Noarlunga Uniting Church in Christies Beach | Religious centre

Noarlunga Uniting Church

Locality: Christies Beach

Phone: +61 8 8384 3868

Address: 23 William Road 5165 Christies Beach, SA, Australia

Website: sa.uca.org.au/find-a-church/by-list/noarlunga-uniting-church

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25.01.2022 A message from our minister:- This week, I was thinking of a quote from Dr Samuel Johnson. He said, Depend upon it Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. It is a cheery thought I know, but when time is short, we do tend to recognise what the more important things are and give them priority. When we are rushing out the door, late for a meeting, we don’t tend to think about what our favourite movie franchise is, but rath...er whether or not we have the papers we need. When someone is saying goodbye to leave on a trip, we don’t talk to them about what shopping we might need next week, we ensure they know that we love them and care about them. In our gospel reading today, Jesus knows His time is short. Judas has just left the room to betray Him and Jesus knows it’s only a few hours until He will be arrested. It is during this short period that He prays for His disciples. In this prayer we see the deepest concerns Jesus has for them, those worries that are closest to His heart that He prays for in these last moments He has. He prays that as He leaves them in the world, they will be united, they will be equipped for mission and protected, and that they will keep living as He has called them to live. These things are going to be essential for the disciples when they are left in the world after Jesus has left them. As we are the church now, these concerns apply to us too. Jesus has these concerns because while the church was specifically told they would remain in the world and will face these risks. Jesus knows that if we continue with His mission, we will face challenges. But that’s the point, we are commissioned to continue with Christ’s mission and is a matter of necessity that we engage in this mission with those around us. If we were meant to remain apart from the world, Jesus would not have these concerns for us. It is because we are meant to be involved in the world that give Jesus these concerns. God did not remain apart from the world but came as Jesus to engage with it, as is the church. Jesus did not intend for the church to be a private members club or a refuge from the world but rather a body of people fully engaged in showing God’s love to the world. Jesus knows it will not be easy and we will face challenges that could affect our unity and commitment to the mission but, thanks to the Spirit, we have the answer to His prayer. May we assuage the concerns that Jesus has for the church by being the people we are called to be.

24.01.2022 A message from our minister:- It must have been amazing for the disciples to be in the presence of Jesus. Here was someone who could show them what life in the Kingdom of God looked like. Through watching Jesus and learning from Him, the disciples could see that there was a difference between how the world was and how it was meant to be. As Jesus fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked and included those that society had excluded, the disciples were able to s...ee a different way to live; the way God wanted them to live. Now that Jesus has left them to return to God, how can the disciples continue to witness to this different way of life? How can they be shown the gap between how thigs are and how things are meant to be without the presence of Jesus at their side? Fortunately, they are not going to be left alone in the dark to work this out for themselves. Today we celebrate Pentecost, a day when the church remembers receiving the gift of the Spirit. As Jesus had promised them, once He returned to God, He would send them the Spirit to lead them, empower them, and show them all the things Jesus had done while He was with them. Just as Jesus came to them from God and showed them how God wanted them to live, so would the Spirit. The Spirit would guide them, teach them, comfort them and resource them just like Jesus did when He was physically with them. It’s almost like the passing of a relay baton, the church moves forward into the next chapter of their ministry with the Spirit as the ongoing presence of God with them rather than Jesus. This is what we celebrate today. As the church in this place, we have been gifted with the Spirit to show us that the way the world is at present is not the way it is meant to be. Thanks to the Spirit we have our hearts opened to the need of those around us rather than simply ignoring or overlooking them. It is the Spirit that lights the fire of compassion in us and empowers us to help those around us as Jesus did. It is the Spirit that links us to God so we know the call of God upon us and it is the Spirit that brings our prayers to God, even when we cannot articulate them ourselves. We are fortunate to have the Spirit with us as it places us in a similar position to those first disciples that had Jesus with them. We have been gifted with a helper, a counsellor, a comforter and a guide. May we give thanks to God for this amazing gift, joining the thanks of the church throughout history. May our hearts be set on fire for the ongoing mission of God just like those first disciples in that upper room all those years ago.

19.01.2022 "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me, and I in them, bears much fruit." John 15 v. 5. Another stunning encaustic illustration by Kathleen M. Byker for May in the 2021 Noarlunga Uniting calendar.

