A Participants Viewpoint of GAFCON

It was Bec and my great honour and privilege to be representatives of the Diocese of North West Australia at the first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) held in Jerusalem from 22nd-29th June. Millions of Christians from 25 nations were represented by 1148 delegates including 291 Bishops.

GAFCON was convened to consider the future of the Anglican Church in light of the current crisis caused by the revisionist agendas among some Anglican leaders. This revisionist agenda has torn the fabric of our communion by departing from traditional Anglican foundations as expressed in the Thirty-nine Articles and the three Confessional Creeds. The most evident of which is the departing from the Bible as the unchangeable and ultimate source of authority for all things Christian and indeed for all of life. At GAFCON we reaffirmed our Biblical Anglican roots and sought, through prayer and consultation, to find a way forward for our beloved Church.

It was with great joy that we worshiped with men and women from every continent. This provided a colourful blend of cultures and ecclesiastical styles, celebrating diversity within the unity of our common confession of Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour of His creation. Over 8 days the GAFCON delegates heard Biblical exposition from prominent Anglican leaders; met together in workshops to pray over and discuss the way forward; and enjoyed pilgrimages around the Holy Land.

As Bec and I spoke with clergy from all around the world we heard stories of great persecution as diocese have forcibly removed whole congregations from church properties because of their unwavering stance on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to have a relationship with God and for upholding Biblical morals and values. Many of these property ownership cases are now before the secular courts. Despite this persecution the clergy that we met were still smiling because they know that the Gospel is what is most important. Excitingly many of these outed congregations have experienced significant spiritual and numerical growth since being removed from their property.

Another great joy was hearing of the huge revival taking place in Africa at the moment. One young minister we spoke to has planted 6 churches in the last 2 years. The smallest of which is already 500 strong, and the largest around 2000. He asked us to pray for people to be come to Uganda to train his church leaders and that he and his wife might be blessed with children (as if he isn’t already busy enough!).

It was with a standing ovation on the last day of the conference that the gathering received the final Statement of the Global Anglican Future which clearly outlines GAFCON as a movement which will endeavour to reform our Church back to its Biblical and Anglican roots. Can I encourage you as fellow Anglicans to read through the statement which can be found at http://www.gafcon.org/ and then, with brothers and sisters from around the world, pray for our communion.

Rev. Lachlan Edwards

Seaside Rock

Broome Seaside Rock Holiday Kids Club

Praise God for the enthusiasm of youth! For the third year in a row we have enjoyed the blessing of the Reformed Churches of Perth’s Target 21 team coming to Broome to help run our annual kids outreach – Seaside Rock. Running from Tuesday to Friday in the second week of the school holidays the team danced, sang, acted, ate, drank and crafted the Gospel of Jesus to nearly 50 kids from Broome. A number of kids responded positively to the gospel message and asked Jesus to be their friend forever! During the week the team also helped to run a teenage outreach with a movie, bonfire and BBQ evening on the beach. Eight teenagers attended and enjoyed the interaction with the team. On the final Saturday we spent the morning at the brand new, not yet officially opened Nursing home and delighted residents with plays, songs, a talk and a BBQ lunch. This was a great experience for the team and received great thanks from the nursing home staff and residents. Finally, the team also ran a Sunday@5 cafe church service in our beautiful church gardens which was attended by a number of church regulars and also visitors from interstate. Target 21 is a training program for up and coming leaders from the Reformed Churches and this year included 11 participants who raised all their own support to come and minister to us in Broome. The team went home exhausted but excited about the impact they had on Broome for the kingdom of God.

Destination Exmouth

After 3 fantastic years in Broome, the time has come for the Edwards to move on. We have accepted the Bishop's invitation to become the Minister in Charge of Exmouth Anglican Church from February 2009.

It is with great sadness that we will be leaving Broome. We love the people, the place and our church family here very much.


However it is with great joy that we look forward to the new challenges in Exmouth. Exmouth is 1200km north of Perth and has daily flights to Perth. Established in the late 1960's by the US Navy as a submarine communications station, the town now stands on its own as a popular tourist destination.

Exmouth attracts people mainly for its natural maritime beauty including Ningaloo Coral Reef, Whale Sharks and excellent swimming, surfing & fishing. Not too far away is the rugged Cape Range National Park and the small tourist town of Coral Bay.

The church currently has around 15 members and meets in the local Senior Citizens Centre as it does not have its own building in town. The church members are raising funds to build a new church facility which will probably also include a new Rectory. The congregation is keen to reach out to the town with the good news of the Gospel Jesus Christ and believes a purpose built church building will help to establish the church in Exmouth.

Whilst the current congregation is able to support itself in most ministry expenses, it is not yet able to pay the minister's stipend (wage). The Diocese of North West Australia humbly asks that you prayerfully consider becoming Ministry Partners with the Edwards in Exmouth through prayer and financial support. Please contact us for more information.

The Joy of Easter

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Romans 15:5-6

Hello friends,

Easter arrived early this year which has meant the first few months of the year have been packed full of excitement. The beginning of the new school year saw the combined churches of Broome launch the Christian Religious Education in Schools program across the three state primary schools. Every child in these schools receives a half hour Christian religion lesson every fortnight. This year Lachlan has taken on 17 classes each fortnight, and is struggling to remember the names of his 430 students. The Broome churches outreach into the schools is welcomed by the students and teachers of the schools alike. Each Easter and Christmas the religion teachers are invited to run an assembly, where we put on a play that vividly portrays the season’s message. This year’s Easter play saw Lachlan (a.k.a. Stinky Pete) get slimmed with spaghetti, jelly, & porridge each time he did something wrong. Eventually he gave over his mucky clothes to Jesus who took them to the cross, dealing with the penalty of sin forever. The kids (and Lachlan) had a ball and some were heard to say afterwards to Tim and Emily – “Your dad really deserved that”.

Lachlan’s role with the Children’s Ministry at Church has changed in 2008. While he continues to lead the JAFFA Kids Club on Fridays he has taken an overseers role with the Sunday School. Bec still loves teaching the Juniors and the Knights (the older kids). They are a fantastic group of kids, whose energy and enthusiasm for learning is a huge encouragement as she often feels out of her depth as a children’s teacher and clings to the promise that with Christ all things are possible!

Bible Study groups in our church continue to be an important part of our regular activities. Bec runs a ladies group on Wednesday morning which is growing both numerically and spiritually. Now averaging 7 - 9 attendees, they have just begun a series on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This is keeping Bec on her toes as the group probes the depths of her theological knowledge. Our Thursday night group remains strong. We have 11 regular members and many visitors who are either passing through Broome for a day; week; or month. We have just completed a 40 day Lenten studies booklet written by our former Bishop – Tony Nichols. Bec has also enjoyed the opportunity to be meeting with some women one-on-one for prayer and encouragement.

Preaching this year has been a source of joy for Lachlan. The long hours in preparation have been rewarding as many have responded to God’s word revealed in his sermons. All the recent sermons at Broome Anglican Church are on our podcast site: http://broomeanglicanchurch.podomatic.com/ so why not tune in now and then?

Also, for those interested in what we are up to, our church calendar is available for all to see at calendar.google.com - sign in and search for “Broome Anglican Church”.

This year has seen the arrival of a number of new individuals and families to our church. One family has come from Mt. Isa, another from Darwin. Individuals have arrived from Tasmania, Perth and South West W.A. There has also been a number of local individuals and families joining our church family. It is a constant reminder that Broome can be a difficult place to settle into; so we need to be outward looking and loving to enfold those who are seeking a new home. Already we have had a number of visitors travelling through town. We are certain that there will be many more to follow as the year cools down.

The Church continues to reach out to the Indigenous in our community and beyond. The Bread Run feeds many hungry souls offering bread, prayer and bible excerpts. This year we also hope to run a monthly church service at a local community by an invitation from its elder. The ministry team has also committed to travelling to Derby (220km each way) once per month to support an Indigenous pastor who runs a church from our Anglican building in that town.
An embryonic plan of our church this year is to seriously consider and implement how we can more effectively reach out to our community with the love of Christ – do we continue to concentrate on being an attractional church, expecting people to come to us, or do we go out to where people are at, brining Jesus to them in a “fresh expression” of church?

Bec’s GLAM (Girls Ladies and Mums) monthly events continue to provide a bridge between pre-evangelism and evangelism, often providing opportunities to gossip the gospel. This month they are having a SFM (Serious Female Maintenance) session – including face masks (no boys, not the type you use when sanding something) whilst Bec helps them to ponder through 1 Peter 1:24-25 what brings true contentment, and what truly lasts.

At the end of April we have planned an ANZAC camp over a long weekend at 80 mile beach for people from the West Kimberley and Pilbara regions (an area of around 400,000 square kilometres). We currently have 60 people registered to attend and have arranged for 8 students and lecturers from Trinity Theological College Perth to come and teach us about evangelism and run kids activities during those sessions.

Other events that we have encountered in the last 3 months have included offering support to a Christian Aboriginal couple struggling with alcohol addiction; supporting a couple who arrived from Darwin with nothing, helping them get on their feet and leading one of them to recommit their life to the Lord; supporting a parishioner whose mother fell ill with Alzheimer’s and thus needed to move back to her home town to be a carer for her; attending to aging and sick parishioners; forming links with other churches and community groups including the new nursing home facility; weddings, baptisms and funerals; outreaching to tourist and locals and praising God when he sent - amongst the many tourists - 3 local families and two local individual to church at Easter, who have since become “regular” at our church events; a visit from Bishop Stephen Hale from Melbourne who consulted with us on our Church vision and mission; a trip to Perth for Bec’s Graduate Diploma in Theology graduation; and a trip to Perth and Geraldton for Bec to attend Diocesan Council and a Trinity Women’s conference.

Our other exciting news is that Bec and I have been invited by our Bishop David and Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen to attend the Inaugural worldwide GAFCON conference in Israel in June this year. This conference will seek to give a direction for the future of the Global Anglican Church. For more information please see: http://www.gafcon.org/ . Please be praying for this conference.

As a family we are doing well. Tim and Emily are busy with swimming, guitar, trumpet, recorder, and piano; as well as ballet and hip hop dancing; and also JAFFA and Sunday School; and when they get the time they are also at school. Both of them have been selected to represent their school in the West Kimberley Interschool Swimming Carnival. Bec is enjoying some enforced recreation by attending a TAFE art course this year, as well as being Lachlan’s greatest supporter in ministry.

Our position here in Broome continues to be 100% financially supported by the generosity of individuals and churches throughout Australia. Due to the itinerant nature of Broome, it does not appear that the Associate Minister’s position here will be financially independent of this outside support in the foreseeable future. We praise God that he has raised up partners to support us prayerfully and financially, and ask that they and others may be able to continue to do so into the future.

We have booked to come to Sydney and Melbourne at the end on July till beginning of August and would love to come and speak with churches, bible study and individuals about the work that we are doing in Broome and the ongoing support that is required. Please make contact with us if we would be able to come and visit you during this time.

May God bless you

Lachlan, Bec, Tim & Emily

Christmas Joy

What a fantastic Christmas we had. The week began with the Broome Combined Churches Carols in the Amphitheatre overlooking Cable Beach. It was an extravaganza of fantastic Christmas carols, all performed by some very talented locals from professional artists to children's dance groups. Broome Anglican Church participated with 4 singers, including Bec and Judy in the Christmas Tree Choir, Judy playing Trumpet, Lachlan and Colin helping with stage management, and many volunteers helping with the set up and pack up of the huge stage and selling a variety of glow stick products. Lachlan also got a 3 minute opportunity to share some thoughts on the real gift of Christmas - Jesus our Lord. There were between 2000-3000 who came to have a picnic on the grass and watch the show.

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services went well. The Christmas Eve carols and readings service saw our little church decked out in many candles (and fire extinguishers), whilst our Christmas Day service was a celebration of what Christ has done in coming to earth. We enjoyed live music for the first time in many months from our newly formed church band. Both service saw a number of previously unseen locals and visitors worship with us.

Christmas lunch was a fantastic time. We invited all the orphans (those who don't have other family in town) to come and join us at our place. We packed 17 adults and 13 kids onto our veranda - some of which overflowed into our paddle pool - and enjoyed an Australian Christmas smorgasbord on a 42 degree day.

January is a significantly quieter month while all the Schools scripture and Kids activities are in hiatus, which has allowed us to spend more time meeting one to one with people, praying and reading the bible together.

As we begin 2008 we are looking forward to many great activities including 3 different mission teams coming to Broome (one from Trinity Theological college in April for our ANZAC camp at 80 mile beach; one from Albany Baptist in June to run some Indigenous and schools events; and one from the Reformed Churches of Perth to once again run our SEASIDE ROCK holiday kids club). This year as a church we are focusing on unity in our ministry to the gospel which has seen the birth of a new Ministry Action Team, whose job is to actively consider our many ministries and have a coordinated approach to them. This includes everything from Mission to Mowing and Maintenance. Please be praying for this team of dedicated people.

Please also praise God for those who financially support our church. Without the wonderful support by individuals, families and churches outside Australia we could not survive. We also look forward to the blessing that so many bring each year by visiting Broome and giving their time to the church by helping us with our maintenance and ministry. Also pray for the maintenance and renovations of our facilities over the next few years. We realise that some significant works need to be undertaken and this could run into the 100's of thousands of dollars.

If you would like a Broome break during the year and would like to come and help out then please make contact with us. There may even be opportunities to house sit for a couple of weeks whilst putting your hand to some painting or maintenance as well as enjoying all that Broome has to offer.

May God bless you in 2008.

Lachlan, Bec, Tim & Emily

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We are looking forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth in Broome this year, our third wet season. Does that make us locals yet? We have been reflecting back on 2007 & have had a lot of fun remembering the highs and lows….

Lachlan ...

Highlight Since October?
School Scripture kids asking so many great gospel questions. Bec finishing her studies.
Best Adventure in 2007?
Life! , the Canning Stock Route & co-driving in the Demolition Derby.
Greatest Joy of 2007?
Working full time for God. Seeing new adults and kids come to church stuff. Seeing our church grow spiritually
Biggest Disappointment?
The blocking of the Anglican School.
Hopes for 2008?
To grow as a family in our love for God & each other.

Bec…

Highlight Since October?
The GLAM Christmas dinner & the beginning of the mango season!
Best Adventure in 2007?
Travelling the Canning Stock Route in the company of good friends.

Greatest Joy of 2007?
Finally completing my Grad. Dip. In Divinity.
Biggest Disappointment?
The blocking of the Anglican Community School.
Hopes for 2008?
Firstly, travelling to the East Coast to see family & friends. Secondly, finding joy in every day!

Tim...

Highlight Since October?
I received a merit certificate for academic excellence at school.
Best Adventure in 2007?
The Canning Stock Route.
Greatest Joy of 2007?
The Canning Stock Route & the Diocesan Family Conference. I had a lot of fun with friends that I don’t usually get to see.
Hopes for 2008?
To start playing the guitar again, to improve in swimming and that all my friends will get to know God

Emily...

Highlight Since October?
I have started to learn the Trumpet.
Best Adventure in 2007?
The Diocesan Family Conference & the Canning Stock Route.
Greatest Joy of 2007?
Seeing the rain come and I like church.
Hopes for 2008?
I’ll be in year 3 so I will be swimming in the school swimming carnival.

