Dear Friends,
Our hearts and prayers go to the young visitors from Japan who ran into trouble swimming in the wild surf in our beloved Bondi Beach on Monday. With one young man still missing we pray for him and his family and friends. Thank you once again to the Surf Lifesavers who put their own lives at risk day after day to save others.
The wild surf at Bondi reminds us that we do not, and can not control, everything in life. However, that does not stop us from caring for our environment. After having a record warm winter we have had a September and October with the average temperature in Sydney being 2-3 degrees over the long term average. Of course we have also experienced the devastation of mid-Spring bushfires. Whether people agree with it or not, 98% of scientists now agree that climate change is underway and moving at an ever increasing pace.
Three important events are occurring over the coming weeks in relation to caring for our environment.
The first, at the Chapel, is our meditative vigil for the Earth, Friday 15th November at 7pm. We need a depth conversion, a deep examination of our hearts, if we are ever going to change our current way of dealing with our planet. Here is an opportunity to sit in candlelit meditative and prayerful silence. We should never underestimate the power of meditative prayer.
A couple of days later on Sunday 17th November, there is a ‘Day of Climate Action’ where tens of thousands of Australians will gather across our land to make it clear that we are demanding stronger action on climate change. The Sydney gathering will be in Prince Alfred Park (near Central station) at 11am. It would be great for us to go to this gathering following our worship service.
The last event around this theme is a film night at the Chapel where we are kicking off our ‘Flicks by the Sea’ programme. Our first night will be Friday 22nd November with a dinner and film. The dinner will be a wonderful curry for just $12 with the film being the visual masterpiece - ‘Home.’ The proceeds of the night will go to the Responsible Runners group. This is an organisation established by Justin Bonsey who make it their task to clean the beach of all litter left by ‘beach-lovers’ every week. The movement started at Bondi and has now spread nationally. Justin will be present on the night to talk and answer questions. As for the film it is astonishing!
Looking forward as ever to seeing you soon.
Peace,
Rev John Queripel
Our hearts and prayers go to the young visitors from Japan who ran into trouble swimming in the wild surf in our beloved Bondi Beach on Monday. With one young man still missing we pray for him and his family and friends. Thank you once again to the Surf Lifesavers who put their own lives at risk day after day to save others.
The wild surf at Bondi reminds us that we do not, and can not control, everything in life. However, that does not stop us from caring for our environment. After having a record warm winter we have had a September and October with the average temperature in Sydney being 2-3 degrees over the long term average. Of course we have also experienced the devastation of mid-Spring bushfires. Whether people agree with it or not, 98% of scientists now agree that climate change is underway and moving at an ever increasing pace.
Three important events are occurring over the coming weeks in relation to caring for our environment.
The first, at the Chapel, is our meditative vigil for the Earth, Friday 15th November at 7pm. We need a depth conversion, a deep examination of our hearts, if we are ever going to change our current way of dealing with our planet. Here is an opportunity to sit in candlelit meditative and prayerful silence. We should never underestimate the power of meditative prayer.
A couple of days later on Sunday 17th November, there is a ‘Day of Climate Action’ where tens of thousands of Australians will gather across our land to make it clear that we are demanding stronger action on climate change. The Sydney gathering will be in Prince Alfred Park (near Central station) at 11am. It would be great for us to go to this gathering following our worship service.
The last event around this theme is a film night at the Chapel where we are kicking off our ‘Flicks by the Sea’ programme. Our first night will be Friday 22nd November with a dinner and film. The dinner will be a wonderful curry for just $12 with the film being the visual masterpiece - ‘Home.’ The proceeds of the night will go to the Responsible Runners group. This is an organisation established by Justin Bonsey who make it their task to clean the beach of all litter left by ‘beach-lovers’ every week. The movement started at Bondi and has now spread nationally. Justin will be present on the night to talk and answer questions. As for the film it is astonishing!
Looking forward as ever to seeing you soon.
Peace,
Rev John Queripel