The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTERLink to WorshipIndonesian > CouncilAgenda20220516 > CouncilMinutes20220516
5th Anniversary of Glen Waverley Uniting Church Indonesian Fellowship 27 March 2022.
Prayer: Lord who has called us from darkness to light, we pray that we might truly worship you. Through the power of Roh Kudus, the Spirit of Reconciliation, might we witness the healing power, mercy and forgiveness by which Jesus transformed the world at Easter. Amen. |
The Indonesian Fellowship thanks those from ChurchCouncil and the wider congregation who have helped us feel part of the church community by joining us from time to time whether to preach or simply by accepting our invitation. At the same time, over these 5 years the life of our church has been enriched by the various faces of the Indonesian Fellowship.
Together we have worshipped, shared communion, held remembrance services for family who have died overseas during COVID, met in our homes, held Christmas celebrations for the wider community, hosted inter-faith gatherings and dialogues, hosted an iftar meal, walked, celebrated birthdays, shared food and picnics and gone bush for retreats. We have welcomed strangers and shared our table. Frequently we connect on social media. In 2019 eight of us from GWUC travelled to our sister church in North Sulawesi (Riedel, GMIM in Tondano) and over the years we have welcomed preachers, guests, choirs and performers from Indonesia. But it has not all been smooth sailing.
At times our boat has struck rough weather. Like all communities we pray for God’s grace that we might be led into the unity that Jesus called us to embody.
During the COVID years 10 to 12 of us have met on-line fortnightly for fellowship and Bible study. We are grateful for the generous leadership of DanielSihombing, who in his unique way has challenged us to deepen our faith through fresh understandings of the lectionary readings and more recently the epistle to the Romans.
Since November 2021 LuckyKalonta has organised preachers and liturgists from near and far for Sunday worship on zoom. RevNeilPeters has conducted communion and led services each month and Rev. EvangelinePua is now leading us once a month from the Presbyterian church in the USA (the church from which we have been blessed by the series Full to the Brim). We are also grateful to GeriKalonta and Darius and Christien Hetharia. Last but not least we thank LinaLiu and AndrewHosking who have been friends to all and tirelessly rehearsed, hosted and helped run the service.
Thanks be to God.
(adapted from the Welcome to the celebration held in the small chapel on the 4th Sunday in Lent 2022)