Broome Anglican Community School Blocked by Minister for Education

August – October 2007

Hello Friends,

The winter has ended and with it the Broome visitor/tourist season. So the season of ministry changes.

August
August always sees the beginning of the wet season exodus from town. We miss our dry season regulars that add so much to the fellowship of Broome Anglican Church (BAC). It also saw three of our permanent church families leave. Two families are now on the road, taking some time out to travel and another had moved to Victoria to be close to family. These families have left a hole, we miss them.

Bishop David and Maureen Mulready found themselves in Broome as a part of their “Kimberley tour” to build up and encourage our ministry team. We appreciate their dedication to serve us by spending so much time away from home so that they can spend time with us.

September
Before we knew it our annual break was upon us and our long awaited Canning Stock Route trip began. Our 5 vehicle convoy left Broome on the 10th September. Many thought we were mad going so late in the season. We were expecting it to be oppressively hot. However, we thrived in the 38 degree dry heat at the northern end of the track. We passed abandoned and burnt out vehicles; roamed over 15m high dunes; were surprised at the plethora of wild flowers; appreciated the indigenous link to the land; had fun watching out for dingoes, camels, snakes, lizards etc; enjoyed the fellowship of great friends; relaxed at beautiful waterholes; bumped over ruts and corrugations; marvelled at the engineering and survival skills of the pioneering surveyors and the bravery of the stockmen moving their herds down the track that crosses 4 deserts. Our beefed up suspension, air conditioning and modern camping equipment proved most beneficial! Our group had a few mechanical and structural problems, but nothing that some bush mechanics and welding could not overcome. We all made it out in one piece – praise God.

October
By the beginning of October we had made it to civilisation – Wiluna, 3km south of the first Canning Stock Route well. We farewelled our travel mates and pushed on for Perth. After an overnight stop with Bill and Jackie France in Mount Magnet we made it to Perth for a flying visit with the Eatoughs. Lachlan finished off the Diocesan “Professional Standards” manual in preparation for its presentation at the upcoming DNWA Family Conference. Bec finished off an essay on Ecclesiastes that she had been working on while on the Canning. We also had the opportunity to catch up with some families from the kid’s old Perth school and some of the church families that were our homes when we lived in Perth. Our few days before the conference were over very quickly. We are sorry that we could not meet up with everyone.

The DNWA Family Conference was held in the second week of the holidays. We were fed literally, emotionally and spiritually. We hardly saw Tim and Emily – they were too busy with the kids program and playing with new and old friends to worry about spending time with their parents. It was great to have an opportunity to meet up with the other Diocesan families scattered across the North West. Thanks MU for helping pay the cost for the wives and families to come along, and thanks Diocesan Office staff and Mulreadys for making it happen. After the conference we were treated to a Colin Buchanan concert, where Emily was able to go onto stage as the birthday girl!

The week also brought us news of the appeal for the Broome Anglican Community School (BACS). The Minister for Education has decided to block the building of the School, even though the independent panel that heard the appeal recommended that the Minister for Education approve the school. The Anglican Schools Commission has decided not to fight the decision. We can already see the effects of this decision. Families who wanted the choice to be able to send their children to an Anglican school, who either cannot afford or do not want to send their kids to boarding school will now leave Broome.

So our trip home to Broome was tinged with disappointment. It was however, great to be home after 5 weeks away. We were home in time for the beginning of the school term and the start up of the kids ministries. The two older kids groups at Sunday school are learning how the Old Testament points towards Christ. They are excitedly preparing to run the end of term Family Christmas Service. The Friday afternoon kids club is looking at the ‘Big Picture’ of the Bible. Lachlan is currently looking for a volunteer to take over his responsibilities as the Sunday School co-ordinator as he takes on a larger preaching and service leading role.

Bec was able to run a GLAM spring dinner when she came home. While numbers were down, it is always encouraging to see women from both our congregations and invited friends meet together over a meal. The ‘GLAM season’ will end in late November with a Christmas celebration. A meal and gifts will be shared and the birth of Christ will be our focus. Our hope is that many will invite their friends who do not normally came to church. We know that many of you will also be involved in organising Christmas outreach events – Carols, Gingerbread house and card making days etc.

October has also seen a number of celebrations. There were a number of birthdays in our family, including, most importantly, the birth of our new niece – Millie Richter. Lachlan acted as celebrant at a wedding and we witnessed the baptism of one of our church kids, Phoebe, who is off to boarding school next year.

October has also been a time of farewells in our church. We have farewelled one of our long time members (5 years) and may also see another couple of ladies permanently leave Broome.

We are sure that November and December will march on with the end of school term, and the lead up to Christmas. We love the reminder that God loved us so much that he was prepared to send his Son – fully God become fully man – right down to the lowly stable birth. He accommodated himself so that he could teach us about the kingdom of God. He even humbled himself on a cross taking away the punishment for our rebellion against God. And praise God, he rose again, taking the sting out of death!

Prayer and Praise
· Thanks for the healing of our dog Rhapsody and the great care she had while we were away. Carley, a wildlife carer house sat for us!
· Thanks for the safe arrival of Millie Richter.
· Thanks for safe travel, for our Canning Convoy and all the clergy families that travelled for the Family Conference and for the conference itself.
· Praise for the huge efforts by the Anglican Schools Commission and the local steering committee in their work toward the Broome Anglican Community School.
· Prayer for provision for a new Sunday School Co-ordinator.
· Prayer for Bec as she prepares for her final exam on the 16th November. God willing this will be her final assessment for a Graduate Diploma in Divinity.

With Love – Bec, Lachlan, Tim & Emily

Mission Possible - June/July 2007

Hello Friends,

It shouldn’t surprise us, yet it still does. The Lord continues to work in mighty ways, despite our feeble human efforts. The last months have been a mixture of great blessings and in some cases great trials. The church calendar has events such as the beginning of a new Sunday@5 Café church series on what Christians believe; the hosting of the appeal for the State Government approval of the Broome Anglican Community School; both ministers and their wives travelling to conferences, training opportunities and meetings; continuing the re-landscaping of the church; coordinating maintenance on the church buildings and most recently an 8 day outreach mission to children and adults in our town.

This is by far the busiest time of year for us. The towns population explodes to more than double its permanent wet season population with the huge influx of tourists. It is almost a case of making hay while the Son shines.

Broome Anglican Community School (BACS): In May the State Government sent an independent review panel to Broome to address the BACS appeal against the Government’s decision to reject its application. The appeal took three days to hear the cases from the State Department of Education; the Catholic Schools board and the Anglican Schools Commission (ASC). With help from various community members, individuals, institutions and indigenous leaders the ASC put forward a very strong case for the school to proceed. We are expecting a decision with a month or two and are praying that the school will proceed.

Frequent Flyer: Since March Lachlan has caught 15 flights to attend: A marriage preparation and enrichment facilitators training course in Perth with Bec; Professional Standards conferences (addressing the issues of abuse within the church) in Canberra, Sydney and Perth; attending a new minister’s training session in Geraldton; attending a marriage enrichment conference in Perth with Bec and all the other NW Anglican clergy and their wives; and travelling to Brisbane to deliver a new motor-home back to Broome with a friend - stopping off on the way in Kununurra and Wyndham for a week of “On The Job Training”. One of the greatest blessings during these times was being able to spend time as a couple working on our marriage (without the assistance of our children) at the “Weekend to Remember” marriage enrichment conference. A very generous benefactor saw the need to provide this for all the clergy and their wives in the Diocese (over $50,000!).


