Visit to Charleville

For at least 15 years, a formal covenantal relationship has been established between St Bart's Mt Gravatt and the Parish of Charleville.  In recent times both parishes have had significant changes to the leadership of our communities.  Charleville, at this time, relies on their Bishop, Cameron Venables, and committed lay members for the ongoing life of the Anglican church in this district.  I know that many people within St Bart's have a vital relationship with this western community. As part of my role, I was keen to make a face to face connection with the people of this district myself.  

As it turns out, I made a relatively quick trip west as I joined Bp Cameron on his visit to Roma, Charleville and Augathella.  Although we spent more time in the car than in any one spot, we could share a meal on Saturday night and services on Sunday morning with the people in Charleville and Augathella.  I came away from these gatherings inspired by the faithfulness and commitment of these people to serve one another.  The visit also affirmed for me that such covenant relationships could be transformative for all involved.  

As we consider our mission as a parish, it will be important to invite the people from the Charleville district to be part of the conversation.

God's Peace
Michael

Mission Action Plan Launch

All in our parish are invited to take an active part in shaping the life of our church. We are beginning an intentional process of worship, prayer, storytelling, listening and dreaming as we seek to discern how God is calling our church in the years ahead. We tend to call this process Mission Action Planning as we seek to understand how God wants us

"To be the Anglican Church in Mt Gravatt: To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known."

It will be 125 years since the first "Divine Service" was held in the newly built church in Mt Gravatt in February next year. This parish has a strong history of serving the local area and has responded to God's call in various creative and faithful ways. Our challenge is to be intentional and open to how God is calling us now. Two events in November will kick off the Mission Action Planning process.  
 
On Sunday 21 November, we will be joined by Bp John Roundhill at all three services. These services will be a fantastic opportunity to begin planning with prayer and celebration led by our local Bishop.
 
We will be joined by the Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, on Saturday morning, 27 November. The Archbishop comes to share the Vision and Mission that the Anglican Church of Southern Queensland has recently developed. It is summarised by the statement

"Flourishing faith communities: proclaiming and serving, worshipping and learning."

It is a great opportunity to be reminded of the distinctive character and history of the Anglican Church. It is also an excellent way to begin wondering how our church lives out this vision in Mt Gravatt.  
 
Also, on this day, leaders from our parish will share more about the process we are undertaking and help you understand how you can play your part. We will finish the day with a lunch where we strengthen and celebrate our connections one with another. This day is open to all and is intended for every member of our church. We are happy for you to participate in as little or as much as you like.
 
We ask that you let us know you are coming and to what by registering through the website or contacting the parish office for catering purposes.

Schedule for Saturday 27 November

9 am - Arrive
9.15 am - Welcome and Intro
9.30 am - Session 1 Vision ACSQ - Flourishing faith communities: proclaiming and serving, worshipping and learning. (Archbishop Phillip Aspinall)
10.30 am - Morning Tea (Provided)
11 am - Session 2 Having a Comprehensive Anglican Identity and Purpose (Archbishop Phillip Aspinall)
12 pm - Session 3 "Being the Anglican Church in Mt Gravatt" - launching an exploration of Vision and Purpose for 2022 
12.30 pm - Lunch (Provided)

Stewards of God’s Creation

There are many resources that can be found on the Season for Creation 2021 Website. https://seasonofcreation.org/   There are suggestions to encourage sustainable living, and making lifestyle changes on an individual level. You could even calculate your carbon footprint using an online ecological footprint calculator https://footprintcalculator.org  like I did last week.  Some local links have also been provided in this week’s Focus to help us all with recycling. 

Some other suggestions include engaging your local ecology through an Earth Examen. An examen is a way of beholding an object or being present in prayerful wonder. Through a series of questions, you are invited to reflect on God’s presence and the goodness of that which you behold. During this Season of Creation, consider contemplating a part of your local ecology. This is an exercise that you can choose to do alone, or with a group. Pick a natural or agricultural place to contemplate. A forest. A river. A city street with a natural area. An urban park. A farmer’s field. A hilltop. Find a comfortable place to rest in or near this place. Enter into prayer in whatever way is natural to you. Invite Holy Wisdom to open the eyes of your heart. When you are ready, use theresource guide to help you in this spiritual practice. It can be located in the Guide on the Season of Creation Celebration Guide website using the website address above. 

