Parramatters - 24th September 2021

Dominating quad singles tennis for much of the last decade, Australian Dylan Alcott won the US Open quad singles this month. This victory completed his winning streak, giving him the first men's "Golden Slam" in tennis history. Every year, tennis players have the opportunity to achieve a "Grand Slam" by winning all four majors: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. But every four years (five in this case) athletes have the opportunity to achieve a "Golden Slam". That means winning all four majors and the Olympics. It's only ever been achieved once before, by Steffi Graf in 1988. No man had ever completed a Golden Slam until our boy, Dylan Alcott, brought it home this year.

If you were anywhere near social media when Alcott won the Golden Slam, you will have seen thousands of people posting about Dylan and referring to him as “The GOAT”. This name, given to exceptional athletes at the top of their game is an acronym. It stands for the “Greatest of All Time”. The best ever. The game changers. The greatest of all time. Dylan Alcott has been labelled The GOAT of wheelchair tennis, and this honour will likely stick with him for life.

While this name is most often attributed to athletes, it can really refer to anyone who is top of their field. Someone whose legacy will live on because they truly were phenomenal. The focus of our series that begins this week is on someone else who really was exceptional. Someone who changed the game. Who wasn’t just skilled or hardworking, but was truly something else. Of course, this next four weeks as we talk about the greatest of all time, we are talking about Jesus. God in human form who was and is the greatest teacher, the greatest healer, the greatest servant, the greatest giver. Jesus, the greatest of all time.

We hope that you’ll join us over the next four weeks as we learn from the greatest, Jesus, and are reminded of how his example paves the way for us as his disciples. We can’t wait to interact with you at 9:30am online each Sunday.

Kylie & Sarah
(Corps Officer Team)

Don't forget that everyone is welcome to join for morning tea today following our service.

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/93119848636?pwd=WXJMdDRpMk5HUnFNWnBKdXA4RFNZQT09

Meeting ID: 931 1984 8636
Passcode: 066848

Prayer Meeting
Our Zoom prayer meetings have been a fantastic time of community, reflection and of course, prayer. All are welcome to join us this coming Wednesday night from 7pm-8pm. Everyone is invited to join, reflect and pray together.

Here is the Zoom link for this coming Wednesday September 29: 
https://zoom.us/j/97564855033?pwd=R2FtWUZ2VmkrZ1BsL1RIcmFkY3JSUT09

Meeting ID: 975 6485 5033
Passcode: 908987

Flourish - Register Now!
Women of all ages are invited to join us for Flourish [online] on Saturday 9 October from 4pm-5pm. We'll be joined by our special guest Commissioner Janine Donaldson for a great afternoon of fun and encouragement!

Register online at: https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/parramatta/events/2021/10/09/flourish-online/

Zoom Talent Show
We had a fantastic time last Friday night online for our Zoom Talent Show! Thanks to our fabulous hosts, Jayne and Margie, and all those who entered an item. It was great to enjoy some great talents and share in a whole lot of laughter!

Happy Birthday!
Join us in celebrating Kerrie Parker who turns 70 today! Happy Birthday, Kerrie!

Giving Update
Thank you to everyone who has been continuing to give generously online during this period of lockdown. If you are unable to give electronically, we encourage you to put aside your tithe each week and bring it with you when we return to in-person worship. 

This year we had scheduled a 'planned-giving renewal' series, however, due to lockdown, we will be postponing until early 2022. We know that for those who give via envelopes, they will soon run out. We will be ordering more to last 6 months, however, we would love to know if you no longer require envelopes. If you have recently transferred to online giving and do not wish to receive more envelopes, please email Margaret Robinson at margrobbo@iinet.net.au

Similarly, if you do not contribute to giving regularly at Parramatta Corps and would like to do so, feel free to get in contact with Margaret, Mj. Kylie or Lt. Sarah. Below are our banking details if you would like to give online or via direct debit.

Account Name: The Salvation Army, Parramatta
BSB: 032078
Account Number: 0810288
Please identify your contribution in the transfer narration.

Spring Wellbeing Challenge
You are invited to take part in our Spring Wellbeing Challenge! We know that many of you have been keeping your 'body, mind & spirit' well during lockdown, and we'd love to see how! If you have been gardening, exercising, puzzling or getting creative, we invite you to send pictures of the various activities you've been doing to stay well in body, mind & spirit.

During the month of September, send your images to sarah.walker@salvationarmy.org.au and we will include them in Parramatters each week so we can see what everyone has been up to! 

Below are some photos from this week:
1. Josh, Hamish and Arden Mann: The Mann boys enjoying their daily bike ride.
2. Johnnie Kwong: Johnnie doing some home improvements during lockdown.
3. Len Cross: I love playing dress ups and getting outdoors with my baby girl. It gives me so much joy.
4. Genelle Cross: I've been doing some Bible journaling and scrapbooking.
5. John and Kerrie Acocks: Jigsaws because we can't go to the beach and spending time with grandsons on a Zoom challenge afternoon.
6. Bing Bing Tan: Taking care of the gardens during lockdown.

Health Concerns
Please continue to pray for Ken Drysdale, Kim Entwistle, Barbara Browning, Lionel Stowe and Fred Fouracre as they recover from various health concerns this week. 

We also pray for our friend John Godkin and his family after a very scary week with great-granddaughter, Halle. Halle was taken to hospital this week where a brain bleed was found. Successful surgery removed an AVM, which is a group of abnormal blood vessels that she was born with. The road to recovery now will be long, but we are praising God for answered prayer and a successful surgery. Please pray for Halle in her recovery, along with her parents Bethany and Tim Girling and Xavier Steep, and the wider family at this incredibly difficult time.

Praying through our Corps Directory
Each week we pray for people with surnames beginning with 3 letters of the alphabet. This week we pray for surnames D-F and we invite you to be praying for these people in your quiet time this week.