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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
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Watch this space for God's grace |
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Meeting for the first time on Sunday June the 1st, a group of 13 at St George's, Battery Point prayed, sang, and shared God's word. The theme was waiting, and together we reflected on what this meant in our lives. And God came to the party! A break-down of the pizza shop's computer meant that we had to all wait for our pizzas! This gave us time to introduce ourselves to each other. When the pizzas arrived we had a great feast. The format of Grace Space is simple. We start with tea/coffee and fellowship at 5 and order pizzas. At 5:30 we have a short time of prayer, thinking and sharing. At 6:15 we eat pizzas (if the computer hasn't broken down!), and dessert. So, what drives this ministry? You know how the story goes. In a boat on a lake in Galilee...there they were… the disciples…furiously bailing, tying down loose objects, pulling in the rigging: in short responding to a potential disaster. In a story that is more about the sovereignty of Jesus, we are reminded of one of the deepest issues in our time, and some of the frantic, misdirected efforts to attain real peace. The real problem was the storm, not the boat! Jesus, of course, the solution. But not everybody in our comfortable 'Western' world senses the immediacy of a storm. In the refurbishment of Hobart's Elizabeth St Mall, part of the original bridge over the Hobart Rivulet was rediscovered. Planners made a feature of it, a reminder, not just of the past, but more importantly of what lies beneath and of what has covered it over. Funny to think that under the CBD of Hobart is a river, deprived of imparting life to the environment that it passes through! Part of my journey as Missioner/Associate Priest at St George's Battery Point has been to discover the 'built-up' areas in the lives of those live here, and to seek ways of reconnecting them to the 'rivulet' that is graciously available to them. My conversations and experience so far suggests that issues of busyness, the need for real community/relationship and real purpose are very high on many people's agenda, regardless of background. An initial response has been to develop real relationships with people down 'The Street': School Council, the families of our children's friends, the local Cadet Unit, being seen out and about in the local bookshops and coffee joints relating with people, etc. It's made me reflect on how much of the church's pastoral care is crisis related and disconnected with people's daily lives. Grace Space has developed out of this. I hope to develop other relevant services to help our community reconnect. The keys will be flexibility, creativity and openness. All are invited to 'drop-in' to church and 'plug in' to God: you will be most welcome!! |
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