That was the year that was

I am a little unsure about the likelihood of any blogging for the next week or so; so I am thinking to make this my final contribution for 2008. Do I hear the sound of muffled cheers bounding through cyber space??

So, let’s make this a year in review type missive. Some things change and some things seem to remain the same. This time last year I was knee deep in property type things and this year I am just as knee deep but the consistency of that which I am wading through seems thicker and darker. This too shall pass!?

Some highlights of the year? Without doubt for me, a major one was our Easter Sunday / Holy Communion celebration. Six of our young people spent several weeks with Kath and I looking at the why, what and how of Holy Communion and then together shared in the Easter Day celebration. It was a very significant time for them and also for us as a church community. Yes, we are offering the same opportunity in 2009 and we appear to have good interest already.

Several new people have joined us during the year and it has been exciting and encouraging to see them contributing to the life of our faith community. Many people this year have put their hand up to be more involved in our many and varied ministries and this has made a huge difference to our effectiveness and given other leaders wonderful support.

Most of our key events went through some changes and in all cases it seems that those adjustments worked out well. Going back as far as Christmas Eve last year, to ANZAC Day, the Women’s Conference and Melbourne Cup all had their challenges and all came through strongly.

Our experiment with the Aberdoon House Coffee shop ended in the first half of the year much to the relief of my wife! The exercise was worthwhile but showed up the difficulty of running anything in this area on a volunteer basis.

The end of 2008 and throughout 2009 seems to have been a year of shaking. Significant people – some foundation members – have left us during the year and I have felt this loss very deeply. However, I remain convinced that we are called to establish a new congregation in this region that is culturally and contextually relevant to the people that we serve. Having this vision endorsed by the support of our leadership team and indeed by the great encouragement of so many of you has carried me through one of the most difficult times of my ministry.

Any living community will go through constant change and we are very much alive and very much in transit!

Of course a major highlight for me this year has been my ordination in October. When I began the journey somewhat reluctantly back in May 2007, I could not have imagined what a great trip it would be. During the journey I was lead to reflect very deeply on what and why I believed the things that I was committed to. Key relationships deepened during this time and my faith was greatly strengthened. The wonderful bonus for me was the Ordination service itself where I felt the awesome support of my local congregation along with people who have journeyed with me for a long time. It was a day that I will never forget and all of you were an important part of it. Thank you.

On the personal front Veronica and John have had a very significant year. We chalked up two significant zeros, had a marvellous Asian adventure and a couple of months back were presented with our fifth grand child! No wonder we are a little tired at the end of it all!?

Blessings for Christmas - John