Maitland Women’s Guild Fellowship Afternoon
The Maitland Women’s Guild Fellowship Afternoon was held recently, on Wednesday, 2nd June, 2021. The theme for the day was taken from 2 Timothy 1:6 – “Stir up the gift of God”. To keep with the theme, crosses were made for a take home gift using a coffee sachet and a wooden spoon which displayed the bible text, and cafe vouchers were used as door prizes and thank you gifts.
Guest Speaker Chrissie Eglinton gave a captivating and heartfelt talk on her mission work with rescue children in Kenya, Africa. Chrissie spoke of her personal encounters and what it takes to run such a facility where children are brought to the centre, mostly from social services, for safety, nurture and schooling in a Christian environment, with the anticipation of a positive outcome. The centre works together with others so these children can be reunited with family members, and when it’s time to go out into the community they have the knowledge and skills needed as they grow up and endeavour to find work and start a family of their own. Not all stories have a happy ending, but knowing the children were given the best opportunity helps to keep going. Chrissie explained how she felt God was calling her to embark on this adventure and journey of mission and that she would need to stir up the gift of God as she made that decision over 20 years ago.
As the afternoon continued with a surprise visit from the Maitland Lutheran School, where some students accompanied by a few music teachers performed two songs from the up and coming school musical “Ye-Ha!” This was enjoyable and very entertaining and showcased the talent of the singers and musicians.
Pastor Steve Hibbard followed with the devotion based on the theme text, 2 Timothy 1:6, and spoke about the Western World, Australia and our local community which complemented Chrissie’s talk. The devotion included interesting facts on research that showed the struggles and challenges faced in mission within the Western World. God will place us before people and provide us with the opportunities to bring His love and peace to those around us. We pray that God will give us the courage and strength to face challenges and use our gifts to be a blessing to others. We go forward in the sure hope that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and Redeemer.
An enjoyable time of fellowship was had by all who attended.
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