This Speech was given by our minister, Andrew Moore on Saturday 20th September.
“He who was far off has been brought near”
I hope you are having a great time. We don’t often go out like this, as a church.
It feels a bit like a – Christian wedding to me- with speeches, a reunion of friends and a big banquet.
In our household, it’s school project time.
My son’s project is on William Dampier (who was a really nasty person- he was a pirate, as well as becoming a sea captain of one of His Majesty’s Ships.).
He was the first Englishmen to land in Australia.
One of the things I’ve picked up is just how far away Australia was for those first settlers.
It was extraordinary what they did.
They navigated across the world. They didn’t have satellites or radar. It’s no wonder so many died.
Australia was the antipodes – the ends of the earth.
And for William Dampier, Australia was considered to be almost uninhabitable.
As his pirate ship was beached in WA…
He wrote in his diary that he couldn’t find any water. The bushland was scrubby and dry. The waters were infested with sharks. And he thought the Aborigines were the most backward of all the species of humans on earth.
It would take some time for people to warm to Australia and for them to see it as home.
Malabar and La Perouse were discovered in 1770.
In 1788, the first fleet stopped over at Long Bay, and Captain Arthur Phillip didn’t like it (not enough fresh water).
And that seems to be the feeling for a long time.
We were the backwater of the real colony in Sydney cove.
We were the antipodes of the antipodes. The isolated south.
People moved in and lived here, but geographically… there were no good roads, public transport was non-existent.
And it didn’t help public perception of the area, that –
The unemployment camps and Aboriginal settlement were nearby.
The Coast Hospital was a quarantine hospital.
There was a rifle range.
There was a maximum security jail.
And then the sewerage treatment works (I think there was a rubbish tip too).
Malabar, although a beautiful part of the world- was famous for ignoble things!… and a ship wreck!.
You could say- nothing much good had come from Malabar.
I was at Jenolan Caves last week, and the tour guide said – “If you steal one of the stalactites there are severe penalties- you can even get sent to Long Bay”.
And I thought- that’s where I’m from!
Malabar is an interesting place. It’s the underdog of the Eastern Suburbs… in fact it’s not even the Eastern Subs.
But land was eventually allotted for sale.
In 1901- there were about 50 regular residents in Long Bay. Most of them were Church of England people.
The minister would walk 4 miles from Coogee, and a service would be run on someone’s verandah. In 1908 there was a church built, up on Raglan St. And so the church began!.
A good memory verse for St Mark’s:
1 Cor 1:26 “Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not may were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish.”
And Ephesians 2:12 “But now in Christ you who were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ”.
For here was a people that were far off, but had been brought near (spiritually) to God.
And they were God’s people.
Great things have happened since then. And also some sad things-churches shrunk in size and closed.
But God has remained faithful to his Word through all the changes.
And there has been lots of ministry. Lots of love and compassion. And a real desire to make an impact for Christ in the world.
- Work Ventures, which started as the Peninsular Community Service, grew out of the church. There’s a whole story in itself. – There were kid’s holiday clubs. Church picnics.
Social events. – People were involved in all sorts of ways, and some even heroically, in making this a better place. In serving Christ, and loving neighbours.
Bridging cultures, age, ethnicity.
Some left, some became missionaries, or leaders in other churches.
There is much to be thankful to God for.
One of the very exciting changes has been the church plant from the university church in 2005.
We have the old and the new… and we’re having a great time. 3 services, which are vibrant and happy, and growing..
Extensive children’s ministry- next year we will have Simon Chaplin with us full time.
Tonight we are grateful to God for all those who came before us.
This has all in some way been part of God’s mission to the world- to a world which is far off from God.
A world which in many ways is even more distant from God than it has ever been.
Someone said the other day, as I was talking with them about the past, “they were the good old days”. And to some extent that is true.
There was more community. People knew their neighbours.
There were higher percentages of people coming to church.
Someone was saying at their church, 40 yrs ago, they made 1,000 biscuits for the fellowship. There was a waiting list for the youth group.
But while it is very challenging today, …. I am very positive about ministry today.
We need to keep changing and starting new ministries. It is hard work… but I’m excited.
Why? Because I sense that people are starting to realise the emptiness and meaninglessness of life without God. That working 60 hour weeks is lonely. Secularism is empty.
The kids at Kid’s Plus and Scripture ask fantastic questions- they really want to know.
Its not just the minister who is evangelising- there is much more lay involvement.
And anyway,…. the victory is already won.
The old old story- the Bible, guarantees that.
And we have heaven to look forward to…. We who are far off “spiritually” (because of our sin), will be in the presence of our Lord.
And it will be the wedding feast (we will be the bride).
As we reminisce, and thank God for the good old days, let us also remember to thank God for the life we have in Christ, and for a great future.
And push on in confidence… with great fervour and commitment- for the cause of Christ is an incredible work to be involved in.
John Wesley, who brought William Wilberforce to the Lord… Amazing Grace.
When we’ve been there
ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days
to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun