Tasmania Tour Cancelled

Hi Everyone – Unfortunately the tour of that fair Isle  tying it in with a link to local Cursillistas planned for June 2023 has had to be cancelled due to lack of numbers.

Barb & I went on a similar trip several years ago & it was excellent.

Maybe it will come back again some time in the future?

Blessings

Jim Warland

Newcastle Cursillo Web Editor

Mob: 0408 291 395

jbee@bigpond.com

Encourager

Encourager Winter July 2022

How can we draw close to God?  Sometimes in life God can feel very close while other times God feels very far away. This is not uncommon or new, most people feel like this and have done so for centuries. If we look to the Psalms we can find other people expressing these same feelings and frustrations.

Download Encourager Here: Winter Encourager (July 2022)

The Psalms are the hymn book of the Jewish people and just like our modern-day hymn book it is filled with songs about all the types of experiences that life throws at us. These range from the very happy Psalms of praise, to the lowest of the low, Psalms of lament. There are also Psalms of thanksgiving, wisdom, as well as royal Psalms.
The Psalms have influenced our own hymns and prayers. As you read the psalms you will be surprised how often you come across a verse that you already know. Of course, some Psalms are known in their entirety, like Psalm 23 “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”
When life gets hard it might be intuitive to keep away from lament Psalms as you don’t want to feel worse. This misses the whole point of a lament Psalm. Knowing that someone else has felt just as bad as you do, and is shouting out to God, “WHERE ARE YOU?” can be cathartic. Even Jesus on the cross shouts out the first verse of Psalm 22 “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
The lament Psalms are more than just cathartic, they also give hope. The end of a lament psalm always finishes with the author remembering a time in the past when things were bad and God came to help them. From this memory the author then thanks God in advance, knowing that they haven’t been abandoned and God will come to their aid again.
While I have spent a large portion of this article on hard times and laments, Psalms are also there for us in the good times. Psalms of praise and thanksgiving can be an echo to our uplifted spirits. These focus on the wonder of God and the grandeur of creation. They remind us that in the midst of all that is going on in the universe God still loves and cares for us personally.
Each day in morning and evening prayer we slowly make our way through all 150 Psalms. It takes exactly two months. As I write this article at the end of June we used Psalms 148 and 149 this morning. Tonight we will finish with 150, a Psalm of praise invoking all the sounds of the orchestra to “Praise the Lord!” Tomorrow we will recite Psalm 1 starting the next two month cycle again.
Whether you are happy or sad, feeling that God is close or very far away, dip into the Psalms for an ancient connection to how others throughout the centuries have expressed these deep human emotions and found closeness and hope in God.
Fr Mark Cooper

Women Celebrating Our Faith (WCOF)

Eighty ladies from across the Diocese gathered at All Saints Anglican Church New Lambton on Saturday 8th October to celebrate women in our church and their faith journey.
The Theme for the day “Faith Grows.” For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field. You are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:9.  Bishop Sonia was Chaplain for the day and led the reflections and prayers.
The four Guest Speakers: Jennifer Forester, Rev. Toni Wein, Tracie Hendriks and Rev. Nicole Baldwin, were inspirational as they shared their faith journey with us.
Very personal and a great encouragement  to us all.
The music was organized by Noreen Robertson.
Jennifer Forester led our singing.
The day commenced with morning tea followed later by warm fellowship shared over lunch.
The day finished with closing prayers, led by Bishop Sonia, and the singing of our Theme song “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.”
A wonderful day was had by all who attended.
De Colores!
Noelene Lentfer
Coordinator

Diocesan Ultreya at Cathedral

Our first Diocesan gathering since the onset of COVID was enthusastically welcomed by everyone who attended. It was held on Saturday 30th October ‘live’ at the Cathedral but was also live-streamed on U-tube.
The recorded event can be viewed at  https://youtu.be/Q-m0YKJb_BE?t=2077 

Take some time to look through thr Photographs of the event below…

Welcome Day W/M49 & Dates for W/M50

WELCOME DAY – was held on 18th June at MICA (St Andrews Church Mayfield). This year we treated the day as a simulated flight on a commercial airline – except the toilet facilities seemed to be a long way outside the “plane”!  Everyone was pleased to meet up again and relive some of the 3 days experience.

Both M49 (28th April to 1st May) & W49  (2nd to 5th June) were a great success for all who attended. Praise God!

Downloadable Forms have been removed for 2022. 

Dates for M50 & W50 are: M50: 17 to 20 Aug. 2023 & W50: 31 Aug. to 3 Sep. 2023.

As always – De Colores & Ultreya!