Mark & Verity are looking forward to celebrating the birth of their son with their community here at Blackwood as they acknowledge God’s presence in Daniel’s life and dedicate themselves as parentsto raising him in such a way that he will seek to do justice and love compassionately and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

The guest speaker and minister presiding over the dedication is Mark Butler, State Minister, Churches of Christ SA/NT.

Join us for a great message and brilliant music. Mark and Verity invite you to stay for morning tea after the service.

Mark & Verity Riessen welcomed Daniel John Riessen into the world at 8:48am on Friday May 28th

Tim & Cath Hemer welcomed Isla May Hemer into the world at 1:15pm on Monday June 7th

Fischer & Gisele Stefan welcomed Allan Stefan into the world at 10:40am on Tuesday June 8th

We celebrate with the families and look forward to the sound of crying babies at our gatherings

Come to a great afteronn of music with local school chiors and local musicians to help raise support for our local school chaplains.

Nina Corlett-McDonald and Verity Skye Riessen will be to of the proforming musicians. Just follow this blog roll to find links to their music.

Click here to find more details and diections to the venure

Come along and support our young people at 10am this Sunday morning.

They will lead the music for worship. The Sunday nigth jam sessions have paid off and they fill the band as well as leading us in singing. The kids will also lead our prayers, communion, morning announcements and bring to us the bible reading. They’re even doing the message! The youth have developed a dramatized message according to Luke 5:1-11

Support the leaders and disciples of today, join us for worship this Sunday. Then stick around for morning tea and have a fairtrade espresso coffee over a friendly chat

‘CareWorks pantry shelves are almost empty. Can your church help them in their time of need to help the needy and disadvantaged?Help in the form of financial donations is always good because our buying power in bulk can be an even better way of filling the shelves…. However, the items we need help with most are:Cereal and spreads = breakfastNoodles, tuna, pasta and pasta sauces, tinned vegetables, meals in a can (eg steak n veg)Tinned fruit = dessertsThis would be a great start because CareWorks pantry is almost completely bare and our client lists are full each day with people seeking our help.Thanks in anticipation for you assistance to them.’

Please bring items to contribute to our Careworks donation stand in the foyer. Thankyou

Verity Skye is a singer/songwriter at Blackwood Church of Christ. Married to our minister Mark, Verity has her own creative ministry through music and art.

On Saturday February 27th at 7:30pm, Verity will launch her debut album ‘ADVOCATE - songs that will not be silenced’. The themes of Advocate containg a call to respond to the poor and needy. Each song is written out of an encounter and personal experience covering issues regarding assylum seekers, refugees, slave trade and more. These songs call us to recognize the stranger in the street and not to just move on but to care for and know our neighbour.

It’s a powerful CD recorded locally with Pilgram Arts studios here in Coaomandel Valley. Musical styles include classical jazz, Congolese soukus, folk, rock, pop, blues. Verity sings, plays flute and guitar and musicians from all walks of life have also contributed to the CD. It has a real ecclectic feel and each one is a Verity Skye original.

The Cd is selling for $25 and will only be available at the launch. From March check your mainstream online stores and some physical stores for a copy of teh CD. Part proceeds will support UNOH, CKS, TEAR Aust and World Vision Aust. On the night of the launch part proceeds from each CD sold will go to the GMP Haiti earthquake relief fund. Matt Anderson from World Vision will launch the CD at Blackwood.

The following week John Smith from God Squad and Concern Aust will launch the CD at the UNOH open night on Thursday March 4th. Then Verity will play at Surrender:10 conference over the weekend March 5-8, and preforming on the main stage after Bart Campolo speaks on the Sunday night.

If you’re in Adelaide watch out for the Messenger Press article on Verity Skye promoting the launch and in Melbourne listen for an interview with her and preview of her CD played on air on 89.9 Light FM

Mark is blogging on the themes of here songs here. Interact with the discussions if you can

You can also find Verity Skye on Myspace and Facebook

Launch posters for download below

Adelaide launch poster

Melbourne launch poster

Jon Owen works with Urban Neighbours Of Hope, along with his wife Lisa and their children, in Mt.Druitt, Sydney. Jon and Lisa have been with UNOH for more than 10 years sharing their home with their neighbours. They moved from Melbourne in 2007 to begin the UNOH chapter in Sydney.

UNOH are a Christian organization endorsed by Churches of Christ as part of our extended mission focus. UNOH are committed to neighbourhood transformation through sharing their lives with their neighbours in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Australia and Bangkok.