Kununurra and Wyndham visit: Lachlan spent from Friday 27th July to Thursday 2nd August in the Parishes of Kununurra and Wyndham walking in the shadows of two of God’s great servants – Ron Johnson and Peter Palmer. This was part of Lachlan’s Diocesan directed Assistant Minister training which required him to spend a week observing another parish with the idea that he would broaden his experience of how ministry is done. Lachlan chose to go to Kununurra because of Ron’s work in uniting the Christian Churches in that place. Kununurra is a town of only 4000 people and yet there are some 12 different “church” services occurring on Sunday. His thoughts and work are insightful and reaping some rewards for the Kingdom. It is encouraging to see a Parish working hard for a common cause and vision.

SEASIDE ROCK mission: Again we were mightily blessed by the youth from the Reformed Churches of Perth using Broome as their mission field. The energetic team of 15 volunteers raised all their own finances (~$1300 ea.) to pay their way and put on the Children’s outreach events. After a week of intensive training in Perth they arrived on Saturday 14th they came straight from the airport to canvas the markets, The Boulevard Shopping Centre and the streets of China Town handing out flyers, talking to kids and adults and running a colouring competition. On Sunday 15th & 22nd they blessed us in church with their musical & acting talents and also with a few testimonies as to how Jesus has made a difference in their life. On Sunday night we handed over Sunday@5 to the control of the team. The service was warm and enjoyable with a clear gospel presentation and a good BBQ dinner. Tuesday to Friday 2-5pm saw over 60 different kids stream through our gates to take part in SEASIDE ROCK. Each child received a very green collectable SEASIDE ROCK T-shirt and then enjoyed games, skits, bible study, craft and food. For many of the kids it was the first time they had heard about Jesus. By the second day two of the five small groups were asking to know more about Jesus, prompting the leaders to tell them of the great news of Jesus saving work in his death a resurrection. Many kids then chose to take a gospel tract home to read it for themselves. Please pray that many of the kids may commit themselves to Jesus’ lordship. Whilst many of the kids that came were from Broome some were travellers. One family from Queensland were so impressed with the program that they suggested we should be charging at least $20 per day (not $4). It was good to explain that it was not a money making exercise, nor just a child-minding service; but an opportunity to give away what we hold most dearly – the Love of God. On Saturday 21st July the team helped to run our annual Fishing Competition. This year we had many Broome businesses sponsor the event. We had around 50 people attend – and although not many fish were caught it was a great time, and one blessed fisherman took home the $600 Linney’s Pearl Necklet! Special thanks goes to all those who organized & provided meals for the team and especially Tim & Stacey Scorer for accommodating all 15 of them for the 8 nights!

Bread Run: Praise God for 2 helpers to do the bread run. Deryn Lee and Russell Laing and now doing the majority share of the run on Tuesday nights. They have both agreed to continue for this term. Again please pray that this can be an effective outreach for the gospel. In an effort to reduce Lachlan’s workload he will only do the run when Russell or Deryn cannot make their roster.

Religion in Life: Lachlan is enjoying reaching out each week to his 6 classes of year 4 and 5 kids at Cable Beach and Roebuck Primary Schools. It seems to be received well by the school, teachers and students alike. Unfortunately Lachlan has had to say that he will not be able to continue teaching for this term. This was a very hard decision to make but necessary for sustainable ministry. Lachlan is hoping to return to it in Term 4. Please be praying for more Religion teachers to cover all the schools.

Sunday School: Another term has begun for Sunday School. A special thanks goes to all our volunteer leaders. We are averaging around 23 kids each week. As Youth and Children’s Ministry Coordinator, Lachlan has endeavored to better streamline how Sunday School operates and has put in place across the board disciplinary boundaries and consequences. Excitingly – a family from the parish have covered the costs for our curriculum for all three Sunday School groups for the whole year!

JAFFA (Jesus A Friend For All) – after school kids club: This too simply couldn’t happen without the faithful volunteers. Again this is an important outreach activity to the kids of Broome. Perhaps half of those attending JAFFA would not otherwise come to Church. We also enjoy having some kids from other churches regularly attending. A great blessing has been the donation of all the curriculum material for the next three years! This enables good forward planning and frees up finances for extra craft and teaching resources – thank you Lord!

Bible Study – Thursday night: What a huge joy it is to be meeting regularly with like minded people to discuss God’s word, pray together and enjoy a meal as well (MOF – Ministry of Food). We have enjoyed having many nomadic visitors over the last few months – our numbers sometimes swelling to 19 adults and 3 kids. We have been using the studies produced in conjunction with the sermon series and have found this to be very useful in discussing the points in the sermon the next week.

Sunday@5 - Cafe church: Never say die… We really thought God was going to say to let this service die a quite death when no one invited a guest to “Introducing God”, yet God had a different plan. There has consistently been between 13 and 18 attendees to this service. Term 3 saw the group grappling with major Christian Doctrines – God, Church, Salvation, Sin, the Gospel and so on (Systematic Theology). This term we are looking at a Bible Overview to see God’s salvation plan from the beginning of time through to Jesus return (Biblical Theology). The attraction of the evening is its relaxed atmosphere and fellowship over food (MOF again). Due to Lachlan being away from September 10th this service will close for the year at that time. Please pray that we might use this time slot or service effectively next year.

Professional Standards:
Within the next 4 weeks Lachlan needs to produce a Diocesan handbook for all the parishes on dealing with matters of abuse in the church. This is not a pleasant topic to be assigned yet it is vitally important. Please be praying for Lachlan as he produces this manual, and then presents it at Family Conference in Perth in October.

Family:
Bec did well in her 2 Graduate Diploma of Divinity subjects last semester receiving a credit for both Cultural Anthropology and Old Testament. She has been working 20 hours a week on average in her studies as she must complete the course by the end of the year. As a result Bec has had to pull out of a number of ministry activities but still enjoys leading a Sunday School Class; leading a mid week women’s bible study; coordinating and cooking for the GLAM (Girls, Ladies And Mums) events; occasionally leading, hosting and cooking for our Bible Study; attending to Diocesan Council duties; consulting for other parish’s building works; volunteering as a teachers aide taking reading advancement groups and occasionally singing in church (just as well she isn’t busy – or she wouldn’t have time for the domestics, taxi driving and planning for our Canning Stock Route trip!). Tim continues to swim up to 3 times a week in the Broome Barracuda’s swimming squad and learning Hip Hop dance. Emily is continuing her ballet and piano lessons. Both the kids are also enjoying JAFFA. Sadly one of our dogs – Rhapsody – was hit by a car Friday week ago. She is suffering from a fractured skull and broken pelvis and many deep cuts. She has been confined to a cage for a number of weeks but seems to be healing well. The family enjoyed a visit from Bec’s mum last week and are looking forward to a visit from my mum next week whilst Bec is in Perth for Perth Women’s Convention. We are all looking forward to our Canning Stock Route Trip in September. We are also looking forward to a quieter time next year (I think we’ve said that before).

Our minds and prayers are also considering our future. Initially we asked our supporters to support us for three years. That time is already more than half way over. Recently we have had a couple of very generous supporters inform us that they would not be able to continue their support to the same level as they had been. Yet the Lord continues to provide abundantly - the Edwards Fund held by the diocese is still healthy and will keep food on our table for some time yet! Please thank God for His provision and pray for wisdom.

Praise God for his goodness to us. He abundantly provides all that we need – Salvation from eternal separation from him. Through the good times and the trying times might we continue to trust that the Lord has us in the palm of his hands. Praise him that he uses us – mere humans – to carry out his precious work on earth.

Training & Travelling

What a great honour and privilege it is to be serving in partnership with you for the sake of God’s kingdom. Let us take this time to fill you in on some of the activities that have been taking place here in Broome.

