1 February 2015 Welcome to St John’s Welcome to St John’s especially if you are visiting with us today. We’d love to keep in touch with you, so if you leave us your details we’ll let you know what’s happening here at St John’s. As we begin 2015, we are focusing on our mission here in Darlinghurst. Today we are thinking about what it means to be ‘A people of freedom’. Next week we will be looking at being ‘a presence of blessing’. Community Central is Back! Community Central is the way we do small groups at St Johns. Every second Tuesday night we meet at 6.30pm for dinner, then break up into small groups to study the Bible and pray. If you haven't been in a Community Central group before, now is a fantastic time to join! Community Central restarts on this Tuesday February 3 at 6.30pm. Its one of the best ways to really grow in your relationship with Jesus, and with other people at St John’s. So come along on Tuesday– you will be very welcome. Young Adults Community Group We are very excited to announce the start of The Young Adults Community Group in 2015. This involves people aged 18 to 30-something meeting every alternate Tuesday (opposite of Community Central) in the church hall, having dinner as a group and then studying the bible together. If you're a young adult and would like to come along please let Evan know. When: Every second Tuesday night at 6.30pm starting on February 10. Cost: $5 to cover dinner A New Congregation at St John’s In 2015, we have some exciting plans at St John’s. Messy Church has been successful in reaching out to families and children in our area. We’d like to build upon that success, by creating a new 9.30 congregation. This new congregation will be a little more like regular church than Messy Church, but more contemporary and informal than 11am. Messy Church will continue to be on the first Sunday in the month, and the new congregation will meet in the hall on the other Sundays in the month. It will include a children’s programme. But you don’t just start something like this overnight! It needs a lot of thought, and a lot of planning and especially a lot of prayer. So here is the plan. On Sunday February 8, we are inviting people to meet together to start to pray about our new congregation. We will continue to meet on the Sundays after that, to keep praying. And this is where you come in. I would like to extend an invitation to you to join with us to pray about this very important new venture at St John’s. Coming to pray doesn't commit you to anything. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to join this congregation. We simply need to pray about this. On the other hand, starting to meet in this way would be an excellent way to start to get involved with this new venture. So consider coming along on Sunday February 8 at 9.30am to the upstairs lounge in the hall. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to be part of a new movement of God in our church! Whole Church Weekend Away Our annual whole church weekend away in on from Friday evening March 20 to Sunday afternoon March 22. And once again we are at the delightful Stanwell Tops Conference Centre. Application forms will be ready soon, but at this stage just make sure you put the dates in your diary so that you are free for the whole weekend.This year our focus will be on the mission of our church at St John’s. These weekends have been fun, exciting, encouraging and energising, so don’t miss out! Waiting on the Spirit “ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17) Each month we gather together to wait upon God’s Spirit, that he might guide us in prayer and that we might minister to one another. Our next Prayer and Ministry night will be on Wednesday March 11, 7.30pm. The Music Project & Choral Evensongs Choral Evensongs will no longer be taking place at St John’s. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Music Project and St John’s expires in the middle of 2015. Late last year the Parish Council decided to conduct a review of the Music Project’s activities, in order to see if the original goals and objectives had been met. The plan was to make a decision about whether the Music Project activities would continue at St John’s based on that review. However the Music Project have opted to discontinue their association with St Johns, effective immediately. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours. A new role for Jennifer Jennifer Coleby has been part of St John’s all her life! Last year Jennifer completed her HSC. In 2015 she has been accepted into the Anglican Youthworks Year 13 programme. This is a youth intern programme, which means Jennifer will spend part of the week studying at the Youthworks College near Sutherland, and part of the week doing youth and children’s ministry at St John’s. This is a real blessing as we continue our outreach to children and families through our new 9.30 congregation. Remember to pray for Jennifer as she embarks on an exciting year! Rough Edges Reopening Rough Edges reopens on Wednesday 4th February, in the day and the night. Lighting grant We have been successful in our application for a Community Building Partnership Grant. We have received $20,000 to install lighting in the car park.. St Johns has been incredibly blessed through these grants in the past as well. It is through this scheme that we have redeveloped the car park, installed the accessibility toilet in the hall, installed a new kitchen in Rough Edges and installed a new kitchen in the hall. Romans 6:15-7:6 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to everincreasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. WORLD NEWS NIGER: Over 70 church buildings destroyed in “anti-Charlie” protests 23rd January, 2015 The Christian community in Niger is in shock after a weekend of violent protests led to the death of ten people and the destruction of scores of church buildings and Christian homes. Anti-Christian rioting erupted in Niger's second largest city, Zinder, on Friday 16 January and spread quickly to the capital, Niamey, as Islamists expressed their rage over the depiction of Mohammed on the cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Associating Christians with the publication, the rioters attacked over 70 church buildings, despite the fact that Charlie Hebdo is not a Christian magazine, and routinely offends Christians too. The protest started in Zinder, in the southeast, on Friday 16 January and quickly spread to surrounding areas and to Niamey. Police said that 45 churches