In this morning’s New Testament reading, St Paul exhorts us, as Christians, not to be judgmental of one another, but to love.
Jesus was very clear: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven’ [Luke 6.37]. Ironically it is often in a theological setting that judgements are make about who is right and who is wrong when it comes to biblical interpretation, particularly about St Paul’s own writings. More on St Paul’s instructions to the Romans in the video and 11am sermons.
We wait in anticipation that some announcement will be made by the Premier of Victoria concerning the way out of Stage 4 Coronavirus restriction. In the meantime the Parish Council met this week to consider a number of important plans for the future.
The Mission Action Plan 2020-24 which I presented to Parish Council has been adopted. This is based on an assessment of our strengths and abilities, reflects the results of the 2019 parish survey, and the existing commitments to our schools and Chinese ministry. [Download]
Parish Council also agreed on the pattern of services that I proposed St Andrew’s offers once the COVID restrictions are fully removed. The services will initially remain largely as they were, except our first service on a Sunday will be earlier to allow clergy to socialise with that congregation afterwards. Also, the use of the Pioneer Chapel and Lady Chapel will vary on a seasonal basis to ensure the safety and comfort of parishioners.
Post-COVID services
Sunday
8am Sung Eucharist
10am Choral Eucharist
11.30am Chinese service (first and third Sundays)
5pm Choral Evensong (second Sunday)
Monday
5pm Christian Meditation
Wednesday
10.30am Said Eucharist
Friday
7.30am Said Eucharist
Saturday
6pm Contemporary Eucharist
This is a large number of regular services for a congregation of our size, averaging seven services per week. There are a variety of conditions precedent to retaining some of them, the principal one being our need to fund a replacement for Christine, who left in January.
In planning for a reopening, we are very much in the hands of the State Government, and the Diocese. It is the Parish Council’s hope that once we care permitted have 20 people at a service, we will have the weekend services (Sat@6, 8 & 10am Sunday) and the 10.30am on Wednesday. The Sunday bi-lingual service at 11am will remain on the Zoom platform at that stage, and our weekly video Eucharist service will still appear on YouTube in the expectation that some parishioners may continue their social isolation until a vaccine for Coronavirus is available.
To attend church, on-line pre-registration will again be necessary to comply with the government imposed limit on the number of people who can be present (this may also apply at Christmas). All the services will be in the nave church, as it has been set up for the requisite social distancing, directional signage and commercial cleaning between each service - which has been arranged in anticipation. I will update you once Victoria’s COVID restriction reduction becomes clearer.
In addition to these matters, the Parish Council has also considered how to build community amongst our parishioners through the offering of a more convivial space of fellowship after each service. Sat@6 & Wednesdays do this well, but the use of the narthex as configured is not working at 10am. Most people leave following the service rather than stay for refreshments and interaction. Accordingly, and noting hopefully that its continued use is an interim measure until the new facilities are available, some changes to the seating availability in the narthex will be undertaken when we finally get back to being able to offer refreshments again.
StAndrews@home this week:
Sunday (today)
10am - : Mattins : (in English) [join here]
11am – Bi-lingual service [join here]
anytime – Video Eucharist [watch]
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 signs in St John’s Gospel’ [join here]
Friday
7.30pm – Chinese bible study [join here]
Next week we celebrate:
an ecumenical celebration at which Christians around the world renew their relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment. We will consider the integral relationship between rest for the Earth and ecological, economic, social, and political ways of living.
This year’s theme: “Jubilee for the Earth: New Rhythms, New Hope.” Amid the crises that have shaken our world, we are awakened to the urgent need to heal our relationships with creation and each other. The need for just and sustainable systems has been revealed by the far-reaching effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Trusting that you enjoy some spring weather this week.
