On Friday 6^th December approximately 40 members of the Church Congregation met at the Church Hall for a wonderful gathering of fellowship, friendship and fine food.

It was extra pleasing to see some old faces join us for the evening. Food was aplenty and the participants all ate and toasted to our good health then joined in the singing of Christmas Carols and songs with the church band of Alison & John Davies and Carol Parker accompanying on guitar, ukulele and bass. 50 church members enjoyed the Christmas celebration.

Special thanks to Wendy Hinde and her merry band of helpers for again making this dinner such a happy event on the church calendar and a great way to segue in to the busy festive season.

Inspired by Frontier Services (who we have supported over many years) St Martins ran a sausage sizzle at Bunnings Mentone on Tuesday 3rd December, under threatening skies and gusty winds.

The wintry conditions only served to stir the need for sustenance as we fed hundreds of tasty sausages, onions and soft drinks to a steady stream of hungry Bunnings customers from 9.00am right through to 4.00pm. Many customers also contributed to the donation tin we set up on the counter. All together we sent a cheque off to Frontier Services for. $2,052!!

Our erstwhile volunteers were magnificent in their dedication to the task of raising much needed funds for our drought-stricken farmers across this wide and (very) brown land. Frontier Services are incredibly grateful for our small but significant efforts to support their important work in the Outback.

Special thanks to all the members of the church who volunteered and also made donations.

Little did we know how vital this donation would become as since that time our frontier dwellers have suffered bushfires, hail storms and floods.

Nick Toovey – Missions Committee.

Following the Residential Aged Care forum we held at the church last October, our Mission Group arranged to host a second forum on In-Home Care on Sunday 28th April, from 2 – 4 pm.

Nathanial Levett and Nina Attree, Relationship Managers at Prestige In-Home Care, based in Reserve Road, Cheltenham, spoke to a group of about 22. It was a very informative session and Nat and Nina answered lots of questions from the very interested audience, who felt they gained a lot of helpful advice.

The Gathering of the People of God.

Images of our Easter Sunday service. Many thanks to Wendy Hinde for her leadership in assembling our Easter Garden and all those in the congregation who contributed pots and flowers.

Following our Good Friday service of meditation and reflection many of our congregation joined the Combined Churches of Beaumaris for the Walk of Witness. This is an event in which we have participated for over 30 years and is an opportunity to witness our faith with all the other Beaumaris Churches. St Martins hosted the fourth and fifth stations. Morning tea of hot cross buns and a cuppa followed the final station at St Michael’s.

Sunday 14th April

The Passion Of Jesus in Word and Song was the theme for the Palm Sunday Service. The choir had prepared for this service over 3 evening rehearsals with a final polish on the morning of the service. We would like to express our thanks to the choir for their hard work in creating this uplifting experience for us. Our special thanks go to Geoff Hinde for his patient and thoughtful leadership, to those family and friends who have augmented the choir and to Luke Drohan – our pianist for rehearsal and performance, as well as to all the readers. We all enjoyed the morning tea afterwards.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Beaumaris Uniting Church will be held following the 9:30am service on Sunday 5th May 2019.

The 2018 Annual Report will be delivered and spoken to by Chairperson of the Church Council, Jenny Small and the Treasurer, Margaret Thorburn.

• Download the Beaumaris Uniting Church Annual Report for 2018 when it is available.

Pancake night at the Beaumaris Uniting Church – St. Martins was held on Sunday 3rd March from 5 – 8pm.  In spite of the high 30 degree temperatures we had a healthy gathering of people. Some people enjoyed a picnic tea of fish and chips but everyone enjoyed the pancakes served as dessert with a range of fruit toppings and ice-cream plus a wide choice of drinks.  All age groups enjoyed playing quoits on the lawn and as the cool change arrived many of the participants moved outside to sit and enjoy the live music.  It was a great opportunity for chatting and catching up on peoples’ news at leisure. We were delighted to be joined by our friends from St Michael’s and All Angels down the road on this festive occasion. We are thrilled that the $370 raised will be donated to Uniting Care Families in Crisis.