The Lamb of God Chronicle March 2018

The Lamb of God Community PO Box 35 054 Christchurch 8640 Phone [04] 232 2297 Mobile 021 0586 909 Email: Office.lambofgodnz@gmail.com Website: www.lambofgodcommunity.net

INDEX TO CONTENTS Reflections Page 1-2 Our People/News/Articles Page 2-5 “Challenges” Page 6 Kairos NZ News Page 7

Web Sites Page 7 Members/Info/Records Page 8 Birthdays/Anniversaries Page 8-9 National Prayer Watch Page 9-11

REFLECTIONS: Important News for MEN … It’s Not Just A Meal Let me start by sharing that in the next four weeks we will be getting out to you details regarding our first ever Lamb of God National Men’s Conference in April next year. The Conference is titled “Building the Kingdom,” and it will aim to bring together all our men throughout the country with a focus on encouraging them in their walk and getting to know each other from across the land. I am truly excited by this opportunity created by the National Council. The conference is open to every man from school leavers age and over. The conference will be held in Auckland at the Willow Park Conference Centre from 5th-7th April 2019. We will get details to you of conference times so you can make bookings that connect with the support we will have in place for out of town visitors getting to and from the venue (no easy task). I am really excited at what the Lord will do in our midst and also at seeing the joy of brothers from around the country meeting each other for the first time and sharing their faith. This month, I have been touched by some readings I have been doing about our life and also the readings of the day that I follow. One of the readings included a passage from Isaiah 58 which said: “If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (NRSV) It certainly spoke to me of my need to ensure that I do celebrate the Lord’s Day. I do try and avoid work, shopping and other activities that would compromise my honouring the

2

day. However, I am aware that I have fallen out of having the Lord’s Day Celebration as part of our household on a Saturday evening. We do welcome the Lord into the week and reflect on the blessings of the day and the week past, but it is a more simple way of welcoming in the Lord’s Day. This is an area that I am keen to reclaim. I also want to utilize this time to invite others to share with our family in the celebration, maybe not every week but with some regularity. In recent times I have heard others speak of how food is helpful in inviting others to share in our life. A number of people have shared part of their journey to the community included being invited to someone else's place for a meal. While the meal is not the full honouring of the Lord’s Day observance it certainly is a great reminder to set aside the rest of the time to honour the Lord. I cannot finish this month’s comment without acknowledging the passing of our dear sister Bev Cummins. What a witness to the power of God at work in her. We have all been touched by her faith right through to facing her death. She has brought love to many of our youth over the years and throughout the country. I will certainly miss the joy she brought to my life. Congratulations to Tony and Lisa Borkus on celebrating your Silver Wedding Anniversary this month. You are a real testament to courage and love. Finally, the South Island Camp: what a blessing to have people coming together in Hanmer Springs. Thank you, Tony Borkus and Kath Murray, for the well-organized event and for everyone’s participation in making it a great time. I got a real blessing from the enthusiasm of Chris Fredericks who so wanted to be there despite his physical challenges. Your love of life is infectious, brother; what an encouragement to us all. It was a witness to see the care and love Anita, Bill, and Jenny showed to Chris and the commitment of Steve and Judy Homes making it despite some challenges along the way. We are very blessed to be part of a wider Community family where we can be called on by Christ shining through those around us. Let’s keep each other in our prayers as we walk the journey. God bless, Mark C

OUR PEOPLE

With sadness, yet confidence in the Lord, we remember: o Bev Cummins [Christchurch], her family, and the Christchurch branch, as she passed

away recently.

Congratulations! o To Tony and Lisa Borkus [Christchurch], who recently celebrated their silver wedding

anniversary. Well done!

3

NEWS AND ARTICLES

AUCKLAND BRANCH NEWS Catholic Youth Festival: Oh, my goodness where do I begin! The Catholic Youth Festival was Amazing! Incredible! Spiritual! Because I’m a writer I can do on with the adjectives, but I’ll stop there. The Catholic Youth Festival featured workshops, fellowship and of course Grammy nominee Matt Maher. Each attendee got to attend three workshops out of the twenty-one that were on offer; I attended the Relationships, Building Community and Discernment workshops. All three workshops were outstanding regarding content. For example, the discernment workshop taught me that God could lead us to a certain decision through working with people and circumstances in our lives. One of the highlights for me was getting to meet other Catholic youth groups in New Zealand and getting to talk to new people. We rounded up the festival with the Matt Maher concert, and the atmosphere was truly electrifying. I have never been in a place filled with so many Catholics jumping, singing and fist bumping to worship music. I’d like to thank the Auckland eldership team for supporting the UCO and EJ youth in attending this festival. A big thanks go to Patrick Amaral who organized a weight loss challenge fundraiser for all of us to participate in, with the money raised going towards the cost of sending us to the festival. His support in organizing and supporting the youth is greatly appreciated by all of us. Lastly to everyone who transported us: Rohan, Karyn, Lionel, Carol, and Ashlyn thanks for putting up with the traffic to enable us to get to and from the festival. I hope that if the festival were to be held again, the Lamb of God youth gets to attend again.

