The OCC BeaconBringing the celebration

of Truth to our communityIssue 1 2019

Community Church

2019 In Review

2019 has been a year full of celebration. We have dined together, celebrated birthdays together, fundraised together, worshiped together, laughed, cried and welcomed new church family members togther. Change is inevtiable and, while it might be uncomfortable at the time, we know God uses all things to benefit those who love Him and call Him Lord.

In this issue of the Beacon we are taking a look at some of the things we have undertaken over the past months. Looking back I wonder if we were just plain crazy sometimes;

however, the hard work and dedication of volunteers just like you ensured that we didn’t just have fun but we succeeded. Our childrens’ programs continue to flourish; we are partnering with more international missionaries; we’ve raised funds and pos­sibly eaten too many treats. And we’ve done these things in the name of extending God’s Kingdom in this place.

Grab yourself a cup of tea, find a comfy seat and sit back to enjoy just a taste of where we’ve been, what we’ve achieved and how much love, hope and faith we have shared

throughout 2019.

Take some time to pat yourself on the back for the way in which you’ve been a part of the body of Christ. Take some time to thank the Lord for His grace, strength and mercy that got us through another year. Take some time to ask the Lord where He’d like you to serve in 2020 because His work in this place is far from complete and He wants you to know the blessing and priviledge of serving Him and His children.

For all the activity that has gone on within the walls of the Omokoroa Community Church throughout the year it is no suprise that the children have been the most adventerous. But that spirit of adventure comes from those of you who dedicate so much time, effort and imagination into prepar­ing relevant, Christ­centred and exciting programs for our youth. We are so grateful for you work and willingness to serve.

Mainly Music celebrated 15 years at the OCC this year. Where has that time gone? We had a wonderful celebration with the current MM families as well as some of our families who were here at the very beginning. Leaders from past years joined us and shared stories of their memories leading children in dance and movement, of making lasting

friendships with other parents and the blessings received from being a part of a fabulous programme.

MM continues to flourish and we’ve welcomed a number of brand new MM babies to our fold. We are grateful to those who provide knitted items for the gift baskets we give to our new mums. And the local day­care and kindergarten groups who join us have brought a wonderful new dimension to our group. It’s pretty lively in the hall some days and it’s amazing to see such life and enthusiasm from the youngest members of our community.

At Kidzone we spent term three learning about David’s journey to Kingship and the challenges he faced along the way. As a young man he was anointed with oil and from that day he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a deep relationship with God. This did not mean that he never made wrong choices; but rather that he knew the importance of repenting and restoring his

relationship with God when he had broken God’s laws.

In Term four we are studying the stories of the Babylonian exile. This is a record of how the Jews held on to their faith in God in spite of being taken as slaves to a foreign culture and religion and is ultimately a story of God as their saviour as they were rescued from intense persecution.

Our all age service will be on 8 December and will be followed by a congregational lunch for the whole church; please come and join us as we celebrate the end of the year together.

In the M o o v i n g Up youth group we c o n t i n u e to have a lot of fun. Last term i n c l u d e d night games

in the Furness garden and a progressive dinner. This term we are starting with a visit to the skate park, will be helping to finish the building of the

Bible VerseBlessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

—James 1:12

Thoughts on Today’s Verse . . .

I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to appreciate our need to go through trials. In fact, trials in life are just plain hard to tolerate! This is especially true when we are in the middle of them. But as believers in Jesus, we have some key spiritual reasons to persevere under trials. One of the very best reasons to hang in there when things are tough spiritually is God’s promise to give us the crown of life that can’t be taken away from us.

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community garden and will be visiting the Sapphire Springs hot pools for our Christmas party. We also invite you to join us as collectors for the local food bank appeal on 3 December. If you know any children in year 7–9 tell them that we have a youth group and encourage them to come along.

My Prayer . . .

Gracious God, thank you for promising the victor’s crown of life to me. Empower me to persevere through the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

MilestonesAll of us have milestones in life that deserve celebration and this year we’ve had two birthdays that have certainly warranted celebration. One of the great things about having a church building such as ours is that we’re equipped to cater for just such occasions and it was wonderful to join with Ros de Candole and Edith Mitchell as they celebrated significant birthdays. Here’s a wee taste of how much fun we had.

Missions DinnerOur church annually plan a missions dinner to support selected missionaries. This year the missions team (Barbara Walls, Elaine and Gordon Gravatt, Sue Frankland, Murray and Val Munro) selected Zane and Karen Elliot who were commisioned to go to Indonesia. Thus, the theme of the dinner which took place on Saturday 20 July was Indonesian cuisine! The support and participation for this event was tremendous! On the program were Murray and Val Munro who shared wonderful experiences and showed pictures of their many years as missionaries.

Thanks to a most willing team the dinner included:

Beautiful tables set up by Bryan and Margaret Canter and stunning flowers done by Enid Weir.

