Prayer Points

Ministry Team
Ian offering supply ministry
Church Council
Olive Way program
Pastoral Care Committee
Justice & Mission Committee
Sunday Morning Program
Roster participants
Non-Violent Direct Action
FUNdraising Committee
Presbytery of Port Philip West
Creatures of the land

BUC News

Holy Communion
On Sunday 3rd May, the first Sunday of the month, we will observe the practice of a communion of the empty hands.  We will not be sharing bread and juice.  We will reflect on Jesus’ words ‘Do this in remembrance of me’.

May Olive Branch
The May edition will be published on Sunday 3rd May with printed copies to be posted out to all who normally receive them.

Welcome
On Sunday 10th May we will welcome Linley Liersch as our preacher.  Linely is our Presbytery Minister in the role of Mission Development Strategist – eLM Liaison.

Supply Ministry Celebration
During worship on Sunday 17th May we will acknowledged and celebrate the three months of supply ministry offered by Valentina Satvedi-Leydon (Worship and Discipleship & Education) and Yoo Mi Park (Pastoral Care).  Ian will be concluding his three months in Bairnsdale and East Gippsland on 10th May after which he will take one week’s annual leave before returning to our congregation on 19th May.

Connecting
Connecting – to God, to others, to place
Church camp is a great opportunity to meet new friends, try something new, have fun – but most importantly – connect with eachother! This year we are hosting a virtual camp to allow everyone to join from the comfort of their homes!
Tune in on 23rd of May, with official proceedings kicking off from 3pm, to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime event!
See the May Olive Branch for more details.  The Connecting website post will be updated on Sunday with the latest information.

A Community of Faces
Are you missing catching up with people on Sundays, seeing well loved or little known faces?  It’s lovely to see people offering parts of the service from their homes but what about everyone else?
Liturgists have been inviting us to call people after worship to say hello and have a chat.  Another delightful idea has been proposed.
Send a photo of yourself or of each other in your household and email the photo(s) to saide.cameron@bigpond.com
The photos will be shared with or without names (your choice) in the extended prelude prior to the service.  Thank you to Joel for providing the first photo.

Household of God project
In this time of physical isolation everyone is invited to contribute to the BUC’s Household of God Creative Arts project.
This project is an opportunity for people to offer a creative work in whatever medium you choose – painting, drawing, knitting, craft, music, poetry, story, storytelling, dance, videos, and whatever else comes to mind.
Our plan is to provide an online space for these works to be shared and later when we can all meet again to host an exhibition and possibly a FUNdraising event.  More details in the May Olive Branch and online on Sunday.  In the meantime please view Dave’s video and start being creative.

Climate Action News

Climate Crisis Action Plan
Maxine Loynd, BUC Elder and member of the of the Climate Action group provided this update during worship on Palm Sunday explaining the progress Church Council is making towards drafting and implementing the BUC Climate Crisis Action Plan (3 minutes, 5 April 2020). Read the BUC declaration of a Climate Crisis  by the congregation (November 2019) and learn how you can become involved.

School Strike for Climate – it’s time to build a vision for a better future
At 4pm 15 May #ClimateStrikeonline school strikers are inviting everyone to join them to support their three demands
  1. No new coal, oil and gas projects including the Adani mine
  2. 100% renewable energy generation and exports by 2030
  3. Fund a just transition & job creation for all fossil-fuel workers & communities
ARRCC (Australian Religious Response to Climate Change) is asking people of faith to support the strike on Social Media by taking a photo of yourself holding up a hand-held sign in support of the school strikers and posting this on social media (between now and the day of the strike). Be visible in these photos as people of faith and use the hashtag #SignsOfFaith.
On Friday 15th May, the day of the Climate strike:

Community News

Fresh Food  Fridays
Available from Brunswick Neighbourhood House
On Friday 1st May, Brunswick Neighbourhood House will start a ‘Zero waste/Bag of Fresh’ food program in association with Open Table.
Bags will contain fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread – and sometimes prepared meals – thanks to SecondBite, OzHarvest, and Natural Tucker Bakery amongst others.  These bags are for anyone in the local area experiencing food insecurity due to COVID-19.
Key points:

  • Participants will need to register for the program – BNH will require a phone number and/or email address.
  • Bags can collected between 3 pm and 4.30 pm on Friday afternoons.

Please ask people to register with us by calling 9386 9418 prior to 5pm on the Tuesday before i.e. for collection on Friday, 8th May, we need to have orders in by 5pm Tuesday 5th May.