Welcome to Worship
This Sunday at 10am
+ Many of our church people will be attending the Church Camp at Anglesea this weekend. Thanks to Lorraine Mitchell for leading our service at Box Hill on Sunday.
Community News
+ A Church Meeting was held in the Barn following our worship service last Sunday. In addition to regular reports we adopted a new budget and we voted to join the Open Baptist Association, subject to errors in the OB constitution being rectified.
+ With the upcoming Church Anniversary celebrations commencing in the coming weeks, we want to make sure nobody misses out! If you know of any former church members or anyone else who would appreciate knowing about these events, make sure to let Eddie know so that we can include them on any information that goes out about these events.
+ Dr Michelle Little, of Vancouver Canada, will lead a Zoom discussion on the challenging topic, Voluntary Assisted Dying. ‘How do you reconcile compassion for suffering while preserving life?’ and ‘If it were you facing this choice, what would be the hardest part of saying yes?’ are just two of the issues to be discussed. Join ‘Monday Matters’ organiser, Ian Bunston, for this conversation by clicking on the link below just before 8am this Monday August 18th. https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88060049153
+ Several theological Colleges and seminaries around the world are facing strong headwinds and closures. One of the most well-known Colleges for training ministers and missionaries is Spurgeon’s College in England. Sadly, with heavy hearts, the Board of Trustees has announced the closure of Spurgeon’s College after 169 years of service. Link.
Pointers for Prayer
+ Pray comfort for the Carter family following the death and the Service of Thanksgiving on Friday 15 August of Marjorie Carter (nee Robb). Marjorie was baptised and became a member of Box Hill Baptist in 1941.
+ Pray that the church camp this weekend in Anglesea will be one of safety for all participants and a rich time of connection and fellowship.
+ Pray that our joining of the Open Baptist Association will be a gift of solidarity and support to those churches and individuals who are grieving. May we find creative ways for learning and fostering the mission of Jesus in Australia.
+ Pray for Jenny (who lives in Alabama), sister of Sonia Park, who has recently undergone spinal surgery. Pray for successful surgery, healing, relief from pain and ease of mobility.
This Week
Monday
+ 2pm-5pm Bike Restoration and Rescue Session at the Community Shed: (rear 470 Station St, Box Hill).
+ 4.30pm-8.30pm Social Table Tennis (upstairs, 5 Ellingworth Pde)
+ 6pm-8pm: Chess Club (not meeting currently with the coordinator on holidays – returning soon! (downstairs, 5 Ellingworth Pde)
Tuesday
+ 9.30am – The Box Hill Community Choir meets in the church followed by morning tea in the Gallery.
+ 7.15pm for 7.30pm to 9pm: The Bible & Chat group will continue to tell the stories about their lives. Everybody welcome! Coordinator: Geoff Pound.
Wednesday
+ 7:30pm – Exploring Faith study series at 5 Ellingworth Pde. This week: Tradition & Innovation.
Thursday
+ 10am-12 midday: The English Language Group meets in the Barn led by Lynne Dyer, assisted by Keith Dyer and John West.
+ 11am-1pm upstairs in the Village Well: Social Chat Group—basic English language and Aussie culture, table tennis, Tai Chi, tea/coffee, friendship-making. Kevin English, who has had a stroke, is speaking on behalf of the Stroke Foundation of Australia about strokes and their prevention. Coordinated by Geoff Pound with Clara Jhao (interpreter). Everyone is welcome.
+ 1.30pm-2.30pm Bakehouse in the Barn coordinated by Lynne Dyer: Saving bread, fruit and vegetables from waste by giving food to those wanting to ease their weekly budget. In recent days about 150 people have been coming for food each Thursday and in addition hampers have been assembled and delivered for another 20 people.
Friday
+ 10am-11.30am The Playgroup resumes on this day, the 25th July.
+ 4.30-8.30pm: Social Table Tennis (upstairs, 5 Ellingworth Pde)
Saturday
+ 7.30am-8.30am Bakehouse in the Barn
Coming up
+ 24 August: 100-year Celebration of our church building.
+ 21 September at 10am: Rev Alison Sampson will share reflections on the years at Box Hill when her family (Ruth, John, Alison and Robyn) was active in this church and community.
Food for Thought, Prayer & Action
In recent weeks the Bible & Chat Group has been sharing the stories of their lives. Here are some of the quotable quotes from these evenings:
+ “Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables [stories]; without a parable [story] he told them nothing.” Matthew 13:34
+ “The person whose story is not worth telling and writing has never yet been born.”
-F W Boreham, My Pilgrimage.
+ ‘Every Life is Worth a Novel.’ The title of a book by Erving Polster.
+ “Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”
― Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, A Life for a Life.
Small Groups @ BHBC
Box Hill Baptist Church runs a number of small groups which create opportunities to build friendships, study the Bible and other resources, pray and strengthen our spiritual journeys.
If you are interested in any of the groups below, feel welcome to contact the convenor, or speak to one of our pastors. (And if you’d like to be part of a group but these don’t work for you, come and speak to us and we’ll see if we can start something new!)
- Bible & Chat: Currently each Tuesday, 7:15pm for 7.30pm start at the Village Well (5 Ellingworth Pde). The group normally reflects on a Scripture passage for the following Sunday service. Convenor: Geoff Pound
- KYB (Know Your Bible): Tuesdays fortnightly via Zoom. (Convenor: Helen Timms)
Every second Wednesday, (7:30pm) @ 5 Ellingworth Pde.- Visit exploringfaith.org.au or email office@boxhillbaptist.org.au
Next Sunday 17th August at 10am.
+ We plan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the church building. We hope to welcome former church members and friends who are coming to this ‘Back to Box Hill Baptist’ service and the celebratory Morning Tea in the Barn.
+ Worship Leader: The service will be led by our church historian, Lorraine Mitchell, who will also tell us about some of the events surrounding the first church building (now the Barn) and the building and opening of the new red brick church that was built to be “worthy of the worship of God, the denomination and the district.”
+ Preacher: Geoff Pound
+ Scripture Reading: Genesis 28: 10-22
+ There will be a display of photographs in the Gallery related to the opening of the building in 1925 along with various building plans that the church commissioned over the decades when they wanted to assess the feasibility of modifying the church buildings.
Worship Roster
Box Hill Baptist Church 