Entries by Jodie McNeill

Our Mothers Minister

Two years ago we asked Mothers Union Sydney for a special grant for an all-new position of ‘Mother’s Minister’, and they graciously supplied us with the funds to employ Gemma Bartlett for the part-time role. At the time, I described the role in this way: We wish to employ a mature and experienced Christian mother […]

Every Age and Stage

Our church loves having people of every age and stage together in church, actively participating and serving each other, to the glory of God. At the same time, we’re also committed to teaching people in ways that most-effectively communicate according to their developmental stages. To try and achieve both goals, we run kids’ programs during […]

Mission Near and Far

As I gathered with thousands of believers at the recent Church Missionary Society (CMS) Summer School in Katoomba, I experience afresh the joy of looking beyond ourselves with a global, gospel focus. Missionaries from all over the world were sharing about the triumphs and the tragedies of bringing the message of Jesus to peoples from […]

Praying to our Sovereign Lord

As we launch a new year, it’s a perfect time to recommit to a deep dependence on our sovereign Lord, as individuals and as a church. Recently our staff have drafted a mission statement that seeks to help our church focus on three areas that we know will lead us towards our vision to see […]

The Star of Bethlehem

When most of us think of the star of Bethlehem, we think of the special astronomical event that happened at the time of the birth of Jesus, that alerted astrologers to the birth of a special king. For we read in Matthew’s Gospel: About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, […]

O Come All You Unfaithful

I love the classic carol, ‘O come, all you faithful,’ but the sense of being ‘joyful and triumphant’ sometimes feels artificially upbeat. I know that the song taps into the excitement of coming to Bethlehem to behold the one who was born the king of angels—the Word of the Father now in flesh appearing. Yet, […]