what ifs’ of life!…

When Jesus told the parable of the talents he wasn’t talking about small amounts of money to deal with. A talent was the equivalent of a year’s wages. In today’s terms that would be around $80,000 for the average wage. Thus 5 talents was $400,000. Not a small amount to be entrusted with. The master wants these servants to use what they have been given to bring profits for the kingdom. They are to choose their investments wisely and do their best to grow what they have been given for the master. In the end only two of the three have the courage to invest their talents wisely. They each double their investment in the time it takes for the master to come back from his business trip but one servant is afraid. What if I lose it? What if I muck this up and he is displeased? All the ‘what ifs’ got to him and he buried the talent so it couldn’t be lost, but he did not try to grow it. As the master pointed out, he could at least have put it where it would draw a little interest, but instead it sat in the ground doing nothing and the master was not pleased with his servant at all. Oh how easy it is to be overcome with the ‘what ifs’ of life! The ‘paralysis of analysis’ where we look at all possibilities before acting and therefore never act. Put another way, to quote Confucious, ‘He who considers all possibilities before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg’. The servant who buried his talent did so because he was afraid to make a move lest it be the wrong one. We all have individual gifts. Some are amazing at crafts, others at gardens and maintenance, still others are natural carers and great listeners. Amongst us are preachers and teachers, musicians and those with hospitality gifts, organisational gifts, and many others. How will you use your talents for the Lord in ministry as we step into this next year? Will you stand for leadership? Will you gather others for fellowship? Will you contribute to the life of the parish using your gifts on Sundays? Will you bring music or drama, or look after the sausage sizzle at our Christmas outreach? Will you join in the working bees or do you have another talent to offer? For our Master it is not our background or age or energy level that matters, it is that we take the gift or talent that he gives us and make something of it, being bold enough to step out in faith and see what happens. When we do this the Master will not only be pleased, he will bless us with more!

Janice

This Week

Regular Worship Times

Parish Contact Details

Notices:

Special Notice…

At 5pm, Sunday 19th November, Keith and Jan Thomas & Mike and Vicki Brown will be received into the Anglican Communion at a service to be held at St Michael and St Luke Anglican Church, 1472 Heatherton Road, Dandenong North. If anyone would like to join Janice in supporting them there is room in her car..

Christmas Hampers for local families…

As in previous years we will be sending food hampers to Dromana Primary School for distribution. There are 12 laundry baskets in the narthex to present the food and give the families a useful container. If you’d like to contribute to the hampers, please leave your gift in or beside the baskets. If you’d like to make a monetary gift which will be used for topping up as necessary and perhaps some seasonal festive additions, please place in the offertory or through the Bendigo Bank account clearly marked “Christmas Hampers”. Please leave your gift or make your donation during November so that the finished hampers can be wrapped and donated in the final weeks of term. Thank you. (Please don’t forget Food for All which is an ongoing need.) Contact Carol or Cheryl for more details.

Special Services 2023

This Week’s Prayer Focus

In our country and the world:

• For all grieving after accidents and disasters.
• For all in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.
• For all firefighters in Queensland and NSW, and all those suffering trauma and loss as a result of the fires.
• For those facing homelessness, hardship, anguish and despair amid rising costs.
• For families affected by violence.
• For those affected by natural disasters in around the world.
• For King Charles III, the UK and the Commonwealth.
• For peace and unity in countries around the World.
• For aid agencies such as “Save the Children”, Oxfam, CARE, UNICEF, World Vision.

In our community:

• For teachers and students.
• For doctors, nurses, paramedics, Coast Guard, the CFA & SES.
• For local community outreach groups such as the Dromana Community House and “Food for All”.

In our Diocese and beyond:

• For Archbishop Geoffrey Smith’s ministry as Primate of Australia.
• For Archbishop Philip Freier’s ministry in the Diocese of Melbourne.
• For the ministry of Bishop Paul Barker in the Jumbunna Region and for Archdeacon Helen Phillips in the Frankston Archdeaconry. Give thanks that Archdeacon Helen is now well and beginning to return to work.
• In our Deanery, we pray for the Parish of Sorrento & Rye and their Vicar Fr. Nicholas Wallace.
• For the work of the Church Missionary Society and Wei-Han the Victorian Director.
• For Anna Radkovic our CMS Link Missionary. Pray thanks for the progress of Anna’s residency visa.
• For Christian churches around the world to be free to worship and be witnesses of the love of God as shown through the coming of His Son.

In our Parish:

• For Keith & Jan Thomas and Mike & Vicki Brown as they are received into the Anglican Communion.
• For our leadership and ministry teams.
• For Rev’d Janice O’Gorman our Vicar.
• For the finances of our Parish.
• For our Parish, its people and those we reach out to every week.
• For the success of the new Family and Children’s Ministry.
• For the 9am at home prayer time for the Parish, Dromana & Mornington Peninsula.
• For: Backy, John R, Margie, Fred, Tahlia, Robert, Jan, David, Irene, Guy, Ruth.