Jon will be speaking this Sunday at our 10am service and Jar Jum will share with us traditional dance. Come and learn something of our Australian heritage this Australia Day weekend and understand the depths of Australian culture and traditions. We will take up an offering to support their work.

Please go to the GMP website to read the full story and find out how you can help.

It was sad to see that just a few days after the tragedy our major newspapers had shoved this story to a half page on page 20. When 9/11 happened it made front page for 2 weeks. Let’s show the people of Haiti, the poorest nation on earth that they will not be forgotten.

Shalom
Mark Riessen, Minister

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 10:18-19)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
(Matthew 5:9)

To all church leaders

During the last meeting of the National Council of Churches in Australia (of which Churches of Christ are members), a concern was expressed by a representative of the Mar Thoma Church regarding the recent attacks against Indian nationals in Australia - particularly in the larger metropolitan regions. The NCCA wrote to its church members in December, urging us to bring this matter “to the attention of the appropriate leaders in your church who are in a position to support the students and communities who might be affected by mistreatment”. It is to this purpose, and in the wake of further violence, that I write to you now.

Can I urge you to do what you can in your local settings to show compassion to Indian nationals (and any other groups who may feel threatened)? As local church leaders, you will know what this will best look like for your church community:

* It may include something as simple as a shared meal.
* It may include lobbying local, State or Federal government representatives to enact measures that increase the safety of your local community.
* It may include arranging a service (on Sunday, or midweek) that focuses on the role of the church in society as peacemakers, and inviting representatives of the Indian community in your area to attend, or
* It may include meeting and listening to representatives of the Indian community, and offering ongoing opportunities to listen and counsel.

We all know that fear is a difficult emotion to quell. Those who feel it need our compassion. They need our reassurance. Fear can lead to irrational thoughts and actions that can inflame the sense of persecution, whether it exists or not. The above verses would be good ones for us to dwell on – they remind us of the church’s role of compassion and it’s role as a peacemaker. Compassion was a key aspect of Jesus’ character and one – if we are to truly be Churches of Christ –we would do well to model.

Let us not underestimate our ability to bring peace of mind to those who may be living in fear and anxiety.

I pray every blessing on your endeavours.

In Him

Craig Brown
Federal Coordinator of Churches of Christ in Australia

Then we will have the following services during the week:

Christmas Eve 11:30pm
This is a half hour reflective service for the whole family with candle lighting and a couple of quiet songs to see in Christmas Day together.

Christmas Day 9am
A 30-40 minutes celebration family oriented service with a brief message and lots of Christmas singing.

Our final service for the year will be 2 days following Christmas on Sunday 27th at 10am.

Hope to see you over the coming week

Have a great Christmas!

Irene has been living in Uganda for 20 years now in a place called Kitgum just south of the Sudanese border. She started out with a block of land and a caravan, teaching a small group of children from a nearby villages, under a tree. Irene now co-ordinates multiple schools and clinics for 10,000 children and has plans to expand. Come and hear the story and be touched by what God is doing through Childcare Kitgum Servants today.

Irene is travelling with school administrator John Paul and 3 young people from the school who are rescued from the ashes of war. The young people will preform a dance and singer/songwriter Verity Skye will perform a couple of songs from her soon to be released album, one of those songs especially written for the children of Kitgum.

Come and be uplifted by a message of hope at Blackwood this Sunday @ 10am

On November 22nd at 7:30pm Blackwood Church of Christ is going to help blow that cover! We invite you to the screening of Call & Response in partnership with World Vision’s ‘Don’t Trade Lives’ campaign. Come and be educated and moved into action with the filiming of this moving yet confronting documentary about the more than 30 million of the world’s most terrifying secrets. Matt Anderson from World vision will lead us in conversation following the film about how we can respond to this right here in our backyards. Yes that’s right the slave trade industry is alive and well here in Adelaide. This should shock us enough to want to do something about it.
Cost is $10 and all proceeds from the night go to World Vision’s ‘Don’t Trade Lives’

download the ‘Call & Response’ event poster here

Don’t Trade Lives info sheet

For a ice skating rink they would search

 Their dreams came true

When out of the blue

The Thebarton Ice Arena came into view

They arrived just after eight

 And cashed in their tickets for a skate

With quick succession

And with some friendly aggression

They were skating with fantastic expression

 The skaters were divided in two

The big rink for pros, the little rink for new

The music beat out

They all mucked about

Then supper was readily persued

After some food drink and rest

They were ready to give it their best

Another half hour more

To hit the skaters dance floor

Before skates were off and feet were sufficiently sore

 A fun night was had by all

On arrival the church floor they did sprawl

 Energy faded

Hot chocolate aided

Until everyone’s folks invaded

So here it is - the Blackwood global village 40 hour famine challenge!

This is a community event designed to impact up to 50,000 peiople in the greater Blackwood hills area. the 16 church comgregations in the Mitcham Hills Inter Church network are working together in partnership with World Vision and Mitcham Council to bring this event to blackwood. We also have 15 local businesses, 6 primary schools and 1 secondary school partnering with us to help raise money and awareness. We thanks the Hills & Valley messenger and Blackwood Times for covering our initiative over the past few weeks and in the coming weeks.

Why are we doing this? Because 900 million people today face a food crisis. That’s 100 million more than last year. Recently Tim Costello visited the UN in Geneva and heard that 400,000 more people are at risk of dying because of the effects of the global financial crisis which directly impacts upon people’s access to food supplies and affordability to eat. We can make a difference! We have the ability to stand in solidarity together as a community. We are able to raise awareness and run events to help raise money to suppliment the need. Our goal in teh Blackwood community is to raise $100,000.
More information about the global food crisis can be found at the 40 hr famine website

The countdown is on. You can see on the countdown clock in our sidebar that we are only a week away from the 40 hour famine event. So what’s happening and how can you get involved? Glad you asked, see below:

Famine sleepover - Friday 21st August from 7pm at the Blackwood Hills Baptist Church on Coromandel Parade. All our church youth groups are gathering together and are inviting any other youth wanting to join us for a night of fun, entertainment and sleepover at the church. Cost is $5 Contact Judy for more details judy@blackwoodcc.org.au

Famine Concert - Saturday 22nd from 7pm concert poster. Local artists plus our feature artist Vox Congo, African band from the DR Congo. Check the poster for details

Famine Breaking Lunch - Sunday 23rd from 12pm outside the Blackwood Hills Baptist Church. The Blackwood lions club are putting on the BBQ, Mayor or Mitcham Ivan Brooks is officially opening the lunch at 12pm and MP Ian Evens will be breaking the famine with us. Everyone is invited to come, sausage in bread $2 and steak sandwich $3.

Proceeds from each event is going towards the 40hr famine fundraising

The Blackwood shopping precinct is being turned into a ‘global villiage’. You will see banners on every major road leading into Blackwood as well as near the roundabout telling you you and entering a ‘40 hour famine zone’. Participating businesses have posters up in their windows and displays in their shops telling everyone they are proudly supporting the Blackwood global village. Who are the businesses and how are they helping?

Flight Centre Blackwood is donating a percentage of sales from Saturday trading
Commonwealth Bank Blackwood made a donation
Bank SA Blackwood made a donation
Raine & Horne Real Estate are making a donation and staff doing the famine
Blackwood Fitness Centre are raising awareness, offering a prize to the 2 people who raise the most money and staff are doing the famine.
Belair Hotel have created a ‘Famine Busting’ menu and will donate from sales of that menu over teh weekend
Foods from the edge are donating $1 from every coffee sold over the weekend
Movies at Blackwood video store are donating 50c from every weekly video rental over the weekend
Most of these are other businesses will have donation tins in store over the weekend.

Here’s what you can do
1) Do the Famine! Contact Mark or Judy and we’ll sign you up. You don’t have to to a food famine. Be creative, give up your phone, technology, your bed, furniture, your car, talking, chocolate…anything for 40 hours and help raise money.
2) Sponsor someone doing the famine
3) Come to one of the 3 events over the weekend
4) Shop at a participating busines over the weekend - participate in the community global village at Blackwood

Together we can make a difference! Together we can bite back at hunger!

Contact us for more information or check this events schedule

Welcome to term 3!  We have some amazing stuff planned for this term.  40 hour famine week we are planning to turn Blackwood into a Global Village to raise awareness of poverty and the global food crisis.  Keep talking to your mates about it and remember to keep asking for donations!!  We are also going out for Laser Skirmish and a second take on the bonfire that almost happened over Youth camp last term.  Exciting stuff!!  Download Term 3’s Extreme program here: term 3 2009 updated

Blessings,

Judy