Category Archives: Baptist

Baptist, News

Baptcare Opens Wyndham Lodge

Wyndham Lodge has this week, proudly opened its doors to welcome back residents and family members to Baptcare's brand new aged care facility. 

Baptcare Chairman Philip Curtis, Ladies Auxiliary President Margo Kendal, staff member Murray Holland, resident Joyce Perry and Werribee Mayor Adele Hegedich, with Baptcare CEO Graham Dangerfield, officially re-opening Wyndham Lodge

Occupying the site of the old Werribee Hospital, Wyndham Lodge is a completely new building possessing modern designs and state of the art facilities, offering an even greater provision of care to residents. 
Along with an increase from 30 existing beds to 150 over four floors, Wyndham Lodge has catered to its residents and now offers modern, community-like facilities such as a hairdressing salon, activity spaces and lounge rooms. A landscaped internal courtyard has also been developed for residents to enjoy the outdoors and to provide natural light to all rooms. 

 Wyndham Lodge exterior

Over the coming weeks and months, Wyndham Lodge will become home to 150 people, and provide more than 150 local jobs.
The new modern design allows for ‘ageing in place’, with all rooms including amenities such as a ceiling hoist. This addition will permit most residents to remain in their own rooms without needing to move around as their needs change.
The residential aged care facility was built on a strong foundation of community spirit and a culture of care. Throughout the building process, 30 beds continued to be in operation in the adjacent Bill Featherstone House, allowing for the culture and deep community base of Wyndham Lodge to be preserved and carried on. Baptcare will now focus on the complete refurbishment of Bill Featherstone House, with plans to operate the 30 beds for ambulant clients with a diagnosis of dementia. This will be a program centred on a social model of care, where activities of daily living are incorporated into the care program and where our engagement programs are much more specific to the needs of these clients. This work will commence later this year. 
Existing staff members at Wyndham Lodge have been undergoing training and upskilling in preparation for the opening of the new facility. This process will empower them to become staff leaders, ensuring the current culture at Wyndham Lodge is carried over and sustained into the future. 
“Staff understand that care goes beyond physical health,” said Baptcare’s Chief Executive, Graham Dangerfield. “Baptcare has ensured community involvement remains at the forefront of Wyndham Lodge,” he said. 
“The residential aged care facility was originally run and funded largely by the Werribee community. Much of the success Wyndham Lodge has today is a result of local organisations, and I am thrilled that Baptcare has been able to provide the capital and the people resources to bring this local community dream into a reality.
The many generous people who tirelessly fundraised for Wyndham Lodge, particularly the Ladies’ Auxiliary, have had family members and close friends take up residence at our aged care facility. “It is amazing to think that I am now going to be calling this place home,” said Faye Stuyoff, an existing resident of Wyndham Lodge.  

Faye Stoios and Joyce Perry

“I am sure there will be other locals who will be in the same position – whether they have been heavily involved in the auxiliary like me or have just supported its fundraising efforts – they can all feel they have contributed to what is already a great local place to call home.”

To mark the opening of Wyndham Lodge, Baptcare will be running Open Days from Thursday 21st July to Sunday 24th July, starting at 10.00am and concluding at 3.00pm. A band and refreshments will be provided. To book a tour please visit: https://www.baptcare.org.au/wyndham-open-day or just turn up.

Photos courtesy of Janusz Molinski
 

Baptist

Follow Baptist Church- Pakenham

Just last weekend we celebrated our 1st birthday as a Church plant. We are grateful for all the support we have had from many, including the BUV. We have recently started a project called the Bless Collective food Van project. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday night at Pakenham Station where we create a place for food and friendship. We have also combined with Orange Sky and Clean as Casper who provide portable laundry facilities and a portable shower. Please join us in prayer for those we minister too, who are largely homeless, disadvantaged or lonely. For more info you can look up the Bless Collective Food Van Project on Facebook. 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

My Ignite Conference Reflection By Mi Doh Htoo

This year, the BUV, held their second Ignite Multicultural Youth and Young Adults Conference. It was really different from last year’s conference, with the Ignite Committee making some changes to make it even better! 