Winona D’Costa

Kairos Meeting with Dave Hughes: February 16th, 2018

From the sweat on everyone’s brow it was clear that Friday the 16th was nothing short of a scorching summer’s day, but despite the heat, an amazing crowd turned up for Dave Hughes talk on “Thoughts from a Bi-vocational life.” He imparted words of wisdom to us youth in the form of 7 proverbs. As Christians, we need to try our best ‘not to partition our lives’ or act differently around different people. This truly comes to light when we compare who we are at school, university or work, to who we are with our sisters and brothers in community. We must not leave God out of our workplace or school because the fact is ‘God loves work.’ He enjoys

4

it when we can put our gifts and talents to use by ‘designing our lives’ and being part of a working community. The trick is not to be too controlling of our futures but learning to trust ‘God with our careers.’ We must understand that we need to draw a line when work pressures start building and ‘keep the tiger (the working world) in the box.’ Once let out of the cage it would seem like it is our number one priority and wreak havoc on our relationship with God. Therefore, we must handle the things of this world with a light touch. We are called to be ‘wild lovers’ of God who are willing to ‘live with abandon’ by letting go of the comforts of this world to answer His call.

Last of all, he reminded us that despite all the things running through our heads, not to overthink things. As long as we ‘love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and our neighbours as ourselves’ we will find that we are undoubtedly on the right path.

A big thank you to Dave for taking the time to prepare this talk for us. He has a gift when it comes to breaking open God’s word and delivering it in a way anyone can understand. All the youth enjoyed how he could effortlessly relate scriptures to real events in his life, making it easier for us to put the 7 Proverbs into action. At the end of the night, whether it was Dave’s jokes or the free pizza dinner, everyone left with a great feeling and a new insight on how they can live a bi-vocational life.

Cassandra D’Souza Auckland Leaders Retreat: February 17th, 2018 The Auckland Community were privileged to have Dave Hughes lead us in this Retreat and give us a talk on cisterns. A cistern, in literal terms, is a tank that holds water. Cisterns can be symbolic of our lives, how we seek to control various aspects of our lives. Dave Hughes talked about three cisterns that we try to control: the first is performance, the second is Holiness, and the third is finances. We try to control how we perform in our careers, university, families and even in Lamb of God. For me, I could really relate to the first cistern. There is pressure from society to be perfect in everything and a pressure to perform excellently in every aspect of life. We put a lot of trust in these kinds of cisterns, and they come to be the cisterns we trust in, put a lot of effort into, but ultimately will let us down because cisterns will crack and things will go awry. We actively pursue cisterns such as career success, emotional stability, perfect relationships and not God. Being knocked around comes with the territory of believing in God. If we try to control things in our life, we end up with cracked cisterns. Instead, we can choose to be in God’s river, said Dave Hughes. A thank you to Dave and Jane for sharing their time, thoughts and testimonies with us.

Winona D’Costa

5

DAVE AND JANE HUGHES VISIT THE WELLINGTON BRANCH The Wellington branch recently hosted Dave and Jane Hughes from 12 to 14 February 2018. The branch prepared a dessert fellowship on the night of the 13th. After chomping the delicious desserts, Dave and Jane shared about their family, travel, and the happenings in the Sword of the Spirit wider family. After Dave and Jane’s sharings, the evening concluded with a couple of games. On the 14th of February, the Wellington Service team met with Dave and Jane and updated them with what is going on with the branch in general and the changes with our youth.

