Sunday, May 03, 2026
Saving God,
who called your Church to witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us so to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be reconciled to you;
through him who died for us and rose again
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 of Easter
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 17-18
1 Peter 2:11-25
John 14:1-14
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.
Floral Festival Fundraising now begins. Your giving in the brown envelopes now go towards funding this important outreach ministry.
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 and Alan Kimber, Rosina, Alex, Ann, Lois, Barbara, Kevin, Helena, Ian, Uncle Peter, Chris, Bill Tattam, Jeff Byrne, Karne, Greg, Aaron, Joanne, Grace and Faith, Beryl Old, Fr David, Nina and Sophie. Please contact Fr Ted to be on this list.
We also give thanks for those whose year’s mind occurs at this time, especially Paula Tuffin and Grace Atkinson. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.
Mission and Outreach
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.
Redcliffe Chappy Week Breakfast is on Thursday, June 11, 7am-8:30am at the Redcliffe State High School hall. $30 entry in support of local school chaplains.
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 after Holy Communion.
Talent Table: every last Sunday after each service.
Bible Study: Tuesdays at 9am and Thursdays at 7pm. All welcome; all materials supplied.
Beaumont Aged Care: Holy Communion every third Friday at 10am.
Recycling will begin again in June. New Location: the small white shed at the back of the property.
The Week Ahead
Tues, 05 May
8:00 am - Holy Communion
9:30 am - Bible Study
Wed, 06 May
NO HOLY COMMUNION
Thu, 07 May
9:30 am - Friendship and Craft Group
7:00 pm - Bible Study
Sat, 09 May
8:00 am - Barnabas Brekkie
Sun, 10 May
7:00 am - Holy Communion for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
9:00 am - Holy Communion for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Thank You From The Ladies Guild
The Ladies Guild were most appreciative of all the help we were given to enable us to cater for the ANZAC Day service at Woody Point. We could not have managed without this assistance. We were thanked by several people for providing the refreshments. Each year the numbers increase. Thank you once again for your help. It is an important outreach that needs to continue. – The Ladies Guild
Article 14: Of Works Of Supererogation
Voluntary Works besides, over, and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.
If we were to take the 39 Articles of Religion as a historical document only, then we can get a pretty good idea of the hot button issues of the time. It seems our spiritual forebears were very concerned about making sure we all understood the absolute irrelevance of our deeds when it comes to God’s opinion of us. In the 16th century, when they were first drafted, there was a great scandal amongst theologians about this idea of “works of supererogation”. I appreciate that this is a five-dollar word neither of us understands. Fortunately for both of us, the Article tells us exactly what it means: “voluntary works besides, over, and above God’s Commandments”. If the word “supererogation” is a bit too much, I think we all understand what they meant by going “over and above” what God wants us to do. Believe it or not, this was, at the time, official church doctrine: that it was possible for the Christian to go above and beyond what God asks of them. The question I have is, what purpose to these works serve? If I were to go above and beyond what God asks of me, what would be the point? Do I get something more out of him for being extra good? As with most things related to the Reformation, it seems there is a link back to the idea of Purgatory: that when we die, we go to a sort of in-between place, where all our remaining sin is burnt off us until we are good enough to get into heaven. Works of supererogation mean you spend less time in purgatory. Apart from purgatory being 1. pretty horrific, and 2. not found anywhere in Scripture (but you can read it back into a certain place in the Apocrypha, see article 6), it steals from Christ’s work on the cross, and his glory in his atoning death for us. Follow the logic: if I can be “extra good” in this life, and therefore get more from God, then Christ’s death merely opened the possibility of my salvation. He died, hoping I would be saved by his death, but never being certain until I did something about it. If instead we affirm that Christ’s death on the cross accomplished everything for my salvation, then there is nothing else I need to do except to appropriate it for myself by faith – that faith itself being a gift from God. The Reformers were, if nothing else, jealous for the glory of Christ Jesus: “Works of Supererogation cannot be taught without impiety and arrogancy”. Something else we can confidently assert about the Reformers is that they were soaked in Scripture; and not only well-versed in the text, but in the meaning of the text. We get a quote from Luke 17:7-10: [Jesus said] 7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” We are God’s servants in this world. The things we do (our “works” or our “deeds”) are instructions from our Master. They are not ways to earn extra points, or to gain his favour, or shave off years in purgatory (which doesn’t even exist). But it doesn’t end there: consider the first task human beings were ever given: to “be fruitful” and “take dominion” of the earth, having been made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:26-28) We are God’s image bearers, bringing about his loving rule (taking dominion), acting in line with the Holy Spirit who works through us (being fruitful). There is no sense of “I do this, so God doesthat”. There is instead a very enchanted view of humanity, living in God’s creation, as God’s image bearers, saved by God himself, to live with God for ever.