Come to me all who are burdened…

Often when people are very upset, very angry or very frustrated, especially when they feel they are not in the mood for being nice, they say to me ‘I can’t pray when I feel like this’, or ‘God won’t want me talking to him right now’. But it’s precisely in these hard moments that the Lord does want us to talk to him. When your child is upset and perhaps even angry and railing at the world, you don’t tell them to go away, you want to be able to help them, to hold them, to listen to their woes and try to help. Our heavenly Father is the same. We are his loved children, adopted into his family through faith in Jesus, and made worthy to come to him through the blood of Jesus shed at the cross – of course we can come! Indeed, Jesus told us this himself, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. Matthew 11:28 So how do we come when we’re too upset/angry/ ashamed/hurt to speak or interact? Firstly, make a decision to come to the Lord. Secondly, just use the name of Jesus. Sometimes just saying ‘Jesus’ over and over will help you to settle. Some people say the Lord’s Prayer but sometimes we can just sit in the presence of God and cry or scream or groan – and if we have come to Jesus in some way, the Holy Spirit will speak for us, and Jesus will intercede for us, speaking to the Father on our behalf – this is what the Bible tells us. In Romans 8 we hear how the Holy Spirit can speak on our behalf in ‘sighs too deep for words’ and express the feelings we have no words to describe, or the incident in our lives which we cannot speak about out loud because of the trauma around it. Holy Spirit can help us to know the Father is listening and can bring into our prayer what we have no way of saying in our own language. The beauty of this gift is invaluable at the best and worst of times, as well as in our everyday times with the Lord when we can’t find the right words for what we want to pray about. So when you come to pray to the Lord this week, ask for the Holy Spirit to help you to speak what is needed and allow yourself to enter into the presence of God with confidence that no matter how you feel, the Father sees in you only his beloved child who needs his help in some way. Holy Spirit Come!

Janice

This Week

Regular Worship Times

Parish Contact Details

Notices:

David Ilett’s funeral…

Thank you to all who helped with David Ilett’s funeral. Your gift of time, food, music or other assistance is much appreciated.

The Anglican Church of Australia new initiative…

The Anglican Church of Australia is launching a new initiative for evangelism called Hope25, which will run next year between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost with the time up to Easter being preparation for programs/initiatives run between Easter and Pentecost. Resources will be available to plan what we want to do as a parish. Each parish is encouraged to join in, in their unique way. A video introducing Hope25 will be shown at each service this Sunday.

Pleasant Sunday Afternoon – 26 May, 2:30-4:00pm at the church…

You are all invited to come and enjoy a time of singing your favourite hymns and songs. RSVP your personal invitations and give your hymn requests as soon as you are able – for gathering the music and practising. A simple afternoon tea afterwards will be provided. (no need to bring anything)

Op Shop…

Our Op Shop is a ministry of this parish to the wider community which Parish Council would like to see grow as a ministry, alongside its financial support of our work here. We have had some volunteers resign this week for various reasons and will be in need of others to assist. If you can spare some time to help, please see Edna South or another member of our Op Shop Committee: Vicki Brown, Lorraine Strickland, Richard Watson, Graeme and Cheryl King or Rev’d Janice.

Fencing & Security Project…

There will be pedestrian access gates at either end of the carpark so we can easily come and go on foot. Thank you to those who have contributed to the cost of the fence. We are still in need of donations. If you would like to make a donation towards this project, please put any cash into an envelope marked “Fencing/Security” and put it in the offering bag on a Sunday. We will provide you with a receipt and keep these monies aside for the project. If you wish to give to this project electronically, please speak to Janice as we are keeping these monies in a special account.

This Week’s Prayer Focus

In our country and the world:

• For those facing homelessness, hardship, anguish and despair amid rising costs.
• For all in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.
• 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 Mornington & Mount Martha Church, their Vicar, Ven. Helen Phillips, Assistant Priest Rev’d John Phillips, and Children & Families Minister, Rev’d Liz Rankin.
• For the work of the Church Missionary Society and Wei-Han the Victorian Director.
• For Anna Radkovic our CMS Link Missionary.
• 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 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 2024 Alpha program, its leaders, and all who attend.
• For the 9am at home prayer time for the Parish, Dromana & Mornington Peninsula.
• For the 2024 Alpha program, its leaders, and all who attend.
• For the Alpha Holy Spirit Day next Saturday 9th March.
• For: Harry, Pat, Ilett family, Joan R, Chloe, Ted, Monica, Jessica, Audrey, Joan, Backy, Margie, Fred, Robert, Jan, David, Guy.