 My highlights:

I had the opportunity to meet new faces from other church communities. It was really cool that Gang Nam Baptist Church came all the way from Korea! They prepared so many performances, and made the effort to get to know us, even though it costs a lot to travel to Australia! They shared their different talents with us, and shared their hearts too. I was so happy to have met them and we are keen to welcome them back any time! 

 Mi Doh

The food was excellent! The Werribee Karen Baptist Church, and Bentleigh Baptist Church provided us yummy traditional food!

This conference is so good for young people to attend and learn so many things. The conference is multicultural and combines churches from diverse backgrounds. We got to know each other through our small group activities, working together as a team, and also doing group challenges. I also loved worshipping and celebrating together as sons and daughters of God.

Each night we had a keynote speaker who gave us a message to encourage us young people. After the speaker shared, we would have a group discussion and share our story and how we were encouraged. This was really good because some of the people can’t speak English well, but we tried to understand each other. 

 We also attended a workshop, which I thought might be a bit boring – but it wasn’t!

I hope the workshops will help young people gain more skills and knowledge and also develop in their spiritual health.

 A few organisations came to share about what they’re doing like the Hope Project, Surrender, Whitley College, Praxis, Global Interaction, and Daily Rice. It’s good to show young people ways to study and develop in their faith. I myself am studying at Praxis and this has helped me a lot in my wellbeing and faith.

 What I learned:

I learned so many things that I can’t explain it all. I learned how much teamwork, cooperation and communication are important to our lives. Our small group facilitators, Sam and Rachel, did great in helping those who can’t speak English well and helping us understand and connect with each other.

The other thing I learned was how to love Jesus better. I know some people try to be cool and nice but if they don’t live in Christ like ways, nothing will happen. Also we need Christ in our lives; he is the one who can help us. Sometimes we fail but we have the Holy Spirit to encourage and help us. 

  Sam Chan

 One of the keynote speakers, Sam Chan, spoke about how different it is between 1st and 2nd generations in how we show love. We had a small group discussion afterwards about our cultural backgrounds, and we shared how differently our parents show their love to us, and vice versa. Some Karen people are shy to say they love their parents or parents are shy to say that they love their children. Some other cultural groups were different. We came away with questions such as, how can we help our parents and how can we love our parents better? I hope that the talk will help all us young people love our parents better. 

I want to encourage young people who have not attended the Ignite Conference to come along next year! Bring along your friends and church community with you. I want to encourage you to come and build on your communication skills to help for the future, and for your community. We came and learned so much and connected with people from other cultural backgrounds. We need lots of young people to be leaders who care about their communities. My last encouragement is to come and share your own stories, and your own culture!

Thanks so to the BUV for this conference! I look forward to seeing you all next year again at Ignite 2017!

 

 

 

Mi Doh Htoo is a member of Werribee Baptist Church who attended our recent Ignite2016! Conference

 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist, News

My Ignite Conference Reflection

By Mi Doh Htoo

This year, the BUV, held their second Ignite Multicultural Youth and Young Adults Conference. It was really different from last year’s conference, with the Ignite Committee making some changes to make it even better!

My highlights:
I had the opportunity to meet new faces from other church communities. It was really cool that Gang Nam Baptist Church came all the way from Korea! They prepared so many performances, and made the effort to get to know us, even though it costs a lot to travel to Australia! They shared their different talents with us, and shared their hearts too. I was so happy to have met them and we are keen to welcome them back any time!

C:\Users\ncapp\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Word\13711573_1163780107006651_317753123_o.jpgMi Doh

The food was excellent! The Werribee Karen Baptist Church, and Bentleigh Baptist Church provided us yummy traditional food!

This conference is so good for young people to attend and learn so many things. The conference is multicultural and combines churches from diverse backgrounds. We got to know each other through our small group activities, working together as a team, and also doing group challenges. I also loved worshipping and celebrating together as sons and daughters of God.

