Oops!

07 Feb Oops!

Yes…Oops! I messed up & am feeling pretty rotten about that…so I’ll correct my mistake here & trust your forgiveness.

So…what’d I do? Being relatively new to Australian Christian History (and Australian History in general) I knew National Christian Heritage Sunday was coming…I had only just heard about such a thing about a year ago…but I knew it was sometime in February. Well…It was LAST Sunday! And I neglected to mention or observe it in any way. Rats! I do apologize.
There may be one or two of you now asking, “What is National Christian Heritage Sunday? And why would we ever celebrate that?”

Well… National Christian Heritage Sunday celebrates the Gospel of Jesus Christ arriving on Australia’s shores in the person of Rev. Richard Johnson who arrived with the First Fleet on 20 January 1788. Rev Johnson was one of the few individuals who volunteered to leave Britain in 1787 for the voyage to the Great Southland. He ministered to the sailors, soldiers, & convicts of the First Fleet. He conducted the first recorded service of Christian worship on Australian soil on 3 February 1788, & built the first church building in Australia, paying for its construction out of his own funds. He opened the first school in Australia; welcoming any child who showed up for class. Any. Child. ANY child. Rev. Johnson spent 12 years on Australian soil as chaplain, parish priest, & finally missionary to the First Nations people around the Botany Bay community.

His coming to Australia was no accident. He was sponsored by William Wilberforce & John Newton…(in fact Newton mentored & advised Johnson into his role & was seen as the “first Apostle to the South Seas”). Wilberforce, Newton, William Carey (missionary to India) & Johnson were all products of the First Great Awakening (spirit of Christian revival) in England. They convinced then British Prime Minister William Pitt that they sensed God’s call to evangelize as yet undiscovered lands & peoples. They envisioned a society being constantly renewed by the proclamation of the gospel & the work of the Holy Spirit. Australia’s taproots are evangelical as much as anything else. You probably already know all this…but I’m just learning & finding myself giving thanks to God for those early missionary pioneers. AND…our birthright as Australians is evangelism. It’s our DNA…our inheritance as those who now live in the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit.

And I missed the formal commemoration: the first Sunday in February. It’s already marked in my notes for next year!
Oh…AND there are TWO monuments to Rev. Johnson in Sydney. Next time you’re there, check ‘em out!
1. An obelisk @ the intersection of Hunter, Bligh & Castlereagh Streets with a plaque set in the footpath as well. (This was once known as “Richard Johnson Square”)
2. A plaque on the outside wall of St. Andrew’s Cathedral @ the corner of George & Bathurst Streets.

Now…some other important business:
1. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up – Friday – 10 February 2023 @ 1:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83586782734 — Meeting ID: 835 8678 2734
2. NSW Touch Carnival – Friday-Saturday-Sunday 17th – 19th February. This is the annual event held in Wagga where about 10,000 people show up for their kids to play touch footy @ Jubilee Oval. Red Hill Road (between Glenfield Road & Bourke Street) & a few of the surrounding streets will be blocked off for parking and safe pedestrian access to & from the games. Plan your trips accordingly all weekend long but especially Sunday morning for worship. AND…with that many guests in town…be extra patient with the travelers.

That’s probably enough for today.
God bless whatever good you are trying to accomplish this week!
John