From the Rector

The Rector writes...

As I write this letter, I think that it can’t be August already, but it is. The year is flying past and the Parish, as always is very busy. There is a buzz in the Parish with many people thinking of new ideas, new initiatives, wanting to try new things. There is a real spirit of movement and excitement, and a looking to the future with hope.

One of the central themes at the moment is stewardship. August is our stewardship month, and I have sent out a letter to Parishioners, outlining various activities which are happening throughout August, along with a Response Form for offering commitments for the next 12 months.

I recently attended a seminar on stewardship which impressed me greatly. It was run by the Catholic archdiocese, but there seemed to be more people from Anglican parishes present than those from Catholic parishes! This seminar focused on a spirituality of the whole person. When we think of stewardship we tend to think of money, well, many of us do. This seminar helped us to think of the stewardship of how we live our lives; and when that stewardship is right, then the money side of things will automatically flow. Here are some thoughts from the seminar that impressed me.

• Stewardship is a way of life, a way of thanking God for all His blessings by returning a portion of the time, talent and treasure allotted to us.

• You won’t get stewardship, if you don’t get gratitude

• Stewardship is giving of the first fruits of our time, talent and treasure.

• Stewardship is about putting God FIRST in our lives. Our calendars and our chequebooks tell our story.

• Stewardship is not a matter of chance – it is intentional, planned and proportionate.

Dr Patrick Oliver, a well-known spiritual director, retreat leader and author, is coming to lead a quiet morning on 11^th August, as part of our stewardship preparation, and he will also pick up this theme of “whole of life stewardship”. I do hope you can come to Holy Spirit and enjoy the peace and beauty of the grounds and the reflections Dr Oliver will bring to us.

The new Diocesan group Angligreen is calling each parish to exercise a wise stewardship of their environment by undertaking a “green” audit. Our own Dr Rachel McFadyen presented a motion to Diocesan Synod this year that encourages parishes to embrace the ethos of Angligreen by committing to the “seven R’s of environmental care”:

• Reverence for all of Creation

• Refuse to use resources unnecessarily

• Reduce consumption and waste

• Reuse resources where appropriate

• Recycle materials where possible

• Repair rather than throwing away

• Restore habitat and ecosystems

Some areas where our Parish is already active in the wise stewardship of the environment include the installation of two large water tanks (thanks to a successful grant application) to enable us to be able to care for the grounds at Holy Spirit Kenmore; in the creek bed area vines have been planted to attract and feed the rare Birdwing Butterfly; our Fellowship group have taken an environmental theme as their focus for this year; and on 5^th August, at the monthly Praise and Worship Service, the Faith Food and More teenage group will focus on environmental issues with Don Gibson from Angligreen coming to speak. All this is very fitting to help us grow stewardship as a way of life.

As a culmination to our month of Stewardship we are planning a “Going for Growth” dinner to lead us into our new outreach programme “Introducing God”, which will begin in September. The Archbishop encouraged us at Synod to “Go for Growth”, and this seems an appropriate way to pick up this theme. The dinner will take place on Saturday 25^th August at 6.00 pm. It will bring our annual 24 hour prayer vigil to a finale, give thanks for all that is happening in the Parish, and give us a positive focus for outreach and growth.

As we continue to be a busy and active Parish, my constant prayer is that all we do is in the will and way and to the glory of God. May our first priority in exercising wise stewardship always be our time spent with God in prayer and sacrament.

I give thanks for you all, and may God bless you in every part of your lives.

With love, Rev Bev.