Each night we had a keynote speaker who gave us a message to encourage us young people. After the speaker shared, we would have a group discussion and share our story and how we were encouraged. This was really good because some of the people can’t speak English well, but we tried to understand each other.

G:\Communications\Image Library\Ignite\IGNITE 2016\IMG_0705.JPG

We also attended a workshop, which I thought might be a bit boring – but it wasn’t!

I hope the workshops will help young people gain more skills and knowledge and also develop in their spiritual health.

A few organisations came to share about what they’re doing like the Hope Project, Surrender, Whitley College, Praxis, Global Interaction, and Daily Rice. It’s good to show young people ways to study and develop in their faith. I myself am studying at Praxis and this has helped me a lot in my wellbeing and faith.

What I learned:
I learned so many things that I can’t explain it all. I learned how much teamwork, cooperation and communication are important to our lives. Our small group facilitators, Sam and Rachel, did great in helping those who can’t speak English well and helping us understand and connect with each other.

The other thing I learned was how to love Jesus better. I know some people try to be cool and nice but if they don’t live in Christ like ways, nothing will happen. Also we need Christ in our lives; he is the one who can help us. Sometimes we fail but we have the Holy Spirit to encourage and help us.

G:\Communications\Image Library\Ignite\IGNITE 2016\IMG_0560.JPG  Sam Chan

One of the keynote speakers, Sam Chan, spoke about how different it is between 1st and 2nd generations in how we show love. We had a small group discussion afterwards about our cultural backgrounds, and we shared how differently our parents show their love to us, and vice versa. Some Karen people are shy to say they love their parents or parents are shy to say that they love their children. Some other cultural groups were different. We came away with questions such as, how can we help our parents and how can we love our parents better? I hope that the talk will help all us young people love our parents better.

G:\Communications\Image Library\Ignite\IGNITE 2016\IMG_0317.JPG

I want to encourage young people who have not attended the Ignite Conference to come along next year! Bring along your friends and church community with you. I want to encourage you to come and build on your communication skills to help for the future, and for your community. We came and learned so much and connected with people from other cultural backgrounds. We need lots of young people to be leaders who care about their communities. My last encouragement is to come and share your own stories, and your own culture!

Thanks so to the BUV for this conference! I look forward to seeing you all next year again at Ignite 2017!

Mi Doh Htoo is a member of Werribee Baptist Church who attended our recent Ignite2016! Conference

 

Baptist

Meet our BUV New Faith Community – Kachin Baptist Church Melbourne

We are Kachin, an ethnic group from Myanmar (Burma). Statistically 98 percent of Kachin are Christians in different denominations. The majority are Baptist and members of Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar. 


Melbourne Kachin Baptist members with Rev. Lalawk Gyung Hkawng 
(President, Kachin Baptist Convention, Burma) 7 February 2016

 The first Kachin migrants arrived in Victoria in 1997, subsequently further Kachin have arrived and call Australia their home. Currently there are around 150 Kachin living in Victoria. 

In the past Kachin Baptist did not worship as a congregation. Some went to combined fellowship services, Baptist churches and other Christian churches. Over the past two years the Kachin Baptist community has increased rapidly, this gave us a vision to establish a church and to develop spiritually with our community.

 The Kachin Baptist Church – Melbourne was established on September 20th, 2015 with a vision “to grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.” – Ephesians 4:15 NIV. Further on to affiliate with Baptist Union of Victoria, aiming for mission and to expand the Kingdom of God.

 Since September 2015, we have had our Sunday services at the homes of our church members. Most Sundays are regularly worshipped at our pastor’s house. We have 37 members who are devoted followers of Christ. Occasionally we have visitors from other churches and also from overseas Kachin Baptist Churches. Because of our continuous progression, we are hoping for a suitable Church venue in the near future. 

