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Message from
Sarah
Dear friends,
The season of Lent is fast
approaching. In light of this, I wish to share with you a section
of a letter I recently received from Rev Dr John Mallison,
providing insight into the impact of our response to
God.
In this letter, John cited
Eugene Peterson’s introduction to the book of Philemon, in
Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message, which reads:
"Every movement (action or
thought) we make in response to God has a ripple effect, touching
family, neighbours, community. Belief in God alters our language.
Love of God affects daily relationships. Hope in God enters into
our work... None of these movements...: beliefs and prayers,
gestures and searches, can be confined to the soul. They spill out
and make history.”
John republished these words to
challenge the fellow Christians in his circle to recognise how each
of their actions truly can change the world and glorify
God.
As an organiser and participant
in Lent Event I was reminded of the potential our
shared organisation has to fulfil Eugene Peterson’s words. From our
prayers, reflections and material sacrifice, we will witness the
impact of our actions extending further than expected.
Our preparations over the next
three weeks (three Sundays) are vital for ensuring that the
potential is realised. Please use every opportunity to bolster your
community's participation – by putting up posters, talking about
Lent Event at your services, youth group, Sunday school and church
events and calling your congregation to wholehearted participation
in Lent Event activities - sacrifice, prayer, worship and Bible
Study.
As Eugene Peterson explained,
our movements, actions and thoughts in response to God have a
ripple effect... the magnitude of which cannot be
measured.
Lent Event
Update: Last Minute Preparations for Lent Event 2010
January can be a hectic time of
year, with people trying to coordinate their holidays around work,
making mad dashes to January sales, preparing for the kids to go
back to school and so many other events.
Lent Event is a wonderful
opportunity for our church communities to refocus our lives on
God. The annual event is fast approaching (starts on February
17) but it is not too late for your faith community – no matter how
small or large - to get involved in this God-inspired
movement.
Lent Event volunteers and staff
have been busy preparing the Lent Event Promotion Packs, which your
church should now have received. Please take every opportunity to
promote Lent Event prior to Lent using the 4 minute inspirational
DVD, brochures and donors’ envelopes, posters, children’s money
boxes and map of UCA partner churches.
Lent Event Coordinators, please
ensure that the appropriate members of the ministry team have
access to the resource materials including the Prayer & Bible
Study Book, Children’s Program, Youth Bible study and Worship
Resources, which are available on the Data Disc provided or on the
Lent Event website (www.lentevent.com). Hard copies of the 2010
Prayer and Bible Study can also be purchased online or by calling
head office on 1300 536 838.
Ten ideas to
promote Lent Event:
- Commit to using Lent Event
resources in your church activities this Lent.
- Announce Lent Event is coming
at church gatherings.
- Put up Lent Event
posters.
- Organise for community members
to partake in a Lent Event Bible Study group.
- Watch the Lent Event
Inspirational DVD as a congregation.
- Ask people to sign up for
sacrifice: recording on paper what they are giving up.
- Use the weekly prayer points
to learn about and pray for the projects.
- Visit the Lent Event website
to see how other faith communities are supporting Lent
Event.
- Encourage one another to share
their Lent Event journey.
- 0. Pray
individually and as a community that God may bless our actions this
Lent.
If you have any questions,
please feel free to us on 1300 536 838 or email us. Also, please check out
the Lent Event website
which is regularly updated with information, resources and advice
and where you can access the new Lent Event Prayer and
Reflections Blog, where you can leave a prayers and
encouragements for other Lent Event Coordinators and
participants.
Poverty
Update: Our priorities should be crystal clear…
YouTube can be a wonderful
tool! News about new posts is transmitted so quickly that millions
may access a video within minutes. When this happens, the post is
known as having gone ‘viral.’
Mission organisations such as
Advent Conspiracy
are using this technology to try and bring an end to the spread of
harmful viruses – those that are even more easily spread and with
deadly consequences – found in contaminated water.
At Christmas time I was deeply
challenged to reconsider my plans for gift giving after viewing a
YouTube post from Advent Conspiracy. It revealed some shocking
facts:
- Americans spend 450 billion
dollars on Christmas presents each year.
- It would only cost 10 billion
dollars to ensure that ALL people would have access to clean
water.
I showed many of my friends,
both Christian and non-Christian, this YouTube clip. They too began
to ask themselves questions about our world situation and their
role in being responsible for our resource use. Consequently, many
of them purchased alternative Christmas gifts such as sustainable
clean water for poverty-stricken countries. The recipients of their
gifts received a card explaining that the gift of clean water had
been given on their behalf.
Lent Event supports water
projects in Papua New Guinea and Sudan, installing water systems
and water bores, providing continual access to life-giving water,
free from disease.
Take the opportunity through
Lent Event this year to fully immerse yourself in the vision of a
world where everyone has enough to sustain them and nothing is
wasted. Please encourage others to join you. Check out Lent Event’s
inspirational promo for 2010 on You Tube at or on our website.
Some priorities in life should
always be crystal clear…
Nicole Reardon
Project
Update: Nachipo Village Project, Sudan
Rob Floyd, Associate Director,
Relief and Development at UnitingWorld, has just returned from
visiting the Lent Event project in Sudan. He is pleased to report
that the project has continued to make positive differences to the
lives of people living in the Nachipo villages.
Before the three-year project
began in October 2007, clean water was difficult to access and the
local schools operated without buildings. Villagers made a long
trip by foot each day to the nearest source of water and classes
were held outdoors under the shade of trees.
Working with UnitingWorld’s
trusted local partner, the Sudan Council of Churches, the project
aimed to provide a safe, accessible and reliable source of drinking
water to the Nachipo villages and build six classrooms for the
school. Several bore wells have now been installed throughout the
village, including one in the school.
The school is now operating.
The first building is now complete, providing three classrooms for
the school. The second building is nearing completion, and when
finished will provide an additional three classrooms, for a total
of six.
Six keen and energetic teachers
have been appointed to teach the national curriculum. Each studied
in Kenya before completing their teacher training in Sudan. They
also provide their students with a meal each day at
school.
Local community leaders and
chiefs are happy with progress made, and are keen to see the
success it brings.
Everyone at UnitingWorld’s
Relief and Development Unit is grateful for the generosity of the
Lent Event participants and donors who have made this worthwhile
project possible. The facilities have been put in place to allow
the Nachipo community to build its own future.
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