Southern Cross Presbyterian Church

Serve week is upon us again! What a great opportunity serve week gives us to think creatively about how as small groups and gospel communities we can love God through loving our church and loving our town. Here’s a brief description of one serve project from last term to get you fired up…

Our group first discussed the serve project in week one after the study on James 1. James 1:27 referred to looking after widows so we chose 2 women from church who no longer have a husband to help with those house and yard jobs that suddenly become overwhelming when there is no man around to do them.

On Saturday the 4th of June (God provided perfect weather) we went to Judy Ritchie’s place in the morning and Barbara Jackson’s place in the afternoon. Laurie Armstrong, Peter Caton and John O’Connor are gifted household handymen so were able to fix a number of kitchen and household things for Judy. Margaret Armstrong, with the help of her daughter, who was previously Judy’s neighbour, re-strung a venetian blind. Scott took care of the chain-sawing in the garden while Laurie and Bronwyn helped load one ute and two trailers with sawn-off branches. Delma O’Connor, Wendy Walls, Margaret and Bronwyn removed morning glory from Judy’s avocado tree and back yard. Judy provided us with a very pleasant morning tea on her gorgeous patio. John cooked our BBQ lunch before we headed out to Barbara’s place. 

At Barbara’s, Robert and Julianne Boland and Eden Caton joined the crew. Peter, John and Robert got up on the roof and removed the ineffective gutter guard that was contributing to blocked gutters. Delma, Julianne, Eden and Wendy washed windows and then everyone joined in the weeding and pruning in the garden. Barbara provided us with a much appreciated afternoon tea on her verandah and a good day was had by all, thanks be to God.

This is just a reminder that due to the North Coast Christian Convention (NCCC) at Evans Head this weekend there’ll be no church at Lismore High School this Sunday – morning or night.

If you’ve been to NCCC before then I’m sure you’ll be heading down to Evans on the weekend to soak up the sunshine and feast on God’s word. If you’ve never been, then make this year your first – it’s bound to be a good one! Grant Thorp, minister of Randwick Presbyterian Church and Mike Raiter, principal of the Melbourne School of Theology will be preaching on the topic “Gripped By Love”. With kids & youth programs, NCCC is a great weekend for folks of all ages and a great time to spend together growing in God’s word.

See you there!

The Crossroads course is coming up in August and we encourage all newcomers and those in our church who haven‘t yet done crossroads to join us, as it‘s a great opportunity to build deeper relationships as a church family and to focus in on the central role of the gospel of Jesus in all that we do. Crossroads will run at the following times:

Sundays 11:30am—1.30pm 7th, 14th & 21st August (lunch provided) at the top office building, 10 Park Avenue, East Lismore

We will study God‘s word and then have lunch together. Lunch is provided by some of our small groups and is a great opportunity to meet other members of our church family. Childcare can also be provided (please call the office if needed).

If you‘ve never done the course please speak to Pete or Stew—you can confirm that you can join us by calling Julie at the office on 6621 3655 or via email julie@scpc.org.au (please also advise of any special dietary requirements).

At SCPC, we want to be reaching out to the community around us, caring for and supporting those in need, who live life on the fringes and those who are suffering.

For this reason we’ve entered into a partnership with Lismore Soup Kitchen who provide meals seven days a week to the homeless people in Lismore. The main meal is a hot meal, served at lunch and breakfast is provided four mornings a week. The Soup Kitchen is a not for profit organisation run by volunteers. The kitchen, where available, also provides accommodation assistance for people in homeless situations.

After night church (each fortnight), members of our church family kindly provide SOUP for dinner. Instead of money collected going to the soup makers it goes to support the work of the Lismore Soup Kitchen. There will be envelopes marked ‘soup kitchen’ on Sunday night, please place your donation in the collection bags or in the ‘everything box’ at the back of the hall.

We would also like to especially thank Crusty’s Bakehouse located at 48 Wyrallah Road, Lismore who kindly donate bread for us to have with our soup.

I’ve never met anyone that loves meetings. But some meetings really do matter and can also be times of great progress and celebration. At 11:30am this Sunday at Lismore High, SCPC is having a congregational meeting to affirm the staff team model that we agreed upon last year and so to insert Stew Playsted’s name in the call documents. Once this has occurred, we will then proceed to Stew’s ordination and induction service at Park Ave on the 1st June, starting with a ‘bring and share’ dinner at 5:30pm (service at 7pm). This congregational meeting and the service that follows represent a significant step in the development of a staff team that is charged with the awesome privilege and responsibility of shepherding our fantastic church. Let me give you 5 good reasons to be there…

1. Your presence will be a sign of your love for Christ and his church
2. Your presence will help you to own this decision and so to submit to the faithful leadership of SCPC according to God’s word
3. Your presence will be a sign of your support for Stew and his family as they accept this important role
4. Your presence will assist in the timely fulfillment of the necessary procedural steps
5. Your presence will add to the unity of our church as we step forward in God’s mission together

It’d be great to see you there!