Sunday 21st June

Hi Church Family,
 How is your week going? Having my mum visiting us at the moment has been such a blessing to our family. She has been cooking meals, spending time with the kids, and just generally helping out with stuff around the place. Jo and I even got to have a day out together (just the two of us 😊) this week which included a date night down in Wedderburn (😊). Whether it’s family or friends, It is so good to have people in our lives who support and encourage us, isn’t it? Being part of a Church family, like Granite, is such a blessing too and it’s great to see the love of Jesus shine through His people. That’s us, as we, together are part of his body in this region, and beyond.

Congratulations again to Rachel, Tim, Archie and Sophie on the Birth of baby Harry! We’re so excited! And we’re still praying for you all 😊 It was really encouraging to receive a message from the Smyth family last week after the birth of little Harry. If you missed me reading that message last Sunday; here it is:
            “Our heartfelt thanks to our church family for all their prayers and support over this time. We have had so many beautiful encouraging messages over the time and it blows us away of how amazing our church family is. What a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful family.
Harry's test results have all come back normal, that he is a healthy little boy. We want everyone to know how amazing our God is and that it’s an answer to prayer. We have had so many people praying for us all over the country for several months and this shows the power of prayer!!”
                  Rachel and Tim 

 Last Sunday we also heard the wonderful news that Daniel Watts and Bethany Sim are now Engaged! Congratulations again to both of you! It’s fair to say that we are all super excited for you two and we’re praying that God Blesses you both as you get ready to start married life together. (Who's looking forward to seeing the ring in real life?)

 We’re continuing services on ZOOM as we work towards the best way to get back together in one space. Thank you to those who have put forward suggestions as to how this might happen. Suggestions are always welcome as there are probably many things we have not thought of. As it sits right now, if we were to meet in a big organized group at the Church building for example, we would have to come in, sit in our designated area and then leave after the service with no morning tea or socializing. We would also have to put procedures in place for cleaning and other requirements. And even then we would not all be allowed at the one time due to the size of the venue and numbers allowed etc. The leadership will continue to work through the logistics and keep you informed. Thanks for your continued support especially in prayer, during this time.

It was good to see people getting together with others in their homes last week. It would be great if we could keep this going. Either ask to go to someone’s house and offer to bring the morning tea; or invite them to yours. One advantage of getting together in small groups like this is that it allows for more fellowship than a larger organized gathering.
I’m really looking forward to meeting together this Sunday as we have Paul McCrohan speaking on the topic of ‘The eternal consequence of sin’. I’m praying that God really speaks to us through His Spirit as we listen, consider and think about the message he will bring to us through Paul. It’s always good for us to come to Sunday worship with an attitude of openness to God. Pray before you join the ZOOM that everything we do in the service would be worship to Him; the singing; the prayer; the message etc.; and please pray for Paul and me too that God uses us and that we are open to Him. What a privilege it is to come together to worship our awesome God.

 Lastly, I have included the list of locals and missionaries that we usually display on our bulletin and in our service out at Granite. I’ve decided not to present these in the ZOOM services because I felt that it has not been appropriate. However, it is very appropriate for us to pray for each other and our missionaries as much as possible so please use this attached sheet to do just that. Print it off and put it wherever you will see it often. Thank you for being faithful in prayer.
 This was a long email, sorry. If you are still reading, congratulations 😊 and thanks. Let me know and I might even have a crunchie for you next time we meet in person 😉.

And of course, here are the details for ZOOM and other essential details…

 Join the Zoom Service this Sunday at 10:30am
by using the following link:
 https://zoom.us/j/474053157
Meeting ID: 474 053 157 
If you do not have internet access you can also phone in using the following phone number:
PH: 7018 2005
You will then be prompted to enter the Meeting ID: 474 053 157

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday morning at 10:30am
______________________

Please don’t forget that we can still directly deposit tithes and offerings into the Church bank account during this time. Donations for the building maintenance works can also be deposited into this account with the reference to ‘Building’ so that it goes towards that fund. The details are below…
Granite Community Church        BSB: 633 000        Acc: 16 086 8402

Hope you are enjoying your Week!

Blessings,
Ash Buchanan
Senior Pastor
Granite Community Church
www.granite.church
0408 942 145