Sunday, March 22, 2026
We thank you, heavenly Father,
that you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
we pray that
as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his presence abiding in us he may raise us to joys eternal;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Stay In Touch
Father Ted Starr - Priest-in-Charge - 0451 929 180 - edward.starr@anglicanchurchsq.org.au
Mrs Liz Peters - Rector’s Warden - 0400 844 946
Mrs Gail Symons - People’s Warden - 0409 618 511
Mr Tony Hughes - People’s Warden - 0468 764 009
Zoom Church - 328 492 8300 - 548 747
Readings
for The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Ezekiel 37:1 - 14
Psalm 130
Romans 8:6 - 11
John 11:1 - 45
Giving
Offering - 704 901 - 0000 0780
Building Fund - 704 901 - 0001 4767
Want to give in other ways? Cards are on sale at the back of the church.
For Your Prayers
We ask of your goodness, Lord, to comfort and sustain all who in this transitory life are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity, and especially Shirley Kimber, Alex, Ann, Lois, Barbara, Helena, Ian, Maggie, Dave, Uncle Peter, Chris, Bill Tattam, Jeff Byrne, Karne, Greg, Aaron, Joanne, Grace and Faith, Beryl Old, Fr David, Nina, and Gary McKenzie. Please contact Fr Ted to be on this list.
We also give thanks for those whose year’s mind occurs at this time. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.
Mission and Outreach
BCA (support for the Church in the Bush) are running a donation drive for water during Lent. Also, March is the time to return our BCA boxes. There are spare boxes on the back table – try filling one up with your spare change to support this ministry.
Meals for Woody Point Special School are starting again. Please label your meal with title, ingredients and date cooked, then freeze it, and bring it to church on Sunday. Meal containers are on the back table. Alternatively, give a monetary donation or supermarket gift card. For more information on both of these ministries, contact Elizabeth on 0404 080 861.
Barnabas Brekkie is on Saturday, 9 May to raise money for persecuted Christians in Ghana. Your parish needs you! Do you have a CostCo membership? Can you cook eggs and bacon, brew tea and coffee, wash dishes,or move furniture? Contact Florine, Dale or Gail if so.
Ministry During the Week
Mother’s Union meets at a new time: Third Wednesdays at 9am.
Thursday Fellowship: every first and third Thursday from 9:30am to 11:30am. All welcome for a cuppa and a chat. Bring your craft to work on or just enjoy the company.
Caring and Sharing: every fourth Wednesday from 11am.
Talent Table: every last Sunday after the second service.
Bible Study: Tuesdays at 9am and Thursdays at 7pm. All materials supplied.
Easter Services are now live on the website, the calendar at the front of the church, and inside this pew sheet. Please prayerfully consider engaging with the full suite of services that take us through our Lord’s arrest, passion, death and resurrection.
The Week Ahead
Tues, 24 Mar
8:00 am - Holy Communion
9:30 am - Bible Study
Wed, 25 Mar
10:00 am - Holy Communion: The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary (9 months until Christmas!)
10:45 am - Caring and Sharing
Thu, 26 Mar
8:30 am - Sung Matins
7:00 pm - Bible Study
Sat, 28 Mar
8:00 am - Working Bee to prepare the church for Holy Week and Easter including Morning Tea
Sun, 29 Mar
7:00 am & 9:00 am - Sunday of the Passion with the Liturgy of the Palms
Easter is coming soon, and there are many ways you can enter into this time of the Church year with your parish.
Saturday, 28 March is the working bee to prepare the church for Passion Sunday with Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Week. Join in from 8am for an autumn clean and some well-deserved morning tea. Please consider bringing some palm branches with which to decorate the church. Tuesday, 31 March at 7pm, Chrism Mass will be held at St John’s Cathedral, where holy oils are blessed for the coming year.
If you have access to olive branches, do consider coming to help set up the side chapel after the 10am service on Wednesday, 1 April in preparation for the vigil on the following evening. Thursday, 2 April is Maundy Thursday, beginning with an Agape Meal at 6pm. Agape is the New Testament word for love, and we will affirm Christ’s command and example for us to love one another. Please sign on if you intend on joining us for the Meal. From the command to love one another, we move to Christ’s words “as I have loved you”, and a service of divine worship will commence at 7:30pm in the church, concluding with the stripping of the altar and the vigil at the altar of repose. Friday, 3 April is Good Friday, worship at 8:30am. Saturday, 4 April begins at 8:30am with a traditional service of Sung Matins, followed by a working bee to prepare the church for Easter, which begins that evening at 6:30pm with The Great Vigil of Easter. Do consider coming to this service; it is “the big one”. Sunday, 5 April is our combined service at 8am to celebrate Easter Day.
Article 11
Of the Justification of Man.
We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings: Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.
Our Bible Study groups this week were challenged to come up with a definition for several dense theological terms, and a great definition for “justification” was offered: “just as if”. That is, to be “justified” is for God the Father to look at us “just as if” he were looking at God the Son. Since God the Son is “the beloved, with whom [God the Father] is well pleased” (Matt 3:17), for our Father to look at us with that same affection is a very good place to be! Today’s Article teaches us how we are to be justified: by faith only. Only the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, is perfectly just, and so we must approach God in faith in him in order to be justified. “Many roads lead to Rome”, but only one road leads to God. Jesus is the only way to the Father; indeed, no-one comes to the Father, except through him (John 14:6). Not through trying our best, “not for our own works or deservings”: only through faith in Christ do we come near God and hear the words “my beloved” spoken directly to us. Then comes the logical conclusion: this “is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort”. No-one need worry if they are good enough for God. No-one is “good enough” for God. “We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith”. Our relationship with God rests entirely on Jesus’ perfection, and his death and resurrection. Since that will never change, neither will our relationship with God change, as long as we have placed our faith in Christ. What a relief!