Pastoral Letter 257
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all. I hope all is well.
Last Sunday was Lent 3 and based on the Gospel Reading from Luke 13:1-9, we looked at some questions that we and people ask when tragedies strike, and terror disrupts lives, and we all feel angry raising our voices for such senseless acts. “Why did this happen?” and “What did this people do to deserve this?” A couple of days ago Thailand was shocked with the devastating earthquake that stroke Myanmar, killing hundreds and the number could rise to thousands. It is natural to ask the question “Why?”. But it is more helpful in similar situations to ask the question “What now?”. That’s what Jesus was referring to when He mentioned two catastrophic events and then told the parable of The Fig Tree, a tree which was fruitless. He told His disciples and the audience that they should repent, not only from their sins, but from their fruitless faith. To see events and tragedies through the grace of God is the right way and think of what we should do now. How we should move forward, even if we are tempted to look back to what happened?
Last Sunday after the church service we had our Interim Congregational Meeting during Morning Tea when the Church Council and Elders gave a report about the meeting they had with the presbytery Minister Rev. Martin Levine and what options we have for our next steps after 31 May. All present agreed unanimously that the church council endeavour to engage a variety of preachers to take service from June to December 2025 and a further meeting will be held with Rev. Livine in September to review the progress.
Tomorrow, I will be preaching at Willoughby Armenian Evangelical Church, when the Armenian Missionary Association of Australia will have its Annual AMAA Sunday Worship followed by a fellowship meal at 12:00 pm in the adjacent Soghomonian Hall. You are all invited to join the lunch if you wish. We are glad that our dear friend Rev. Gaby Kobrossi will take tomorrow’s service here at Longueville at the usual time of 9:30 am followed by Morning Tea. If you are not able to join us tomorrow, please light a candle and join us in prayer, as Gaby preaches on the Gospel Reading Luke 15. 22-24 and the topic of his message will be “Our Loving God”.
Please join all those who are raising prayers for the victims of the Thailand devastating earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that hit Myanmar. Remember those whose lives perished, pray for the injured and the wounded and those who have lost dear ones and homes.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray as we continue our journey of self-denial and self-examination during this Lent.
- Pray for the victims of the Thailand earthquake.
- Pray for Ned and Virginia as they go through a difficult time with ill health.
- Pray for trusting God and asking that He protect those who need protection.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the struggling, the stressed and those who are affected by natural disasters.
- Pray for the Middle East and in particular Syria and the reignited conflict in Israel and Gaza.
- Pray for the coming Federal Election that was announced during the week to take place on 3 May 2025.
In Christ
Krikor