WHILE OUR CHURCH BUILDING IS REPAIRED WE ARE MEETING EACH SUNDAY AT THE MINERAL & LAPIDARY CLUB 11O WALTHAM RD (NEXT TO WALTHAM SCHOOL) AT 10AM.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME YOU.
Sunday 3rd September 2017
Father’s Day
Notices: A very warm welcome to all who worship with us this morning. Please stay for morning tea after the service.
Thank You to the Fireside ladies for providing our delicious Breakfast this morning.
New Readers’ Roster available today – please check to see if there is a copy for you. Anna.
Wednesday Walkers 6th September: Meet 9.30am in St Mary’s Church carpark in Manchester Street (south side), and finishing up at Maryville Courts for coffee. All are welcome.Heather & Trevor Crew 942 4384.
Crafty Crafters Thursdays 10am-12 noon at Beckenham Methodist. $3 per session. Bring along your own craft project, or learn a new skill! Contact Beverley 384 7814 for further details.
Men’s Group meets this Thursday 7th September 6pm at Merchiston for a shared tea. Rob Meier will be speaking. All men welcome. Please speak to Tony Blackler 332 0554 for details.
Parish Annual General Meeting is on Sunday 17th September following Worship. Apologies to Irene please.
Elders: Please note that the latest ‘Messenger’ and AGM reports are available this morning. It is essential that these be delivered promptly please. Irene Gray, Session Clerk.
CRAFT CRAWL: The Crafty Crafters invite anyone interested to join them on a Craft Crawl on Thursday 19th October to Darfield and Methven. There are 41 seats to fill on the bus. Departure time to be confirmed. Cost $20. For further information, please contact Beverley Hudson 384 7814.
IMPORTANT: On Sundays 1 & 8 October our morning worship services will be at St Mark’s Anglican Church Hall, 101 Opawa Rd at 10am, due to the unavailability of the CMLC Hall.
Report from Managers: New building… we are thrilled to hear the projected start date for work is late September. We have requested the Session to apply for the capital sum ($38,000) held in the St David’s Trust Fund for building the strengthening work at St Martins.
Finances….Over the last two months of the financial year we had income of approx. $21,606 and expenditure of $23,876. This included manse repairs of $1,400 and the purchase of a new photocopier of $1,400. We also made a donation to Beckenham Methodist Church of $500 to cover costs of housing the Foot Clinic and the craft group.
Financial performance for year ending June 2017…. The total income for the year was $180,739 with expenditure of $147,269. Thus we had a healthy surplus of $33,472. Of note is $52,825 expended on matters related to the rebuild of the church for which we were fully reimbursed from our insurance allocation. We also only employed our minister half time.
Projected Budget for the next year…. With a major building project looming this budget is very significantly higher than last year with projected expenditure of $1,016,808. Joan has however produced a simplified budget with all rebuild matters removed. This shows an updated operating deficit for the year of $15,128 (up from $13,628). The projected deficit occurs largely because we are now employing a minister on 2/3rds time.
Building Report: With detailed drawings being completed more accurate costing has been undertaken. This has resulted in an increase in the estimate with some increase in work because of design changes in the kitchen and foyer areas, some additional timber work required by the engineer, quotes for painting being higher than expected, and quotes for steel work being higher than expected. Our new estimated cost which includes all the fit out costs (eg sound system, data projector, kitchen equipment) is $926,658
To meet this increase we will draw on the money held in the St David’s Trust ($38,000) on our behalf, and increase our special fundraising to from $20,000 to $30,000. Because we now have more accurate costs we have reduced the contingency sum to $40,000 (from $68,000). We have also made the decision to trim the work to be completed by $40,000. This will mean we will not repair the concrete paths outside and will reduce improvements to the foyer area. If extra funding were found (we may not spend all our contingency sum) these works could easily be completed later. We do not want to commit more of our reserves (amounting to $100,000) to this project but need to protect these to fund future mission and ministry projects.
Presbytery has approved our financial plan and with a definite tender price now determined we will present a contract to the Church Property Trustees for signing in the next few weeks.
Pope Francis has been a keen advocate for the role of Christians in caring for God’s earth. His recent encyclical on Caring for Creation made these points…
- Climate change is real, and it’s getting worse. While some still argue about the reality of the climate change, Pope Francis doesn’t mince words: “Climate change is a global problem with grave implications….If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us.”
- Human beings are a major contributor to climate change. Pope Francis—a trained chemist—says human beings are responsible for tipping the balance of greenhouse gasses that are causing global warming. “We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”
- Climate change disproportionately affects the poor. Climate change’s worst impact, Pope Francis says, “will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.”
- We can and must make things better. Francis believes we should have hope. “Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start”
- Individuals can help, but politicians must lead the charge. Francis argues that personal responsibility is an important step toward reversing climate change, but that political and structural transformations are needed for lasting change. “Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies.”
“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!”
MY DAD…
4 years: My Daddy can do anything!’
7 years: ‘My Dad knows a lot…a whole lot.’
8 years: ‘My father does not know quite everything.’
12 years: ‘Oh well, naturally Dad does not know that either.’
14 years: ‘Oh, Father? He is hopelessly old fashioned.’
21 years: ‘Oh, that man; he is out of date!’
25 years: ‘He knows a little bit about it, but not much.’
30 years: ‘I must find out what Dad thinks about it.’
35 years: ‘Before we decide, we will get Dad’s idea first.’
50 years: ‘What would Dad have thought about that?’
60 years: ‘My Dad knew literally everything!’
65 years: ‘I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more.’