Church Council met on Monday evening, 18 May.
Simon led us in a devotion based on Acts 2:42-47, The Fellowship of Believers. It was lovely to meet in the same place again together after months of navigating the ‘online’ space. The devotional of choice being particularly pertinent as we came together for the first time in months with the challenges of what the ‘new normal’ will mean to us going forward. The sifting of what is important and the holding on to possessions that we may not need…
Our prayers were for our church community, but specifically for Elly and Marilyn as they recover from their surgeries, and for David as he takes a well-earned break. He will be back with us on Monday 25 May. God is a healing God; may we all be strengthened from the inside out.
We thank those in our community who are ‘E-giving’. If you need any help transferring to this way of contributing to the life of the church, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Laurena via the church office email office@wpuc.org.au who can guide you in this process.
Nathan Cartledge gave an in depth account of the internet woes experienced by the church since the beginning of January. Council resolved to address this difficulty proactively and fully support Nathan in all his endeavour. Thank you Nathan for all your attention, resolve and patience in seeking the most efficient internet service for us.
Excitement was expressed at the work being done to redevelop the “sound desk” into a new “tech desk” to accommodate the three technical operators now needed for each service – sound, projector and camera. In this new world, streaming is here to stay, even when we return to worship on site at WPUC.
Council is incredibly grateful for the huge amount of work done by those that bring us our service ‘live to air’ each week. For their creativity, innovation, patience and grace as they serve us in familiar yet new and unique ways. It is wonderful to see emerging expressions of being church not imagined possible two months ago.
We thank all those behind the scenes keeping everything moving, for our community generally and the encouragement pastorally of, and for, one another. We encourage everyone to continue to reach out to each other, as church as we knew it before streamed worship is still months away. As we state to see restrictions lifted, greater opportunities for face-to-face connection are created. Please take these opportunities as your personal situation allows.
Donna Longden – Chair of Church Council