had been burned down in the two days of violence, but information gathered by World Watch Monitor revealed that more than 70 churches had been destroyed, along with numerous Christian schools and other buildings, including the Good Samaritan Orphanage run by the Assembly of God Church. The 40 children from the orphanage are under the care of police. It is thought that over 30 Christian homes were looted and burnt down, and many Christians lost everything they owned. Pastor Zakaria Jadi, whose church building was destroyed, told the BBC that he was meeting with the elders when he heard about the attacks: "I just rushed and told my colleagues in the church to take their families away from the place. I took my family out from the place...When I came back, I just discovered that everything has gone.There's nothing in my house and also nothing in the church." A former French colony, Niger is 97% Muslim, and has only about 50,000 Christians. It is constitutionally secular and has been known for peaceful coexistence between the Muslim majority and the tiny Christian minority, although tension has increased in recent years due to the rise of Islamist groups and the violence in neighbouring Nigeria. The images show three churches in Niamey that were damaged on 17 January: an unnamed Baptist church; Bethel Church; and Celpa Church. Protests spread In Zinder, eight churches and twelve Christian homes were set on fire, and two Christian schools were attacked and ransacked. About 300 Christians took refuge in police stations, army barracks and the homes of Muslim friends. Some have been able to return to their homes. The bodies of at least five Christians were later found in burnt-out churches. Protests quickly spread to other towns in the Zinder region. "In Gouré the town's only church is on fire," a witness reported. All Christian homes were burned and all the Christians were taken into the military barracks for protection. In Tanout, the protesters burned down two churches, while in Magaria they destroyed one church. In Maradi, another of Niger's main towns, close to the Nigeria border, two churches were burned down, while 200 km away a small Fulani church in Bermo village was attacked and burned down. Local sources said the prompt reaction of the security forces helped to limit the destruction. In Birnin Gaouré, about 100 km from Niamey, three churches were set on fire and a missionary school was attacked. In Agadez, in the north, there was an unsuccessful attempt on the church. The violence spread to Niamey, as a large crowd of about 1,000 angry Muslims gathered outside the main mosque before marching across the city and setting several public buildings and properties on fire. Security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to restore order, but the rioters were out of control, and small groups went on to attack Christians across the capital. On Sunday 18 January the situation in Niamey was calmer, but the bells of the Catholic Cathedral remained silent, though troops had protected it from the violence of the previous day. Most Christians did not feel safe to return home. Reaction President Mahamadou Issoufou declared three days of mourning for the victims, and in a television address on 17 January he condemned the violence and expressed surprise: "What have the Christians of Niger done to deserve this? Where have they wronged you? Those who plunder those places of worship, those who desecrate them, those who persecute and kill their Christian compatriots, or foreigners living on the soil of our country, did not understand anything about Islam." Several Muslim clerics also condemned the violence. Local pastor Sani Nomao, in an interview on the BBC Hausa Service, called on Christians in Niger to respond with the love of Christ: "I call on every single believer in Niger to forgive and forget, to love Muslims with all their heart, to keep up the faith, to love Christ like never before. Although it is painful, and what we are experiencing is really difficult, we are God's children. We must love our persecutors... Let no one seek revenge." Various sources reported a lack of reaction from the security forces, leaving Christians and their properties easy targets for protesters and looters. Elsewhere in Africa Muslims in several other African countries protested against the Charlie Hebdo publication. In Khartoum, capital of Sudan, after Friday prayers police prevented hundreds of protesters from reaching the French Embassy and the French Cultural Centre to submit a memo to the French Ambassador. In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, students marched on Saturday 17 January holding signs that declared, "Je suis Muslim – and I love my Prophet". In Algeria, a peaceful protest march ended in a riot, with police firing riot pellets at small groups of protesters who threw rocks and bottles. Several police were injured. In Kenya, the issue of press regulation and control has been brought into the spotlight. The Bloomberg news agency reported that the Media Council of Kenya threatened to close a Nairobi newspaper for publishing offensive materials after it reprinted the cover of Charlie Hebdo, prompting complaints by Muslim readers. The Star ran an apology and pledged to be more sensitive toward "Muslim sensibilities". (Global Guide, Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, World Watch Monitor) Supporting St John’s Support the ministry here by setting up a Direct Deposit with your bank to Westpac Bank: St John’s Anglican Church BSB 032-032 Account Number 811-496 Weekly Offertories Budget 2014 Actual Surplus (Deficit) 24, 25, 28 Dec $1,635 $2,068 $433 28th Dec YTD $85,020 $69,372 ($15,648) Rosters 11.00 Service 1st February 8th February Celebrant Ed Vaughan Ed Vaughan Deacon Bill Knight Mark Woodhouse Communion Assistant Chris Bertinshaw Jenny Coleby Mark Woodhouse Chris Bertinshaw Speaker Ed Vaughan Ed Vaughan Reader One Chris Bertinshaw Kylie Sheriff Prayers Bill Knight Mark Woodhouse Warden Chris Bertinshaw Chris Bertinshaw Welcomers Jenny Coleby Jennifer Coleby Joanna Knight Ian Coleby Morning Tea Joanna Knight Renie Roberts Laurie Alexander Mari Vendrame We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. Our Sunday services 11am Communion - A classic Anglican service 6pm - Contemporary Worship Messy Church - 9.30am on the first Sunday each month Getting in touch St John’s Darlinghurst 120 Darlinghurst Rd., Darlinghurst NSW 2010 PO Box 465 Kings Cross 1340 Parish Office Tel: 9360 6844 Email: [email protected]