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In January, ‘mission of the month’ giving goes to the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Recently Sandy visited S&K and D&L for a final pastoral visit on completion of their service with CMS and gave them each a photo of Wollongong as a thank you from us all. Parish Council has now resolved to adopt Karina Brabham as a new link missionary going to France. Karina attended St Michael’s while an undergrad at UOW, and has just completed Moore College. She is heading to St Andrew’s Hall in Melbourne, for cross-cultural training, via her home town of Darwin. God willing, she will visit us later this year.

 

Parish Council has also determined Mission of the Month allocations for 2021. They cover gospel work, Bible distribution/teaching, with aid & development locally and internationally. Anything marked “Mission” via EFT giving or duplex envelopes is directed as follows to:

  • January    Church Missionary Society (CMS)
  • February    Anglicare
  • March     Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (for Uni Bible Group)
  • April       Regional Indigenous Ministries (Macarthur & Shoalhaven)
  • May        Moore College, & Anglican Aid (Overseas Ministry Fund)
  • June         Church Missionary Society
  • July             Tim & Siew Mun Nicholls (with Equip Malaysia)
  • August         Wollongong Combined Churches Education Board (WCCEB)
  • September Church Missionary Society
  • October      Gideons & Scripture Union
  • November Anglican Youthworks
  • December Church Missionary Society

 

Parish Council has a policy of only promoting those Christian organisations adopted as a Mission of the Month. The Parish Council also enables an annual opportunity to support a few other projects via the one-off annual Thanksgiving Day. Apart from that – as a parish – we do not promote other groups. It’s not that other organisations are unworthy; just that we need to focus giving, prayers, and attention on a limited number, otherwise efforts become too diluted.

 

Anglicare is the mission of the month for February, and their 2020 annual report detailed a super hard year, with bushfires and the Newmarch House COVID outbreak. But there were some great stories; e.g., Al Fresco church in retirement villages, and the Church at Home Youtube channel initiatives, the CaterSmart system to improve meals for residential aged care, a great Reconciliation artwork for Anglicare by Kathy Donnelly, as part of their wider Reconciliation Action Plan. Go Anglicare. They do some great mission and caring work.

 

In other Parish Council news, stand by for commencement of the roof replacement works in February. The loan, contract and approvals are ready, and we just await start date, with a 12-16 week works period. It will limit access to the cathedral during weekdays, but it can be used for church, weddings and funerals on weekends.

 

Parish Councillors were impressed by the conduct of our Carols and Christmas services outdoors and inside, under COVID limits. We thank musicians, ushers, techies, and many others for their hard work. We are also grateful to Ed Kuschel of Elk Elektronik for his ongoing work to upgrade the AV in the cathedral and now with new mounting in the hall.