This last Sunday I was driving back to the church building with a congregation member I normally pick up for our services and someone shouted out from a verandah, “I’ll be coming to church!” I did not recognise him but did know the person he was sitting with, so I called back “see you there” and gave him the thumbs up.
Ten minutes later he arrived at our service, asked if he could share in our time of prayer for others when the time came, and introduced himself after the service. He was visiting Carnarvon for a relative’s funeral held the previous day. He explained he had been telling the relatives he was staying with that he wanted to attend church that day. Soon after, I had driven past and his relative had said to him “That’s a pastor, he’ll be back shortly with the lady he picks up for church”.
That’s why he had called out a few minutes later when I drove back past that house. God does work in mysterious ways!
More generally, we have been pleased to welcome a number of new worshippers over the last few months and pray that this trend will continue. The Kid’s Club conducted together with the local Anglican Church on approximately a monthly basis has restarted for this year and last week we had a number of new families attend which was great.
Last Easter we hosted an ‘Easter Fish Brekky’ in a park on the waterfront on the Sunday after Easter on a John 21 theme, and this connected with some people who possibly might not have attended an ordinary church service. We hope to try this again this year.
Most people have recovered reasonably from the 2010/11 floods, but by the end of last year the opposite problem of drought was presenting itself. Growers were facing severe water restrictions until two minor Gascoyne River flows in January and February have eased things somewhat.
Everyone is still hoping for a substantial river flow and also some more general and significant rainfall. This would help both the horticulturalists and pastoralists in this area.
John Tomkins, Ministry of Pastor at St Luke’s Carnarvon Uniting Church.