Mum’s responsibilities have become so complex

Mum’s responsibilities have become so complex

 

It’s not easy being a mum these days…for several reasons. Our society has created an unrealistic “supermum” that can do all: from giving birth all the way through to running corporate companies. They are expected to raise kids while keeping the household finances afloat. Mums should apparently be able to do all that as well as not show any sign of ageing or stress. Again…it’s not easy… Many mums must face these realities as a single parent. That should make it nearly impossible!

Mum’s responsibilities have become so complex. New forces impact their children: social media, a pandemic, social isolation, mental health, complicated marriages, no moral absolutes. Where can moms go for inspiration? I believe there’s a lot to learn from a key mother in the Bible. I’ll just name some of the things she had to combat…and then invite you to take your bible and read about Mary on your own while you ask this question: Holy Spirit, what would you want to highlight from Mary’s life to me?

So, here’s Mary’s list of challenges:

  1. Suspicious Past – Psalm 103:11-12; Hebrews 12:2
  2. Poverty – Luke 12:15
  3. Spiritual Pressure – Ephesians 6:11-12
  4. Possibly Single Parenthood – we hear nothing about Joseph after Jesus was 12 years old, so it’s likely she became a single mother

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day… a day where we will celebrate those who carry the weight of this calling! Bring your mum to church with you…as she might just get a surprise gift. If not…I am sure she would still enjoy being with you.

May our mum’s find their strength where Mary found hers:

'For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. '

Luke 1:37-38 NIV

Mother’s Day

What starts with the letter M, has 6 letters and picks up things? The answer could either be magnet or mother. It's true that our mums, like magnets, pick up things. They pick up our clothes, our toys, our mess. They pick us up from school, work or sports. Sometimes they also pick us up when we fall whether physically, spiritually or emotionally. This Mother's day, let us celebrate the women who pick us up and have made an impact in our lives… our mums, single mums, step mums, grand mums and all variety of mums. Join us on Sunday, 9th May as we honour them and we'll have special gifts, a photo booth and a competition for the best photos to be selected by a special guest judge. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Partnering for a more effective ministry

Sunday a week ago Matt Ormiston, one of our elders, spoke prophetically to us as a church (if you missed it, you can see it on our YouTube channel).

The word was to remove the “out of service” boards and take up being “in service” again.

In the light of that, I’d like to invite all partners to consider two things:

  1. What is your own personal response to that word
  2. Complete a formal assessment questionnaire of your experience of BCOC this year. We will be doing this as part of our Annual General Meeting. Natural Church Development has done research with more than 40 000 churches and has an assessment tool that we will use for this purpose. It requires partners to answer pertinent questions about their experience of the ministry. This will be done specifically with the first four months of the year in mind. Completing the questionnaire will greatly assist us in determining what our areas of improvement should be and to prioritize them.

Baptism celebration

It was an awesome experience to hear the faith stories and celebrate the baptisms of Michelle, Ed, Sweety and Brock who have taken the next steps in their journey of faith. Perhaps, baptism is the next step in your faith journey as well. The next baptism is planned for 23 May and if you would like to be part of that then please let us know by booking a spot as soon as a possible. Someone will be in touch to brief you and prepare you for the day.

Newcomers Lunch May 16th

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Newcomer's Lunches are starting up again and if you are a newcomer and you haven't attended a lunch yet, then you are invited! Please join us on Sunday 16th May at 12:30 pm. Stuart and Maria are generously hosting us at their place in Clyde North and the exact address will be provided in the Trybooking tickets. Limited spots are available so we encourage you to book as soon as possible.

 

AGM May 23rd

Our annual AGM will commence on the 23rd of May. We would love for all our partners to book in on Trybooking for the event as it will be an on-site AGM. Reports will be emailed out within the next week (or next week) Please take the time to read this amazing summary of what God has been doing in and through this church during 2020. An email will soon be sent out to all partners to help them assess their involvement as partners and to help them prepare for the AGM.
 

Young Adults Camp

Our community of young adults will be coming together for a weekend retreat at the end of May and this is an incredible opportunity for them to gather together, build strong relationships and grow in their relationship with Jesus.

You can help our young adults maximise this opportunity by sponsoring a young person who would not have the resources to attend, but would however benefit greatly from the weekend experience, and the generosity of our church family. The camp cost is $150.

If you are blessed to be in a position to sponsor someone, or even several, please email [email protected] and inform us of your amazing gift.

 

Bookings on Sundays & attendance

We have seen such wonderful attendance over the last few months, and we continue to grow in numbers every week, we praise God for this momentum.

At this time it is critical that we maximise our space and we will be adding more chairs to allow for further opportunities to distance ourselves as necessary. Please come early and fill from the front first to allow others to easily find room as they enter.

Managing our bookings has some challenges, and the most helpful way you can support us is to ensure you attend when you book, that you do not book when you can’t come, and you inform us if you’ve booked but for some reason cannot make it, by emailing us at [email protected]

Thank you for help, hope to see you on Sunday.

 

Life Group Update

Last Saturday, our Life Group Hosts had a great time of fellowship and equipping. They gave up a significant portion of their weekend to become better small group hosts. Perhaps God has called you to be a HOST, that is to have Heart for people, Open your home, Serve some snacks and Turn on a video.

If so, let us know by filling out this the Life Group Host – Sign Up Form and we'll be in touch. Or perhaps, you are not in a life group yet. If so, we encourage you to join one by filling out the Life Group Participant – Sign Up Form and someone from the Life Groups Team will be in touch. Life is better together!

10th coffee free!

Do you want a free coffee? Purchase your coffee card at the Café or Next Steps desk and start ordering!

 

Thank you for being His Presence in Every Place! 

BRAAM BOTHA

Senior Pastor