CHURCH NEWS  

Lent began on Ash Wednesday, 5th March.

During Lent you may notice some changes in our services:

The opening prayer and the Prayer of Approach are only said by the Celebrant

We will use the colour violet, or purple, to mark the penitential season of Lent

We will remove all floral arrangements, and these will return on Easter Sunday

We will use an order of service that does not have the Greeting of the Peace

We will not have sung responses at our 8.15 am service

We will not sing or say the Gloria

There is no dismissal at the end of the service

This year our parish is undertaking the Hope25 Lenten Study. In addition to our regular study groups the parish is running two studies, on Monday at 3 pm and Tuesday at 6 pm.

We welcome Michelle as a new student in the diocesan ordination discernment program. Michelle worships at our Friday 10 am service and has started assisting with our Saturday 5 pm service as a part of our sanctuary team roster.

We have been having difficulty sending messages to bigpond.com addresses. Initially, we received a delayed delivery message, and some of these were forwarded later. In a few instances, we are receiving failure notices. We will endeavour to make phone contact with anyone for whom we receive failure notices to let you know of the situation.

A new edition of our prayer diary has been published and is available at the back of the church under the noticeboard. Please take one if you would like to make use of our prayer diary in your personal prayer life.

Bishop Ian will visit our parish on Sunday, June 8th, as part of our Hope25 celebrations. If you or someone you know is interested in adult baptism and/or confirmation, please speak to Canon Ian. We have several potential candidates who will be baptized and/or confirmed by Bishop Ian on this day.

Our Autumn Fete will be held on Saturday 3rd May. It is not too early to start thinking about where you might be able to offer your services this year to help out if you can.

We need a team of willing workers to set up very early in the morning and volunteers to assist with all our stalls: books, crafts, toys, jewellery, plants, tools, electronics, clothing, cakes and produce, raffle, white elephant, BBQ, Devonshire teas, worker refreshments. It is also not too early to start looking at what you might be able to donate to our many stalls.

If you have not been involved in one of our fetes before and would like to know more about how they come about and opportunities to be involved, please feel free to contact our office.

Canon Ian is currently experience a period of ill health, which he is working with his doctors to address. As a result there will be times when he is away from the parish, sometimes at short notice. Please pray for Ian at this time.

We welcome Bishop Ian to our parish this Sunday to celebrate and preach at our 8.15 am and 10 am services, and to chair our Annual Meeting of Parishioners.

We welcome Rev Kerry to our parish as she commences her ministry as Deacon with us. Rev Kerry will be working part time in the parish, assisting in pastoral care and joining our service rosters.

Bishop Ian will visit our parish on Sunday, June 8th, as part of our Hope25 celebrations. If you or someone you know is interested in adult baptism and/or confirmation, please speak to Canon Ian. We have several potential candidates who will be baptized and/or confirmed by Bishop Ian on this day.

We congratulate Rev’d Kerry, Janis and Stephanie who attended the three day training in Perth last weekend and are now qualified as Godly Play storytellers.

Canon Ian is currently experiencing a period of ill health, which he is working with his doctors to address. As a result, there will be times when he is away from the parish, sometimes at short notice. Please pray for Ian at this time.

The parish has a very large quantity of second-hand red paving bricks which are free to anyone who would like them and who is able to take them away from their current location at our rectory. If you are interested in the bricks, please speak to Wendy in the parish office. You will need to be able to arrange for the removal of the bricks.

With the close of nominations for parish council positions, the following valid nominations were received:

6 Parish Councillors (1 year):

Barry Courtney, Keith Targett, Sandy Targett, Gail Luff

Please pray for all those who have been nominated.

Under the Diocesan Statutes, to be elected a person must receive endorsement from 50% or more of the valid votes cast for the position. As the parish priest, Fr Ian is able to appoint up to three people to the position of parish councillor during the year.

Voting will take place at each of our services from Friday 28th February - Sunday 9th March. All those enrolled as voting parishioners are entitled to vote. Fr Joe Hopkins is our returning officer and will issue voting papers to each person. You will be asked to circle yes against the names of all people for each position that you feel called to endorse, and no for those whom you do not wish to approve for the position for which they nominated.

