st thomas' weekly bulletin letters
This is an archive of the St Thomas' "Weekly Bulletin" letters, written by Simon Manchester and other St Thomas' ministers.
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Farewell thoughts from the Cooper Family as they leave St Thomas’… Sam writes… I really loved scootering around the plaza and skateboarding down the path. I loved the games like ‘fresher’ and ‘bullrush’ at the beginning of Sunday school and playing soccer in the hall afterwards. I really love the way my Sunday school teacher Rob is so kind and patient [parents’ note: he needs to be!] At Kidz Church and Atomic I have learned lots about the Bible, Jesus and God. Naomi writes… I like it that I have made really good friends at St Thomas’ like Danielle and Becky. Kidz Church and Atomic have been really fun. We went rock climbing with Atomic and even though we were late the leaders were very kind and stayed on to be with us. I am sad to be leaving. Lizzy writes… I really love the way everyone was so kind and welcoming when we came. It has been so easy to make friends. My time at Atomic and Toms was amazing – we did some crazy things and had so much fun. My faith has been really strengthened by my time at St Thomas’. Catherine writes… I have often thought about what makes St Thomas’ such a special place. There are so many great things about it, but I think that the servant leadership of Simon, supported by Kathy, is one huge influence on the way it feels to be part of the family here and humility overflows into everything that happens. Although the world would look on it as madness, I think a humble heart is the most important characteristic of a leader. After all, our Lord Jesus showed His glory most when He ‘humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross’. As Simon explained in his sermon last week, it is only when we understand that we can do nothing by ourselves, and then turn to God who can do all things, that we are able to serve Him and our brothers and sisters as we should. I thank God for the many, many ways people have loved me during my time here in Sydney. I will miss you all terribly. Ben writes… We have been blessed in many ways in our
three years in Australia, but by far the highlight has been being
part of the church family at St Thomas’. What makes a good
church? I guess nothing apart from Jesus and a heartfelt dependence
on Him. This will be shown in how the people hang on every word
from God through the Bible, in the humility of the leadership, and
in the patience, love and forbearance people have for one another.
All these things we have found at St Thomas’ and we have been
very thankful for them. Our prayer as we leave is that this would
be a church family which recognizes the value of all that it has
in Christ and wants to build on that foundation. We are thankful
for the new opportunity to serve that God has given us at a church
in Sheffield in the UK. But it feels very hard to leave – like
a family separation. Thankfully we can trust firmly in a God whose
ultimate purpose for the world is not separation but, through Jesus,
‘to reconcile to himself all things’ (Col 1:20).
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