March 18, 2020 | by

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As you will be aware circumstances are changing very rapidly and we at St. John’s must respond in a timely way with the love and wisdom that God provides.
This morning the leadership team decided that we could not continue to meet physically in our various congregations. Then this afternoon we have received confirmation from the Archbishop of Sydney who is requesting that all Anglican Churches in our Diocese stop congregational meetings. He has encouraged churches to embrace online alternatives, which we are doing.
The Archbishop has written as follows:
“I am asking all churches to consider the greater good. Our leadership and example in protecting the safety and welfare of our people, as well as those who visit, ought to be paramount. Erring on the side of caution is a good principle to follow in such extreme times – and the presence of this virus in our world is nothing short of a global catastrophe. For our churches, the challenge now becomes how to encourage, love and care for one another without regular gatherings. How to minimise danger to ourselves and others, while seeking the welfare of all in our community.”
As we wrote previously, God is sovereign in all of these things and he uses even the evil in this world to accomplish his purposes. Our place is to discern the times and how we should respond as his faithful and loving people. There will be great opportunities that open up for us, both individually and as his church. They will be opportunities to show Christ’s love and care to one another and to others, for by this will all people know that we are His disciples (John 13:35). God has prepared in advance the good works that he has for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Our responsibility is to discern them.
As for our congregational fellowship, we will still gather, as we are commanded to do.
‘Let us consider how we spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching’ (Heb. 10:25).
God has provided us with the technology to meet online. We will be live streaming at 10am on Sundays for the entire family and all age groups, and then an extra event at 5pm for Engage. We will send an email with a link to the live stream event and the same link will be available on our website:
We do recognise that there will be a few people who do not have access to online facilities and we are working to stay in touch with them.
We are also working on the best ways in which our Growth Groups and other groups can stay in touch with one another and meet online. We’ll keep you updated.
We have also made a video for you to watch.

Message to Church Family, Wednesday 18 March 2020

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,As you will be aware circumstances are changing very rapidly and we at St. John’s must respond in a timely way with the love and wisdom that God provides.This morning the leadership team decided that we could not continue to meet physically in our various congregations. Then this afternoon we have received confirmation from the Archbishop of Sydney who is requesting that all Anglican Churches in our Diocese stop congregational meetings. He has encouraged churches to embrace online alternatives, which we are doing.The Archbishop has written as follows: "I am asking all churches to consider the greater good. Our leadership and example in protecting the safety and welfare of our people, as well as those who visit, ought to be paramount. Erring on the side of caution is a good principle to follow in such extreme times – and the presence of this virus in our world is nothing short of a global catastrophe. For our churches, the challenge now becomes how to encourage, love and care for one another without regular gatherings. How to minimise danger to ourselves and others, while seeking the welfare of all in our community."As we wrote previously, God is sovereign in all of these things and he uses even the evil in this world to accomplish his purposes. Our place is to discern the times and how we should respond as his faithful and loving people. There will be great opportunities that open up for us, both individually and as his church. They will be opportunities to show Christ’s love and care to one another and to others, for by this will all people know that we are His disciples (John 13:35). God has prepared in advance the good works that he has for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Our responsibility is to discern them.As for our congregational fellowship, we will still gather, as we are commanded to do.‘Let us consider how we spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching’ (Heb. 10:25).God has provided us with the technology to meet online. We will be live streaming at 10am on Sundays for the entire family and all age groups, and then an extra event at 5pm for Engage. We will send an email with a link to the live stream event and the same link will be available on our website:http://www.stjohnscathedral.org.au/liveWe do recognise that there will be a few people who do not have access to online facilities and we are working to stay in touch with them.We are also working on the best ways in which our Growth Groups and other groups can stay in touch with one another and meet online. We’ll keep you updated.Please look at the video below. Please pray for our church, for our nation, and for God to use us to glorify Jesus through this crisis.Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, you are our strength and hope in times of trouble. You uphold and you destroy. There is no evil which is outside of your sovereign purposes, for all things conform to your will. Thank you that you work in everything for the good of those who love you, who are called according to your purposes: that you have justified those whom you have called, and that we have a certain hope of joining our Saviour and Lord Jesus in glory. Take away our fear and fill us with joy in every circumstance.Please look with mercy on all those who are suffering from the present epidemic, and grant to them and people everywhere wisdom to understand the frailty of life, the coming judgement, and their need for our great Saviour, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is eternal and mercies sure, and in whose name we pray. Amen.Bruce Morrison, Senior Minister

Posted by St John's Anglican Cathedral Parramatta on Tuesday, 17 March 2020

 

 Please pray for our church, for our nation, and for God to use us to glorify Jesus through this crisis.
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, you are our strength and hope in times of trouble. You uphold and you destroy. There is no evil which is outside of your sovereign purposes, for all things conform to your will. Thank you that you work in everything for the good of those who love you, who are called according to your purposes: that you have justified those whom you have called, and that we have a certain hope of joining our Saviour and Lord Jesus in glory. Take away our fear and fill us with joy in every circumstance.
Please look with mercy on all those who are suffering from the present epidemic, and grant to them and people everywhere wisdom to understand the frailty of life, the coming judgement, and their need for our great Saviour, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is eternal and mercies sure, and in whose name we pray. Amen.
Bruce Morrison, Senior Minister