17.01.2022 A message from our minister:- We will be having a different style of worship service in church this week as we welcome Melissa Neumann from the Synod Intergenerational Team who will be leading our intergenerational service today. Given the activity that has been going on over the last few weeks, it promises to be a very different sort of service and one I am very much looking forward to as we discern together, as a congregation, what worship services might look like for us in... the future. I know you will make Melissa feel welcome today. In our own lives, we get to be a part of many family activities. Whether it is a big celebration like Christmas or Easter, or a birthday or a smaller get together like a barbecue, we love to gather as a family with all the ages together. It brings us joy to see kids running around and older members trying to keep up with the game or understand how to play it. We smile when we see older members taking an interest in the education or career stage of younger members. We seek out those we have not seen for ages to ask how they are getting on. We love to catch up with our families, regardless of what age they are, and we take an active interest in them and their lives. We would never think of excluding some from the gathering because they are too old or too young! As Christians, we also belong to another family, God’s family. The church is made up of all ages and generations. Whether you are 8 (or under) or 80 (or over), you are a loved and valued member of the congregation and you have a gift or grace that the church needs in our mission to be Jesus to those around us. Jesus didn’t exclude anyone on the grounds of their age, rather the opposite as it happens. Jesus welcomed the young, the old, and those in the middle. It’s this sort of attitude that I think we need to be fostering in our churches. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a church service where anyone of any age felt a sense of belonging and value? Wouldn’t it be great if all ages felt welcome just like they did with Jesus? For me, it’s not just about the kids but about having a safe place where everyone, yes everyone, can feel at home. Now, how do I get this play doh out from under my fingernails?

17.01.2022 A message from our minister:- As many of you probably know by now, I am a fan of the grape. Well, I am a fan of the product of grapes once they are fermented and bottled. But a bit like the internal combustion engine, I have little concept of the process involved, I simply appreciate what it does. Yet even with my extremely limited knowledge of viticulture, I know that the grapes only grow if the branches are connected to the vine so they can draw nourishment and moisture fro...m the soil to make the grapes. I also imagine that if a branch isn’t producing grapes, then someone has to do something to remedy this situation. I also imagine that the value of the vine is the quality of the grapes that they produce, rather than how they look. Our reading this week comes from John’s gospel where Jesus refers to Himself as the true vine. Like last week, the true vine has its roots (sorry) in Hebrew Scripture. Isaiah speaks of Israel being like a vineyard planted by God who wanted to see it produce good fruit, love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness however they only produced bad fruit like injustice and bloodshed. For Jesus to claim He is the true vine is to claim that the fruit He produces is the good fruit God wants to see in the world. Jesus can produce this fruit thanks to His connection to God and He calls those who follow Him to be like branches connected to Him, the true vine. The warning is that if we are not connected to Jesus, we will be unable to produce this good fruit and we will wither and die. It’s a valuable lesson for the church these days. While all the branches may look alike, we are warned that unless we are connected to Jesus, we will not produce this good fruit. As followers of Jesus, we have to make sure that Jesus is therefore the centre of our lives. It shows us that our relationship to Jesus is a living and growing one. It is not enough to say we follow Jesus then leave it like that, we need to work at deepening this relationship. It makes clear that it is up to God to do the pruning of branches that do not produce good fruit, not the other branches. We therefore have to concentrate on ensuring that we produce good fruit ourselves and worry less about others. It shows us that our value to God is not based on the size of our bank balances, investment portfolios, social standing or numbers who follow us on social media, our value comes from the size of our hearts and the fruit we produce. Whether or not a vine produces fruit becomes obvious throughout the growing period, so it is with our lives. Saying we love is not enough, we have to produce this love in how we live.

15.01.2022 A message from our minister:- Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday where we reflect on our unique understanding of God to be three distinct persons, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. While it’s a famously difficult concept to understand, we should maybe see the Trinity as more like a mystery to marvel at rather than a problem to be solved. While there are a number of aspects to the Trinity, one aspect is how it reveals God to be highly relational. The three persons dwell with one... another and exist in a perfect relationship with one another. Just as God exists in this way, so we are invited to join in this relationship, and it is this invitation that we are reflecting on today. This is just one reason why God is unique, inviting us to share in the life and mission of the divine. In our reading from Isaiah, we see that the prophet was called into the presence of God to address an issue on God’s behalf. God has need of someone to go and tell God’s people what God’s will is for them. While Isaiah knew that he was unworthy for this task, God nonetheless called him and, through the activity of God, cleansed him. In response to this amazing act of grace, Isaiah willingly takes on the role of going to the people and being God’s prophet among them. In our second reading, we see how a similar invitation is extended to us. Thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, we are also cleansed and brought into a new relationship with God. Through this adoption we are drawn into a deeper relationship with God and in gratitude for God’s grace shown to us, we go out on mission to witness to God, participating in Christ’s mission to reconcile the world back to God. God made the world and sent Jesus into it to begin the work of establishing the kingdom of God. When Jesus returned to God, God then sent the Spirit to continue with the work of advancing the kingdom across the world. We can see how each person of the Trinity has a distinct role to play in this mission. What is more amazing is that through Jesus we can see who God is and understand how God longs for us to be in a relationship with God. Through the Spirit we are drawn into this relationship and offered the chance to participate in the mission of God. We are able to have as close a relationship to God as each person of the Trinity has with God. We are encouraged to live within this unity with God and with others. It’s an appropriate message for us this Reconciliation Sunday.

