Thank You Property and Maintenance Team!
Every week around our church, little things begin to move, tidy and repair themselves...or so it seems. On many Tuesdays and Wednesdays you may notice the sound of hammering, drilling and casual chatter as "The Dads" begin to arrive and get to work with their tool boxes and lunch boxes in tow. Together these men work on improving our church space and problem solving new dilemmas, from the complex workings of the new heaters to replacing shelving and changing door locks.
So much of what they do goes unnoticed and it is our pleasure to publicly acknowledge how much time and effort these men spend working on the property for us here at Living Faith Church. We truly appreciate all the work you do.
As such it was our pleasure to present " The Dads" a small token of our appreciation, during our service on Sunday the 22nd of September.
Thank You David and James!
POND Psalms : A Reflection of Psalms
At Living Faith Church our Children's Program for primary school children known as POND recently looked at the Psalms. The children then looked at what the psalms meant to them and how they felt about these psalms. After a couple of weeks studying and discussing the psalms the children worked together to write their own psalms.
The leaders of POND were so impressed by the psalms the children wrote that they shared them with our church congregation and it is our honor to now share them with you.
Each of the psalms we are sharing with you was scribed the children based on their group discussions.
A POND Psalm by Children
Loving Father, you’re great.
You are peace and patience
Your love is with us always
God- you listen to our prayers
Thank you for food and water
Please let there be peace in the world when there are wars
Thank you for friends and family
Please help the sick and injured
Yes God, when life is difficult
Please help us
Thank you for your creation and everything
Help us understand you Lord
Help us to figure out problems in life
Please let us trust in you and let there be peace, love and hope in the world.
Please help the people in these countries where they don’t have safe water.
Thank you to the people that help and give their lives up to help
Please God raise our awareness in the world and help US to find ways to help people in need of safe water
May money be raised to help Safe Water September
Thank you God.
Your creation is amazing
Help us to treasure it
Your love is everlasting
Amen and Amen and Amen and Amen
A Psalm by POND Children
Dear Lord,
You are great
Your love is with us always
Thank you for listening to our prayers
When there is war please let there be peace and love in the world
When we are finding things hard in life please make there be hope.
Amen and Amen
We Stand With Our Pacific Neighbours
Living Faith Church is taking part in an Australia-wide multi faith campaign calling for much bolder action to look after God’s creation and in so doing help ensure a safe climate future for our offspring.
Faith communities everywhere will be calling on the leaders of both major parties to:
- Put an end to new coal and gas projects
- Outline their plan to move away from coal and gas towards clean energy, and provide a date by which they will phase them out completely
- Get public money out of those industries
- Provide serious financial assistance to our neighbours in the Pacific to keep their heads above water.
- Support a proposed global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels
- Make a massive historic investment in clean energy that will create jobs in the process
- Love our nearest neighbours by getting behind their calls for a fossil fuel free Pacific
- Fully respect First Nations peoples’ rights to protect Country starting by amending the Native Title Act to remove flaws that favour mining interests over Aboriginal peoples’ rights and provide capacity for Traditional Owners to enact free, prior and informed consent with capacity to refuse mining. Also to remove power to compulsorily acquire native title lands and extinguish native title rights
Thank You members of Living Faith!
On Sunday the 15th of September, the Pond Children and volunteers made and sold cake pops at Living Faith Church to raise money for Safe Water September. The children had a lot of fun decorating the cake pops and were excited about selling them to raise money for Safe Water September.
Safe Water September is a fundraising event where people drink only water for the month of September to raise money for clean water projects around the world. Members of Living Faith have been participating in this for the last 11 years and are proud of the efforts of all those who participate by drinking only water or by donating to our team.
This year due to the help of our members, the children raised a total of $866 for Safe Water September.
Thank you so much for all your support.
Summary of the Uniting Church Guidelines for Safe Ministry using Digital Media
This summary is written with the primary focus on the context the parents and volunteers of Living Faith Church Pond program may see at Living Faith Church. In the context of our church, digital media can refer to zoom meetings, emails and text messages. It can also refer to our Church YouTube channel where our weekly services are live streamed. In the context of our wider community digital media also includes social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
If you would like to read the original Guidelines for Safe Ministry using Digital Media, please see the attached PDF.
The document sets out the following Principles for all uniting churches to follow
- Digital Media interactions need to be age and content appropriate, non- discriminatory, and inclusive (see page 6).
