Gordon Pymble Uniting Church | Non-business places

Gordon Pymble Uniting Church

Phone: +61 2 9498 6729

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22.01.2022 Creating a carry bag from an old t-shirt - very successful workshop this morning. Great fun, lots of hilarity and lots achieved! Watch for further news of Monday workshops starting in February.

21.01.2022 Here are some more sketches to amuse and inspire you ...

21.01.2022 Do you have as much variety in your week as our iso-artist, Jeanie? Which is your favourite sketch this week?

20.01.2022 Jesus, we have talked about this.. I often imagine a conversation between Jesus and Caiaphas. Jesus would be complaining about how the birds for temple sacrifice were way too expensive for the ordinary person. Caiaphas on the other hand would be trying to explain that they had to be that price. The suppliers of breeding birds have to pay for the feed, the transportation costs are higher to avoid bird mortality and the temple needs to take its cut to ensure all the operatio...ns are kept orderly. But Jesus would argue that this is all for nought if nobody can afford it AND you are threatening people with spiritual consequences if they do not comply. Eventually, Caiaphas says This Jesus must go. It is just too difficult; he is disruptive and that is the last thing we need during the Roman occupation.

18.01.2022 Go ahead and eat the apple. Most current interpretation of the Garden of Eden titles it the fall of humanity, as if somehow it is better to be ignorant, unaware and irresponsible. We could title it the rise of humanity. Humanity ate the apple; our eyes opened, and we became like Gods, wilful, but responsible. Life becomes a litany of choice and responsibility.... If we destroy the earth through pollution, then we are responsible. If we fail to treat men and woman as equals, then we are responsible. If we fail to welcome the stranger, then we are responsible. If we buy cheap shirts, effectively made by slaves, we are responsible. The Garden of Eden story posits some of the cost of responsibility. We have to work hard; relationships are difficult and children will test our strength through their will and desire. When Jesus started his last week, he confronted the rich, powerful, the government and ‘church’ with their irresponsibility. They killed him rather than confront the challenges in front of them. So go ahead and take a big bite. The worst that can happen is that we start to take responsibility; and life might suddenly seem a whole lot harder too.

18.01.2022 Entering uncertainty. For many people Easter Eve is not uncertain at all. Tomorrow we will celebrate resurrection, and all have easter eggs. What is the problem here? Because when we look at life via the past, it seems obvious what will happen. But we do not live that way. We live in the present, the future is uncertain and often opaque to us.... And so that takes us to Easter Saturday. We have sacrificed a great deal, but what will happen next? We live in uncertainty, not sure of tomorrow. Will the sacrifice be worth it? Easter Eve drives us forward in faith and hope (since we have no certainty), but ready to make sacrifice again, even with doubt, fear and risk. Easter Eve is a scary place and many of us want to run away. Stop and think today about uncertainty. Learn to trust your hope and faith your sacrifice may just be enough.

16.01.2022 Another week takes up to Day 222 - who would have imagined that our creative iso-artist would still be entertaining us in this way for so long. Thank you, Jeanie - you brighten up each day.

16.01.2022 Lifeline are looking for VOLUNTEERS Community Visitors Scheme (CVS). Would you like to improve the quality of life for a lonely person living within an Aged Care Facility?... You would be supporting them through a regular visit, occurring once a week or once a fortnight. Visits may be face to face, by phone or via video depending upon current guidelines of the Aged Care Facilities. The aim of the CVS program is to build relationships of friendship and companionship by matching people who share similar interests. It does require a commitment from you in order to establish an ongoing companionship between you and the recipient. Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury undertake your Police Check and provide you with an online CVS course and additional training and social opportunities. It is a Public Health requirement that all Aged Care Facility visitors provide proof of a current Flu Vaccination. If you would like more information please contact: Sharon Richards 9498 8805 or email [email protected]. You can of course talk to one of our staff at GPUC too.

15.01.2022 The tearing of the curtain Ever since the first awakening of spirituality in Neanderthals, some 70,000 years ago, we have been looking for meaning and purpose (https://www.smithsonianmag.com//rethinking-neanderthals-8/). As homo sapiens started to figure out the power of the human spirit, religion formed to assist this exploration. But something that powerful often encourages people to view religion as a possible control mechanism. ... And so this tension continues to this day between the spirit and the secular. But an often-forgotten piece of symbolism happens during the crucifixion. The temple curtain is torn from top to bottom. The spirit is opened to all. God is released from the temple, the church, the clerical classes and become mixed with the secular. God is among ordinariness bread, wine, water, work. Of course, we continue to spend a lot of time re-sewing up the curtain. The spirit must be protected from the great unwashed.

13.01.2022 Doing a bit of a catch-up with our iso-artist's sketches - love finding out where Jeanie gets her inspiration from.

06.01.2022 The most terrifying of all behaviour to the powerful is non-compliance. During the week we witnessed the way the government would prefer to handle difficult issues like equality of men and women. They would prefer to talk about it behind closed doors (https://www.mamamia.com.au/scott-morrison-womens-protest/). The most common way that power globally deals with dissent even to this day is with violence. This article picks up the government’s frustration that they cannot repr...ess protest and "manage" public opinion easily. Jesus’ ideas became more powerful after he was killed by the state. The idea of non-violent protest as the most powerful of social change became understood and it still stands as the single most influential point of weakness to the powerful. The power of protest is more powerful than organisation of a militia. Easter reminds us of this fact. The question is always, will we stand in the footsteps of Jesus and use whatever power we do have; for good?

05.01.2022 It's been another creative week with plenty of variety in the sketches from our iso-artist, Jeanie. Enjoy reading through these amazing facts and Words of the Day.

04.01.2022 There are plenty of topical issues to give new inspiration to our iso-artist, Jeanie - we'd love to hear your comments.

03.01.2022 Messy Church was last Saturday. A fun afternoon making our Christmas puddings with our family and friends. The other puddings were made at home watching our YouTube tutorial. Thanks Judy for all your help buying all the ingredients and dividing into packs. Here are some of the stats: 220 puddings packed 14,000 cherries diced 28kg prunes 55kg raisins ... Best part was making a Christmas wish. Good job Steve with the panoramic picture. See more

01.01.2022 Holiday workshops in the open air