6

CHALLENGES IN LIVING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY Resource for Reflection or House Group Discussion by Tom Caballes

Guided by the Truth of The Imminent Two-Option Eternity – March 2018

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. [Psalm 103:14-16 ESV]

Father time has a 100% success rate – all who lived on earth eventually passed away. The question we all face is when we will die, not if. Beyond the veil of the busy-ness of life - assignments, job, bills to pay, etc. – that all awaits us is eternity; either eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him. There are no other options. So, to a great degree, what we accomplish or accumulate in this life isn’t that important; we will have to give them all up. But how we conduct our lives now will determine which type of eternity we will have. Is the life we live today directed towards the fact of upcoming eternity? Are we preparing well for the inevitable? Are our priorities, our values, and our whole lives directed towards heaven? So How Do You Live Your Life with The Forthcoming Two-Option Eternity in Mind? 1. Let God be the centre of your life. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [Matthew 22:37 ESV] Putting God first means you surrender ALL that you have – including what you do with your time and money. It also means walking through the narrow road. [See Matthew 7:13-14.] Let Him be your best thought as you rise in the morning and as you lay to sleep at night. Be dead set in reaching heaven. Make God your true security and your highest joy. 2. Make your life count towards eternity. You can only do so much in a day, a week, a month, or a year – or in a lifetime. It is better to be faithful with some commitments rather than try to do everything but live a stressful and unfaithful life. Don’t do things that you will regret later. Be purposeful – make whatever you do count! Avoid pursuing things that will keep your focus from eternity. Be wise in the way you use your time, talent, energy, and money. Aim to please and glorify God in everything. Do not procrastinate – do what you can do today instead of tomorrow. Remember - you only have one short life to live. 3. Have an eternal perspective as you face difficult situations in life. Do not compromise short-term delight or pleasure for the sake of long-term [as in eternal] happiness. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [Romans 8:18 ESV] 4. Aim to grow in holiness as you put up with your sinful nature. It is like you have a stubborn and selfish child in you that needs taming and disciplining. The reality is that at times, you will fail in reaching God’s standards. But the grace of God is there for you to receive the gift of repentance. 5. Know well that it’s not only you who will face the two-option eternity – but also all your friends, family, neighbour, officemates, and everyone else. Be eager to share the gospel with them so that they can also make the right choice in which eternity they will be going to – with God or without Him. OTHER SCRIPTURE PASSAGES: 1. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. [Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV] 2. O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! [Psalms 39:4 ESV] 3. Other references: Psalm 39:1-7; Matthew 7:-13-14; and 1 Peter 1:3-9. FOR REFLECTION OR SHARING:

1. Is your life guided by the truth of imminent two-option eternity? How? 2. In what ways are you distracted from focussing your life for God? 3. When you make significant decisions in life or face trials, do you have an eternal perspective?

7

SUMMIT

Kairos New Zealand and Singles Schedule of Events - 2018

8 to 10 July 2018 Winter Oasis 2018 [for high schoolers] 31 August to 2 September 2018 Get Set 2018 [for tertiary students/young adults]

WEBSITES WORTH NOTING

KAIROS South Pacific Web Site – check it out at www.kairossp.com You can network and chat with other young people by going to this website:

http://www.kairossp.com/kairosspnzchatroom.htm We designated every Friday night at 10 pm as a time to meet other young people.

Go and visit the International Kairos Media website: http://www.kairos-media.org/

We updated our Lamb of God website– www.lambofgodcommunity.net. We also have two new domain names which point to the same website: www.lambofgod.nz and

www.lambofgodcommunity.nz. Try them!

The Sword of the Spirit website is www.swordofthespirit.net. This website is where we can know more what is happening in our communities around the globe. The Lamb of

God is a community of the Sword of the Spirit.

Sign up [free] for Youth Culture Newsletter The most recent edition of the Youth Culture Newsletter is now available online. Please visit the website below:

http://www.kairos-na.org/youthculturenewsletter.htm This link is a recommended Sword of the Spirit publication for youth and parents.

Living Bulwark Sword of the Spirit – Highly Recommended! This Sword of the Spirit online publication has received more than 43,000 visits (an average of 135 visits each day) in its first year. All back issues for the past 12 months are available at http://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/archives.htm. To view the current issue of the online magazine, go to www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/index.html.

SENDING NEWS FOR CHRONICLE PUBLICATION

Branches are encouraged to email news, photos, happenings and snippets to Tom Caballes at office.lambofgodnz@gmail.com. We close on the 20th of the previous month.

