Aldgate Village WellVerity and Anthony consider the ways in which the wisdom of God is a gift which is always offered, and the kingdom of heaven may be missed by our first glance. But when we ask, we may receive, and when we look further, we discover the richness of the kingdom of heaven affects everything we are.
The two books Anthony quotes through the offering of communion are by Malcolm Guite, "Sounding the Seasons" and "The Singing Bowl". Both available through Amazon and Book Depository.
If you have found the online services of use and believe they will be of benefit to you in the future, please let us know. You may contact Anthony or Verity directly, or email aldgatecoc@internode.on.net.
Taking it as read, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” Isaiah 44:6 (NRSV) then, we are left with an interesting conversation regarding the presence of the weeds among the wheat. (Matthew 13:24 ff). How is that the enemy is allowed so close to impact the field of wheat? Will the weed not have a negative impact on the wheat? Or, is it possible that the weed and the wheat occupy the same soil and in time the quality of the soil will decide which survives . . .
It has been said, how we understand God’s nature decides the way we live our life. Verity and Anthony explore the ways of God’s desire for generosity through familiar images, stories and parables.
(Please note: due to technical changes, the video is late being posted, and the quality of the sound will be different. There are also no hymns recorded for this service. Please receive this as an opportunity to pause the video as you choose, and sing, play and enjoy the hymns of your choosing.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5bGrfxvjL8
Last week, Verity spoke of spiritual companions (although we think this occurred after filming stopped!) . . . it might be wise to attend to these questions: Who are spiritual companions? and, what function or role do they have in our lives?
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8 am, Saturday 4th of July
As we slowly return to being together, we discover there is much to share with each other. Stories, anecdotes, lessons, movement of faith, wonders of God. We converse with one another as a continuing practice of speaking, hearing and listening. Verity and Anthony offer this same expression of conversation as they reflect on the passages for this Sunday. They continue with the questions offered by Dr Aaron Chalmers;
What does this passage reveal to us about God? His nature, his purposes, his will for humanity?
What does this passage reveal to us about the nature and vocation of the people of God?
What does this passage reveal that might shape me as an individual follower of Jesus?
May you continue the conversation . . .
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Saturday 27th of June
Following Jesus can lead us into difficult places. Places where we have to make decisions about our life, about what we will and will not do, where we will speak and not speak. And it will be hard. While the peace we are offered can not be taken away, we will find ourselves challenged to ’stay the course’. Perhaps being faithful with Jesus is a constant opportunity for discovering and understanding what it means to ‘follow him’, even if there is heartache and pain.
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Saturday 20th of June
The Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, once wrote:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
We are continually invited into a place where it is not the knowing of answers which is important, but our willing capacity to live the questions themselves. Today, we attend to Scripture in the asking of questions, “What does this passage reveal to us about God? His nature, his purposes, his will for humanity?”
“What does this passage reveal to us about the nature and vocation of the people of God?” “What does this passage reveal that might shape me as an individual follower of Jesus?” Live the questions . . . the answers may arrive in surprising, disturbing and engaging ways . . .
Click the link below to join us for our service
We enter into a new season, with the Church stepping out, having experienced the joy and fullness of the Holy Spirit, now (re)learning a way of life. It is the same for this generation as it has been for all those in the past. We (re)learn how God calls for us, compels us, desires his people to live. In a conversation today, Verity and Anthony (re)discover the meaning in knowing the nature of God and how we are deeply affected as God’s people.
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Saturday 6th of June
Pentecost Sunday ... this is the season we step into the awareness of the Holy Spirit blowing through our hearts and our lives. This power of God comes to us behind closed doors, compelling us to remember the faithfulness of God ... a power for newness, a creative power of joy, hope and steadfast love. How will we experience the Holy Spirit's power among us ...
Be with God ...
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 24th of May
Sometimes, sneaking a pick at the end of a novel gives us a glimpse into the author's intentions. What if, instead of asking for a sneak peek, we simply stayed with the author's pace and timing? What if, instead of looking for "what comes next" we gave ourselves to prayer and readied our hearts and minds for a power and purpose we had not anticipated?