This year Lachlan has taken on the role of Youth & Children’s Ministry Coordinator. Our outreach to the kids of Broome is significant. On Sunday we run three Sunday School age groups for kids 0-13 years old. We have just over 30 kids on our roles and average another 3-5 visiting kids each week as well. During the week Lachlan has the honour of teaching 150 kids in two of the three state primary schools a half-hour ‘Religion In Life’ class each week. Nearly 80% of all the state primary school kids in Broome are being taught religion each week by 6 volunteers – PRAISE GOD! On a Friday afternoon at the church we run our JAFFA (Jesus A Friend For All) kids club. We average around 20 kids to this event. Many of these kids do not normally attend church. This program is also having an impact on the kid’s parents and they hear about Jesus though their kids reporting what they have been taught.

Some of the other roles Lachlan undertakes during the week include running the “Sunday@5” Café church; distributing bread donated by the local Brumby’s bakery to the poor in town; and occasional preaching; funerals, weddings; baptisms and meeting up one-to-one with congregational members. Lachlan has also taken on the role of the North West Diocesan Professional Standards Contact which addresses the issue of abuse in Church. He also organized and ran a church camp over Easter. We camped down at 80 Mile Beach - 360km south of Broome. We were joined by some members of the Port & South Hedland churches on the Saturday. It was great fun camping & learning together.

So with his new roles, ongoing training as an Assistant Minster & deputations Lachlan will be on the road & in the air many times over the coming months. He is enjoying the diversity of his position.

Bec is endeavoring to complete her Graduate Diploma of Bible and Ministries by correspondence this year (20-30 hours per week). She is looking forward to a break at the end of this semester. Bec is also active in our church leading bible studies, meeting with ladies during the week, teaching a Sunday School group, singing in church and consulting on our church buildings’ repairs and renovations.

Colin Buchanan playing in our church

At the end of this semester we have a rare treat of being shouted a trip to Perth for a 3 day marriage conference. We have this opportunity due to the generosity of an anonymous benefactor. We are very grateful for their gift to all the diocese’ clergy and their wives. Colin and Judy have kindly agreed to be surrogate parents for Tim and Emily while we are away.

Tim and Emily love their school and church activities. Tim is also now swimming with the Broome Barracudas swimming team up to 3 times per week and doing “Hip Hop” dance classes. Emily is continuing ballet and piano classes.


Generally our church is growing in their knowledge and love of Christ. Our aim this year is to equip and train people in serving the Lord. The Lord provides in mighty ways and although we said farewell to 8 families last year due to their leaving Broome, we have welcomed another 6 families already this year. This does not include the multitude of travellers who visit us each week (last week we had 15 visitors to our services). At the moment we have around 25-30 adults at 8am, 30-40 adults and 20 kids to 10am and 10-20 at the evening Café church including a number of Aboriginal folk.


Please PRAISE God for:

• Our church growth in our love and knowledge of Christ
• Religion In Life classes in the schools
• Faithful prayer and financial supporters
• The opportunity to proclaim Christ in Broome
• Colin Buchanan’s visit to our church last Sunday. An unexpected treat for the kids (& the adults).
  

Please PRAY for:

• The approval of the Broome Anglican Community School by the independent appeals board on May 29th.
• The July School Holidays “SEASIDE Rock” Kids club run by youth from Perth Reformed churches.
• Family solidarity especially during Lachlan’s intercity travels over the next 2 months.
• Bec’s completion of her Graduate Diploma including successfully completing all her essays and exams.
• The funding and provision of a school chaplain for each of the three state primary schools and the state high school. (Some funding already available)
• The provision of 2-3 volunteer Religion In Life teachers.
• The plight of many Aboriginal people in town and wisdom as to how we can make a difference.
  

Thank you for your continued support,

God Bless

Happy New Year

Our friend Geroge became an Aussie on Australia Day

On Australia Day we realized that this was the second time we had been to the Town Beach breakfast celebrations. We have been in Broome for a year! We are almost locals now, only another 29 years to go. While we have been on a huge learning curve in Lachlan’s first year of full time ministry & it has been very enjoyable. Praise God.

We have had a great school holiday over December - January. The kids broke up on the 8th of December and only returned to School on Jan 31. A long hot holiday. The lead up to Christmas was characteristically busy, however, it was worth it. Lachlan and Tim Mildenhall (our senior minister) were involved in the Combined Churches Christmas Carols - an event that usually draws 2-3,000 people to one of the local beach areas. Not this year. The night before the big event a big storm lashed the stage area and destroyed the set and the sound system. So at the eleventh hour the carols were moved indoors to the Broome Christian Fellowship’s Church. Over 600 people came with many enjoying the concert via a video screen out on the lawn. It was a great night.

Our own Christmas services were less dramatic. The kids performed a nativity play at church in the last week of school. They had a ball and did a great job. We held 3 services at Broome Anglican Church (BAC) for Christmas. 2 on Christmas Eve - a family service and a traditional carols and readings, and then a service on Christmas morning. It was lovely to see many new families come to visit & celebrate the birth of Christ together.

We enjoyed an “orphans” Christmas lunch with our friends the Taylors, the Devereux-Philips and the Petticrews at the Taylor's house. The kids were able to bring out the new Slip and Slide. A great way to spend a steamy hot afternoon. Thankfully the huge rains cool us down a bit.

January sees a change around town. With the heat and humidity people tend to slow down and relax a bit. Many take the opportunity to be elsewhere. The Mildenhalls took a well earned break for the month and Lachlan was able to spend a bit more time meeting with people over a coffee. We also took the opportunity to meet for meals at the beach as often as possible. The kids also enjoyed AUSWIM lessons at the pool. We booked in for 18 days of lessons over 4 weeks. A great excuse for Bec and the kids to swim everyday. Tim is now in level 9 and Emily in level 6.

It is also the time of the year when work contracts are renewed and we are reminded that we live in a very transient population. During December - January we said farewell to 7 of our church families. This has left a big gap. However, we have been encouraged by the locals to remember that God provides and we have already said hello to a couple of new families that have just arrived.

January saw the Church launch into a new sermon series on John. Lachlan has enjoyed being able to prepare sermons on John, however, he will hand over the preaching reins to Tim this Sunday as he takes on a new role for 2007. This year he will focus on children and youth. He will still be doing some preaching and will also be responsible for the 5pm service over the dry season. Lachlan also has a new role in the Diocese as the liaison for Professional Standards. This with training, deputations & other conferences will mean that he will be traveling quite a bit over the next 12 months. We are also looking forward to traveling down the Canning Stock Route in September.

2007 will be BAC’s year of training & equipping which will include using testimonies for outreach; so that we can always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15).

Bec has also taken on some new challenges this year. She has been accepted as a distance student at Mooring College to complete her Graduate Diploma in Divinity. Bec is also considering some paid part-time work. We will have to wait and see. This all means that she won’t be able to be as involved with ministries at BAC this year. However, Wednesday morning bible study with the girls, Thursday night bible study with Lach and friends, GLAM (the women’s dinner held each month) & acting as the BAC building and property consultant will definitely be indispensable parts of her schedule..

GLAM Christmas Dinner

Points of Praise

- For the relaxing, even if hot wet season and the isolated showers that bring relief.
- For the growth in our congregations relationship with God (Ephesians 1:17-23).
- For the continued encouragement and support we get from all of you. Thank you for your Christmas correspondence and keeping connected.
- That God has sustained us in our 1st year in full time ministry.

Parishoners picnic at the point

For your prayers

- That new people in our church will feel welcomed and at home.
- For outreach into the community. That we would be outward looking.
- For effective outreach into the aboriginal communities
- For continued and new financial support for the church and both ministers.