 

Melbourne Kachin Baptist members with Rev. Dr. Hkalam Samson
(General Secretary, Kachin Baptist Convention, Burma) 9 January 2016

  

Kachin Baptist Church choir group

One of our aims and objectives is to be a full member of Baptist Union Victoria. The Baptist Union of Victoria’s website provided relevant information and resources that assisted us to better understanding of the organization, vision and mission. On April 5th, 2016 we contacted Baptist Union of Victoria in hope of receiving additional information about membership.  It was a great opportunity and blessing to receive a response from Rev. Meewon Yang (Multicultural Consultant). Kachin Baptist Co-Executive Members and Rev. Meewon met on April 16th, 2016. We are most grateful by her guidance and inclination to assist us. 

As a small community, we understand that it is a challenge to establish a Kachin Baptist Church. However, we believe that God is always with us. Our vision is from Him and He will fulfil His purpose for us. 

The Kachin Baptist Church Melbourne will be welcomed as a New Faith Community of our BUV at our October 2016 Delegates Dinner.  

Kachin Baptist fellowship camp in Sydney
31 December 2015 – 4 January 2016

 

 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist, News

Meet our BUV New Faith Community – Kachin Baptist Church Melbourne

We are Kachin, an ethnic group from Myanmar (Burma). Statistically 98 percent of Kachin are Christians in different denominations. The majority are Baptist and members of Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar. 

Melbourne Kachin Baptist members with Rev. Lalawk Gyung Hkawng 
(President, Kachin Baptist Convention, Burma) 7 February 2016

 The first Kachin migrants arrived in Victoria in 1997, subsequently further Kachin have arrived and call Australia their home. Currently there are around 150 Kachin living in Victoria. 

In the past Kachin Baptist did not worship as a congregation. Some went to combined fellowship services, Baptist churches and other Christian churches. Over the past two years the Kachin Baptist community has increased rapidly, this gave us a vision to establish a church and to develop spiritually with our community.

 The Kachin Baptist Church – Melbourne was established on September 20th, 2015 with a vision "to grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ." – Ephesians 4:15 NIV. Further on to affiliate with Baptist Union of Victoria, aiming for mission and to expand the Kingdom of God.

 Since September 2015, we have had our Sunday services at the homes of our church members. Most Sundays are regularly worshipped at our pastor's house. We have 37 members who are devoted followers of Christ. Occasionally we have visitors from other churches and also from overseas Kachin Baptist Churches. Because of our continuous progression, we are hoping for a suitable Church venue in the near future. 

Melbourne Kachin Baptist members with Rev. Dr. Hkalam Samson
(General Secretary, Kachin Baptist Convention, Burma) 9 January 2016

Kachin Baptist Church choir group

One of our aims and objectives is to be a full member of Baptist Union Victoria. The Baptist Union of Victoria’s website provided relevant information and resources that assisted us to better understanding of the organization, vision and mission. On April 5th, 2016 we contacted Baptist Union of Victoria in hope of receiving additional information about membership.  It was a great opportunity and blessing to receive a response from Rev. Meewon Yang (Multicultural Consultant). Kachin Baptist Co-Executive Members and Rev. Meewon met on April 16th, 2016. We are most grateful by her guidance and inclination to assist us. 

As a small community, we understand that it is a challenge to establish a Kachin Baptist Church. However, we believe that God is always with us. Our vision is from Him and He will fulfil His purpose for us. 

The Kachin Baptist Church Melbourne will be welcomed as a New Faith Community of our BUV at our October 2016 Delegates Dinner.  

Kachin Baptist fellowship camp in Sydney
31 December 2015 – 4 January 2016

 

 

 

Baptist

Transforming Congregations through Community: Faith Formation from the Seminary to the Church.

By Boyung Lee. Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013. xii+152 pp. $20.00 (paperback)

Reviewed by Darren Cronshaw

 

It is easy for local churches to measure growth in attendance, budget and programs, but more elusive to foster and measure growth in faith formation. It is even more challenging to evaluate how churches help people grow in communal awareness, intercultural intelligence and liberating reading of Scripture. It is easy to espouse a commitment to developing mature and globally-interested faith, but another thing to develop workable strategies for doing it in the complexities of congregational and seminary life.      

