We are delighted to welcome Gillian Rowe to the State Ministry Team.
Gillian joins us in the new role of “Finance and Resourcing Support Officer”, and will be involved in assisting with our financial and compliance duties, in working with Phil Burgess to continue to provide a wide range of financial, operational and administrative support for our churches, and in what is a new function, working with Churches of Christ Financial Services to assist us all in rolling out and supporting banking and insurance services for churches. A committed Christian and with strong experience in the Disability Services sector, Gillian brings a wealth of experience and a servant-hearted approach to this new role.
Gillian tells us that she comes from a family of two sons, two dogs and a cat. They live in the north-eastern suburbs and are members of the Presbyterian Church of South Australia. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching her sons play sport, listening to podcasts and reading. Gillian’s appointment anticipates Ruth Telfer's retirement later this year after 15 years of faithful service to the work of the State Office and of our Conference of Churches.
Disciples of Christ minister, Rev. Dr, Serene Jones is coming to Adelaide next month as the quest speaker at the Adelaide College of Divinity and Flinders University Department of Theology Annual Lecture.
Theme: 'Revolutionary Love'
Date: July 11, from 7pm
Location: Flinders University City Campus
See attached PDF and our 'events' section for ticket bookings, more details and directions
Tomorrow at the Aldgate Church of Christ, the State Board for Churches of Christ in SA & NT are hosting a conversation starting with a response to the question, 'What does the bible have to say about homosexuality?'
State Minister, Dr. Greg Elsdon will present an analysis and interpretative frameworks to assist the conversation.
The limits of this conversation will be defined by the question presented
The presentation itself will not be addressing questions such as the place of homosexuals in the church or same-sex marriage, even though it is important for the church to engage these conversations respectfully in a mature and informed manner.
The presentation will address presuppositions often brought to this conversation by defining homosexuality, how we read scripture and interpreting key texts in the context of the social and religious environments from which they emerged, and the literary context in which they appear.
The State Board invite people to enter this space respectfully with a posture of listening and desire for dialogue respecting that various approaches to this conversation will be held by those in attendance.
June 19th, 2-4pm at the Aldgate Church of Christ (The Village Well)
Did you know we have another Childsafe workshop coming up this Saturday? This is for people who are members of teams working in ministry with children. Check out the attached poster for more information or go to our 'events' section to RSVP.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to attend
Have you ever wanted to learn more about Churches of Christ? What were it's origins and what does it look like today? What are the core beliefs and practices of Churches of Christ that make it unique?
For the first time, in partnership with the Tabor College in Adelaide, the Churches of Christ Study Centre is hosting 'Churches of Christ History and Identity' as a subject for credit towards a degree or for audit for those who want to learn more about our heritage and tradition.
Enrolments for next Semester are open now. The course will be offered in 4 intensive blocks from July to October 2016.
Presenters include Dr Greg Elsdon, Mark Riessen, John Gilmore, Dr Meryl Blair, Dr Andrew Menzies and many more.
Join us for what looks to be a fantastic conversation. For enquires and enrolments contact course coordinator Mark Riessen on mriessen@adelaide.tabor.edu.au
See attached PDF for more details
On Friday night and Saturday leaders from Churches of Christ around the state engaged in a very constructive and insightful workshop offered by Tim Dyer from John Mark Ministries on dealing with conflict constructively in churches.
For the benefit of those who couldn't make it we have recorded each session and have uploaded audio along with photos of whiteboard brainstorming sessions and powerpoint presentations converted to PDF.
Go to our 'Sermon & Seminars' tab in the app menu and select the recording you wish to listen to. We have attempted to match the notes and powerpoint slides with the audio where possible.
This is a great resource to share with your leadership teams. Just download our app to any IOS or Android smart phone or tablet and listen together or individually. Tim has shared valuable insights on how to promote healthy and constructive conversations in times of tension or brokenness.
Please find available part 1 & 2 of the Friday night session and Saturday morning in 5 parts. We will share Saturday afternoon in a final 3 part recording shortly.
If you would like access to the resources Tim has provided, visit the link below for a brief story of his visit to us in Adelaide with downloadable and printable versions of everything he shared with us.
Attached below is a PDF of the booklet Tim worked through with us over the 2 days
It can be hard to know where to start praying for God’s Kingdom. How should we pray? What should we pray for? How do hear God’s answer? Despite these questions, we know prayer is powerful. So how can we join in God’s plan for the world through prayer? This year Prayer Matters is going back to basics. We’re taking a step back to look at what it means to join together and pray for our world and our communities. God’s mission is global. In prayer we join Him and Christians all over the world to support one another and to change the world. So join us as we get back to the basics of prayer, and reconnect with God, and our global community through prayer.
May 16th-20th 2016
Check event details or click on the link below
This is a gentle reminder about the workshop on Dealing Constructively with Conflict in the Church with Tim Dyer this Friday evening and Saturday.
When we pause to think about the amount of time and energy, and the heartache and relational damage that results when conflict is not dealt with appropriately in our churches, it immediately becomes obvious just how important it is for us to do better in this regard. And we need to do better not just so we can have a more tranquil life together, but because the very integrity of our identity as Christian communities is at risk when we become entangled in conflict and disharmony. The Apostle Paul puts it bluntly; “If … you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." [Galatians 5:15]
This workshop, and the others that will follow in the next 12 months are designed specifically for us:
• to learn how to deal constructively and effectively with situations of conflict in our congregations
• to increase our capacity to engage conflict maturely as a movement
• to build churches which minimise the occurrence destructive conflict
Tomorrow (Tuesday May 10th) is the last opportunity to register your intention to attend. Are you attending? Have you encouraged anyone else to attend? Please give this your prayerful consideration.
While Mothers Day is a great day to celebrate and spoil our mothers, let's pause and pray for the mothers of people who are in Australian immigration detention centres. Particularly for those still detained on Manus Island
The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce has launched a campaign to pray and to #bringthemhere
A prayer has been written to assist with leading at worship services on Sunday May 8th.
Register your church to participate in the national day of prayer at: info@acrt.com.au
Click on the link below for the prayer and more information on joining the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce campaigns