8

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT OUR RECORDS Membership Records and Data: Branch leaders are responsible for keeping updated records and then emailing all new attendee additions, deletions, address, phone changes, births, deaths, transfers, etc. to: Tom Caballes – email: office.lambofgodnz@gmail.com

BIRTHDAY INFORMATION [Day and month, but the year is optional.] Branch leaders are asked to keep updated records and email all new attendee additions to: Tom Caballes – email: office.lambofgodnz@gmail.com

GETTING CHRONICLE & OTHER NEWS BY EMAIL [1] If you are receiving The Chronicle as an electronic edition, we just need to hear if and when you change your email address. Notify Lamb_of_God@clear.net.nz. [2] If you are receiving this by hard copy but you have an email address, please send your email address to Lamb_of_God@clear.net.nz. [3] The Chronicle has a national and international mailing schedule. If you want to add an email address we can send the Chronicle, please notify office.lambofgodnz@gmail.com.

Wedding Anniversaries - Happy Anniversary!

NAMES DATE BRANCH

John & Dora Tham 03/03 Auckland

Tony & Lisa Borkus 06/03 Christchurch

Tom & Ginetta Petersen 09/03 Blenheim

Nui & Lisa O'Malley 11/03 Central

John & Kathleen Murray 16/03 Christchurch

OG & Riza Gueco 25/03 Central

Birthdays for This Month - Happy Birthday!

NAMES BIRTHDAY BRANCH

Wendell Fernandes 02/03 Auckland

Debbie Anngow 03/03 Christchurch

Kerry Fordham 03/03 Christchurch

Sheen Tungol 03/03 Central

Antacia D'Costa 05/03 Auckland

Jun Briguera 05/03 Central

Dwayne Lobo 06/03 Auckland

Terry Greig 07/03 Central

Renita Martis 08/03 Auckland

Paul James 08/03 Central

Judith Rodgers 08/03 Blenheim

Adam Lyons 09/03 Christchurch

9

Rosalie Barber 10/03 Nelson

Lisa O'Malley 10/03 Central

Lisa Borkus 11/03 Christchurch

John Murray 11/03 Christchurch

Malaika Sequeira 11/03 Christchurch

Terry Westbury 11/03 Nelson

Kaitlyn Fernandes 12/03 Auckland

Ray Muollo 12/03 Nelson

Bernard Forster 14/03 Christchurch

Gidget Mendonca 14/03 Auckland

Brian Hewer 14/03 Blenheim

Peter O'Connell 14/03 Nelson

Gareth Mendonca 15/03 Auckland

Mark Jackson 15/03 Blenheim

Christine O'Neill 15/03 Blenheim

Shalini Saldanha 19/03 Auckland

Kathleen Black 21/03 Christchurch

Sophie Lyons 22/03 Christchurch

David Ashfield 22/03 Auckland

Colleen Gorman 23/03 Ch/Ashburton

Joshua Tham 24/03 Auckland

Leslie D'Mello 24/03 Auckland

Ishaan Castelino 25/03 Auckland

Grace Challies 25/03 Christchurch

Patrick Morais 25/03 Auckland

Glory D'Mello 25/03 Auckland

Roger Foley 26/03 Christchurch

Nathan Lowe 26/03 Auckland

Rina D'Souza 27/03 Auckland

Fleur Carvalho 28/03 Auckland

Sarah O'Malley 30/03 Central

PRAYERWATCH SOLDIERS OF CHRIST, ARISE Fight the good fight. Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The Lord will carry out his purpose. Jeremiah 51: 12 NIV Many ‘State of the Nation’ addresses have been given over the past month, and it is good to look at what is happening in New Zealand as it concerns us as Christians and particular the Prayerwatch. Over the past months, many organizations have been encouraging us to make submissions on the End of Life Choice Bill and hopeful as Christians we have made our voices heard. If we have not there is still time as submissions close on the 6th of March. In recent news, the abortion law is to be changed, probably for the worse. New Zealand has a high suicide rate and the past year saw a big increase in the number dying on our roads. This year, over fifty people [one a day] have already died on our roads compared with around forty people last year. Often the roads, vehicles, speed limit or lack of police are blamed, but sadly it is often people breaking laws, making the wrong decision and not showing patience that can be to blame. Margaret and I travel to Dunedin once a

10

month for a community meeting, and occasionally we feel like turning around and going home because of what drivers are doing around us especially overtaking when it is dangerous, even once in the face of oncoming traffic. Many articles, reports, shows, programs, movies, etc. in the media encourage us into sin and life for self-glorification and doing whatever we want to no matter how it hurts anybody who crosses our path. There are so many things in today's world that look good, but when we look into their background, we find they will take us away from God our Father because of their occultic or dubious background. Many alternative health treatments, martial arts, methods of mediation and many teachings need their backgrounds checked for where they came from or who started them. Colossians 2: 8 NIV: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. We are in a spiritual battle; the lines are drawn but blurry because of what is being pushed in New Zealand by many authorities. We need to know the Bible, God’s Word, seek God in prayer in all things we do, seeking his guidance in our pastoral groups and standing in the gap of the Prayerwatch. Thankfully we have many faithful warriors, but more are needed to drive back the evil that is invading this country of New Zealand and protect the Lamb of God community and it families and members. Soldiers of Christ, Arise, and put your armour on, strong in the strength which God supplies, through His eternal Son. If you have any comments or questions concerning the Prayerwatch, then please send them to me or give them to one of your branch leaders to send to me. God bless and watch over you all.

