Hospitality • Justice • Growth
Welcome to CSBC Online for Sunday September 20, 2020.
In today’s video Carolyn asks Simon Holt, Geoff Maddock and Sherry Maddock about what they imagine or hope for when they pray “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” as Jesus taught. Thomas Cheok leads us in the Lord’s Prayer.
Peace and hope to you all today and in the week to come.
Today we pray for the world and for one another as Carolyn reflects on the story of Jacob’s struggle with the angel from the book of Genesis,
and David Cundy, Judy Morgan and David Morgan share their own stories of struggle. Thank you to Carolyn Newall for the beautiful scripture reading.
A reflection from Sherry Maddock, our Neighbourhood Engagement Coordinator and resident gardener.
I have always thought of seeds as a start, an origin point. Spring comes and it warms up and seeds embody the start of a season, the start of a plant’s life, the start of a relationship. Seeds are an enduring symbol of promise, something on its way in a very small package.
It wasn’t until I no longer had access to seeds (world-wide pandemic buying), that I went looking for them out in our Verandah Café garden. In search of future plants, I found both flowers and herbs with perfectly dried seed heads, waiting to be harvested. On this cold autumn day, I realised something for the first time – seeds begin at the end. It is not until the final stage of a plant’s life-cycle that seeds appear. Death prepares for life.
Thank goodness I found dried out flowers and pods standing ready to provide to the next generation a new version of themselves. Before I knew it, this errand of seed saving brought me hope. Hope and seeds are so closely related, the former materialised in the latter. Both promise something to come and contain so much unseen. Like hope, seeds hold time in captivity, demonstrating the power of dormancy and the wait for the right conditions.
For me, hope is a hard-earned present sense of longing that exists only for a future reality. Cultivated and experienced in the now, it is for something to come. A seed encapsulates hope – a tiny suitcase of goodness that unpacks itself in the future. Seeds are like genesis treasures; they have a priceless supply of life in exponential quantities, hosting all that is necessary for life to begin.
Today, in the presence of cold and tired plants, I witnessed the end of one life and the beginning of another. Life carries on through seeds. Seeds reassure us that we have what we need for next year.
Welcome.
In preparation for an online communion service today, our pastor Simon is joined by Barbara Martin and Katherine Jones in reflecting on the significance of this ritual for life and faith.
Following this and in honour of Father’s Day, we are led in prayers of thanksgiving for fathers and the role they play in our lives.
Peace be with you.
Today Carolyn shares some reflections on our experiences of discontent and what we might learn from the biblical prophets. The Melbourne-based performance poet Joel McKerrow offers a spoken word piece about the experience of lockdown, and our CSBC deacons lead us in prayer.
At the end of today’s video our friends from the Flinders St Baptist Church in Adelaide share a greeting and words of blessing.
Thank you for joining in with us today.
Today, Carolyn looks at the tradition of Lament – the sad songs of the Bible, and asks whether we can learn to hold grief and gratitude at the same time.
We are led in prayer by members of the CSBC community: Merilyn Rees, Barbara Martin, Laurie Buchanan, Elizabeth Woodall and Neil Wright.
Today our pastors Carolyn and Simon engage in conversation about freedom, the gospel and our life in lockdown.
Wherever you are and however you are participating, know that you are welcome.
Peace to you.
Dear Friends,
Today Carolyn Francis asks how we choose to nourish our spirits during a time of crisis, and Sherry Maddock gives us a story of good news and mission from Central House. It is heartening to know that hope and generosity prevail, even in moments like this one!
We hope many of you will also join us online for communion this morning. A link was sent via email during the week.
May you know God’s grace and goodness.
Welcome to CSBC online.
Today we hear some reflections on the themes of Comfort and Isolation led by Simon Holt and Ben Verghese, with prayers and readings from Carolyn Francis, Brenda Holt and Shirley Graves-Mortimer, and music played by David Cundy.
Peace and grace to you all.
Welcome.
In today’s video we listen in on a conversation between our pastors, Simon and Carolyn, as they reflect together on the meaning of faith in times of disruption.
Know that as we gather today, even in this virtual way, we do so as a community bound by our common experience of God’s grace.
Peace be with you.