I have pleasure in reporting to you all on behalf of the Wardens, Chris Stretton, Mike Lum and myself, Lee Beeston.
We are very thankful to God for the privilege of serving you in the management of finances and property in conjunction with Parish Council and under the leadership of Rev Bruce Stanley, Senior Minister.
Your ongoing financial support, your willingness to serve regularly and your availability for any tasks that arise, demonstrate your commitment to the Lord and to sharing the gospel in Eastwood, Ermington and a little bit more! Thank you!
Your financial generosity in responding to the 2022 Thanksgiving Sunday has enabled ongoing property maintenance, development/building projects and employment of staff, exceeding expectations. 97% of the offertory budget was met in the past year! An extraordinary outcome!
Thank you to the very generous donor who pledged to match up to $100,000 of parishioners’ giving - which was met! This will enable completion of Phase 1 of the redevelopment plan by sealing the carpark and installing the detention tank at St Phils.
St Mark’s has seen improvements on-site from installation of a fence around the property and a purpose-built children’s playground. These have raised the profile of an active, functional facility in Ermington. Ongoing and future projects include the erection of a sail cover over the playground, a new disabled toilet, renovation of the current toilets, roof repairs, installation of air conditioning and carpet laying in the halls.
The attractive development and maintenance of the grounds at both churches is regularly carried out by a willing team of workers led by David Smith. Thank you, David and team. David Mayes continues to use his architectural and practical skills to design and oversee projects such as the new toilet block and ramp at St Phils, the new, large stage in the War Memorial Hall, the acquisition of a near-new kitchen and its installation at St Mark’s, and much more. Thank you, David.
very experienced team of St Phil’s and St Mark’s people, working under time-pressure applied for a large grant from the NSW government’s WestInvest program for development of the St Mark’s site. This was to fund new buildings for a multifunctional centre. Although we were unsuccessful in receiving the grant, the plans provide a template for the future which will assist in attracting newcomers to church from the local community. Thank you to the WestInvest grant application team!
Community awareness of both church sites has been raised by the activity of adults and children throughout the week, as well as at weekends. Such activities are from our congregations (aerobics, ping pong on 4 days per week, badminton, etc.) but also from the leasing of our facilities to regular community groups (tai chi, karate, Eastwood Chinese Senior Citizens, educational tutoring at Eastwood and a dance studio at Ermington) plus several one-off uses. This requires liaising and issuing of licences which provides another income source for our Parish. Thank you, Allan Beeston!
Our internal facilities would not be as attractive if not kept clean. Thank you, Jonah Stanley for your attention to detail in your regular cleaning.
Administration and practical support to staff and parishioners is cheerfully and skilfully provided by Tiff Haywood and Ningjia Wang. Thank you both!
Thank you, Chris Stretton who willingly reviews and resolves many maintenance issues in conjunction with Bruce Stanley and a willing back-up team.
We are thankful to Tim Haywood for his skills in providing technical expertise.
The Rev. Bruce Stanley, Senior Minister leads all our staff and all 10 congregations with exceptional skill and Godliness. We are so thankful to the Lord for Bruce and his family. Please thank the following ministry staff members (and their families) who teach and guide their cultural groups:
- Andrew Glover, Assistant Minister, St Marks’s Ermington (English)
- Cathy Gravitas, Women’s Pastoral Worker (English)
- Greg Burke, Assoc. Minister (Honorary) (English)
- Clarence Huin, Assistant Minister, (Cantonese)
- Christine Yang, Assistant Minister (Mandarin)
- Lane Sun, Assoc. Minister (Mandarin)
- Joe Hong, Assoc. Pastor (Korean)
- Kian Holik, Assoc. Pastor (Indonesian)
- Jason Smith, Children’s Minister (and until recently, Youth Minister also)
- Suzanna O’Chee and Jo lum, Assistant Children’s Workers
- Student Ministers Ningjia Wang, Andy Feng, Wilston Trin, with Josh and Anna Hoole until 12/22.
Thank you to Mike and Chris who capably and voluntarily undertake responsibility for all administration of finances and property, keeping appropriate account records related to this on our behalf. They oversee employment relations, work, health and safety, child protection and taxation issues. Thank you for your efforts behind the scenes and for your availability to deal with any problem large or small.
Thank you too, to Chris Adams, volunteer auditor.
There are many areas of serving such as clean-up day, Sunday School, creche, morning tea, suppers, welcoming, sound and vision, catering, Growth Group leadership, one-to-one evangelism, music etc - too numerous to list. A big THANK YOU to all involved!
With thankfulness to the Lord,
Lee Beeston, Mike Lum and Chris Stretton
2022 wardens