27/02/2010:
   Once
again, those intrepid men of St John's
made their annual pilgrimage to the sacred tin shed on the hill at
Katoomba. Yes, it was the 2010 Men's Katoomba Convention, and St John's
blokes were there in force. And just to prove it, Andrew Munkman took
these photos of the happy campers. Well done, fellas! |
| 16/01/2010:
Long time St John's Youth Leaders Katherine Steele and Daniel Butler
(Kat & Dan) were married in a packed church today. Bridesmaids wore
purple and the groomsmen were outfitted in matching purple ties. Almost
the entire church family was present for the ceremony and most followed
to the Galston Community Centre for the reception. Kat will work to
support Dan whilst he undergoes Christian ministry training at
YouthWorks throughout 2010. They will live in Mt Kuring-gai and continue
to be much loved members of the St Johns Parish family. Thanks to Nelly
for these photos.
|
| 20/12/2009:
Up to 500 people attended our first "Carols in the Carpark"
Christmas event on a warm summer evening in the carpark behind the
church. The evening kicked off with two sets of "vintage" rock
and roll songs from "The Longboards", with our very own Paul
Carter on drums. This was followed by an intermission during which the
jumping castle was given a severe stress test by our enthusiastic under
12s. The kids also had their faces painted whilst all did their best to
down gallons of softdrink and consume more than 600 sausages from a very
hot sausage sizzle crew. Angus started with 250 sausages, but then made
two emergency dashes to Coles to purchase their last sausage! Once faces
had been decorated and stuffed, the highlight of the evening ensued with
a selection of traditional and modern carols from our band and singers.
A great time was had by all! Thanks to Annabel for these terrific
photos.
|
| 05/12/2009:
There was no shortage of eager photographers when Elysha and Jonathan
Cole were wed on Saturday in the national capital. A small contingent of
St John's stalwarts made the treck down to Canberra to see our student
minister marry the girl of his dreams on a hot summer's day. We look
forward to welcoming the newly-weds back to Asquith when they return in
the new year. Thanks to photographers David, Michael and Nelly for the
many photos, a select few of which are presented below.
|
27/09/2009:
 Ethan
has a new little brother! Harry James Middleton.
He arrived at 9.05pm on Sunday night after a short labour. He's 3.26 kg.
49cm long.
and his head is 35cm around. He's a good looking chap with a full head
of hair.
Judging from these photos, everyone is doing fine. |
| 12/09/2009:
The beautiful bushland surrounds of the Elanora Conference Centre were
the setting for this year's Men's Retreat. 26 of St John's sturdiest
males spent 24 hours under the tutilage of Rev Kerry Nagel,
contemplating the thorny topics of "Men and Work", "Men
and Sex" and "Men and Ministry". Such was the strenuous
mental effort devoted to these issues that it was necessary to partake
of a high energy diet of bacon and eggs, steak and chips, scones and
whipped cream. All agreed that the sacrifice was well worth it. Thanks
to Dave Warren-Gash for these photos of St John's men, hard at work.
|
10/06/2009:
480 people today attended the funeral for Graham "Grubber"
Jordison at St Johns. Mr Jordison was a founding member of the
Asquith Rugby League Club. A recording of the service can be heard
by clicking here.
|
| 24/05/2009:
"The Building is Over - Long Live the Building". This was
the theme for the day as we celebrated the end of a building programme
at St John's that has been on-going for the past decade. Distinguished
guests included Gordon and Dianna Lincoln and Archdeacon Terry Dein with
his wife Barbara. During the "all-hands" 9:30am service,
Gordon regaled the assembled Parish with his recollections of how the
new church and ministry housing was conceived. Terry gave us some
insights into how the project was viewed within the "corridors of
power" of the Sydney Diocese. Russell Bramley provided an
architect's end-of-project report, together with some memories of
humorous moments; and Michael Coyne crunched some more numbers to give
us the financial summary. The morning service drifted into morning-tea
which was closely followed by a barbecue lunch (complete with jumping
castle), as building project anecdotes were told (with the sundry
embellishments that hindsight engenders) long into a beautiful Sydney
autumn afternoon.
|
04/04/2009:
 Iris
Bramley and Gabrielle Smith organised a
"Welcome to Your New Home" evening for Sue Heath, on the eve
of her moving into the new Rectory. It was a "girls-only"
night, and by all reports, a good time was had by all. Here are some
photos to prove it! |
15/03/2009:
 It's
been a while since we've had a
Parish Weekend Away (or House Party as they used to be known). So by
2009, the pent-up demand resulted in a record attendance at the Lutanda
Conference Centre, just outside Toukley. Guest speaker Barry Newman was
brave enough to answer "Life's Tough Questions", and fielded a
box full of posers ranging from the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:29 to
the hotness of divine burritos! There was no shortage of entertainment
and outdoor leisure pursuits. The tennis courts, basketball hoops and
trampolines got a good workout. Then there was the Flying Fox, powered
by a team of young girls who hoisted everyone to the top before sending
them on a brief, but thrilling, 100m ride down the wire. And if that
wasn't enough excitement, adrenaline junkies got their pulses racing by
climbing a 6m wooden pole, then jumping off in the "Leap of
Faith". Those who weren't completely exhausted had their brain
cells exercised in the evening as quiz-master John Watson put teams of
10 through their paces. Thanks to Dave Warren-Gash for these
photos.
|
21/02/2009:
 Not
content with starting a new degree course AND getting a new job,
Student Minister Jonathan Cole decided to go for the trifecta by also
getting engaged, all in the shortest month of the year. One shudders to
think what Jonathan might achieve given the full 31 days of March! The
picture shows Jonathan with his intended bride Elysha McKay, whom we are
sure will make a splendid addition to our congregation on those weekends
when she is up from Canberra. Congratulations Jonathan and Elysha!
|
01/02/2009:
 Today we
welcome our new Student Minister Jonathan Cole.
Jonathan has
been working as a teacher in Canberra and is commencing his studies at
Moore College this year. Jonathan is the latest in a long line of
Student Ministers that we have hosted at St John's, and we look forward
to observing his Asquithification. Get to know Jonathan by having him
for lunch (he's delicious) :-)
|
28/01/2009:
 Commissioning
of Rev Brian Heath.
The church was packed - so much so that, for the first time ever,
overflow seating was required in the atrium. Bishop Glenn Davies,
Archdeacon Terry Dein and Area Dean Ian Millican officiated on a hot
Wednesday night to mark Brian's commencement of service at St John's.
Wardens Fiona Hunziker, Gavin Middleton and Denis Wright welcomed Brian
on behalf of the Parish, whilst Hornsby Mayor Nick Berman welcomed Brian
on behalf of the community-at-large. Over 200 parishioners and guests
demolished a lavish supper, before chatting late into the evening. |
22/01/2009:
 
 Local
community to welcome Brian Heath to Asquith.
The Hornsby Advocate has run two stories on our new pastor - Rev Brian Heath.
Advocate
article #1 can be viewed on-line here.
Advocate
article #2 can be viewed on-line here.
The press
release can be viewed here.
|
18/01/2009:
 Our
new rector and pastor - Rev Brian Heath -
presented his first sermon to three well-attended services today.
David Atkinson was on-hand to take these excellent photos.
Please click on the thumbnails to view the full sized image. |