Thank you for your continued support,

God Bless

Merry Christmas

It is that time of year again when we celebrate God’s love for us in Christ’s birth (Matthew 1:22-23). We have been greatly blessed this year in Broome. Broome is a warm and diverse town with a unique history and environment. Many people come to Broome to discover this, whether it be for a week, a month or even years. We have a vital and thriving church community as a result. We have been warmly embraced by the congregation at Broome Anglican Church and have felt at home there since we first arrived.

Lachlan has thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and joys of being in full time ministry. While it is not always easy, it is always worthwhile as he sees people grow in their relationship with God. Bec loved her year ‘off’ paid work and study. There is never a dull moment here, something is always going on. We have been able to be involved in many things - the Saturday Courthouse Markets with the church bookstall, the monthly BRAG (Broome Recreational Anglers Group), monthly BBBB (Broome Blokes Big Breakfast), the weekly JAFFA (Jesus a Friend for All) kids club, monthly GLAM (Girls, Ladies and Mums) nights, weekly bible studies, the Introducing God course, the dry season night café church, Lachlan’s teaching in church, scripture and enjoying the beautiful environment that surrounds us & the friends we have come to love since being here.

A highlight for us has been the number of people who have come to visit. Our little caravan was occupied for much of the dry season. People started arriving in March, including our good friends Colin and Judy who stayed with us for 6 months. They now have a place of their own and their son William arrived on the 31st October. Now that the wet season has begun, the town (and our house) has quietened down. We are looking forward to a summer in the tropics.


Tim has thrived in the freedom he enjoys in Broome. He loves to ride around our neighbourhood and visit his friends. He still loves to swim and represented Cable Beach Primary School in the inter-school swimming carnival. He was also a part of the Shinju Festival street parade - dancing as a part of his hip-hop class. Emily has also enjoyed starting classical ballet this year and continues to learn the piano. One of her major highlights of the year was the arrival our cat, Jelly. The kids love life at Church - in between JAFFA club & Sunday School; they have made many new friends and have learnt so much.

Sadly we had to farewell our dog Tuka as she succumbed to cancer in late November. We miss her dearly.

2007 will bring many new changes and challenges. Our second year in full time ministry will no doubt stretch us further and show us Gods awesome love. Thank you for continuing to encourage and support us.

God bless

Bec, Lachlan, Tim & Emily

Priesting

Well it has happened: On Friday 6th October 2006 I was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia along with three others from the diocese in the Geraldton Anglican Cathedral. It is an honour to have this office entrusted to me - Please pray with me that I may uphold it dutifully. Practically what this means is that I can preside over the communion table and run a parish. However, for the foreseeable future, I will be continuing as the Assistant Minister in Broome.

The week in Geraldton was a busy one. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 day clergy conference where all the North West Ministers came together to hear from Kanishka Raffel on 2 Corinthians and to be given some helpful hints on anxiety and depression from Dr Daniel Morkell. The Ordination service took place on Friday afternoon and by Friday evening we were sitting in our 2006 Synod (church parliament), which went through until Saturday evening. It was exciting that all the decisions that were made were from a biblical understanding with a real atmosphere of unity - praise God.

Praise God:

- For the great clergy conference, ordination and diocesan Synod
- For good times as a family while traveling

Please pray:

- For times of refreshment while on holidays
- For the Broome Anglican Community School's approval by the WA minister for education.

Cultural Awareness

Greetings friends. I am writing this newsletter from Perth, part way through a week long series of conferences given by Dr. Don Carson. Many may be aware of Dr Carson's theological books which have been a real inspiration for me over the years. To now be able to meet him and sit under his teaching has been a once in a life time opportunity! His messages have been very clear and challenging. It is imperative that we keep the main thing the main thing – that is to be certain to proclaim Jesus Christ as the solution to the problem of autonomy. It is through Jesus alone that we are able to be restored into a right relationship with our creator, because he has taken the punishment as atoning sacrifice that we all deserve. There is no other way that we can be made right with God: not through our own good works or efforts; not by being a nice person; not even by attending Church regularly! And God desires nothing more than to have a relationship with us. He is always reaching down to us, all we need to do is take hold of his offer. The week in Perth has also allowed me to catch up with many of our supporters, and to speak at a couple of locations on what is happening in Broome.

We have just begun a preaching series at Broome Anglican Church on 1 Samuel. How great it is to be reminded of how God has acted through out history to bring his people back to him by sending a saviour. How spectacular it is to know that we can know the ultimate saviour - Jesus! He is not only Lord over all things but a friend.

Broome is going well. We have just enjoyed the annual Shinju Festival. The kids took part in the float parade, dancing with their dance classes on or in front of a double-decker bus. It was a celebration of Broome's multiculturalism, and of the town's heritage. It prompted some good discussion in our Bible-Study group as we looked at 1 Corinthians 8, and recognised that while we know that pagan festivals and sacrifices to idols mean nothing, we must not allow our freedom in taking part in such festivals to be a stumbling block to others. We need use the opportunity to teach ofulfillmentilment available to all in Christ.

Part of Broome's present day multiculturalism comes from the 40% of our population who are Aboriginal or Torres Islanders. We have a great opportunity to reach out to these people with the good news of Jesus; however I am at a loss as to how to do this effectively. I am slowly coming to understand their culture. Many of the indigenous population relies on government hand-outs and welfare, but this is only resolving a small part of the issues that the Indigenous communities face. How can we, as a church, become part of the solution? Do our food handouts help in any really useful way? How can we be really effective with the precious words of life that we have in "Jars of Clay"? What would be great is if we had a dedicated Anglican Aboriginal worker in the area to effectively address their needs, and evangelise them in an appropriate way. Please be praying for the Indigenous peoplKimberlyKimberley.

Other points of interest are the progress of the Anglican School in Broome. The Anglican School's Commission (ASC) has submitted a proposal to the State Minister for Education. It is currently undergoing pre-approval assessment by an independent committee who will assess the viability of the school and present their findings to the Minister. Please be praying for this process. We should have a determination by the end of the year. When all is approved the ASC will role out its building program on the land that is in the process of being purchased in Broome. We plan to open the school in 2009 with year 8, and add a year group each year from there. The school provides a wonderful opportunity for Broome, as we hope that many families will choose to stay in Broome to educate their high school kids, rather than sending their kids to Boarding School or moving the whole family to another city. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for the gospel as we reach out to the kids and families involved in the school.

As a family we are doing well. We have enjoyed the cooler months, and are preparing ourselves for the heat and humidity that will come in November / December. Tim and Emily are doing well. They were both awarded ribbons for their efforts in the School sports carnival. Emily also recently received an award for her reading out a few pages from a book on Meteors to the whole school at an assembly. We and her teacher were very proud of her! Both the kids are enjoying Church and are learning many things from the bible at Sunday school and the JAFFA kids club, as well as our daily bible reading and prayer times. Bec is enjoying leading her bible study, and is progressing well at her piano lessons. She is also busy getting our church building maintenance and development program up and running, as well as being my number one ministry consultant. As a family we will be heading to Geraldton shortly for our diocesan Synod followed by 3 weeks annual holiday. Lachlan will be priested during the Synod Commencement Service.


Give praise:

. That we have settled in well in Broome
· For Colin and Judy finding a house to rent (we'll miss them dearly)
· For Don Carson and his ministry to us
· For friends and churches who have been supporting us.

Please pray:

· For the Anglican School in Broome
· For the current plight of Aboriginals across the Kimberley
· For boldness to proclaim the gospel in the town
· For continued support of the ministry.
· For Judy and Colin's baby due in late October

. For Lachlan's priesting on 6th October in Gerladton

Thank you for your continued support.

