Join Jon Owen and Graham Long for an intimate conversation 
Wed 28 October, 7:00pm – 8:15pm {online} 

COVID-19 has seen the world isolate in a way we could have never imagined.  

Even though we have come out of lockdown across most of Australia, we are now living in a socially distanced world where we have little to no certainty of our future.  

In many ways we are being forced to re-evaluate our lives and our values.   

Wayside Chapel has always maintained its place in the world based on its strong sense of mission and vision. You are invited to join us online from the comfort of your own home for an exclusive conversation with Pastor and CEO Jon Owen and Pastor Emeritus Rev Graham Long, to talk about how we can find strength and meaning during these uncertain and challenging times.

The SYDNEY PRESBYTERY – VALUES AND CULTURE resources were created to help all consultative committees and councils be clearer about their ministry and work together with congregations, agencies, ministers and other leaders. We hope that this tool will be used across the Presbytery to help guide our mission planning, consultation work, Presbytery deliberations and in the variety of processes we undertake in the course of our ministry and mission; and often as we seek to discern call and align with the leading of the Spirit in making decisions together.

Dear friends,

For a little less than two weeks I have had the indescribable joy of being with my family again. South Australia opened its borders to NSW, and I was on the first flight I could book and heading across to reunite with my children and parents. For a while I didn’t think I would let my children go when I embraced them. The longing in my heart was so deep and had hungered for so very many months. I can truly say I have savoured every moment in their presence in this time we have spent with them.

Check out the first edition of CSU MAGAZINE! CSU reflects on keeping faith, doing justice & building community during COVID. The e-mag features interviews, articles, reflections & more.

Dear friends, 

Congregation member: “I didn’t get anything out of worship today, Pastor.”

Minister: “That’s ok. We weren’t worshiping you.”

A meme from Facebook

Unbelievably we are heading into October! In so many ways this feels like it has been a long year already, and yet I find I am surprised that it is so late in the year. In some of our Congregations, thoughts are turning toward Christmas and how we will celebrate again the coming of the Christ Child. Already we know that it is going to be different this year.

Dear friends, 

The past two weeks have drawn me to focus on a theme of resilience. I engaged in “extensive research” (a euphemism for “I Googled it!”) and learned that Psychology Today defines resilience as “that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.” The site goes on to summarise it like this: “In a nutshell, resilience can be defined as the ability — and tendency — to ‘bounce back.’”

Dear friends,

I got to listen to someone tell a story the other day — a story about a childhood event. She had climbed up a ladder onto the roof of the house. She cannot remember if she had been tasked to clean the gutters, or what the purpose of this lofty trip was. She does recall finding herself stuck up on the roof, and not sure how to get down. Her sister, who had made it to the ground safely, went indoors to ask their parents for help, but received the gruff reply, “She’d better find her way down.” The child was ten or eleven.

Dear friends,

A father posted this on Facebook:

“My little girl is 2 and whenever she’s happy she will just shout out ‘HAPPY’, there is nothing purer in this world than when she’s just sitting playing with toys or eating toast and just yells out ‘HAPPY’ to let the universe know it’s doing a good job.”

Dear friends,

“I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free someone else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.’”

Toni Morrison (The Oprah Magazine, 2003)

(note from Jenny: if you have some time, Google Toni Morrison - she’s pretty awesome!)

This has hit home for me in the last few days as I entered a ‘slump.’ It isn’t a major slump, rather one that is born out of criticism and accusation, which has pulled wind from my sails and caused me some sleeplessness and sadness. Toni Morrison’s words landed hard when the criticism came from trying to do exactly that — freeing and empowering another so that they may live into the call God has for them.