Parish Council Update - September

Bible Reading

We read 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 and discussed matters of conscience. The vaccination passport for NSW is on the horizon from our state government, and these continued restrictions for those not choosing vaccination look to include church attendance, at least temporarily. We discussed this and prayed about the implications for those who are unvaccinated, and those reluctant to share their medical status. Our concern for all in this situation of potentially not being able to enjoy the easing of restrictions. For matters of conscience, health, ethics, or whatever the reason might be, we will be encouraging our church members to be loving, thoughtful and prayerful for those who cannot, or have chosen not to, be vaccinated. We pray for understanding, and for wisdom for our governments and church leaders to address this situation thoughtfully and with discernment. Especially we pray for our Diocesan leaders as they give direction to Anglican Churches in Sydney with regard to this matter.

Major Works

Ermington: Rectory renovations are progressing well and work is expected to be completed in October! The total cost of works: $169,000.

Eastwood: Construction of an access ramp and toilet block is now anticipated to begin in October. The total cost will be $243,000. $148,000 in funds are available for this.

Bells: progress is being made with applications expected to go to Ryde Council around October.

Solar panels: we are on track to receive a grant to fully fund the installation of a 24kW solar panel system on the War Memorial Hall roof. This will significantly contribute to reducing electricity costs in the long term.

Thanks Giving 2021

We are very excited to announce that nearly $87,000 has been raised to date from Thanks Giving 2021! The generosity of God's people for the ministry of his church into the new year has been a great blessing in this time of uncertainty. May God help us to use these funds for the purposes raised, and help us to continue to advance the gospel in Eastwood, Ermington, and a little bit more!

Staff Team

We are also excited to announce that Lane Sun will join us on November 1st as one of our Mandarin pastors! Lane and his wife Jamie have three young children. Lane will join our staff team, serving with all of us across the Parish. In particular, he will be working with Christine Yang, co-pastoring the 9:30 am and 5 pm Mandarin congregations, and with Clarence Huin as he also serves amongst the wider Chinese ministries and congregations at St Phil's. Please pray for Lane as he prepares to join the church family.

Missions

We heard from Mike Lum of the continuing mission work of CCA (Christian Community Aid) in Eastwood and the wider community. There are currently increasing needs for food packages for people in need during the pandemic. If you are able to assist, please contact them. More details will be available in the weeks to come in our weekly news updates.

Finances

We have been blessed with generosity through the Thanks Giving service this year. We have also been blessed with ongoing regular generous giving which enables us to continue working in all areas of ministry. We are behind in budget this year by 3% which we hope might be able to be caught up in the coming months, especially as we begin to see ministries return to the site.

• Income required:
  Yearly: $499,195
  Weekly: $14,263
• Current offertory:
  Yearly: $483,611
  Weekly: $13,817
• Shortfall: $15,585
  Current Offertory is 96.9% of the budget