Dear Friends,
This month we are doing a sermon series around the themes of stewardship, gifting for service, and equipping the saints for the work of
the ministry. Every member of Christ’s body has an important place. God has not ‘wired’ us all the same. Each of us are able to contribute to building up the community of Jesus so we are glorifying Jesus and being effective in our witness in the world.
Us older ones may look back over the years and see that we have tried our hand at many things. Maybe it was with Sunday School teaching, Parish Council, treasurer, reading the Scriptures, leading services, facilitating small groups or Bible Studies, mentoring children in schools, distributing food to the needy, served in the Op Shop, sacristan service healing and prayer ministry, music, teaching CRE, social involvement, hospitality, pew sheet production, visiting, gardening, building and so on. Thank you and well done!
Some of those things you did because of duty, they needed to be done and you put up your hand. Other times you did what you did because you knew that God had given you a gift to do so and you had found a right fit. Other times you grew into roles as others showed you how to do it – you were being ‘equipped’. This is all part of what stewardship means – using our
energies, time and skills/gifts to serve God and others, in and out of church, knowing that we will give account to him.
This way of generous living extends to how we use the money we have. Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). How should we be with our money? Generous and sacrificial, even as God has been generous to us in Christ (Rom 10:12, 2 Cor 8:9, James 1:5, 1 Tim 6:17- 19). God bless St Mark’s as it grows as a generous church!
Loving greetings in Christ,
Peter Woods Locum Minister
The Alpha Course
Starting Tuesday 7th February 2023 at 6.00pm at Carol Copp’s home in Mount Martha.
Meal. Conversation. Video.
For more details, contact:
Email: alpha@stmarksdromana.org.au
| Carol Copp | 0411 405 597 |
| Ian and Keryn Rivett | 0417 597 241 |
| Steve Parkinson | 0437 984 679 |
Would you like to bless the evenings in a practical way by making a slice or cake? There will be a sign-up sheet with dates or contact Carol. Please bring your slice or cake to church the previous Sunday and Carol will take it home ready for Tuesday evening.
Australia Day 2023
St, Marks once again joined in with the Australia Day activities on the foreshore near the Pier in Dromana. We provided one of our 6 x 3 m marquees and also our 3 x 3 Bendigo bank marquee. We had enthusiastic parishioners join us to erect the marquees on the Wednesday and also people to help remove them on the Thursday. Teamwork, it was great working together. St. Marks have been involved in the day for about 8 years and I think this was the biggest crowd we have encountered.
The Craft stall this year helped young children construct about 180 cockatoos. The kids loved the activity, and some were very creative!!! A group from St. Marks were also involved in helping to provide the free breakfast and afterwards we sold hot dogs for some fundraising for St. Marks. We were able to borrow a BBQ from the Scouts and also stoves to cook our hot dogs. We made a profit of about $150, and hopefully we will be able to sell the remaining hot dogs to help cover the cost. Overall, it was a good community day, and we were able to hand out some St. Marks brochures and speak to interested people. A big thank you to everyone involved.
Cheryl & Graeme King.
Parish Contact Details
| Monitored contact points | 0493 280 691 |
| contact@stmarksdromana.org.au | |
| Parish Web Addresses | www.stmarksdromana.org.au |
| Facebook page | https://www.facebook.com/stmarksdromana |
| Pastoral Care Coordinators | Kevin and Anne Cranwell (0438 234 457 Kevin) |
Worship Times
| SUNDAY: | 8.45am | Holy Communion. |
| 10.30am | Family Worship with Children’s Ministry. | |
| (Holy Communion – 1st Sundays) | ||
| 5.00pm | Healing Service – 1st Sundays. | |
| (5th Sundays) | 10.00am | Combined Service. |
| WEDNESDAY: | 10.00am | Holy Communion. |
Restart Dates For Church Activities
| Monday Study: | TBA |
| Friday Zoom Prayer: | 10th February |
| Pilates Mat Class: | TBA |
Combined Service Sunday 29th January 10:00 AM
We welcome Bp Paul Barker to our combined service today. Bp Paul will preside over Communion and Preach.
There will be a morning tea after the service, (no shared lunch). So, if you can, it would be lovely if you could bring a plate to share for morning tea.
The combined services are a wonderful chance for the congregations of both services to come together and worship as the one church family.
Date for your diaries:
Induction service for Rev Janice O’Gorman as incumbent of St Mark’s. Wednesday 15th March. The time of the service is to be confirmed.
Readings for this week from the Lectionary
| Monday 6th | Genesis 1:1-19 | Ps 104:33-37 | Mark 6:53-56 |
| Tuesday 7th | Genesis 1:20-2:4a | Ps 8 | Mark 7:1-13 |
| Wednesday 8th | Genesis 2:4b-17 | Ps 104:26-32 | Mark 7:14-23 |
| Thursday 9th | Genesis 2:18-25 | Ps 128 | Mark 7:24-30 |
| Friday 10th | Genesis 3:1-8 | Ps 32:1-8 | Mark 7:31-37 |
| Saturday 11th | Genesis 3:9-24 | Ps 90:9-12 | Mark 8:1-10 |
| Sunday 12th | Deuteronomy 10:12-22 | Ps 119:1-8 | |
| 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 | Matthew 5:21-37 |
This Week’s Prayer Focus
In our country and the world:
- For an end to the war in Ukraine and unrest in places all around the world.
- For aid agencies such as “Save the Children” which work in places of dire need.
In our community:
- For teachers and students to return to school refreshed and ready for a year of learning together.
- For doctors, nurses, paramedics, the Coast Guard, CFA and SES members,
- For local community outreach groups such as the Dromana Community House and “Food for All”.
In our Diocese and beyond:
- For the ministry of Bishop Paul Barker in the Jumbunna Region and Archdeacon Helen Phillips in the Frankston Archdeaconry.
- For Archbishop Geoffrey Smith’s ministry as Primate of Australia.
- For Archbishop Philip Freier’s ministry in the Diocese of Melbourne.
- In our Deanery, we pray for the Parish of All Saints Rosebud with St Katherine’s McCrae and their vicar Lynda Crossley.
- For the work of the Church Missionary Society and Wei-Han the Victorian Director.
- 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 Peter Woods as he leads us as locum, and for Jeanette as she supports Peter.
- For Rev Janice O’Gorman as she prepares to come to St Mark’s as our incumbent.
- For the finances of our Parish.
- For our Parish, its members and those we reach out to every week.
- For: Backy Cowie.