Alan McKenzie - National Coordinator, Prayerwatch

LAMB OF GOD PRAYERWATCH - PRAYER INTENTIONS

SPIRITUAL WARFARE Against strongholds of Apathy, Witchcraft, Confusion and other named spirits. INTERCESSORY PRAYER COMMUNITIES Protect and bless the life and mission of SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, Patmos & Cornerstone Lamb of God [Fiji], Families for Christ [Melbourne], Vanuatu Group, Light of Christ [Nelson], The Covenanted Community For Christ, [Penang & Taiping],

FAMILY: Auckland: Ashlyn & Felecia Fernandes, Neville & Karyn Coutinho, Martin & Hazel Patrao, Valerie Menzies, Anora D'Costa, Teresa Soares, Central: Jun & Angie Briguera, Henri & Cutie Zalamea, Robert & Ethel Caballes, Tom & Mhel Caballes, Peter & Stephanie O’Connell; Blenheim: Mark & Mary Jackson, Mike & Cheryl Garrett, Christchurch: Roger & Veronica Foley, Robert & Karin Van Doorn, Darren & Julie

11

Humphries, Tai & De Stirling, Niul Kay, Lyn Keane, Pauline Marsden, John & Monica Haughey, Annette Sargisson, Chris & Maureen Lyons, Ian & Pārbati Hamilton, Trevor Wall, Joan Corbett, Steven & Maria Sequeira, Southern: John & Janet MacManus, Mike & Judy Prendeville,

OTHERS NEEDS: Auckland: Clifton & Anora D'Costa, Southern: Florence & Susan Quigley,

HEALING CANCER: Central: Ron Blackwell, Rosemarie Buladaco, Blenheim: Carol Cullimore, Christchurch: Mary Anngow, Robin Corbett, Trevor Wall, Southern: Christine May,

HEALING HEART: Auckland: Collin Sequeira, Maryanne Hall, Central: Paul Oliver, Blenheim: Chris Fredericks, Philip Middlemiss, David Aberhart, Christchurch: Dorelle Ham, Undine Cavanagh, Niul Kay, Andre’a Forster,

HEALING: Auckland: Winona D'Costa, Mira D'Souza, Peter D'Souza, Maria dos Anjos D'Souza, Thomas Hong, Vimath Sequeira, Alwin D’Souza, Joan Lobo, Alfred Saldanha, Shalini Saldanha, Simone D'Mello, Karyn Coutinho, Cheryl Lobo, Harry Lowe, Anthony Philippupillai, Christopher Dalgado, Olivia Fernandes, Central: Stephanie O’Connell, Jacob Muollo, Henri Zalamea, Aly Fernandes, Jojo and Ellamae Jalandoni, Cutie Zalamea, Josiah Grieg, Blenheim: Grace Weston, Mike Garrett, Anita Fredericks, Barbara Ryan, Chris Fredericks, Lily McKenzie, Christchurch: Lisa Borkus, Karin Van Doorn, Chris Aston Grieve, Veronica Foley, Siobhan Forster, Bernie Black, John Murray, Chris Lyons, Monica Haughey, Bronwyn Harborne, Pauline Marsden, Ian Hamilton, David Black, Fr John Rea, Joan Corbett, Southern: Fr Merv McGettigan, Daniel MacManus, Steven & Judy Homes & Family, Rhoda Woodfield, Alan McKenzie, Judy Prendeville, Richard May, Others: Julianne Masilomani, John Keating,

BEREAVEMENT: Auckland: Dorothy & George Fernandez, Christchurch: Monica & John Haughey, Family of Beverley Cummins and Christchurch branch,

COVERING PRAYER National Council, Kairos Ministries, Branch Life, Lamb of God Centre, Branch Visits, Clustering in Auckland, Ministry of Fr John Rea, Employment of Members, Light of Christ Special Ministry, Wellington branch [sickness among extended family], and the Ashburton Group in Christchurch.

“I have made you a Watchman” Ezekiel 33: 7