the first Sunday of Advent, which falls this year on December 2.
How do we celebrate a church new year? In the same way that we might on the evening of December 31? Not exactly.
In contrast to the revelry of New Year’s Eve, the church year begins with a season of contemplation. Advent, like its cousin, Lent, stands in front of a key Christian festival. Christmas and Easter are the two high points of the church year. Such is their significance that we don’t just bowl up to them, but prepare ourselves for their right and proper celebration.
The season of Advent is a great antidote to our other preparations for Christmas. As the world gears up and our lives become increasingly frantic counting down until December 25, the time of Advent calls us to slow down, to step back, and to think through our attitudes to the One who has come, and who will come again. I find that Advent functions as an oasis of stillness in the midst of too much activity, most of which is disconnected from the season which it is supposed to celebrate.
You’ll notice that our Advent worship is characterized by its sparseness and simplicity. It is stripped back in order to allow time for spiritual introspection. Advent gives us space to think about the role that the coming of God in the flesh means to us. It also enables us to focus on the return of Christ as King, and challenges us to think through how much this reality impacts our lives from day to day. Do we live in the knowledge and the hope that Christ will return to rule over all creation? Are we totally comfortable with this present life, and therefore discomforted by the thought of his coming again in power and glory?
There are also some wonderful Advent practices that can become part of our home worship. Advent calendars help us to count down the days to Christmas and focus on the people and events that are part of the Christmas story. Fasting is also part of Advent practice, for the sake of prayer and reflection. What could you go without this Advent that would both be of benefit spiritually, in terms of taking time for God, and physically too, as you strip a layer of complication from your over-committed life?
St Paul’s is also producing an Advent devotion book to enable you to walk this Advent journey with pilgrims from St Paul’s. Grab this book after church or from the office. You will be blessed as fellow members share their reflections on how the word of God impacts their lives and yours.
And once the Advent season is concluded, you will be able to enter fully into the celebration of Christmas through our Christmas worship services. And this year we will also have the privilege of celebrating the festival of Epiphany, as it falls on a Sunday. Epiphany focuses on how God has revealed through Christ the mystery of his plan to reconcile all things to himself. The Epiphany season has a special focus on the mission if the church, as we build on the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus.
I look forward to seeing you at worship over Advent, Christmas and Epiphany.
One year on
On December 16, it will be one year since I was installed as Senior Pastor at St Paul’s. This has been a year of great excitement and great challenge. I can’t think of one dull moment. I still feel greatly blessed to have received your call, and God’s, to serve as your Senior Pastor. That’s not to say that there haven’t been moments of stress and anxiety as I’ve progressed through 2007. This is a complex congregation, and I am still conscious of how little I know about the congregation’s history and the story of each individual.
What this year has taught me is that God has been, and continues to be, good to St Paul’s. I am thrilled at the way that God continues to lead people through our doors and asks us to support, nurture and grow people in faith. The twin tasks of baptizing and teaching are at the core of what the church is called to be and do. In St Paul’s case, doing this well is an activity that is far too important to leave to the staff alone. As more and more people come to St Paul’s without any prior background in the faith, we will need mentors to journey with these growing Christians. That’s one of the reasons why Pastor Greg and I are convinced that the theme for ministry in 2008 must be Digging Deeper, Serving Together. We can only share out of the fullness of our hearts, but together we can multiply the ministry that can be carried through St Paul’s.
Senior pastors’ retreat
As part of my growing into the role of Senior Pastor at St Paul’s, I attended the LCA Senior Pastors’ Retreat. There I met with colleagues who work in a similar context to St Paul’s, with an associate pastor and/or other staff. I greatly appreciated listening to the wisdom of other, more experienced pastors. I learned that St Paul’s has its own distinctive DNA. We are much older than most of the congregations, with the exception of Bethlehem in Adelaide. We have maintained a more conservative approach to worship. But we have been at a cutting edge of staffing for ministry, and now, like many of the other congregations, we are looking to build teams of passionate people to carry out ministry in other areas. We are a generous congregation, but unlike most of the others, we are situated in an affluent area. We have a more multicultural context, but we have yet to grasp the implications for our future mission and vision.
I was moved to thank God again for my associate pastor, my staff and my congregation members
I came away with lots of ideas, a list as long of my arm of books that I need to read, and the hope that I can find the time to do so. More than that, I was moved to thank God again for my associate pastor, my staff and my congregation members.
Next year
The Vision 2012 process has been one of the highlights of 2007. The team has done a remarkable amount of thinking and planning, on the basis of your input. The task is not yet finished, but there’s enough material to begin discerning the next step.
As you would have read in the AGM Book of Reports, the Vision 2012 process has identified a number of key values for St Paul’s. The most recent workshop went one step further and discerned some key themes for St Paul’s as we moved toward the year 2012.
How do the values and themes relate to one another? I’ve taken the opportunity to see where the values and themes intersect in congregational life.
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The next step for the Vision 2012 team, together with the Church Council and Staff, is to develop specific goals that are in line with St Paul’s values and themes. I am looking forward to what God reveals to us, as we participate in his mission. Each one of us has a role to play in this mission, both privately and in the name of St Paul’s.
Mercy ministry
Do you know what ‘Food in the Barn’ is? I didn’t know until four weeks ago when I attended a ‘Food in the Barn’ lunch at the Box Hill Baptist Church. It was St Paul’s turn to cook the meal. Linda Day organises the purchase of food for the meal, and coordinates the cooking. Serving the meal was undertaken by faithful St Paul’s members, all but one of whom is well over retirement age. I thank them for their service, but wonder what might happen when they are no longer able to do so for health reasons.
I’ve noticed a similar trend in other care and justice activities at St Paul’s. I praise God for the selfless service of older generations in our congregation. My hope and prayer is that their willingness to serve will rub offon those of us who are younger. As someone who fits into Generation X, and who also has a busy family life, I know that there are many demands on my time. But I also know and have seen in others the joy that comes from unconditionally serving.
Service is one of the five key actions of congregational life. Whilst we can serve God through financially supporting both the program of our church and other ministries and charities, great blessing comes from personal involvement. This is especially true for our children and young people, and we plan to incorporate a greater focus on service into our child, youth and family ministry into the future. A mission trip to Thailand is on our agenda for 2008, to support Pastor Simon Mackenzie’s work there.
finding time for community service is a difficult thing. I know that first hand. A commitment to volunteer service demands sacrifices in other areas, and calls me to account for the way that I structure my life, especially the way that my paid work dominates everything else, to the detriment of both family and serving others. Is it the same for you? May God give us the will and discernment to make difficult choices for the sake of the world.
Peace in Christ
Pastor Andrew Brook
An Advent Blessing
Into our world
as into Mary’s womb;
Into the forgotten places,
as into the stable; into the lives of the poor, bringing hope;
into the lives of the powerful, bringing caution;
into the lives of the weary, bringing rest;
into the lives of the wise, bringing restlessness;
and into our lives and longings,
whatever our estate
COME LORD JESUS.
This is the good news:
Christ is coming
and blessed are those who wait on the Lord.
THEREFORE COME QUICKLY LORD. AMEN.
Cloth For the Cradle, Wild Goose Worship Group, p.57
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