With International Women’s Day coming up, I wanted to share a book I’ve found both encouraging and thought-provoking: Jesus Through the Eyes of Women by Rebecca McLaughlin. It’s one of those books that makes you slow down and look again at familiar Gospel stories. McLaughlin explores the women who met Jesus — the ones who […]

Have you ever thought about how many times in the New Testament the Christian life is compared to the physical training of the body in earthly, temporary pursuits? This is just off the top of my head: There are many more instances (that I will try to cover in future minister’s letters), but for now […]

It’s wonderful to grow in our knowledge of God’s word. But thankfully, God wants more, – and better – for us than just knowledge. In Colossians 1:9–10, the Apostle Paul shares God’s desire when he prays for believers: “…since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask […]

Passing Australia Day, the year really has begun!  The ‘Summer break’ is over.  I start a new year refreshed from an extended break on long service leave.    I enter a new year with an increased reserve of thankfulness, & my prayer is that I maintain my gratitude.   As we start a new year, I’m reflecting & praying over our […]

I am sure that you are as appalled as I am by the tragedy at Bondi this week. The darkness that seems ever-present in our poor planet has come home to us, to somewhere as quintessentially Australian as Bondi Beach, and we grieve at such acts of hatred. Lord Jesus, have mercy. How can we […]

If there is one time in the year when it’s “easy” to invite friends and family to church, it’s Christmas.  There is no other time in the year when people get as excited for something that they don’t fully understand! Apart, maybe, from people who claim to really understand what’s going on in a cricket game (pardon my Swiss-ness).  Unless your friend is named Ebenezer Scrooge and believes that “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas,’ […]

As we heard last Sunday, the Anglican Church in our diocese has nominated the last two Sundays in November to raise awareness of the ongoing and pervasive problem of domestic abuse in our communities and in our churches. This is in conjunction with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 – […]

Autumn: the season of colour. Here in Australia, the trees give us green, russet and amber, in the sky and on the ground. It can be quite beautiful, but the display is nature’s last hurrah before the gloomy slide into winter. By the first century, the glory days of Israel were well and truly fading. […]