Waranga Uniting Churches

Colbinabbin, Murchison, Rushworth, Tatura

FAITH | HOPE | MEANING | GRACE | COMMUNITY

 

Sunday 4th June 2023

Trinity Sunday: The Great Commission

Streaming from Colbinabbin 9.30am and via Zoom at Murchison, Rushworth, Tatura, and for folk at home.

Our reading from the Gospel of Matthew this Sunday is often called the Great Commission. Some have understood it as the church’s Vision and Mission Statement. A Vision Statement is defining the purpose for the organization, the “Why” it exists. A Mission Statement states how an organisation will implement their vision. Done well this should lead us to setting strategies and action plans. 

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Matt 28:18-20)

Like many terms and phrases in church-speak, missional is a buzz-word in church life today. Like most churches we too have a mission statement and the church world is inundated with admixtures of purpose and mission emphasizing a missional theme. There are missional communities, missional leaders, missional worship, missional seating, missional preaching and teaching, and even missional coffee. Maintaining the integrity of this word is critical, because recovering a missional understanding of God and the Church is essential not only for the advancement of our mission but, I believe, also for the survival of Christianity and our churches in modern Australia.

The most important part of the “Great Commission” is this: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew notes that some of those present, even after the resurrection, did not believe. We still struggle to believe: that this Crucified one was raised, that he can call all creation to full life, and especially, above all, that he is still with us. Mistrusting, we hear his call as a burdensome task, rather than as our sharing in the wave of love that overflows into all the world.

Join us on Sunday as we reflect, worship and share together.  The service will led by Brian Spencer

The service will start at 9.30am. The live Zoom “room” will be open for you to log-in to from 9.00am.  Log-in, chat to others, be the church!

Click on the link below to join the Waranga Cluster Zoom Church Service or watch it on Facebook.
Click the link to join Zoom Meeting
The link above should work without the need for a password, but if it doesn’t you can use the meeting id and password below.
Meeting ID: 932 9667 8964
Password: 491339
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Watch on Facebook Live Streaming

Watch the service here on Facebook

Watch on Facebook

Watch the recorded service later

Facebook records the service and it will be available to watch later or share with others in your family and friendship circle.

 

Rather stay anonymous?

We understand that you may prefer to remain anonymous.  It may have been a while since you went to church, maybe you’ve never been to church and are just curious. We understand that you don’t want to be hassled just because you were curious.

If you want to remain anonymous there are four ways you can do it.

  • Choose the “Join without video” option. You will be able to see, hear (and talk if you want to)
  • Your name also appears in the bottom left of their picture in Zoom. This name will be the one you entered at sign-up. At any time in the meeting you can right-mouse click on your name and change or delete it.
  • You can choose to attend via the Livestream option.
  • You can watch the recorded service later on the website

Our church needs your support.

Please consider donating your offering online via the button below
or by direct bank transfer:

Account name:
Waranga Uniting Churches.

Bendigo Bank:
BSB 633-000
Account No:162 446 371.


About us

The Waranga Uniting Churches comprise congregations from the towns of Colbinabbin, Murchison, Rushworth, and Tatura.
You are welcome to join us at any of our worship services or activities.

Many faces… Many places… Many forms
Our congregations throughout the district are caring communities to which all people can belong.
Some of our congregations may be a tiny community of a dozen people, but they are warm vibrant and alive.
They have many faces. There are older people and young, families and single people, people of one culture or many.

While our congregations can be different, each aims to embrace all people… to unite them with each other and with God. This is expressed in part by our having an open table for Holy Communion, to which all baptised people are invited, welcoming children for baptism and being willing to marry those who are divorced.

We are by no means perfect, but we know that God loves us as we are and as we grow. Our congregations are communities in which people seek to follow Jesus, learn about God, share their faith, care for each other, serve the local community, and seek to live faithfully and with real joy. This is the kind of engaging church to which we belong.

Quixote Thinking Blog

Quixote Thinking “sees things different” I live my life by it 

The Gospel According to Neale

I’m 30000 ft above the Great Australian Bight, flying to Western Australia on my way to visit my best friend. I’m listening to Neale Daniher’s audio book “When all is said and done.”  Neale has spearheaded the fight against Motor Neuron Disease (MND). He, along with...

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Life is so very fragile, isn’t it? We realize that so powerfully when we hold a newborn in our arms.  This tiny life is so fragile, so dependent, so precious and so alive with wonder. We want to protect that child from all harm forever. We also realize how fragile...

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A puzzle for our times

I’ve been drawn into the word-game ‘Wordle’, which is a simple five-letter puzzle. Each day players  have the chance to attempt to guess a mystery word. The twist is that there are ‘no clues’ and players have to guess the word in just six tries. After each guess, the...

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I’ve been losing weight. A fair bit of weight actually. So much so that people who haven’t seen me for a while often don’t recognise me at first. Some people are reluctant to mention it, fearing that my weight loss might be caused by severe illness. Others cautiously...

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Quixote Thinking

Don Quixote is a character in a novel by Miguel de Cervantes, first published in 1605. In the “real world” of La Mancha, Spain, Quixote is known as Alonso Quijano, a thin country gentleman, familiar to all as kind and friendly. He lives with his daughter and two servants. As a gentleman, he spends time studying medieval romance stories, full of knights, chivalry, castles, and jousts. This all goes to his head to the point where he goes crazy and actually starts outfitting himself as a knight. He believes that he has been called by voices to change the world and right all wrongs.

At this point in the story, art imitates life and life imitates art as the innkeeper doubles as a duke of a castle who dubs Don Quixote officially as “knight,” and a peasant girl at the inn becomes the princess and lady love for our knight errant. Don Quixote then goes out to fight perceived foes, both real and imagined in the name of his ladylove who stands for purity and perfection. Don Quixote has selective vision of the real world. Windmills are giant brutes, sheep are attacking armies, and slaves are oppressed gentlemen. Quixote is an idealist seeing things through rose-colored glasses at times. He fights impossible symbolic battles while the rest of the world says it can’t be done and mocks him for trying. It is ironic that a crazy man is showing humanity the “right way” to live. This character has survived the centuries demonstrating his universal appeal to all. Don Quixote is something of a Jesus figure, who saw meaning and purpose beyond the surface but endured mockery and humiliation from the crowd. This “fight for the right without question”, having moments of clarity in a sea of confusion and a belief in the transformative power of a crazy vision is what the essence of Quixote Thinking.