St Luke's Uniting Church, Highton
St Luke's is a congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia, located in Highton, Geelong.
The Cottage by the Sea Auxiliary group is holding a Fashion Parade this Friday from 2-3pm featuring the latest designs from Black Pepper.
Entry is $10 which includes afternoon tea. All funds raised go to support this fantastic local organisation providing support and respite for people in need of help.
Friends, our people who volunteer at the Emergency Relief Rooms at Grovedale and Corio-Norlane have sent a request to please add these items to your donation shopping list:
Donations can be left in the trolley at St Luke’s or taken directly to
Grovedale:
The Albert Renshaw Building, 272 Torquay Rd Grovedale
(Mon/Wed/Fri 9:30am – 12noon)
Norlane:
10 Wendover Avenue Norlane
(Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9:30am -12noon)
Friends, the September Monthly update is printed and ready for pickup in the Foyer. Please let me know if you would like a printed copy put aside for you, otherwise you can read it online here:
The World Council of Churches has declared 1 September to 4 October as the Season of Creation.
From September 1 to October 4, Christians around the world are praying and caring for creation. It’s the “Season of Creation”. The beginning and the end date of Season of Creation are linked with the concern for creation in the Eastern and the Western traditions of Christianity, respectively.
The Uniting Church has developed some wonderful resources for us to use in our worship and devotional life which you can find here.
During September three Congregations in Geelong are working together to highlight the blessing of God’s creation and our call to care for it.
The Congregations are Wesley, Western Heights and ourselves at St Lukes. This idea was initiated by the environment groups of each congregation.
This will take the form of three services which will be shared around the three churches. In practise this means for us at St Luke’s as follows:
September 11th
Paul and our environment team will be celebrating the cosmos; and encouraging us to stop and wonder at God’s amazing universe of which we are a part.
September 18th
Rev. Denis Tomlins and the team from Wesley will visit and focus on caring for flora and fauna.
September 25th
The team from Western Heights will visit and be celebrating the gift of water and our need to care for it.
(The St Luke’s team will visit Western Heights on the 18th and Wesley on the 25th.)
Sunday morning worship services don’t happen magically – at St Luke’s we have a dedicated group of helpers to ensure that doors are unlocked, heaters turned on, microphones are set up and working, morning tea is prepared, people are welcomed to church, the offering is reconciled, the service is shared online for those unable to attend in person, and the cleaning is taken care of. (And many other tasks besides).
It’s a great example of the sharing of skills, gifts and time in the service of ministry. So that the workload is shared and people don’t get burnt out, we are looking for some more helpers in the roles of:
Training is provided and you might pick up some handy, transferable skills!
If you can give some time. please speak to Robyn, Christopher or Paul – we’d love to chat with you about what could be possible.
Are you a parent or carer of a pre-school aged child or children living in Highton or nearby suburbs?
St Luke’s is considering running a regular playgroup session for local families with very young children who are looking to make community connections and spend time with others who are also caring for young children.
The playgroups would also be an opportunity for newly arrived refugee and asylum seeker families to “meet the locals” and make friendships and connections in their new homeland.
Sessions would include unstructured play, circle time with singing and movement activities and morning tea, hosted by a qualified early childhood educator and supported by volunteers.
St Luke’s is committed to being a safe space for people to come together in community, and while we are a Christian community, we hope to include and embrace ALL people who seek community and friendship in the place where we live.
If this is something that would interest you or someone you know, please complete our expression of interest form, and stay tuned for more information.
Hello friends,
Please find an invitation to consider your giving of time, talents and money to St Luke’s and make any changes you may wish to.
If you missed Paul’s reflections and invitations to Stewardship in July, you can find them here:
Apologies for the delay, here is the Monthly update for July:
New Synod Meeting Planning Committee |
| Expressions of interest are now open for people interested in helping shape future Synod meetings. Synod 2022 adopted a proposal to create a new committee appointed by the Standing Committee, with its membership to include up to eight people incorporating a diversity of Church members and minority voices. Its purpose is to plan and arrange the theme, venue, community life and timetable for future meetings of the Synod, giving priority to broad engagement with the membership of the Church, through the implementation of interactive, engaging and creative strategies and processes. |
This year’s Tributes Service will be held at Wesley Church (Lonsdale St Melbourne) on Saturday, July 23 from 2.30pm. Traditionally held during Synod meetings, the service honours ministers who, since the previous Synod meeting, have been ordained, retired or received from other denominations, or celebrated 50, 60, 65 and 70 years since ordination or commissioning. The service will also be livestreamed.
UC members gathered in Melbourne recently for three days of discussion, deep engagement and discernment as part of Synod 2022. All three days and the Opening Worship service, which featured the installation of Moderator David Fotheringham, can be found on the Synod 2022 YouTube channel, while daily updates were posted to the Crosslight website.
Applications for 2022 Share Grants are now open. Since 1980, the Share Grants program has provided financial assistance to enhance the quality and scope of UnitingCare and Uniting Church services to the community in Victoria and Tasmania. With the program now part of Uniting Vic.Tas, this year’s grants are once again available for parish missions, congregations and others in the community.
St Luke’s has some great activities which could qualify for these grants
Gospel lecture |
| The role of the Gospel of Matthew in engaging with community-led issues, such as violence, land and food security, and unemployment in South Africa will be the focus of an August 4 lecture by Professor Gerald West. The lecture will be held in person at the Centre for Theology and Ministry and also streamed live. |
Faith and diversity |
| Recent Census data has provided a snapshot of modern Australia, including the fact that for the first time, first and second generation migrants make up more than half of our population, at 51.5 per cent. National Assembly Consultant Rev Dr Apwee Ting explores what this means in terms of faith and diversity. |
The role of history and truth-telling in working towards a more just and self-determined future for First Peoples is the subject of a webinar on July 21 organised by the Uniting Church National History Society. First Nations leaders and historians will be part of the Zoom event exploring the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Mental Health Foundation of Australia are offering online information sessions about current Mental Health Topics which St Luke’s and wider community members may be interested in joining – topics include:
To register for the webinars, click here
