Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 29 August, 2011
There has been a lot going on in the life of our church in the last little while. I thought it would be good to update you on some of what has been going on.
In July a new ladies Bible Study Group was launched. Ladies, if you're interested in meeitng with other women to study the Bible, you now have a choice of two groups to join, depending on which better suits your circumstances; one group meets Tuesday mornings and the other Tuesday evenings. What has been especially exciting about this new group is that its membership is almost exclusively ladies who have joined our church in the last year or so and we are very thankful to God for bringing them into our community.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 17 August, 2011
Our friends over at the Anglican Church of Noosa are running a series of blog posts with guest blogger Simon Manchester on the theme of How to Enjoy Church.
The series encourages us to think about how we can make the most of our church services, not just for ourselves, but for others also - especially newcomers.
Since we're at a stage of church life at Trinity Mount Barker when there are lots of people around and a number of visitors every week, there is lots of good advice in these posts for us.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 17 August, 2011
We're constantly being asked how people can be praying for Nathan and Cassie since the tragic loss of their twin babies.
We'd love you to join us in praying that God will continue to bring comfort to Nathan and Cassie and their wider family as they mourn the loss of their babies.
Please pray also that they would grow in their trust in God's goodness and sovereignty.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 17 August, 2011
This weekend our youth group (years 6 - 11) has taken on the challenge of World Vision’s 40 hour famine. For 40 hours, each member has chosen something to give up, ranging from food, furniture or even technology, in an effort to raise money and help fight hunger in the world. You can imagine the commitment and dedication it takes to give one of these up!
The 40 Hour Famine funds projects that fight hunger in:
- East Timor
- Nepal
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Tanzania
- Kenya
- and helps World Vision to respond to emergencies and other needs around the world, including the current famine relief campaign in East Africa.
These projects are working to increase reliable access to food and clean water; develop livelihoods through micro-enterprise development and training; and invest in agricultural education and development.
We would appreciate your financial support - please think about sponsoring our group. Speak to Jessica Sanders or Andy Buchan, or visit http://40hf.com/tmbyouth and donate online.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 10 August, 2011
I realise that if you're under about 40 years of age, the idea of wearing a name badge to church on Sunday seems like a pretty silly idea! And being in that age bracket myself, I understand the feeling. "I know my name," we think, "why do I need to advertise it to the world?"!
But as our church has grown and there's more and more people around the place on Sundays, it's getting harder to get to know people and even more tricky to remember people's names. So we've decided to get name badges!
If you're a Trinity regular, I want to encourage you to buy a name badge - and not just buy one and leave it on your desk or in the car, but buy one and actually wear it to church on Sundays! Sure, you might feel a bit like a ... what's the word? ... a goober ... but the whole point is, it's not about you, it's about trying to look after each other in our church. When we wear a name badge it's especially helpful for new people who join us who are trying to learn the names of 150 other people!
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 10 August, 2011
This coming week sees “Jesus Week” unleashed across the university campuses on North Terrace, Adelaide. Jesus Week is a week of heightened evangelism which takes place during Week 4 of second semester each year. ES, the evangelical students group, 
aims to be sharing the good news of Jesus on campus all year, but this week is the focus of the year’s evangelistic efforts.
This year’s Jesus Week theme is “If There is a God …” and the week involves a range of events and activities, from themed jumpers (bright purple this year!) to cold-contact evangelism, hand-out cards, Bible Talks at lunch time daily and a debate with a representative from the university philosophy department.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 7 August, 2011
Even though they live in Nashville, Tennessee, we think of Nathan and Cassie Tasker as part of Trinity Mount Barker! Because they have family in our church, we get to see Nathan and Cassie a few times a year, and we're often the beneficiaries of Nathan's (and Cassie's) musical gifts in our Sunday services. Songs such as Home, the title track off Nathan's latest album, (which last month debuted in the UK charts at number 1!) are firm favourites in this part of the world!
So we are very excited by the news that the Taskers are expecting twins later in the year! And we were concerned when we heard that Cassie has been admitted to hospital, with fears held for the 2 little lives growing within her.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 5 August, 2011
For some of us it’s been part of our experience, for others perhaps a worst fear. It’s the phone call, the knock on the door or the word from the doctor, “It’s bad news, I’m afraid.”
What is our response? Whether we are the ones facing the bad news or if it’s someone we care about, how do we respond? If you listen carefully in those moments you’ll hear all sorts of messages from different people, “Just be strong,” “You’ll get through it,” “God will pull you through,” the list is almost endless.
Surely, if you're a Christian person, we should be able to speak much more helpfully into those kinds of situations. We should be able to speak to ourselves, to remind ourselves of what is true and what we know, and we should be able to speak to others who are struggling with the trials of life.
