Greetings, friends, members and supporters of our church at Clevedon, Kawakawa Bay, Orere Point, Conifer Grove, Takanini, and in the southern part of Auckland – and beyond. The Peace of Christ be with you! Let us Pray Jesus, the bread of life, we give thanks today for all those things that bring us nourishment: For those times when we share a meal with friends or family, and for those moments when we feel welcomed and cared for. We give thanks for the gift of hospitality, for new friendships, and for those acts of kindness and goodness that fill our hearts with gratitude. We pray in the name of Jesus. the one who always welcomes us. Amen Bread One of the simple pleasures of travel is the discovery of the different ways that people make bread. To pass a bread shop and see great loaves coming out of the oven, or to see flat breads that have been skilfully baked over an open fire. One of my happy surprises in travelling through Mexico was to discover the abundance of bakeries. You walk into the store and are passed a large tray on which you place your selection of baked goods. You then present your tray at the counter, where your selection is tallied up and wrapped in brown paper.   (once you started, it was very hard to stop!)                                     Bread in the Bible. It is difficult to overemphasise the significance of bread in our scriptures. From bread’s association with the fundamentals of life: ‘By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ (Gen 3:19)  …through to a symbol of God’s bounty: Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. (Ex 16:4) We are reminded of the nature of God’s grace as we read the instruction to even share our bread with our enemies: If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink (Prov. 25:21) ….to the promise made by Jesus that sits at the heart of our faith: Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (Jn 6:35) Every time we celebrate communion we hear Jesus' words: ‘While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ (MT 26) So, as we look at that simple loaf of bread in the cupboard, or that not-so-simple creation from the bakery, let us always be reminded of the deep and rich associations between bread and the ancient teachings that run through the pages of our scriptures.   Let us pray God of abundance and grace, we pray for those who long for their ’daily bread.’ For those who lack even the basic necessities of life, and for those who find themselves empty, despite their wealth. You, Lord, are the One who provides nourishment for our bodies and our souls. Help us, we pray, to be generous providers of your love, to those without enough to eat, and to those who have fed themselves for too long on stories of fear or worry. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, enable us to know the abundance of your grace. In Christ’s name. AMEN   A Note of thanks from Patricia Guptill: “I became unwell during the church service on Sunday, and I would like to thank all of my friends who were kind enough to help me especially in the afternoon.  If I hadn't had people caring enough for me to come round, I would be a lot sicker than I am. I have been discharged from hospital with a pile of medication so hopefully the chest infection I have been suffering the last week will help me to recover.”     Our Notices   Important Announcement. The Parish Council is pleased to announce that Mr Tony Sangster has been appointed as our new Operations Manager. Tony begins his work with us on Monday, September 16th. Tony follows on from the 15 years of invaluable work and service provided by Greg Shaw.  For more details, please see the attachment.     Communion at Clevedon. We celebrate our quarterly Communion Service this Sunday, 10 am at Clevedon.  Please join us as we share the sacrament central to our church’s life and identity.   Sunday Serenades at St Andrew’s 8th Sept 1.30pm: - Plans, Projects and Promises Celebrating the remarkable abilities of over 80 children and youth musicians with the added attraction of young visual artists.  Puhinui School Choir, Tuakau College Choir, CAMA Youth Choir and soprano Grace McCarthy-Sinclair. Community Lunch. Thursday 5th of September. 12 noon, Clevedon Church Lounge. If you can, bring some food to share - a good time to catch up. Martin will be giving a short presentation on his recent trip to Mexico. All welcome.   Men’s Group dinner this Wednesday evening 6.30 pm at Philip and Helen Wayne’s house, 9 Hyde Road, Clevedon. We are ordering kababs from Papakura, so if you can come, please let Martin know – martin@clevedonpresy.co.nz  or call the church office on 2928061. (Please bring $14.50 to cover cost)   Cottage Café. This Friday, September 6th 10-12 noon. Join our friends at the Cottage in Kawakawa Bay for great coffee and baking. A gold coin donation is appreciated.   AGM. Our Church AGM is to be held on Tuesday, September 24, at 7 pm at the Clevedon Church. (Supper to follow!) The Reports have now been published. Please pick up your copy from the church – or if you would like yours by mail, please let Annemarie know: office@clevedonpresy.co.nz   Foodbank—The call for food parcels continues from families in need.  Thank you for your donations. Our pantry would benefit from tinned tomatoes, ricies, cornflakes, tinned tuna, pasta sauces, coffee, drinking chocolate, self-raising flour, 1kg plastic bags sugar (to foil the ants), 1kg rice, dried pasta, tinned sweetcorn, body wash, muesli bars and biscuits. Alternatively, we also like to include a Supermarket voucher in the parcels to allow people to purchase fresh items like cheese, butter, meat.   HATCH – our community dinner and church on Sunday at 5 pm.  All welcome. Please let Mathilde know if you are coming. mathilde@clevedonpresy.co.nz   Tuesday Morning Home Group. Meeting in Ardmore. Please contact Bev Sutton 0273 107 421 for directions. Tuesday Evening Ladies Bible Study meets during the school term in locations in Ardmore and Conifer Grove. 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm. If you would like to find out more, please give Geraldine Oosterbeek a call on 027-2704-904 Prayer Circle Requests. For anyone who is seeking prayer for any concern or situation: prayercircle.clevedonpresy@gmail.com or text: Cath at 021 349 417, Elaine 022 071 7201, or Nikki 021 973 799  AA - every Thursday at 7.30 pm at the Clevedon Church lounge. Friendly and supportive. For anyone with alcohol or drug problems.  https://aa.org.nz/  Sunday Services and activities: Clevedon Church Sunday morning service at 10 am. Join us in person or watch the live stream on our YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxBzxjBb3xU8ra2NHwvD_9A(The service can also be viewed at any time afterwards.) Prayer before the Service. Join us at 9:15 am every Sunday in Martin's office to pray for the church and community. The reading this Sunday is from: Ephesians 4:1-8, 11- 16  St Aidan’s Takanini (23 Walter Stevens Drive, Conifer Grove,) Sunday morning service at 10 am Playgroup - Every Monday and Tuesday morning in the school term.  Contact Brenda at 021 657 178. Wednesday Communion service 9.30 am. All welcome Women's friendship and study group Friday 10 am. Contact Lorraine Richmond at 027 476 1169 Know your Bible Women’s study group. Thursday 12.30-2.30 pm. Contact Susanna Ph. 027 450 1926 Men’s group. Thursdays at 7 pm in the St Aidan’s Church lounge. A time of sharing, fellowship, prayer and study together. Kawakawa Bay The service is held in the Community Hall each Sunday at 9.30 am.   Playgroup each Wednesday from 8 am in the Community Hall (during the school term) Thank you for your prayers and generous support of our church and its mission. Martin   Forthcoming musical events: Bach Musica orchestra and choir present Mendelssohn’s beautiful Lobgesang Sun 15 Sept with soprano Gina Sanders - Auckland Town Hall 5pm.  CVMFT Scholarships Sun 13 Oct. Applications open next week for these excellent awards in 3 age-groups across all musical disciplines.  Resources Right Now, Media. We have recently purchased a church subscription for this extensive library of video resources suitable for small groups, teaching and education. Please use this link to take a look at the library for your personal or group use: https://app.rightnowmedia.org/join/clevedonpresbyterian . We are trialling this subscription to find out how many people might benefit. If you do make use of it could you let Martin know?  (martin@clevedonpresy.co.nz)

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