Delicious Indonesian meatballs and kroepoek were made by Joke Gerritsen

Authentic Indonesian peanut crackers were fried by Jan and Rebecca Mayston

Indonesian Nasi goreng prepared by Jan and Rebecca Mayston

Indonesian Yellow chicken was cooked by Mary Lock and Carolie de Koster

Pineapple and cucumber salad with peanut sauce were done by Sharon Mitford-Burgess

Community GardenOne of the great things about living in a community like Omokoroa is that there are so many ways to be involved and the latest is a fabulous idea that will benefit so many in our village and beyond.

Rick, of ‘Omokoroa Cyberlink’ fame has, with much enthusiastic help, started up the Omokoroa Community gardens that are

situated at the Omokoroa Point School. Not only is this a brilliant way to encourage our younger generatations the importance of the ‘garden-to-table’ philosophy, it’s also going to benefit our very own Food Bank. Our Food Bank has been allocated six beds where we can grow fresh produce to suppliment our standard food parcels. It will be such a great opportunity to be able to include fresh, seasonal vegetables in our food parcels and may be a way to help break some of the cycles of poverty if we can encourage food parcel recipients to become involved in the project and learn more about nutrition, gardening and self-sufficiency.

But gardens down’t grow themselves and for the Community Garden to be successful there needs to be buy­in from us within the community. Please take some time to think and pray about your role in this important initiative and if you’re interested and would like more information please contact Rick Peers at rick@omokoroa.net.

Friendship Club

Omokoroa Friendship Club has been meeting in the church complex since it was built in 2002. Earlier it met in the Boat Club as Care and Craft when up to 70 people took part playing games as well as making many wonderful crafts for sale. Changes happen and over the years the numbers fell so that by 2016 we were using our savings to pay the rent.

The OCC Parish Council graciously now considers Friday Friendship to be a community ministry and no longer charges us rent; instead we give a monthly donation. We are grateful and give thanks for our food by singing “Rock around the Clock” grace.

The committe raised the door charge to $4 for morning tea and a sandwich lunch. The numbers now average around 20 every Friday. Those who come really depend on having this event available for them and we all enjoy each others company. We have a food item

raffle included in the entry fee and whoever has a birthday can choose an item from the birthday basket. Members are happy to play Rummikub, 500, Up Words or 5 Crowns. We have other games in the cupboard which people are welcome to use.

Every Friday morning Gordon and Elaine Gravatt and Gordon Bridges set up the tables and chairs before 8am Prayer Meeting. Joan Noah, Judy Turner and Elaine Sim come in before 9am to make sandwiches and prepare morning tea. Elaine Gravatt and others help as needed. Anne MacLean and Robyn Bush share the door duties while Anne does the vacuuming at the end. Edith Mitchell is minute secretary for our bi­monthly committee meetings. Brick and Lorraine Taylor look after the money and pay the bills. I will be president until the AGM 2020 when we will be looking for a new president.

On Friday 25 October 22 of us enjoyed a musical morning at Holy Trinity church in Tauranga with Operatunity Three Tenors and then the performers helped serve us

the sandwich lunch. We are grateful that the tickets were sybsidised by a generous gift from volunteers at the Centre, Omokoroa.

Anyone in the community is welcome so please spread the word and remember to come by 10am until 12.20 on Fridays.

Barbara WallsPresident548 2899

10 Ways to be a Christian this

Christmas

Christmas is almost here.

And that means many of us are tired, frazzled, stressed, and busy. The next few weeks will go by in a blur—from family, to church, to food, to family, to [the beach], back to church, back to family, back to food, and then back to work.

We love Christmas. We can’t wait for the day to come, and many of us can’t wait for the season to be gone.

But whether you love every nook and cranny about the holidays—or consider most of it “noise, noise, noise!”—there is no excuse to be grinchy and scroogeish. Here are ten ways we can remember to be Christians this Christmas.

1. Sing like you mean it. Sure, there are some Christmas carol clunkers, but there are some amazing hymns too (see Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, Let All Mortal Flesh, and many more). Belt them out with gusto. Smile and take delight in the familiar sounds of the season. You may not hear them for 11 more months.

2. Say thank you. Over the next week you’ll get gifts someone picked out for you, and eat food someone prepared for you, and enjoy hospitality someone laid out for you. We’re told to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18). Surely, this includes Christmas. Stop to offer a sincere “thank you” to your mom, your husband, your kids, your aunt, your grandma, whomever—it will be good for your soul, and it may just make their day.

3. Put the phone down. Go ahead and take a few pictures and post a few updates, but let’s not

By Stephen DeYounghttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org

turn our Christmas experience into another commodity for mass consumption. Look people in the eye. Be present in the moment. Let the world’s tragedies and scandals and funny monkey videos take a back seat for a day.

4. Enjoy some cookies. Oh, the dreadful holiday pounds. Sure, we need to be on guard against gluttony. But we need to be on guard against censorious asceticism too. God created food to be received with thanksgiving. Eat up and don’t feel bad about it. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected that is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:3­5).