Thus I welcome Transforming Congregations through Community by Boyung Lee, the Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Education and Spiritual Formation at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. Lee draws on her expertise as an Asian American postcolonial feminist religious educator and unpacks transformative academic perspectives on faith formation. I especially appreciated Lee exploring the work of Maria Harris (who argues churches do not have a curriculum, they are the curriculum) applying postcolonial hermeneutics to church Bible studies. The value of the book, however, lies not just in its academic breadth and depth, but its grounding in the realities of congregational life. Aptly subtitled Faith Formation from the Seminary to the Church, Lee explores the dynamics of faith formation in seminary and church teaching, and draws on seminary experience and academic research that serves church ministry contexts. 

In Part 1, Lee explores a Biblical call for communal faith. She boldly suggests that individualism is the fundamental problem in society as well as theological education and churches. In the growing popularity of small groups, she identifies the characteristics of “me-first” religion and a collectivism of Western individuals who merely share similar needs and interests. She advocates instead a pedagogical model of communal ministry. Lee suggests Western churches could learn from the communal patterns of other cultural groups, yet she is also critical of their tendency towards hierarchy and patriarchy. In reading about the Hebrew Bible’s ‘people of God’ and the New Testament’s ‘body of Christ’, she sees a liberating vision of community that rejects both radical individualism and oppressive group conformity.  

Part 2 presents a pedagogy of communal faith with a refreshingly high view of Christian religious education. Drawing on Maria Harris, Lee advocates moving from schooling that is classroom-focused to education that forms people holistically and occurs in everything we do – worship and mission as well as formal teaching. She unpacks how to see the whole of church life as curriculum; to identify the explicit, implicit and null curricula; and to include social transformation learning goals alongside other aspects of theological knowledge:

“Education is concerned with people’s whole being, and thus it is so much more than solely learning about new information and traditions in classrooms. Similarly, Christian education seeks to help people be in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and to incarnate that relationship in their lives, in addition to gaining biblical and theological knowledge … with the pursuit of justice, that is, how one practises justice and mercy and love.” (56-57)

Part 3 focuses on pedagogical praxis for communal faith formation with methods and examples from church life. Lee models using postcolonial biblical hermeneutics in accessible ways – paying attention to voices from the margins and identifying the influence of imperialism. She offers a ‘5 Rs model’ of reading Scripture that bridges the biblical world with our world and its issues – readying the ground, remembering, reflecting, reinterpreting and re-searching. She discusses vision-development that encourages church departments to move from fragmentation to synergising together. She advocates moving from multiculturalism to intercultural ministry with its ‘liberating interdependence’. My favourite chapter was about the Travelling Bible study where Lee led a church through a liberating reading of the Lord’s Prayer, connecting the biblical story and a world-embracing reading of the prayer with the congregation’s personal stories and life experiences. 

The book’s most valuable contribution may be to help lift the bar on Christian education and especially its liberating, intercultural and whole congregational potential. Each chapter concludes with exercises and discussion topics for small group application. But it is an especially valuable resource of academic and practical depth for congregational leaders or educators – from Sunday School teachers to seminary professors. 

 

This review was originally published in Religious Education: The official journal of the Religious Education Association (2016), published online (11 July 2016), DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2016.1104225  http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00344087.2016.1104225

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

Pay it Forward

Deb Ware, a member of Tanti/Jigsaw church plant on the Mornington Peninsula talks about the impact of “Pay it Forward”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-THXfQtnfqo]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

Sam's Faith Story

Made available for download and use in services or homegroups to encourage and inspire others.

We are hoping that it will become a regular pattern across our churches to record simple interviews on a smartphone whenever a person comes to faith or is baptised. In this way we celebrate new life together as a family of churches and the stories of faith encourage us all to renew our own story and grow in our confidence in sharing it.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP-UN1xosyo]

 A series of faith stories from NewHope Baptist Church are available on their website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: BUV News