主任牧师寄语 30/08/2020
在今天早上的《新约》读经中，圣保罗告诫我们，作为基督徒，不要评判别人，即使是你的敌人，也要去爱。这是上周使徒书信的内容，保罗谈到“基督徒的标志”。
耶稣说得很清楚:“你们不要论断人，就不被论断;你们不要定人的罪，就不被定罪。饶恕，你就必蒙饶恕。“具有讽刺意味的是，通常是在神学的背景下，当涉及到圣经的解释，特别是圣保罗自己的著作时，人们经常来主观判断关于谁对谁错的问题。更多关于圣保罗对罗马人的解释，请观看网上视频和周日上午11点的布道。
我们期待着维多利亚州州长就如何结束第四阶段的冠状病毒限制发表一些声明。与此同时，教会议会本周开会讨论了一系列未来的重要计划。
我向教会议会提交的宣教行动计划2020-24已获通过。这是基于对我们实力和能力的评估，反映了2019年教会问卷调查的结果，以及对我们的学校和华人事工的评价。(下载报告)
教会议会也同意我提议的崇拜模式，一旦COVID限制完全取消，圣安德烈教会就会提供这些崇拜。
最初的仪式将基本保持原样，除了我们周日的第一次仪式将会更早，以便神职人员可以在之后与会众进行交流。此外，先锋礼拜堂Pioneer Chapel和圣母礼拜堂Lady Chapel的使用将根据季节而有所不同，以确保教会会众的安全和舒适。
疫情结束后的崇拜
周日
8点圣餐
上午10点-合唱圣餐
上午11:30 -中文崇拜 (第一及第三个星期日)
下午5:00 -合唱晚颂(第二个星期日)
周一
下午5点基督徒默想
周三
10.30圣餐
周五
7.30pm 圣餐
周六
下午6点 圣餐
对于我们这样规模的会众来说，这是一个很大的常规礼拜，平均每周七次。保留其中一些有各种各样的先决条件，最主要的一个是我们需要为接替Christine的人提供资金支持，她在今年一月份离开了教会。
很大程度上我们的重新开放的计划，掌握在州政府和教区的手中。教会议会希望，一旦我们的崇拜被允许有20人参加，我们将在周末(周六@6，周日上午8点和10点)和周三上午10点30分举行礼拜。周日上午11点的双语崇拜将继续在Zoom平台上举行，而我们每周的视频圣餐崇拜也将继续出现在YouTube上，希望一些教区居民可以继续与社会隔离并且参与教会活动，直到出现冠状病毒疫苗。
如欲参加教会活动，仍须在网上预先登记，以符合政府对出席人数的限制(圣诞节亦适用)。所有的仪式都将在中殿教堂举行，因为它已经在每个仪式之间建立了必要的社交距离、方向标识和商业清洁——这些都是预先安排好的。等Victoria的COVID限制减少，明确后我会随时更新。
此外，教会议会亦考虑如何在每一次礼拜后，提供一个更融洽的联谊空间，在会众中建立社区。Sat@6和周三在这方面做得很好，但是按照配置使用中堂聚会在上午10点就不行了。大多数人会在崇拜结束后离开，而不是留下来吃点心和交流。另外，我们希望在新设施投入使用之前，继续使用它只是一种临时措施，当我们最终恢复提供茶点时，将对中堂的布置进行一些改变。
本周，就在我写这篇的时候，牧师住宅的网络瘫痪了。本周，通过NBN与教区办公室的电话线路也已最终接通。巧合吗?最有可能的是，在本周的强风中，将互联网和牧师住宅中间的架空电线表现不佳。我希望它很快修好。澳洲电信正在调查此事。
本周StAndrews@home:
周日
10am: 晨祷 (英文)[点击进入]
11am: 双语崇拜[点击进入]
随时-线上圣餐[观看]
周三
上午10点-晨祷(中文)[ 点击进入]
上午10:30 -与牧师和朋友聊天[点击进入]
周四
上午10点-圣经学习(英文)“圣约翰福音中的神迹奇事”( 点击进入)
周五
晚上7:30 -中文圣经学习 [点击进入]
下周我们将要庆祝
一个普世的庆典，在这个庆典上，世界各地的基督徒通过庆祝、皈依和委身来更新他们与造物主和万物的关系。我们将考虑地球的休息与生态、经济、社会和政治生活方式之间的整体关系。
今年的主题是“地球禧年:新节奏、新希望”。“在震撼世界的危机中，我们清醒地认识到，我们迫切需要修复我们与造物主以及彼此之间的关系。 全球COVID-19大流行的深远影响显示了公正和可持续系统的必要性。
希望大家能够享受美好的春天。