Tourist Season

The tourist season has arrived. Thousands of “Snow Geese” and “Grey Nomads” have landed on our shores. The town’s population has more than doubled (15,000-35,000). The caravan parks are over flowing – in fact temporary caravan parks have been set up at various community venues including the PCYC and the Pistol Club – not to mention our driveway! We have thoroughly enjoyed our many visitors (we currently have 9 guests staying with us at the moment.)

The tourist season has changed our ministry. Many of our church events we put on now have a significant increase in attendance. In our last update I mentioned we were about to start an “Introducing God” course at our Sunday@5 service. Those who came enjoyed a whole term of teaching from Dominic Steel and table discussions based on his presentation; as well as a 2 course meal and coffee all for the bargain price of $5 per night. Our new data projector was a real blessing. (The data projector was able to be purchased just in time through very generous donations - see last update re data projector appeal). The evenings were run outside in the gardens of the church and took the form of an alfresco café. We finished the event with a “Sleep-over” at a parishioners property just outside of town. All in all it was a great event as the gospel message of Jesus was clearly proclaimed to many people. We hope to run “Introducing God” again (probably next year).

During the July school holidays a team of 14 volunteers from the Reformed Churches of Perth ran a great holiday Kids Club “SEASIDE ROCK”. These young men and women (16-27 y.o.) financed their own way here and funded the whole event! Arriving late on Friday night after a week of training the Target 21 team on Saturday morning headed to the Broome markets, China Town, Cable Beach caravan park and other public areas to personally invite primary age kids along to the club. Saturday afternoon included playing touch footy on Cable beach and watching the famous sunset before a BBQ dinner. Sunday was packed full of church activities including taking part in the 8am and 10am service and then running the Sunday@5 evening service. Then each afternoon from 2-5pm Monday-Friday the church gardens became a sea of kids as the team ran games, craft, music, and most importantly bible teaching activities with a total of 115 different kids over the week (our greatest number of attendees was 76 on Friday afternoon!). The team went home thoroughly exhausted yet satisfied that with God’s help they had made a difference in these kids lives. Not only that - the whole event had an impact on the many parents of the kids, and our regular parishioners as well! Thank you Target 21 team.

We also have a Bush Church Aid “Campers for Christ” Caravan park ministry in operation at the moment. This includes running Breakfasts at various Caravan Parks, craft and computer mornings, and a final dinner. The church has just been buzzing over the last few weeks!

Another great blessing at the moment is a number of travelling maintenance nomads. A number of much needed maintenance issues have been completed including installing a new ceiling in the hall, and the vestry of the church; removing dangerous shower screens; maintaining the air 7 conditioners; refurbishing the 23 doors in the church; installing the new data projector and screen etc.

Our kids have been going well. They are both enjoying school and after school activities. Tim has been doing “Hip Hop” dance classes over the last term and Emily has been learning piano and doing some gymnastics. Bec too has been learning piano. Both are doing very well. As a family we are looking forward to a 4 day holiday to Cape Leveque next week to camp in a very beautiful part of the Kimberley. Over the next 2 months Bec and I will be taking 3 separate trips to Perth for various conferences and for deputations to catch up with supporters and raise further prayer and financial support – the air fares are clocking up a bit! In October we will be driving to Geraldton for our Diocesan Synod followed by a 3 week holiday in Perth and the South West.

Already we’ve been in Broome for 6 months! How time flies when you’re having fun. We are very much looking forward to the next 6 months and beyond. Thank you all for your prayers and communication with us. We try to respond to each person who makes contact with us, but please excuse us if we seem slow to respond.

Life in Broome

Rainbow over the church

(I preached on Noah that week!)

BBQ on Cable Beach

A popular church activity - drive onto the beach and watch the sunset

Stairway to the moon

The veranda of our house

Settling in to Ministry

We’ve been in Broome now for 2 ½ months and are thoroughly enjoying it. The weather is becoming kinder and temperatures have dropped to the 25-30 degree mark and less rain.

We are getting into the rhythm of ministry. The church has so many activities it sometimes leaves my head spinning. Whilst all of them are good things to be doing we as a church need to be ensuring that they are being done in a way that appropriately serves God and his kingdom. With so many activities crowding the calendar we are in danger of not being open or available to other ministry needs of people and the town.

After 7 weeks of house-sitting and camping in the church hall we finally moved into our own home. We are ever thankful of God’s blessing and provision, especially in this house which we have now been in for 4 weeks. Our granny flat caravan has already been home to 3 different people, and we have enjoyed many balmy evenings on our veranda with family and friends. We had our house-warming party on Easter Saturday. The 20 or so kids loved playing in the landscaped garden, and the 40+ adults enjoyed chatting on the grass, on the veranda and in the house.

Our good friends Colin and Judy have moved from Perth to Broome, and arrived the day before all our furniture did. They spent their first day in Broome unpacking all our stuff - what champions!! Colin and Judy are living with us until they find their own place. It has been a great blessing to have them with us and they are already forming their own foundations in the church and the community.

Tim’s big news is that he was selected to represent his school in the inter-school swimming carnival. I am proud to say that he is now officially the 5th fastest breaststroker in his age group in the West Kimberly! In addition to all her new friends at school, Emily has befriended a neighbour’s little girl (who is actually in the same year as Tim at School). The girls have spent every spare moment with each other, and feel happy to come and go to each others place at any time. After living in 3 houses in the last 4 years that were on busy streets, the kids are enjoying being able to ride around our quiet little cul-de-sac. We went for a walk the other day from our place through the bush and arrived at Cable Beach. The kids are also enjoying the newest member of our family – “Jelly” the cat – 3 months old and very cute (did I say that??).

We have just completed our first Easter, including a Good Friday Service (where Lachlan preached on Isaiah 53); a “Stations of the Cross” walk around the town’s Court House with the other Christian Churches (all the Christian churches in town often work together for major community events); and 3 services on Easter Sunday - a 6am dawn service which was supposed to be on Town Beach but it was raining (first time in over 25 years anyone can remember it raining on Easter Morning) - an 8am Communion Service – and a 10am family Easter Celebration.

As the honeymoon period of arriving in a new town and church comes to a slow end, we are looking forward to planning for the future. A priority for me is to be reaching out to the men and young families in our church, befriending them and encouraging them and helping them to walk closer to our Lord. I am also looking out for non-church men in the community that I can form a relationship with so that I can share the hope that I have in the Lord.

At the moment I am gearing up for the beginning of our evening services – “Sunday@5”. We are launching with a family games night this week, followed by an “Introducing God” course that will run for the next 8 weeks. This will be a great time to train our church members in how to reach out to their friends, and also to invite their friends and family to a contemporary and relaxed meal and video presentation followed by table discussion on the difference Jesus makes.

We are also looking forward to many individuals and groups who will be coming to Broome over the next few months to support the church. They include retirees who will be helping us to maintain our heritage listed church building, hall and grounds; young couples coming for a holiday but devoting their Sundays to supporting the church in music or training or other skills; and a mission team of 16 young men and women who are coming from Perth to run outreach activities for a week in July – these folk have all raised their own funds to get here and to help us out – Praise God!

Special needs of the church:

We have two items that we have a great need for at the moment. Please consider if you could help the church out in some way by providing toward these items:

· A new data projector – our old one carked it just before Easter (approx $3,400)
· A computer and furniture for our volunteer church administrator/receptionist (approx $2,000)

For Praise:

· A great Easter weekend where many visitors came to our 5 Easter events
· The encouraging responses from congregation members for the services and the sermons given.
· For Bishop David Mulready and his tireless work inside and outside our huge diocese.
· For prayer and financial supporters in our ministry here.
· For the generosity of the family who loaned us their house when we first arrived


For Prayer:

· For the church’s solidarity and unity in the Gospel.
· For musicians. (our 8am service currently uses CD’s for music)
· For our “Introducing God” course beginning in May
· For continued and new financial support for the church and both ministers
· For times of refreshment

We’ve Arrived in Broome!