14.01.2022 Elizabeth, a member of our congregation, has been doing a lot of work researching her father's story. Read the full account here. It's also going to be featured on the ABC news at 7:00pm tonight (9 May) https://www.abc.net.au//2021-05-09/loveday-inter/100115732

12.01.2022 "And everyone 'neath their vine and fig tree shall live in peace and harmony (and everyone 'neath their vine and fig tree shall live in peace and harmony). And into plowshares turn their swords; nations shall learn war no more (and into plowshares turn their swords; nations shall learn war no more)." A traditional tune and biblical text with a multi-track improvisation for this season. Our Noarlunga choir will sing this sometime soon at church and also take it out to the community at our upcoming shared concert in June. (Image includes a possum from the Fringe). https://vimeo.com/546370443

08.01.2022 A message from our minister:- There is a Japanese proverb that states the nail that sticks out most gets hammered down to make the point that it is difficult to be different. If you are different, you stand out and, as a result, can make yourself more of a target for abuse or contempt. If you think back to your days in High School, there was nothing worse than not keeping up with the latest trends. Nothing much has changed these days as people constantly check fashion sites... to make sure they fit in with everyone else. We now have a new group of people, Influencers, who tell us what is in, so we won’t appear different from everyone else. Whatever social group you belong to, there’s always some dress code or requirement to fit in and an abiding fear that you, somehow, are seen as different and thus stand out. Our reading today comes from a turning point in Israel’s history. Up until then, Israel was happy to have God as their king. This made them unique and created a special relationship between God and themselves. They however noticed that all the nations around them had human kings and so they come to God’s priest, Samuel, with the demand for a king so they can be like the other nations. Samuel is resistant to this move. To seek a human king rather than to have God as your king means you don’t trust God to lead you; you put your faith in human leaders as opposed to God’s leading. It also meant they lost their unique status as a people and harmed their special relationship with God. Their desire to be like everyone else meant they lost what made them special. It is a warning for the church in our times. Jesus called us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We are called to live as citizens of the kingdom of God as opposed to how the world lives. We are called to live lives marked by love towards others, whoever they are. We care called to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, bring in the marginalised and care for the sick as opposed to the world that only seeks to look after number one. Living as Christ called us to live marks us out as different and makes us a target. The easiest thing would be to just go along with everyone else and be selfish. Rather than be accused of left woke nonsense we could just fit in. But to do so would mean we lose our distinctiveness; we would hide our light and lose our saltiness. Being the church today means witnessing to a different way of living from everyone else and that can only be done if we live a kingdom life. We should be the nails that stick out furthest so others snag their consciences on us.

05.01.2022 A message from our minister:- I heard someone say that the problem they have with Christians is that they have just enough religion to hate and not enough religion to love. It’s a well-known fact that Christians are called to love others. It’s also a well-known fact that we don’t always manage this. Throughout history, the some in the church have been less than loving to some sections of society. It is for this reason that we are labelled hypocritical. Just a quick look on th...e comments section in social media posts relating to religion soon reveal this. While it may be the case that some people seem to go out of their way to be unlovable, alas, Jesus did not give us the option to opt out. We are called to love all people, not just those people that we approve of or who speak or act like we do. Our readings this week reveal a good reason behind the commandment to love that we should bear in mind. In our gospel reading from John, Jesus expands on His theme of Himself being the true vine. He wants us to love so His joy may be in us and our joy may be complete. If we show love Jesus considers us His friend rather than His servant. Showing love to others therefore brings us into a new, closer, relationship with Jesus. And this idea of completion is picked up in our second reading from the first letter of John. There we are told that by showing love to others, we are in fact showing our love for God. If we love God, we must also love the children of God. And that’s these others Jesus is talking about. Whether or not someone accepts they are a child of God has no bearing on the fact that they are one. In order to show our love for God, we therefore have to show love to others. We like to hear that God loves us, it makes us feel special and blessed. And God does love us. But that’s only half the message. We should show our love for God in response to God’s love for us. And we do that by showing love to others. We shouldn’t love others because we are trying to keep God’s love or because we are afraid of losing God’s love. We should show love to others because we are in a reciprocal, loving relationship with God. When we love others we are showing them a new vision of God’s love for them and bring God closer to them. In loving others we bring ourselves closer to God which completes our joy. People who do not share our faith may think God is distant. Showing them love brings God closer to them and, at the same time, brings us closer to God. As John demonstrates, showing love to others is an effective way of worshipping God, and something we can do every day.

03.01.2022 Just a few of our instruments of joy each Sunday morning. The real treasures are the joyful congregation members who add their rhythms, tunes, and voices in song.

01.01.2022 These pillars of the Sunday strings section carry us from traditional to contemporary worship songs each Sunday.