An auditor will be appointed at the AMP on 9th March. Parish Council will, at its first meeting, appoint a parish council secretary and parish treasurer to assist in the running of the parish.

If you have any questions, please speak to Fr Ian or Fr Joe.

Services will be held in Christ’s Church on Wednesday 5th March at 10 am and 6 pm for the Imposition of Ashes. Please join us as we begin our Lenten journey.

This year our parish is undertaking the Hope25 Lenten Study. In addition to our regular study groups, the parish will run two studies, on Monday at 3 pm and Tuesday at 6 pm, commencing on Monday, 10th March and Tuesday, 11th March and concluding on Monday, 14th April and Tuesday, 15th April. If you would like to attend one of these groups, please put your name on the list at the back of the church. At $10 each, copies of the study are available from the parish office.

We invite the men of our parish to an evening of fellowship on Thursday, 27th March, commencing at 6 pm in the Ken Barrett Room.

A fish and chip supper and a glass of wine will be provided. The cost is $15. Please add your name to the sign up sheet at the back of the church.

Bishop Reg, of New Guinea Island Diocese, will be visiting our parish from 3rd – 7th April, following his attendance at the Bishop’s Conference in Busselton. His visit is being arranged by ABM and we are delighted that they have provided our parish with the opportunity to host him for these few days. Bishop Reg will be staying with Revd Alex and Stephanie and will be taking part in our 8.15 am and 10 am services on Sunday 6th April. As well as some time of rest, and some sightseeing, we will be looking at whether there can be an opportunity for people to meet with him during his time with us in addition to the Sunday services.

Did you attend our Advanced Care Planning Workshop in November last year? Would you like some help preparing your Advanced Care Plan? Palliative Care WA are offering 1:1 sessions with people who have attended a community workshop to help with identifying what you want for your future care; completing your advance care planning documentation; and working out how to talk to your loved ones about your future care wishes are available at the church on the last Friday of each month. Bookings are essential. Flyers with further information have been placed on church notice boards. Please feel free to speak to Wendy in the parish office if this is of interest to you.

Following the success of our November 2024 workshop, we will be hosting a second Advanced Care Planning Workshop presented by Palliative Care WA in the church on Tuesday, 8th April, 10 am for a 10.30 am start (finish by 1 pm). The workshop is open to parishioners and members of the Mandurah community.

The interactive workshop will cover

·What’s involved in Advance Care Planning

·Exploring what matters to you and what your priorities are for the last stage of life.

·How to have a conversation about your wishes with your family, loved ones and health care providers.

·What is involved in palliative care and when it should be offered

·How to complete documents such as Advance Health Directive and Enduring Power of Guardianship.

Bookings are essential. Once again there will be a limit of 50 attendees so please register at the parish office as soon as you can and let others know about this opportunity.

To support our on-going work, you are able to make an online offering to our Anglican Parish of Mandurah account:

BSB: 706-001 Acc: 30004522

A donation point has been established on our webpage.

There is a TAP & GO in the foyer. Just touch the front screen, choose the amount you want to donate and use your card, phone or other device to tap to make your donation. You can choose from one of the pre-set amounts, or select to type in your own $ amount.

There is a normal Eftpos machine at the back of the church for those who prefer to use this option.

Our mission giving for March will be directed to the Boniface Care– Diocese of Bunbury. Boniface Care is the outward expression of our call as Anglicans to meet human need through loving service in our diocese and supports food distribution, meal kitchens, emergency relief, and financial counselling through the diocesan parish network.

9TH MARCH 11:30 AM IN CHRIST’S CHURCH, MANDURAH

Nominations for the 2025 Parish Council opened on 26th January and closed on 23rd February. Nomination forms are now available at the back of the church. To nominate you must be a voting parishioner and meet all relevant Safe Church compliance requirements. Please contact the parish office for more information about Safe Church Compliance requirements.