Parramatters - 23rd December 2022

Hi Parramatta Salvos, 

Welcome to the last Parramatters for 2022! The corps newsletter will take a break from now until the end of January. 

We invite you to join us for our Christmas Day service at 9:30am this Sunday 25 December.  

Please extend the invitation to your friends and family. This service will also be live-streamed. 

Children are reminded to bring their favourite gift on Christmas morning to show in our special Kids Time!

We can't wait to see you!

Kylie & Sarah
(Corps Officer Team)

Building Closure/Staff Holidays
Our building will be closed from Monday 26 December until Monday 9 January. Staff will also not be available during this time as many are away on annual leave.  

The office will be open from 9 January, however, the Connect Site will not open until Monday 16 January. This means, if you need to visit Parramatta Salvos in the week of 9 January, you will need to call ahead of time. 

Empty Chair Service
Our Empty Chair Service is a chance for grieving families to acknowledge the loss of a loved one and that there will be an empty chair at their table this Christmas. Attendees will also be able to light a candle in memory of their loved one during this hour-long service at Parramatta Salvos Worship Hall. Join us tonight from 7pm-8pm (Friday 23 December).

Those who have lost loved ones this year are encouraged to attend. However, this service is open to anyone who might wish to remember and celebrate the life of a close friend or family member.

Christmas Day Offering
Each year we have the opportunity to contribute to a special Christmas Day Offering alongside Salvos across Australia. This year the project we will be giving to build 4 Borewells in Tanzania, Africa.

Where The Salvation Army works overseas, women and children may have to walk kilometres several times each day just to collect enough water to drink and wash. This takes lots of time, the water is usually dirty and contaminated, and it leads to sickness. When a borehole well is drilled near their home life becomes easier for everyone. Borewells make it easy to collect water. Women have more time, so can care for their families better and often find work outside the home; children can regularly go to school; water-borne disease is reduced; and the whole family is happier and healthier and can look forward to a brighter future with hope.

We invite you to consider your offering on Christmas Day. You can take an envelope from the foyer, or simply come prepared to give a cash offering on Christmas morning. 

New Year's Eve Party
At a loose end for New Year’s Eve? 

Services in January
Don't forget that our Sunday Services in January are going to look a little different to usual!

Firstly, on Sunday 1 January and Sunday 8 January, there will be no in-person service at Parramatta Salvos. Services on these dates will be live-streamed from 10am. 

We will return to in-person services from Sunday 15 January, again, at 10am only. 

Here is a list of service dates for your diary:
Sunday 1 January - online service only, 10am
Sunday 8 January - online service only, 10am
Sunday 15 January - in-person and online service, 10am
Sunday 22 January - in-person and online service, 10am
Sunday 29 January -  in-person and online service, 10am

Leave Kylie and Sarah
Mj Kylie, along with David and Josiah, will be on long service leave from December 26 - January 30. Please note that Kylie will not be contactable during this time, as they are heading overseas. 

Lt. Sarah will be on holidays from December 26 - January 8, and again from January 23-27. Sarah is staying in the country, so can be contacted in case of an emergency. 

As our office/corps site is closed from Boxing Day - 9 January, there is no specific caretaker at the time. For pastoral care matters, Sarah can still be contacted if needed. 

During the last week in January, the office and connect site are open, and any enquires can be direct to Karen Stewart in the office. 

Thank you volunteers
This week, we had over 50 volunteers join us on different days to assist with our Christmas Cheer project. We want to say a huge thank you for the many hours that people have given to help with this distribution. While final numbers have not been consolidated, we estimate that we have helped close to 250 family units, which equates to almost 500 people who have received toys, vouchers, food and gifts this Christmas. 

Selome - thank you
We want to say thank you to Selome Gebramariam, our Connect Site Coordinator, who concludes her role with us after 5 years. We are grateful for Selome's work and the many connections she has made with community members here in Parramatta. We wish Selome all the best for the next chapter! Selome will be back to volunteer from time to time, so if you missed saying farewell, you will get a chance to catch up with Selome in the future. We had a special lunch on Tuesday with many of our regular volunteers to celebrate Selome!

Thing to watch on TV this week!
Tomorrow morning (Christmas Eve) from 7am-10am you will see a bunch of Salvos from Parramatta, Shire and various other places on Channel 7. A group of Salvos will be riding the 'big red bus' around Sydney and will be filmed during the weather crosses throughout the morning!

Carols in the Domain will also screen on Channel 7 tomorrow evening. Tune in to see our fabulous Salvos Christmas Choir at 7:30pm.

Holidays 
Please pray a restful time for staff and volunteers at Parramatta Salvos this holiday season. We also pray for safety for those in our church community who are travelling during this time. 

Colin Eisenhuth 
Please pray for Colin as he recovers from an accident last week. We ask that you pray for healing for Colin, and also for Kate and the family as they support Colin at this time.