- If you are in contact with someone under the age of 18 via email or other digital methods (e.g., text) this should be through the parents. For example, a volunteer is under age and you are planning a lesson with them. You send the email to the individual and cc their parent as well.
- The guidelines suggest, "In some instances a parent/guardian may deem communication with their child/ren through a digital medium is okay; you must have consent for this communication in writing from the parent/guardian" (page 5)
- However please note: "if a child gives you a phone number, email address or initiates contact with you via social media or a gaming platform, it is important that you communicate this with their parent/guardian" (page 5).
- Appointed leaders should avoid social media connections that do not keep records ( such as SnapChat, BeReal, etc) with those under 18 years old.
- If you are sent an inappropriate image, DO NOT DELETE, forward or share the image. Immediately contact the Culture of Safety unit. They will advise you what to do. This may involve contacting the police (page 7) or the E safety commissioner. You could also reach out to the Living Faith Church Safety officers for advice, however do not show them the image.
- Don’t use flirtatious, sexually suggestive, explicit or offensive language, links or images. In all manners, try to avoid ambiguous comments, or comments that could be read with a double meaning. Be careful that your communication does not leave room for misinterpretation; even if your motives are appropriate, your intentions can be misunderstood (e.g. communicating at late hours). (page 7)
- Only take photographs of children when you have their parents’ or guardians’ written permission, and the child is willing for the photo to be taken (page 8)
Page 9 of the document also provides a table to offer assistance in determining what is age appropriate when communicating with children via different means of communication.
Here is an example of a part of that table.
As mentioned earlier at Living Faith Church our worship and funeral services are usually live streamed. They are also recorded and are available on the internet and the LFC website. Your image/s may appear on these platforms on various occasions.
At Living Faith Church, we spent two Sundays reflecting on this year’s NAIDOC theme and our responses to this call: “Keep the fire burning.”
We considered…
What is it like for us to come closer to this fire?How are we, a church in suburban Melbourne, connected to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island siblings, these lands, these stories that we hear? What stories do we bring that we offer to God for weaving into the larger story of reconciliation, redemption and unity in The One? Where do the Biblical storylines offer points for honest stocktaking, truth-telling, and reorientation? What in particular is the invitation to each of us from Moses’ encounter with a sacred fire and the presence of the divine on the sacred ground we find ourselves on (Exodus 3)?
Among other creative engagements, the participants of our Craft Group created candle holders that express some of these themes. Different shades of natural-coloured sand represent different parts of this beautiful land. The work that has gone into this project and the conversations around it connect us in yet another way to all these reflections. When we use them again, we will be reminded again of the big story on this land and how we are woven into it.
In June, five members of the Living Faith Church community attended an evening discussion on Queer Spirituality with special guests Reverends Josephine (Jo) Inkpin and Penny Jones. Jo and Penny lead Pitt Street Uniting Church in the heart of Sydney. https://pittstreetuniting.org.au/
Many in the packed-out audience shared their journeys, encouraged by Jo and Penny’s conversation. Jo and Penny also shared a little about the Pitt Street community, which welcomes people regardless of age, race, class, relationship status, language, creed, culture, sexuality, gender identity, or intersex status. Theirs is an ‘affirming to the core’ church that practices justice and compassion.
"Sounds like a Jesus church to me", says Kate Clough - Family, Youth and Young Adult Minister
Jagajaga Community Volunteers Awards 2024
On Saturday 20th April, 2024, Rod Ferris with Mabel Kealty, were two recipients of the Jagajaga Community Volunteers Awards 2024.
There were 2 dozen or more other recipients and it was interesting to hear of their various avenues of service.
Rod’s awards were for Rotary service, for over 35 years, and as Justice of Peace duties for 33 years.
(Photo credit: Kate Thwaites MP)
Mabel’s awards covered her work with the Cancer Council since 2008, organising the Biggest Morning Tea, in most years, at her home, since 2008, and as a volunteer with the Diamond Creek Park Run.
(Photo credit: Kate Thwaites MP)
Sincere congratulations to two of our Living Faith Church Congregation engaged in brilliant community projects.
In early 2024, Donna and Gwenda, dedicated members of the music team, looked in the corner room of the Sanctuary and decided the music, stands, and instruments needed to be organised. With a lot of fun and giggles, they sorted through the congregational music, discarding old and unused music. Ultimately, they indexed the songs and placed them in the top drawers of the filing cabinets to keep them well-preserved and easily accessible for years to come.
Thank you, Donna and Gwenda, for your time and commitment to having fun while organising!