worshipping at
St. Columba’s Sale,
St John’s Giffard West,
and in partnership with
the Anglican Church in Australia,
at the Church of the Epiphany Seaspray.
Mission Statement :
To know Christ and to
make Christ known:
opening doors to faith,
hope and love.
Our call
is to live a creative and
adventurous life of faith
characterised by openness,
flexibility, hope and joy.
Faithful is God
who has called us and who will
not fail us.
Faithful is Jesus Christ
who gathers us as a community of
hope
to worship God with wonder and
praise,
to witness to God’s love in word
and deed,
to seek God’s justice in the
world
Faithful is the Holy Spirit
who releases us
to listen for God’s Word in Scripture
and prayer,
to cherish the ministry of all
God’s people
and moves us
to risk telling the story of
Jesus
to take our part in God’s action in the world.
Faithful is God who has called us
and who will also do all this.
* continue to offer regular worship at St Columba’s 9.30 am,
and at St Johns’ Giffard West and Seaspray at 10.30 am.
* organise a number
of celebratory Services linking the church and the community
e.g.
‘Wood thread and cloth’, ‘Family Heirlooms’ Landcare, Education Week, CWA, CFA,
Blessing the Fleece, Legacy...
* invite people into
Worship Teams to lead worship across the Congregations at various times and
places, and support them with resources and training,
* build
up our skills in worship leadership in music, reading, preaching and drama
* foster opportunities
for ecumenical worship e.g. occasional Taize services
* encourage
our young people to link in to regional youth services (e.g. at Traralgon), and
regularly organise Central Mission Area Services
* maintain
a transport network for the 9.30 am congregation
and
we will
* organise occasional
Sunday Lunches where people are invited into one another’s homes
* organise a team of
pastoral visitors, focussing on ‘shut-ins’
and people with particular needs in our
community
* encourage and grow the
membership of the UCAF
* continue
to develop our ministry with children and their families through such things as
the camp at Lake Tyers, and Church picnics
* offer
training for Hospital Visitors across the Churches
train and support our own hospital visiting
team
* encourage the ministry of the prayer chain
* offer
the following courses at various times through the year :
Companions in Christ ; Belonging Group; a
faith discussion Table Talk group,
combining at times study groups over a
shared meal
* develop
a portable resource library
* through
the Central Mission Area seek to bring to the Central Gippsland region speakers
and teachers who will challenge and stimulate faith, and foster the small
congregations network
* participate
in the work of CRE in schools and support School Chaplaincy
* offer
‘ DevoZine’ to the young people associated with our Congregation
4 In
our partnership in God’s mission in the world
we
will honour God by living simply and carefully, giving according to our means, and helping to meet the needs of
the church and our community locally and globally, fostering ecumenical
relations wherever possible, and
developing areas of co-operation as ‘safe places’ for those who are
sick, lonely, young, frail, in prison;
and we will
* foster the growth of
the Martha’s Place ministry
* foster the Men’s Shed
* continue
to engage with Wurruk through the Community House
* deepen
our relationship with Kilmany through exploring issues of social justice and
community need (e.g. Families and Schools together, Rural Australians for
Refugees)
* seek
opportunities to engage in the process of reconciliation and build a
relationship with Ramahyuck
* support
the KAIROS outreach to the Fulham
Correctional Centre
* take
an active part in the life of the Central Mission Area, Presbytery, and Synod.
* Engage in ‘Simply Living Week ‘ and ‘Young Ambassadors for
Peace’ through Christian World Service
* Support children in
their communities through World Vision (through Martha’s)
5. In administration we will
foster ways of meeting that will
release our members to participate in the above areas of our life, maintain
effective oversight and clear channels of communication and be good stewards of
our properties and finances
and we will
* offer
the ‘Open Plan’ experience in 2006, entering into a journey through the
stewardship of our life with God, of our relationships with others, of our
church community, our mission, our own health and well-being, our traditions
and culture, our resources and environment.
* maintain
a Members and Friends directory
* continue
to develop the web-page ( www.gogippsland.com/uniting
) and email network