5. Talk to your family. Why not put in five minutes worth of thought on the way to your grandma’s house to think of five questions? Maybe conversation flows easily with your family. But for many people, it takes some effort to engage our relatives, especially those we don’t see often and those with whom we have little in common. Give people the gift of your curiosity.

6. Find time to be quiet. At some point, get away and be still. Even if just for 10 minutes. Even if it’s in your bed after everyone else is asleep. Go on a walk. Take a long shower. Get up early. Sit in the dark. Look at the [scenery]. Stare at the tree. Just be quiet, ponder, and pray.

7. Pray for opportunities. What if we prayed for at least one opportunity in the next two weeks to share the gospel? I bet God would honor that prayer. Maybe we can talk to a friend or family member. Maybe we’ll find a surprisingly open door for conversation at the mall, or out to eat, or on the plane. Maybe we have not because we ask not.

8. Make a year-end gift. Your church is probably trying to make budget. So are rescue missions, crisis pregnancy centers, Christian schools, mission agencies, and dozens of other kingdom causes. Go ahead a be generous. We won’t out­give God.

9. Quit complaining. Something will go wrong this Christmas. Someone will hurt your feelings. Your parent’s house will be too hot. Your brother’s house will be too cold. A meal will be barely edible. Your obnoxious friends will be extra obnoxious. Still, God is more pleased with gratitude than with grumbling. If we learn to overlook a few offenses we’ll be happier too.

10. Rejoice to hear the Story one more time. Matthew 1 and Luke 2 are coming at you. So are Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9, Micah 5, and many of the same passages you hear ever year. No bother: “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you” (Phil. 3:1). Let us pray that God gives us ears to hear, again and again, with fresh wonder that God came down to be with us, and that he is with us still.

1. Banking2. Invoices

3. Newsletter4. Prayer

5. COFFEE!

It is with sadness that I compile my last issue of The Beacon. This publication was borne out of a time where the OCC was going through tough times. We were in the process of finding a new minister, our congregation was shrinking and we’d said goodbye to wonderful friends like Doug and Iris Phillips. It felt like we were being forced to dwell on the hard times and I decided that we needed to turn that around and dwell on God’s grace, abundance and blessing. Thus, the Beacon was conceived.

I wanted us to remember all the things we had to celebrate and shadow those times that were trials. And there’s so much to celebrate. I want to thank all those who have been involved in making the Beacon happen: Christine Norton for her “In the Past Lane” articles and her dedication to proofing my work; Val Hale and her team of Pastoral Carers who

faithfully deliver the Beacon to our Chruch Family; to Jean, Don and Lynda who contribute articles to keep us up­to­date with what’s going on within the congregation and with our children; Barbara Walls and her missions team for keeping us abreast of where our missions families are at; and to all of you who have gracefully agreed to let me write about you, your ministries and experiences.

At the end of my eight years here as admistrator it feels like it’s flown by. I have so many memories that I will take with me and for that I’m grateful. I take a myriad of skills that I didn’t know I had. I take love and friendship from my church family. I take a faith deeper and stronger than the day I started work here and I take a love of the concept that ministry is part of life not our vocation. It is with great excitement that I go into a future that is completely

unknown because it’s full of the potential and promises of God.

Finally I want to say thank you to my church family who have had such patience as I learn something new or get something wrong. Thank you for your input and patience over rosters (I doubt I’ll miss that particular job) and who have continued to encourage and pray for me and my family.

My prayers stay with you all in this new chapter of all our lives. I’m looking forward to seeing what God has instore for the OCC and I know it’s going to be great things. This church has endured decades on the peninsula and will endure many more as we seek to grow the kingdom of God. When times are uncertain and stormy, remember Jesus in the boat of Galilee . . . his power to calm the storm is but a prayer away.Belinda

The Last Word

For girls aged 8–11 on Monday nights at the church from 6pm until 7.30pm. For more information contact the office on 548 2515.

Friday morning prayer meeting at the Church from 8am. Join in and pray for our community, our congregation and for further afield. For more information contact Gordon Gravatt on 548 1495.

Fun, friendship and fellowship for our aged community. Meets Friday mornings in the Church hall. For more information contact Vera Martin on 548 0672.

A preschool movement and music programme at the Church on Wednesday mornings from 9.30am. For more information contact the church office on 548 2515.

Have you been enjoying the coffee after church? We are drinking La Mai Coffee grown in Northern Thailand. Brighthope World have worked to transition local poor farmers from growing opium to growing coffee. Make the change to La Mai Coffee and make a difference. This is a mission we can all be part of. Coffee is available at the church office. $9 per 200gms. Mai coffee is the world’s best tasting act of kindness. Contact the office for more information.

Giving and Tithing

For information on how to donate to the OCC please contact Gwen Harding on 552 4217 or email gwenharding@xtra.co.nz

Mooving Up is a youth group for intermediate aged children (years 7 and above). We meet fortnightly with a variety of activities both indoors and outdoors. For more information contact Jean Furness.