After a fantastic 6 week, 12,500km around Australia trip (6 states in 6 weeks) we have safely arrived in Broome. We have moved what we have carried with us into a very unique rammed earth house complete with Dalmatian dog that we will be looking after while the owner is overseas. The house is designed to catch the breeze so it has no glass windows or fly screens, just wooden shutters, that are opened wide to cool the house. Speaking of heat – the Lord has been gracious to us. It has been raining – sometimes tropical down pours – since we left NSW. Although this has left us somewhat damp it has also kept the temperatures down. The Broome weather has also been quite pleasant with temperatures hovering around the mid 30’s, and not too bad humidity.

Tim and Emily have started at school. Emily’s teacher is very impressed with her reading skills and is giving her advanced work to do. Tim’s teacher is also great, and he too is excelling (proud father in me), and is getting to know a few boys.

Tuka (our dog) arrived 4 days after us by excess baggage on a plane from Perth with the Mildenhalls (The new rector and his family). She was very excited to see us, and seems to get on well with Bella the Dalmatian.

Bec is a busy as ever getting us all settled, as well as getting to know the ladies of the church. She has taken on the crèche on Sunday morning, the publication of the bulletin and the rosters for the church, as well as singing for the 8am and 10am services.

Lachlan hit the ground running, now having preached two Sundays in a row. We are currently doing a series on Genesis 1-11. Coinciding with the sermon Lachlan produces a bible study sheet which each of the 5 different bible study groups seem to have taken up. Monday evenings he leads a men’s Bible Study which has been a great joy; Tuesday evenings he does the “bread run” which delivers the left over bread from Brumby’s Bakery to the needy in town – up to 13 different locations, and then attends another Bible Study; Wednesday afternoon is a parish prayer meeting, followed by either a vestry or executive meeting every second week; Thursdays is teaching scripture at one of the local primary schools; Friday is helping to run the after school “JAFFA” (Jesus A Friend For All) 5-12 y.o. fellowship group; Saturday is finishing off sermons and spending time with friends and family; and Sunday is 8am and 10am morning services sometimes followed by a BBQ dinner on Cable Beach. In the dry season (April-October) a 6pm contemporary service has been running which Lachlan is keen build up. Lachlan has also been visiting people in Hospital and their own homes, as well as meeting with people who are struggling with evil spirits; or re-discovering Christianity; or who are just at a down patch in their lives.

For your praise

. Our safe arrival.
. A warm welcome by the church and community.
. The sale of our house in Perth and the purchase of a house in Broome (Settlement in mid March) .
. Good teachers for the kids.
. For the previous great ministry teams in Broome who have built this church up so much.

For your prayers

· Adolf – a recovering alcoholic waiting for an operation in Broome before being transferred to a half-way-house in Geraldton.
· Tim Mildenhall’s induction and Lachlan’s commissioning service on 14th February.
· Suitable time off.
· Solidarity as a family.
· Wisdom in how to be effective for the Kingdom of God.

Leaving Perth

Merry Christmas


Well folks, it’s finally happened - We have left Perth and are on our way to the Eastern States for Christmas and a holiday before heading to Broome to start work and school in late January! The last few weeks have been both sad as we say farewell – a few tears were shed, and exciting as we embark on a new adventure and a new chapter in our lives.

For those who might ask – we haven’t got our exam results yet. They will be posted to us when we are on the road, so we will not receive them until we arrive in Broome. It has been sad to say good-bye to Trinity Theological College. Bec and I have both thoroughly enjoyed our time there and would highly recommend Trinity to anyone thinking about doing full time or part time theological study.

We had a garage sale last Saturday and sold off a lot of un-needed stuff. What didn’t sell went straight to the tip! We have packed up our house, and stored all our personal stuff. We have left the furniture in place so that our house sitter has something to sit on. We now have a place to house-sit for 5 weeks when we arrive in Broome. We are hoping that in that time we can sell our house in Perth and buy a house in Broome. We would like to continue renovating and developing if we can. This will be Bec’s on-the-side income earner in Broome.


Some personal news:

Tim took part in a variety night at one of the local churches the other weekend, playing his guitar with his friend. It was a great night and the boys did really well. Emily had her end of year Christmas dance concert in a local auditorium. She danced in two scenes – one as a cherub, and one as a 50’s swing dancer. We even had to buy tickets to watch her. We were very proud parents seeing both the kids on stage over the last 2 weeks.

Last week Bec and some other ladies at church ran an evangelistic outreach event making Ginger-Bread houses. It all went very well. It was great to have a number of new ladies attended and hear a talk from Bec on “Christmas Traditions.” Lachlan preached his last Sermon in Perth on Sunday. The next one will be in Broome, where Lachlan will be giving the first sermon series for the year on Genesis 1-11.

Tuka – our dog - is having a holiday with friends in Perth while we travel, and will hopefully fly up to meet us when we arrive. She is still battling Cancer, so we are praying that she makes it through the next few weeks.

We are looking forward to forming new relationships when we arrive in Broome. We hope to be able to have many from the church around for meals to get to know them, and they us. Lachlan will also be taking some Scripture Classes in the primary schools almost as soon as we arrive - a daunting task having never taken a class like that before. Bec will be concentrating on getting the family settled and the kids into school.

Please praise God with us for our great time in Perth, for the kids taking the move so well, for the training we have received and for the great many who have committed themselves to supporting the ministry in Broome for the next three years.

Please pray for safety as we travel, a good holiday, and wisdom for the ministry when we arrive.
I will not get a chance to update the web page until February. Meanwhile – a huge thank you for all those who are partnering with us in ministry. We will endeavour to write to you personally when we arrive.

Exam Time

With just four weeks to go it feels like we are on a fun-park slippery-slide swooping toward the end of our time in Perth! We just need to clamber over the rocky outcrop of exams before we can get there. Bec has just finished her exams today (Friday 11th Nov.), while I have another two to do next week. We are very sad to be leaving Perth and the many friends we have here, but also very excited about taking a family holiday to the East Coast before heading for Broome to start there in February.

For the prayers amongst you...

Praise God:

• For Bec having finished her exams. I am certain that she has done well (although she is not so sure)
• For Broome Anglican church looking forward to our arrival
• For the many generous people who are financially and prayerfully supporting the ministry in Broome
• For the appointment of a new Senior Minister in Broome - Tim Mildenhall (and family), who should arrive shortly after us.
• For the kids being accepted into Cable Beach Primary School from next year
• For the opportunity to spend Christmas with our families.

Please Pray:

• For Lachlan's last 2 exams. Pentateuch 9am-11:15am Tuesday and 1 Corinthians in Greek 2pm-4:15pm on Thursday.
• For energy for the current Ministry Team at Broome
• For Tim Mildenhall's Ordination on 23rd November
• For our deputation interviews at Shenton Park (27/11) and Leederville (4/12) Anglican Churches
• For Bec's talk at the Maddington Anglican Gingerbread-House making outreach event on 1st Dec.
• For Lachlan as he preaches at Maddington Anglican on 11th December
• For a smooth couple of weeks packing and leaving. We will be leaving Perth on 12th December
• For fond farewells
• For the kids coming to terms with saying good-bye to friends.
• For safe holiday travels
• For the fund-raising for the next three years. We now have just under 60% of our needs for next year. See the Financial Updates page.
• For suitable accommodation when we arrive in Broome. It would be great if we could house-sit somewhere for a few months. We are planning to sell our house in Perth and buy a house in Broome, but this will not happen until after March.