This could be a long one!

22 Feb This could be a long one!

Happy Tuesday Y’all!

Make yourself a fresh beverage. Grab a snack & a comfy cushion for your chair. This could be a long one…lots to share today!

 

1^st — Bible Study Catch-up – Friday – 25 Feb 2022 – 1:00 PM —

Join Zoom Meeting  —  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81176867898   — Meeting ID: 811 7686 7898

This is a great way to link worship from the previous Sunday to your prayer & reflection of your week.

We always have good conversation & learn interesting things about God’s Word & one another. If you haven’t jumped in yet…give it a go.

 

2^nd – What an exciting service Sunday with our 8 young apprentices to Jesus affirming their baptismal faith!

Gigantic thanks to everyone who brought family or friends, who helped in the service in some way, who added food to the morning tea table or who made sure our young people & their guests were welcomed & encouraged in the love of Christ.

 

3^rd – I had coffee yesterday with a politician, her aide, and an aspiring local candidate. Here’s where it’s going to become a long story…do you need to refill your beverage?  😉

NSW Senator Deborah O’Neill was in town hustling community face time for the Labour Party’s aspirant to Michael McCormack’s otherwise safe Nationals seat. Senator O’Neill invited local clergy out for coffee & a chat. I’m a sucker for anyone who’s shouting coffee & wants to listen to me talk.

Now…she & “we” chatted for a bit over an hour & the details are not important here…but a few things are:

1. I will never tell you who to vote for. Never. I believe in the absolute sanctity of the voter’s private conscience when they step into a voting booth. I am likely more “conservative” than the average Australian voter. You know that. I’ve learned a lot from the conversations we’ve had here over the last 17 years…but I’m still more “conservative” than most folks I know. That’s neither good nor bad…it just is.
2. I always have some opinion on various matters of political import, and share those as necessary. I also have a pretty firm understanding where & how the church is called to be active in the wider world, which is always at some level a “political” matter, but almost never a “party specific” one. All parties across the political spectrum fall short of God’s intention & need Christians to hold them accountable to their role as instituted by God for the good of those who elected them to specific realms of service.  Having said that…
3. Yesterday was a first for me. In the 17 years I’ve lived in Wagga Wagga, & interacted with politicians at local, state, a federal levels, Senator O’Neill was the first to ever initiate an honest dialogue with me specifically because she wanted to know what the spiritual pulse of Wagga is at the moment. Now…back to “1” for a second. That does not mean I want you to vote for the Labour candidate in the next election or that I have suddenly become a big fan of the Senator. I am simply observing that my historic communications with the former State Premier, former Prime Minister, current Prime Minister, current state & federal Health Ministers, local state & federal Members, other Members of Parliament, and our local city council members about all manner of issues over the years have all been initiated by me. This was different. Senator O’Neill reached out to me as a member of the local clergy because she wanted to hear my/our input. I respect that because she really seemed to listen & process what we said.
4. Will our conversation make any difference to her politics or the campaign Labour launches here for the federal seat currently held by the Nationals? I don’t know. Maybe not…but…I do know we deserve the very best our community can send to any elected position.  Simply voting according to historic habits may not necessarily produce the best outcome. So…when it comes time to make your voice heard. I hope you have done your best to consider the real positions of the real candidates. Reflexively ticking this box or that one because you always have done so or because it’s not going to matter because this is always a “safe” seat…is not what I would counsel anyone to do

 

I reckon that’s enough for today. 😉

I trust God is granting you abundant grace in this day and more is in store for tomorrow.

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.  I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.” – Ephesians 6:18-20

John