Thursday was spent doing more walk up, leafletting and opportunities to attend chapel services. Here’s our courageous team going out to chat to people in Kurnell:
And then there were the clubs, classes and clergy.
Clubs
The morning started with breakfast club. St Luke’s Miranda was approached by the local public school and asked if they could set up a breakfast club. With a sponsorship from Kellogs and a parent shouting the milk each week, the Children’s minister and some of our team headed over to hang out with kids while they ate cereal. It was encouraging to see the church provide something so practical for their community and to have such a positive relationship with their local school.
We were also able to attend a Craft group. Here’s a pic:
And here’s a recount from Danae:
There were so many ladies who look forward to craft group every week! Age, status and skill don’t seem to matter- the room is buzzing with warm welcomes and exchanges of hugs. Everyone seems to know each others’ family and eagerly share photos of grandkids and tales of kids’ latest work or holiday success.
I spoke with a 87 year old who told me of her latest medical misadventure involving a badly sprained wrist that kept her from knitting that day. “But I come every week anyway. My friend Margaret willl be here so we’ll just chat while she knits”. On her faith she said, “My friend used to say “we ask too much of God,” but I never did.” When I suggested that if the God of the Bible is as big and powerful as he says he is, then it’s impossible to ask too much of him, she replied, “Well yes, he owns everything doesn’t he. I just say my prayers.”
Kerry, who organises it, faithfully prepares a short devotion for the ladies every week. Considering around half the ladies are not Christian, this means a snippet of Bible gets out once a week to them. Kerry says, “It’s a long-term investment in relationships here.”
The ladies all love Kerry. You can see from the way she tales time to chat to them and they warmly greet her. One of the ladies said, “she always has the right thing to say in her devotions. Just the right word for this season.”
In the afternoon, Miranda also ran a homework club. This is where primary aged kids could come to get homework done and play some games. This group fed straight into dinner and then boys and girls kids clubs afterwards. This group has meant that many non-Christian kids have started coming along to St Luke’s!
Classes
It was another day filled with opportunities to minister to kids through scripture. Here’s Tom teaching a class on Jesus calming the storm in Luke’s gospel:
We were able to present the gospel clearly and speak about how Jesus is God. The kids got quickly side-tracked and we ended up chatting about the Trinity, sin and heaven!
Clergy
At our team meeting today we were joined by Arch Bishop Glenn Davis and ministers from local churches. We were encouraged in ministry and had questions answered about the future of the Anglican church in Australia. It was extremely edifying to meet and read God’s word and pray together.
And, for our bonus pic today, here’s Phill, so into mission he’s becoming apart of the furniture.
Here’s some more about Phill: