photo by Noukka Signe
Sundays February 5 – 19
For the next three weeks as we begin finding our feet in a new year, we step back and take in the big picture of the bible from cover to cover. As we sweep from creation to a new humanity we will put all the pieces together and wonder in this story that changes everything.
Sunday 1 January – No Service
New Years Reflection Sunday 7 January
10:30am – 11:30am at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd, West Croydon.
A refreshing time of reflection on the year past and year to come.
No kids church.
Summer Meditations Sunday 15-22 January
10:30am – 11:30am at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd, West Croydon.
Enjoy a simple devotion from Warwick and Ruth on these holiday Sundays.
No kids church.
ART Sunday 29 January
Sunday January 29 is our first ART Sunday for 2012.
10:30am – 11:30am at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd, West Croydon.
On this day special guests ‘Future of Rap’ will be sharing their art, faith and story with us.
‘Future of Rap’ are a group of Sudanese artists including our friend Abraham that we know through eastern youth soccer competition.
No Kids church.
Djawakalang working on our Advent Banner. Djawakalang will be sharing with us about this when he comes down!
Nov 25 – Dec 25
Advent Services
We follow the traditional church calendar throughout this beautiful season, beginning each week at 10:30am with the lighting of the advent wreath.
ADVENT
(On A Theme by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Pamela Cranston
Look how long
the weary world waited,
locked in its lonely cell,
guilty as a prisoner.
As you can imagine,
it sang and whistled in the dark.
It hoped. It paced and puttered about,
tidying its little piles of inconsequence.
It wept from the weight of ennui,
draped like shackles on its wrists.
It raged and wailed against the walls
of its own plight.
But there was nothing
the world could do
to find its own freedom.
The door was shut tight.
It could only be opened
from the outside.
Who could believe the latch
would be turned by a pink flower —
the tiny hand
of a newborn baby?
© by Pamela Cranston, 2011
Special Advent Evening Service Wednesday 21 December
This time will be at 7-9pm at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd West, Croydon.
A wonderfully cosy night of mince tarts & tea, prayerful anticipation, story and song for the whole family!
Christmas Day Celebration 10am Sunday 25 December
10am – 11am at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd, West Croydon.
A beautifully colourful Celebration! Please be on time.
Sunday 1 January – No Service
New Years Reflection Sunday 7 January
10:30am – 11:30am at CCC 17-19 Surrey Rd, West Croydon.
A refreshing time of reflection on the year past and year to come.
Nov 6-20
Over the next three weeks as we approach Advent and all the joy of this season, we look back in the bible at some special festivals in our Jewish heritage. Drawing something rich from these traditions for our faith today.
As the weather is looking uninviting for our Sunday ‘Communion in the Hills’ how about we meet at CCC at 10:15am for our short and beautiful communion time followed by morning tea.
Scott and Sal will be leading this family celebration and then we can turn the kettle on and enjoy hanging out.
There will be no need for kids church in this simple time but people are welcome to use the creche space if needed.
Please bring morning tea to share.
Please write these dates and details in your diaries!
Oct 2 – We begin a fresh series exploring ‘Three Stories Unique to the Gospel of Luke.’ We will also enjoy visits from local community workers that our church connects with.
Oct 9 – ‘Annual Blessing of the Kids Celebration’ followed by Community Lunch and Games at CCC.
Make sure you come and experience the musical that the kids are preparing for us!! This is a wonderful Spring celebration of the kids that God has given our community. It is an opportunity for all of us to enjoy a fun service and to bless and dedicate the kids as a church family. We will also be celebrating our involvement in Baptist World Aid Australia’s SAO program and the opportunity to support their work.
Oct 16 – 23 ‘Three Stories Unique to the Gospel of Luke’ at CCC.
Oct 30 – ‘Communion in the Hills.’ We will be meeting at 10:45am at the RJ Hamer Arboretum on Woolrich Rd, Olinda for a short and beautiful communion service in nature followed by a picnic. BYO chairs and Picnic. No service at CCC. No communion service if weather is bad.
Sundays September 11-25
It’s spring. There is a scent of hope in the air. We are climbing out of our winter caves and having a big stretch. There is some dusting off to do. It has become a bit stale in there. Time to open the windows, let some fresh air in and get out into the sun. This annual series is about allowing God to give us a bit of a spring clean, freeing us of some of the grease and clutter that has been building up and uncovering who God has created us to be, in his power and love.
Please join us as Sal Morgan, Guest Michael Theophilos and Tol share on the themes of ‘Conflict & Peace’, ‘Love, Lust & Poetry’ and ‘Friendship.’
Sundays 10:15am August 7 – Sept 4.
This is a rich season when we celebrate the lives and stories of men and women of faith from different times and walks of life. We share in their stories not because they are set apart from us but because we are family. We share in this same journey of faith and love, we share in the same calling, we delight in our diversity and are inspired by God’s faithfulness and glory in each story told.
In 2011 our saints are David Bosch, Clarence Jordan, Jon Owen, Jan L Richardson and Evan Roberts.
Sundays Series June 19 – July 31
The Book of Daniel inspires us with the stories of Daniel and his friends as they unswervingly maintain integrity and faith in their god, the God of Israel, even when facing threats of certain death as they serve in the royal palace of Babylonian Empire. These stories also reveal their God as very much involved in people’s lives, sovereign over all things and able to work his will through what sometimes seems like random and chaotic events, even bringing the very one who oppressed Israel and smashed God’s temple to his knees in worship.
Daniel’s visions also awaken us to the ongoing challenges God’s faithful face as empires continue to rise and fall on the world’s stage. Through these prophetic visions we begin to see the hope of God’s ultimate victory even when we feel like we are merely pawns exiled from home and swept around by the powers that be.
Sundays in May
The Holy Spirit is at work in us! He is inviting us to join a life, which is way larger than we are and built to last. But despite our best efforts to accept his invitation, why do we often find we are back where we started, unsure of ourselves and disappointed with our lack of maturity? Spiritual formation starts when we realise it’s not just about behaving and not just about knowing the right ideas, it’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to fuse it all into living the holy life he created us to live. In this series we read Ephesians – St Paul’s Guide to Christian Living – and pay attention to the way our Christian lives are being formed as we open ourselves to God’s Spirit and respond to His calling.