COMING AND GOING
Dear Friends,
A Today we welcome back to St Thomas’ (at 8am and 10am) Dr. William Philip from Glasgow Scotland.
William is the Senior Minister at the Tron church – the name comes from the weighing station nearby I think – which has had to leave its central and restored position in the city of Glasgow and move to a new venue because of its faithful stand on scripture. Like many churches today the Tron has been evicted for adherence to scripture on marriage.
William is a cardiologist by background but now twenty years in the ministry and the Tron provides leadership for the church in Scotland on a great scale. The Scottish Cornhill alone has staff and many students who have now spread widely in gospel work. William is married to Rebecca and they have two daughters Joanne and Juliet. It is a real pleasure to have him visit today.
A new book by William is called “Aspects of Love” looking at relationships – for singles, engaged, married and parenting people. I was privileged to be sent a draft and wrote that it provides “relative sanity in a world of lunacy”. It is very comforting to read something from a man who understands scripture and people on how the Lord intends relationships to work. It’s very searching to read something that is so incisive on sin in relationships and what the Lord by His grace can achieve in our lives.
The book is so helpful that I suggested to William it should have questions at the back for individuals or small groups to tackle together. He invited me to send questions for the book and (with deep humility as always) I recommend you get the book to read and study in groups. We hope to have 20-25 copies on the bookstall today- the first in Australia.
B Tonight at 5pm we will baptise Chase and Amy Kuhn’s three children – Olive, Ezra and Penny. In a week or two Chase and Amy will head to Oxford for his study leave until
Dec-Jan.
C Please pray for the nominators choosing a new rector – the Lord has provided a Preschool Director (Julie Irving) so we must ask Him for a new Rector.
Simon Manchester
SOME NEWS FROM MIKE AND CAROLINE CLARK
You have multiplied, o Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told
– PSALM 40:5
Gruess Gott! As most of you remember, Caroline and I had the enormous privilege of serving as CMS missionaries in Munich, Germany, for six years from 2012. We went because God had made us aware of the deep spiritual needs of German-speaking Europe today and opened up an opportunity to establish a Bible College for Bavaria’s 13 million inhabitants (who previously didn’t have one). And so it was that the Martin Bucer Seminar (MBS), Munich, was born, which seeks to raise up and train preachers and pastors who would proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and the light and life he brings to those in darkness. During our time in Germany, we saw:
- MBS grow and prosper from the two students we began with to the more than 40 who are presently enrolled in the Bachelors or Masters programs. The center is now the largest college in the MBS network, and regularly hosts various regional conferences for the wider Christian community.
- Our informal mentoring of students in and around Munich develop into an MTS-style school of ministry for 6 or so trainees.
- Our local church suddenly and dramatically transformed from the cold, cliquey and largely Gospel-free place it was when we arrived into a community of saints who love the preaching of God’s word and are hungry for training in reaching out with God’s grace to those around about them.
- The establishment of an annual young preachers’ conference for Germany. (perhaps best of all) the Lord gather together a group of around 30 Afghan and Iranian refugees from Muslim backgrounds to Himself, who have taken up their cross and followed Him despite unbelievable challenges.
These things are glorious! And it was a great privilege for us both to be part of them and to represent you in God’s great mission to the nations. Thanks again to all of you who regularly prayed for these things!
Thanks to the kindness of Simon and the wardens who have agreed to give us two weeks ministry leave together with a couple of weeks of annual leave, we will be returning to Germany for a month from the 26th of June. I will be giving six lectures on Hebrews at MBS, running a number of seminars at church and preaching to my old refugee group. But the main reason we are going is to connect with old friends and ministry partners. Would you please pray for a fruitful and encouraging visit and for safety, rest and a good time away for us as a family?
In His grace,
Mike and Caroline Clark
p.s. After the success of the last one, the second annual Dad’s Kids’ Weekend Away is coming up on October 11th-13th in magnificent Kangaroo Valley. Please save the date: More details to follow soon.