The latest Participate newsletter is attached!

Safe Water September

Record Fundraising by a National Community

In a year where a lot of people and a lot of organisations have been forced to look inward and scramble to keep the lights on, churches and individuals around Australia have demonstrated that unprecedented change and upheaval will not stop them from having a positive Kingdom impact on the world around them.

More than 300 people across more than 50 churches, schools, and clubs took the Safe Water September challenge this year, and drank just water for the month of September to raise money for life-changing safe water projects in rural Zimbabwe and Vanuatu through Global Mission Partners and Churches of Christ Overseas Aid.

This year the national community raised $177 666, breaking fundraising records for the second year in a row. By giving up all their non-water drinks like coffee, tea, and juice and inviting their peers, family, and friends to donate, challenge takers have raised enough to provide easy access to safe drinking water to approximately 8,000 people in remote and vulnerable communities.

A lack of access to safe drinking water has profound impacts on communities across the world. Clean water for drinking and washing is the easiest way to dramatically reduce illness in communities, particularly in children and infants. With easy access to clean water, people—particularly women and girls—no longer have to walk more than 30 minutes each day to get water for their families. That time can be re-invested into their families, their education, their farms, and their businesses.

The water projects funded by Safe Water September are community-led in partnership with Showers of Blessing, Zimbabwe, and the Conference of Churches of Christ in Vanuatu. You can find out more at [safewaterseptember.org.au](http://safewaterseptember.org.au/).

The embody and Global Mission Partners team would like to extend a massive thank you to all the churches and individuals around South Australia who participated in the challenge. Well done, and enjoy your drinks!

[GMP Logo CMYK HR Thumbnail] Safe Water September

Record Fundraising by a National Community

In a year where a lot of people and a lot of organisations have been forced to look inward and scramble to keep the lights on, churches and individuals around Australia have demonstrated that unprecedented change and upheaval will not stop them from having a positive Kingdom impact on the world around them.

More than 300 people across more than 50 churches, schools, and clubs took the Safe Water September challenge this year, and drank just water for the month of September to raise money for life-changing safe water projects in rural Zimbabwe and Vanuatu through Global Mission Partners and Churches of Christ Overseas Aid.

This year the national community raised $177 666, breaking fundraising records for the second year in a row. By giving up all their non-water drinks like coffee, tea, and juice and inviting their peers, family, and friends to donate, challenge takers have raised enough to provide easy access to safe drinking water to approximately 8,000 people in remote and vulnerable communities.

A lack of access to safe drinking water has profound impacts on communities across the world. Clean water for drinking and washing is the easiest way to dramatically reduce illness in communities, particularly in children and infants. With easy access to clean water, people—particularly women and girls—no longer have to walk more than 30 minutes each day to get water for their families. That time can be re-invested into their families, their education, their farms, and their businesses.

The water projects funded by Safe Water September are community-led in partnership with Showers of Blessing, Zimbabwe, and the Conference of Churches of Christ in Vanuatu. You can find out more at [safewaterseptember.org.au](http://safewaterseptember.org.au/).

The embody and Global Mission Partners team would like to extend a massive thank you to all the churches and individuals around South Australia who participated in the challenge. Well done, and enjoy your drinks!

Our Brighton Church has discovered it's not only possible to maintain a strong and effective witness during this Covid season, but it's also an opportunity to actually commence one of the most important ministries in the Church's history!

Grocer with a Heart is a ministry initiative, born out of the vision of two members of the Brighton Fellowship. It involves the distribution of fruit, vegetables and grocery items which might otherwise be discarded, but which Brighton is now making available to the people of its community free of charge or at bare minimal cost. The shop, located at the rear of the Brighton complex, has been operating since the beginning of the Pandemic and its impact on both the Church and the surrounding area has been nothing short of incredible!

The acquisition of a refrigerated van and the installation of a freezer room and cooler room now make it possible for the shop to offer a wide range of frozen goods.

Grocer with a Heart opening hours are:

Tuesday to Friday - 10:30am to 3:00pm

Saturday - 10:00am to 12:30pm

Brighton Church of Christ is at 65 Sturt Road Brighton.

Convention 2020 has been designed to respond to the challenges of meeting together during the pandemic. Convention 2020 will have smaller gatherings across South Australia and an online business meeting for its formal component.

Convention Gatherings are as follows:

Friday 13th of November 7pm

Elizabeth Church of Christ

Sunday 15th of November 1pm

Berri Church of Christ

Wednesday 18th of November 7pm

Happy Valley Church of Christ

Saturday 21st of November 1pm

Naracoorte Church of Christ

Sunday 22nd of November 10:30am

Redcliffes Campsite for worship followed by lunch and Convention meeting

At these smaller events there will be an opportunity to receive details of the review that Churches of Christ SA has undertaken and how that is informing the future direction for the movement. Each gathering will be the same so you need to only attend one.

If you know which Convention Gathering you wish to attend now, please RSVP to the State Office. There will be further correspondence and opportunity to RSVP for these gatherings in the future.

The Churches of Christ SA & NT Inc Annual General Meeting will occur on Thursday December 10th at 7pm via Zoom. Delegate packs for the Annual General Meeting will go out in the last week of October and will include Board nominations, meeting papers, reports and voting information. The packs will also include the details for joining the Annual General Meeting online as a delegate, and how to join as an observer of the meeting.

COVID-19 caused State Youth Games to be cancelled for 2020, but with a small release of the restrictions, an opportunity opened up for 120 youth and young adults to gather at Aldgate Church of Christ for an amazing night of worship, testimony, prayer and community time. A night of youth leading youth, peers praying for peers and all the glory given to an awesome God. Plans are well underway for more joint youth ministry nights, the first planned for the 27th November, and then one a term in 2021.