WEEKLY BULLETIN: April 11, 2021 EASTER 2
Resurrection Witness - Mary Magdalene
In any court case the most important witnesses are those who saw what happened with their own eyes. When they tell what happened, the judge can’t dismiss their evidence with the one word, ‘heresay’. When we want to ascertain the truth about the resurrection, the Gospels tell us that there were hundreds of people who saw the risen Jesus with their own eyes. The number one witness was Mary Magdalene.
Mary had been on the road with Jesus from the start. Luke tells it this way; (Luke 8) “Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.”
We know two VERY important things about Mary Magdalene as the primary Easter witness. Mary, witnessed both his crucifixion and resurrection, the only one of the Lord’s disciples to do so.
In Mark’s words (Mark 15) we read “There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.”
John tells it a bit differently and puts Mary Magdalene right at the foot of the cross together with Mary the Lord’s mother and John. There is no reason to think that there is a conflict between Mark’s and John’s accounts – it probably is that Mary the Lord’s mother and Mary Magdalene watched at a distance when the Lord was actually nailed to the crosspiece and lifted up, and then come closer to watch with him until his death. Mary was the faithful friend and follower!
Secondly, Mary was the first witness to the empty tomb and the resurrection; she was first to speak to Jesus after he rose from the dead. Mary then ran, at Jesus’ command, to tell the others – she was ‘the apostle (sent one) to the apostles (those who were sent)’. When the small church decided to replace Judas Iscariot to make up the number of apostles to twelve again, the best candidate would have been Mary Magdalene who fulfilled the requirements better than anyone one else – some one who had been with Jesus from the start and who had witnessed the resurrection. But for the fact that she was a woman, the place would have been hers!
Prayer for the Week:
Lord we lift our hearts to you. As the dawn breaks, may we carry the unity we share into every moment knowing that we are one with the risen Christ. Lord, we lift our eyes to you. As the sunrises, may this moment stay with us, reminding us to look for the beautiful colours of promise in your word. Lord, we lift our prayers to you. As the dew air falls, may we breathe this morning in and know that like the earth, you sustain us, keep us and work within us always. And so, we lift our voices to you. We celebrate the greatest day in history, when Jesus rose from death, defeated darkness and bathed the world in stunning resurrection light. May we ever live to praise you! Amen
Parish News:
Goodbye Rillis: Sadly we are farewelling Rillis in her current role in our Parish office on April 15, however she will take outstanding annual leave next week so effectively she has already ended her contract with us. Rillis is leaving us to begin an admin role (offering more hours) at the Kenmore Parish. While we recognise this is a very good move for Rillis personally, we will certainly miss her expertise and friendship in our own office and take this opportunity to wish her all the very best for the future. As this has all occurred quite quickly, the Wardens will advise the Parish of the new office arrangements as they become clearer and hopefully more settled next week.
Building Works: The restoration work is nearing completion with additional cracking repair and the moving of the Aumbry to the eastern end of the Church to hopefully be completed by the end of next week. This will then allow the renovation work to commence the week of April 19. Our Project Control Group (PCG) will meet on site with the builder this week to finalise the details and establish the exact start date. Further details will be available after this meeting and will be advised in next week’s pew bulletin.
THANK YOU to those who came along and assisted in the clearing of the vestry areas. This was a very big effort and was much appreciated.
Dump Vouchers: We are currently having to pay each time we go to the dump, so if you could please leave any dump vouchers you may not need in the Church office, or give to Doug or one of the Wardens - our Grounds and Maintenance team would be MOST grateful.
Volunteers Needed: We are seeking volunteers for 2 important jobs within the Parish.
(1) Church cleaning: Currently our budget allows for church cleaning every fortnight, but we anticipate that this will need to be done weekly during construction. Therefore we are hoping to assemble a small team of people who can also clean the church during this tiem. We anticipate that this will involve dusting the church and vacuuming the floors, and take approximately one hour.
(2) Linen washing: Before the COVID lockdown this was done by 2 volunteers on a monthly roster who undertook to wash the linen used in services each week. We are hoping to re-establish this now we are back to 2 services/week.
If you are able to help with either job, please let one of the Wardens know.
Recycle your bottles & cans: Don’t forget you can easily help raise valuable funds for the Parish by recycling your bottles and cans. Just bring along any eligible bottles/cans to church and leave in large black bins (with yellow lids) in North Entry, or you can take them to a recycling station and use the Church code: C10204572
Enid Moses Funeral: will NOT BE HELD at St David’s due to ongoing COVID restrictions. It will be held at Christ Church St Lucia (2 Central Avenue, St Lucia) on Thursday, April 15 at 10am. Those wishing to attend Enid’s funeral MUST contact her daughter Helen Thomas on 0411 081 464 to register to attend the funeral service as they are limited to 100 people in the church. Enid was a valued long-term parishioner and friend to many in this Parish and she will be missed by all who knew her.