This morning we celebrate the feast of All Saints. No Christian is solitary. Through baptism we become members one of another in Christ, members of a company of saints whose mutual belonging transcends death. As Charles Wesley wrote:
One family, we dwell in him,
one Church, above, beneath;
though now divided by the stream,
the narrow stream of death.
All Saints’ Day and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed on All Souls’ Day (Monday) both celebrate this mutual belonging. All Saints’ Day celebrates men and women in whose lives the Church as a whole has seen the grace of God powerfully at work. It is an opportunity to give thanks for that grace, and for the wonderful ends to which it shapes a human life; it is a time to be encouraged by the example of the saints and to recall that sanctity may grow in the ordinary circumstances, as well as the extraordinary crises, of human living.
The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed on All Soul’s Day (Monday) celebrates the saints in a more local and intimate key. It allows us to remember with thanksgiving before God those whom we have known more directly: those who gave us life, or who nurtured us in faith.
Redemption is a work of God’s grace; it is God who redeems us in Christ and there is nothing to be done beyond what Christ has done. But we still wait for the final consummation of God’s new creation in Christ; those who are Christ’s, whether or not they have passed through death, are joined in prayer that God’s kingdom will be revealed finally and in all its fullness.
Church worship returns in 10 days time!
We will recommence services in church on Wednesday 11 November (Remembrance Day) at 10.30am. There will initially be four services per week:
Wednesday at 10.30am
Saturday at 6pm
Sunday at 8am
Sunday at 10am
There is a mandatory limit of 20 people + one clergy member at each service. This is different from the arrangements we had when we opened for 2 weeks in July. Initially there will only be 18 congregants, a sidesperson and an organist. No other assistants. This will remain the case until the state government varies this restriction, quite probably from 22 November.
The Sunday 8.30 service has been changed to 8am so that we can have the church cleaned before the 8am service (after Sat@6) and also before the 10am service.
REGISTRATION is necessary due to the restricted numbers and because we have to collect this data for possible contact tracing by the State government in the event that COVID flares up again.
So please click here, or go to our website – standrewsbrighton.org.au and click on REGISTER here in the big red section:
Then you will be taken to a list of events and, below that, a calendar:
Then click on the service for which you would like to register, and a short reservation form will appear. The English services are in blue, the bilingual services in purple and the Chinese services are shown in red.
You will get an email confirmation. Sorry that we can’t make the calendar nor its print any larger. You may have to magnify it at your end.
Once the limit on attendance is extended to 50 or more, you will be able to book in for the same service on multiple days. Registration is likely to remain necessary throughout 2021 until the COVID restrictions are lifted because, at present, we have to maintain a list of everyone who attends each service (for contact tracing purposes).
Those without the internet or the courage give this a try, are welcome to ring the Parish Office 03 9592 1240 (the phone is still redirected) and the Vicar will book you in.
ZOOM service changes
The Bilingual Service will continue on Sunday morning at 11.00 am using the Zoom app. Similarly the Chinese Morning Prayer service on Wednesdays will continue at 10am.
These arrangements remain in place until the numbers allowed at our physical services can be increased.
Next Sunday will be our last : Mattins : service at 10am because the following week we will be back in church at that time.
Baptisms
As we have restricted numbers at our services, baptisms will now be conducted separately, or privately as some say. Please contact me or Michelle so arrangements can be made – two booked in already!
Please continue to pray for the 14 people from the local Chinese community who attending our on-line Alpha Course as an introduction to Christianity. They are being led by Michelle and are joined by some of our own Chinese parishioners. Pray that the Holy Spirit might move some of these seekers to become Christians.
Our Opportunity shop will be opening on Wednesday 4 November, initially trading for two days per week - Wednesday and Thursday 10am – 3pm. If you have clean clothing and any curiosities for donation, please bring them along on a Wednesday or Thursday.
PARISH ANNUAL MEETING
Our Parish Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday 28 November at 11am using the ZOOM app. You can download a copy of the Notice & Agenda here. We have a special page on our website for Annual Meeting information (in case you lose the details) and it can be accessed here or from the front page of our website.
Arrangements are being made for those without a computer – who will be contacted individually. Whether you are on the Parish Electoral Roll or not, a copy of the Annual Report for 2020 will be forwarded by email or post in order to keep you informed.
Invitations to nominate for the office bearer roles – Churchwarden, Parish Council or Incumbency Committee member will be sent out to everyone on the Parish Electoral Roll this week. The form can be downloaded here. More information about how these roles will function in the future next week.
The completed form must be returned to the Parish Office (by posting to, or leaving the form at, the Parish Office, 228 New Street, Brighton 3186 by 3pm on 14 November 2020 or by email to vicar@standrewsbrighton.org.au.
This week at St Andrew’s:
Sunday
10am - : Mattins : (in English) [join here]
11am – Bi-lingual service [join here]
Anytime – Video Eucharist [watch]
Monday
1.30pm – English Conversation Class [join here]
Wednesday
10am – Morning Prayer (in Chinese) [join here]
10.30am – Chat with the Vicar and friends [join here]
Thursday
10am – Bible study (in English) ‘The ‘I AM’ statements in St John’s Gospel’ [join here]
Friday
7.30pm – Alpha Course (in Chinese) [join here]
BACK TO THE NEW NORMAL
Church Street has been abuzz since retailing has returned. Our carpark is full, many final year students preparing for their VCE exams next week, no doubt. Not a problem as they will be finished before we need it. I notice that hairdressers have been busy – men and women. Our Schoolhouse Café is now operating under new management – Mark and Kim – and the good weather has seen a return to outdoor dining – socially-distanced, of course.
