Welcome to The Pastors’ Pen – an update for life at Southern Cross…
We can no longer deny it, it’s December and Christmas is coming! During the week LT met
and we began our time by stopping and reflecting on how we can give thanks to our Father
God for the year 2022.
You might (understandably) be a little shocked and suggest; be thankful for what? Natural
disasters, lengthy delays on almost everything and everyone feeling, well… flat.
Yet what a wonderful moment it was as we quickly identified things we can be thankful for.
Why don’t you grab 5-10 minutes in the next week or two and see if you can come up with a
list of three things you can thank our Father God for. You might find you surprise yourself
and identify more than three, and yet even if your pen or device fails to identify anything at all
please at least make a note to join us for Carols (Dec 18) and Christmas Day as James leads
us back to Jesus’ precious words “come to me all you who are weary…”.
Now as you would know, this Sunday we will meet for our congregational meeting. We had a
helpful time last Sunday for around an hour at the preliminary information session as we outlined the
path for our meeting this Sunday. Therefore, we expect Sunday’s meeting at 11:30am will go
for around 30-40 mins. The motions from Sunday remain (regarding the call of James and
financial endorsement for Cameron for his MTS apprenticeship for 2023-24). There will
also be one more recommendation and motion to endorse three commissioners to collect
signatures towards the call, if it proceeds, in order to collect the signatures of those not
present at the meeting.
Well, December is here. You might have a rush of commitments over the next fortnight or
more, but let us not forget to be a thankful people – for through 2022 we have seen the most
unusual provision of God appear in some of the most unexpected places!
Let me leave you with the stunning hope that emerges in the pages of Lamentations:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
SP