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 24th of May
What if we were not as separate and ‘apart’ as we sometimes feel, think, believe? What if, the unity we share is not about all being the same; what if our ’together-ness’ is a reality running far deeper than common ideals, ways of life, patterns of speech? What, there is one Creator of us all . . .
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 17th of May
Creative Arts Minister Verity Riessen explores the darkened rooms of life. These are spaces of uncertainty, grief, fragility and broken ness. Moments of deep confrontation. Places we do not long to go. Where is the Spirt of God in the darkened room? Is Wisdom only found in the cracks of light or does She create life within the shadows?
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 10th of May
There is a simplicity in hearing the voice of the Shepherd who calls to us and welcomes us home. In our lives, we may find ourselves confronted with many options - other voices speaking to us, other people coercing us, and maybe even the reality that we are not so helpful to others in allowing them to listen to the voice of the Shepherd.
Take heart; the deep truth is unwavering; Jesus is both Gate and Shepherd, the One who calls us home and the One who welcomes us when we arrive.
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 3rd of May
In a time when isolation and disconnection could be the dominant ways of life, we are finding that it is possible for people to be connected in ways they hadn’t thought possible.
The disciples who are making their way to Emmaus could have been experiencing their own isolation and disconnection.
And then into their midst comes a stranger who connects them with deep truth . . .
Maybe it is a timely opportunity for you to find again the connection with Scripture, with fellowship, with table hospitality, with a stranger . . . to find connection again with yourself . .
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 26th of April
What is like to wait for an experience? An experience others have enjoyed, which is now shaping their very lives . . . while you wait for it all to make sense for you. “Waiting behind closed doors” seems an apt description of life for many of us at the moment. Perhaps, like the disciples and like Thomas, this can a place of patient waiting and expectation . . . knowing that even here and now, Jesus Christ is among us, saying “Peace be with you.”
Click the link below to join us for our service, premiering at 8am, Sunday 19th of April.
A resurrection Sunday service offering hope in newness, as we celebrate Jesus being raised from the dead.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Be with God...
In this season, we are able to be together, even when we are apart. We offer a reflective service for Good Friday. Readings and reflections offered by Mark Stevens, Verity Riessen and Anthony Risson.
With thanks to Andrew Bowden for recording and preparing the service.
Click the link below to view the Good Friday Service.
27 - 29 March 2020
Cath Connelly is a Spiritual Director, Retreat Leader and one of the world's finest Celtic harpers. Her music sits in liminal space where music meets spirituality.
Join us for 3 separate events... come to one, come to all!
Friday 27th 7-9pm PUBLIC LECTURE "Hope Beyond a Disintegrating World" $10 includes supper Book Tickets
Saturday 28th 10am - 5pm RETREAT DAY "Praying it Forward: Emerging Hope and Our Role as Ancestors of the Future" $50 Morning Tea and Lunch included RSVP Fri 20/3 Book Tickets
Saturday 28th 7-9pm HARP CONCERT Celtic sounds and stories. $20 admission $15 students/seniors Under 16 free Book tickets or at the door
See Cath's Website
Saturday 2 May 2020 from 5pm
At Aldgate Village Well, 54 Strathalbyn Road, Aldgate SA
Come and enjoy a tasty meal, a great time of fellowship, listen to a great guest speaker (David Turrell, CEO of 1079 Life Adelaide) and hear about exciting projects done in 2019 throughout Australia and overseas.
You will be supporting MMM to continue projects to "serve those who are serving".
Tickets: $49
RSVP: geoffj@mmm.org.au or Jane on 0432 253 588 by Saturday 25 April.
Website: http://mmm.org.au
Connecting with community | Connecting with work | Connecting with hope
Our Community Meal nights are on hold for now. Seeking someone interested and available to coordinate.
Contact the office on 8339 6286 if your are interested.
The Village Well meal nights gave part proceeds to help drought affected farmers in Australia during Aug to October.
Total funds raised at the Village Well were $1,700 which was distributed via the Sisters of Charity in Dubbo.
Thank you to everyone who helped make a difference for the families there.
THANKYOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
$3,370 RAISED FOR THE IRENE GLEESON FOUNDATION!
Christmas in May
Saturday 26 May 2018 from 7pm
For more deails click here