The Christian Festival of Easter is a celebration of the triumph of Good over Evil, Life over Death, Light over Darkness. As a reminder of this we have symbols like candles and eggs or bunnies. In the Northern Hemisphere the message is reinforced by Easter occurring in Springtime when new life breaks out after the desolation of Winter.

As we look around the world today, through the immediacy of TV, mobile phones and Internet we cannot escape the realisation that there is still a lot of evil about. Suicide bombers, the oppression of vulnerable groups, starvation and disease, the oppressive business practices of large mono­polies, inhumane treatment of animals, the degradation of the environment are a random selection.

It will be very sad if our observance of Easter is trivialised by being restricted to the consumption of hot cross buns and chocolate in various forms together with the enjoyment of an extra long weekend.

The whole World is waiting for New Life to lift it out the darkness of death, desolation and despair which increasingly casts a shadow over this global village in which we live.

Can we, each and every one of us, this Easter, turn our lives to what is Good—Good for our own health and well-being—Good for the well-being of our families and the Community in which we live—Good for our Nation and the International Community—Good for this World in which we live?

Let there be Light and Life for All!
Alex.

Now Alex has brought it to our attention I thought I'de better have a look in and see what he has done.

Thanks Alex

God Bless your Ministry

Hi everyone

I thought I would give this a go since Alex went to so much trouble as to provide all the COM members with a sheet of instructions.

I thought the COM meeting last night was very positive and it was so good to feel the 'passion' in the room as members discussed ways in which we could reach out to the community.

It would be great if congregations could brainstorm some ways that we may be able to do this whether it be by way of an annual event, a new program or whatever.  The fact that people were talking and brainstorming at the meeting last night means that there is a desire and a passion to continue to work together and to involve the wider community.

Thanks Alex for all you do with this website - you are fantastic!

Isabel.

We welcome back to school all teachers and students after the Summer break.  Education is vitally important for all our young people if they are to have a quality of life which is satisfying and rewarding.

However, we know that many of them find obstacles to the fulfilment of their dreams which can lead to a waste of their talents as well as frustration and even destructive behaviour which can be hurtful to themselves as well as others.

In these circumstances we hope that they will seek help from teachers or other support persons to try and find a way through their difficulties.

In particular we would recommend the ministry of the Christian Pastoral Support Workers in our schools in Seaford: Tash, Steve and Elise.  With the support of the local Churches they are there to help students when problems arrive and offer them understanding and support.

This important ministry deserves the strong support of the wider community and we pray for them as they begin a new year.

Hullo people

I find your web site and Mission interesting as I grew up Uniting but am now Catholic.

I wonder if this Seaford Ecumenical Mission is unique in Australia.

As I live in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide I am thinking to one day come down and attend Mass at the Mission and see what it is like. I am curious to know how it works.

Have a nice day

Anthony

At the moment I am responsible for looking after this website and am only too well aware that it could include a lot more information about SEM and a number of other features which might be helpful to those who visit the site.

So that any new features will be useful I would like to hear from visitors to the site about what you think would be worth developing.

Would you like more information about SEM programmes, recordings of sermons, study guides about the Christian faith, introductions to the Sunday readings or activites for children?

Or perhaps you would be interested in comments on current affairs from a Christian perspective or for an opportunity to raise your own questions.

Please use this forum to share your ideas with me so that I can try to develop this website in a useful way.

The challenge for us today as we celebrate the birthday of Jesus is whether we have room in our hearts and in our lives for him or whether he must remain homeless as far as we are concerned.

There is even a question whether there is still room for Jesus in our celebration of Christmas. One of the commentators writing about John the Baptist and his call to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah has even suggested that we have much to repent for in the way in which we celebrate Jesus' birth.

Certainly, if what you see in the shops and in the media is any guide there is very little mention of Jesus in the contemporary celebration of Christmas.  We might also ask how far is our own celebration centred upon Jesus the Messiah.

Are we too busy to recognise who Jesus is and say “no room” or do we take him in - into our worship and into loving hearts.

Please feel free to add your comments or to raise a question which is important to you.

In 1809 a Presbyterian minister from Ireland who was ministering in Pennsylvania at the time, Thomas Campbell, produced a document known as \"Declaration and Address\" in which he saw the divisions in the Christian Church as a sin which impeded the proclamation of the Gospel. He called for Christian Unity based on the New Testament, setting aside human traditions.

This was the beginning of the \"Restoration Movement\" of which the \"Disciples of Christ\" and the \"Churches of Christ\" are a part.

Two hundred years later Christians are still divided and the proclamation of the Gospel is weakened. Pray for Christian Unity.

I know that all the members of the SEM community have been very appreciative of the many different ways in which Sr Bernie has been involved in the life of SEM and will miss her greatly. However we do wish her well and pray for her as she begins her new ministry in Queensland.

I\'ve just explored the renewed website and congratulate you, Alex, on the excellent material and presentation.
Well done!
Bernie

It has been very exciting to work on this new website. I hope that you find it helpful and I would like to hear from you about how it should be developed.