As we all know, prayer is a powerful experience and tool that we can use to raise awareness at this time about God’s creation and I encourage you to pray the following prayer this week as it ties in with our theme for this week ‘Need not Greed’. 

A prayer from the Season of Creation Resources. 

Oh God of creatures small and great

We are full of worries and cares

Yet you called us to follow you

To the hidden and distant places

So that we might care for others

You shower us with love and abundance

Yet daily we fret it will be all lost

We count, store up and hoard things

Help us to share your generosity

We want to be genuinely grateful

As we fall to see how love has redeemed us 

We keep that love for ourselves as if

You don’t have an endless supply for all

Help us to follow you here and now

Help us to care for the most vulnerable

Give us that love that casts out fear

Set us on the blessing road of your servants. 

Amen. 

Blessings Rev. Erika

Welcome Gary Tognola

I am pleased to let you know that the Archbishop indicated his intention to ordain Gary Tognola and appoint him as the Assistant Curate in our parish. This appointment comes with the usual provisos that he completes his current study successfully. Gary has been most recently placed at the parish of East Redlands. I met with Gary this week to begin our discussions regarding this appointment and know that he is pretty excited to have been placed here at Mt Gravatt. Gary will officially start following his ordination on 4 December.

Gary writes,

"The foundation of my faith was laid at an early age in the community of St Peters at Wynnum. My working background has been in retail and most recently in wholesale distribution. I have an eclectic taste in music, love to read and write poetry, and finding quiet spaces in nature to connect with God. I was a Tae Kwon Do instructor and was a pastoral carer at the Mission to Seafarer Brisbane (pre-Covid). I have been married to Janelle for twenty-seven years. We have three children, Courtney (17) Rebecca (22) (with her husband Adrian, who is expecting our first grandchild) and our eldest, Stephanie (25), (with her partner James). A growing family with which I try to spend as much time as I can."

Please keep Gary, Janelle and their family in your prayers as they make this significant transition.  You may wish to keep the ordination date in your diaries so we can support him by being present in the Cathedral for this event.

The coming year is shaping to be very significant in the life of this church. It will have been 125 years since the first "Divine Service" was held in the newly constructed church in Mt Gravatt. You are probably also aware that we intend to enter into a period of discernment to prepare an updated Mission Action Plan for our church. We are planning various activities as part of this process, including prayer, workshops, teaching and research. We hope to present a completed MAP late in 2022.  

To kick off this time of discernment will be two important whole of parish events.  On Sunday, 21 November, we will be joined by Bishop John Roundhill at all services that day.  In this way, we can begin our Mission Action Planning with prayer and worship as we commit ourselves to it with God's help.  On Saturday, 27 November,  the Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, will lead a morning workshop helping us engage in the Mission and Vision of the Anglican Church of Southern Queensland.  This workshop will be followed by a lunch which is an excellent opportunity for us to celebrate together in ways that we have found difficult in 2021.

God's Peace

Charleville Visit

You may be aware of the "Covenant Relationship" made between our Parish and the western Parish of Charleville. This relationship has a long history and is renewed every five years by the Clergy and wardens of each Parish. It was last renewed in March of 2020. In this Covenant, we committed to a relationship of mutual support for our shared worship and mission and developing relationships between our people.

Since last March, there has been a change of Clergy in both parishes and the pandemic. I will be travelling with Bp Cameron Venables on the 3rd & 4th of October to Roma, Charleville and Augathella to celebrate with these communities.

I hope this will be part of our broader conversation about how we can partner in God's mission and how this Covenant fits into the action planning we are undertaking over the next year.  

Here is a reminder of the wording of the Covenant;

We, the Clergy and churchwardens, on behalf of the Faith Communities of Mt Gravatt and Charleville do covenant ourselves in Twinning Relationship and herby commit ourselves to:

• Pray daily for the ministries of each other's Parish and life together;

• Exchange visits annually, without onerous expectations, for the purpose of establishing:

• A sharing in Christian Faith and Worship;

• An understanding and empathy in daily living;

• Clergy support, including the invitation from time to time to preach or celebrate the sacraments; and

• Valued friendship

In Addition, the Parishioners at Mt Gravatt offer hospitality to :

• Parishioners, and supporting family members from Charleville, referred for medical treatment in the Princess Alexandra (P.A) and Mater Hospitals; and

• Review this Covenant after a period of five years commencing from the date of signing.