More next week!
主任牧师寄语 1/11/2020
点击这里加入我们的双语Zoom在线崇拜 每周日上午11点
今天早上，我们庆祝圣徒节。没有基督徒是孤独的。借着洗礼，我们成为基督里的一员，成为一群圣徒，他（她）们的归属超越了死亡。正如查尔斯·卫斯理（Charles Wesley）写道：
一个家庭，我们住在他里面，
上下同一座教堂；
尽管现在被溪流分开，
死亡的小溪流。
“圣徒节”和“诸灵节“纪念日（星期一）都庆祝这一共同归属。圣徒节庆祝教会作为一个整体，有效地看到了上帝的恩典。这是一个为恩典，为人类生活的美好结局献上感谢的机会；这是一个被圣徒的榜样激励的时刻，并回顾在人类生活的一般情况和非凡危机下圣徒的都需要成为圣洁。
忠实信徒纪念日（星期一）以更加本地化和亲密的方式来为圣徒庆祝。它使我们能够在上帝面前感恩地记住那些我们更直接认识的人：那些赋予了我们生命或以信仰培育我们的人。
救赎是上帝恩典的工作。上帝是在基督里救赎了我们，除了基督所做的之外，别无他法。但是，我们仍在等待上帝在基督里最后创造新的事物。那些在基督里的人，不管他（她）们是否经历死亡，都参加祈祷，使神的国度最终得以完全显现
教堂敬拜将在10天之内返回！
我们将在11月11日（星期三）纪念日Remembrance Day （（上午10:30）在教堂里重新开始崇拜。每周将开放四场崇拜。
星期三上午10.30
星期六下午6点
星期日上午8点
星期日上午10点
每场崇拜的强制性限制为20人，并加一名神职人员。这与我们在7月开放2周时的安排不同。这次其实每场崇拜只能有18名会众，一名事务负责人员和一位管风琴手。这种情况将会持续直到下一次政府的通知，有可能是在11月22日。
周日的8.30崇拜已更改为上午8点，这样我们就可以在早上8点崇拜之前（星期六6点之后）和早上10点崇拜之前清理教堂。
由于数量有限，需要登记，因为一旦COVID返回，我们必须收集此数据，以便州政府进行可能的联系跟踪。
请点击这里, 或访问我们的网站- standrewsbrighton.org.au或点击以下红色区域来登记注册
之后你会看到一个日历
然后单击您要的参加的崇拜（它们显示为蓝色），然后会出现一个简短的登记表格。您将会收到一封电子邮件确认。
一旦参加崇拜人数限制扩展到50人或更多，您就可以在多天内登记相同的崇拜。在取消COVID限制之前，整个2021年可能都需要进行登记，因为目前，我们必须保持一份参加每场崇拜的所有人的名单（出于联系追踪的目的）。
那些没有互联网或需要帮忙的会众，欢迎致电教会办公室03 9592 1240，牧师会帮助您登记。
中英双语崇拜
双语崇拜将在上午11:30？继续进行（注意更改时间）。同样，中文晨祷改在上午10点继续。
这些安排将保持不变，直到可以回复到以前的面对面崇拜。
洗礼
由于我们的崇拜数量有限，因此洗礼将会另外进行。请与我或Michelle联系 - 已经有两个人预订！
请为来自当地华人社区的14名参加 Alpha课程的慕道友祷告，祈求圣灵作工，打开他们的心，接受基督成为她（他）们的救主，成为基督徒，享受成为神儿女的喜乐。
我们Op商店将于11月4日星期三开业，刚开始会每周只营业两天- 星期三和星期四上午10点至下午3点。欢迎您捐赠干净的衣服和其它物品。
教会年会
我们的网站上有一个特殊页面，用于提供年会信息（以防您丢失详细信息，可以在此处here. 或从我们网站的首页进行访问。进入网站请点击这里here 。
我们正在安排为没有计算机的会众服务，我们会单独联系您。无论您是否在教会选举的名单上，都会通过电子邮件或邮寄转发《 2020年年度报告》副本，以使您随时了解情况。
提名教会理事会或现任委员会成员的公职职位邀请将在本周的教会选举名单上发送给所有人。表格可以在这里下载。以上职位的描述下几周告知。
填妥的表格必须交回教会办公室（在2020年11月14日下午3时之前2寄于以下地址：228 New Street, Brighton 3186 或通过电子方式寄给vicar@standrewsbrighton.org.au）
周日
上午11时-双语崇拜[点击进入]
随时-线上圣餐[观看]
周三
上午10:30 -与牧师和朋友聊天[点击进入]
周四
星期五
晚上7:30 -Alpha 中文启发课程[点击进入]
回到新常态
自从零售部门可以重新营业，Church Street一直很热闹。毫无疑问，我们的停车场人满为患。许多即将毕业的学生准备下周参加VCE考试。我注意到，美发师们一直很忙。我们的SchoolhouseCafé咖啡厅现在在新的租户Mark和Kim管理下营运良好，美好的天气使室外宾朋满座，当然社交距离还是需要保持的。
下周将有更多信息提供。