This evening was a very special event in the SPACE Calendar, where we celebrated Ash Wednesday… on THURSDAY!
This was a special opportunity to pause as we begin our Lenten journey, to focus on our mortality and the God who brought us into being.

The ‘Face to Face’ service held at Ivanhoe Uniting Church included the spreading of ashes, Communion and the opportunity to reflect through art through a time of silence. 
The online service was a ‘reprise’ of the beautiful service curated with Rev Claire Dawe from Melbourne, and Rev Carol Fletcher and Sylvia Jansen from Winnipeg Canada. It was a delightful opportunity to reflect from home.

SPACE CONTEMPLATIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE

A SPACE Contemplative Community worship service, ‘A Transfiguration SPACE‘, was held on Thursday 24 February 2022 at 8pm at Ivanhoe Uniting Church and simultaneously on the Banyule Network Vimeo page.

SPACE CONTEMPLATIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE

A SPACE Contemplative Community worship service, ‘A Love SPACE‘, was held on Thursday 17 February 2022 at 8pm at Ivanhoe Uniting Church and simultaneously on the Banyule Network Vimeo page.

The SPACE Community reflected on the theme of ‘love’ in a Christian meditation service.

SPACE CONTEMPLATIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE

A SPACE Contemplative Community worship service, ‘An Upsidedown SPACE‘, was held on Thursday 10 February 2022 at 8pm at Ivanhoe Uniting Church and simultaneously on the Banyule Network Vimeo page.

An online SPACE Contemplative Community worship service, ‘A Taizé SPACE‘, was held on Thursday 3 February 2022 at 8pm to mark the 5th Sunday after Epiphany on the Banyule Network Vimeo & Banyule Network Facebook pages.

Video of SPACE Contemplative Community Service

During January 2022, the Banyule Network will be offering a number of opportunities for face-to-face and online worship.

Gathered Worship

DATE/TIMEWORSHIPVENUE
Sunday 2 January at 10amFormal Responsive WorshipIvanhoe Uniting Church
and
Gresswell Uniting Church
Sunday 9 January at 10am Formal Responsive WorshipIvanhoe Uniting Church
and
Rosanna Uniting Church
Sunday 16 January at 10amFormal Responsive WorshipIvanhoe Uniting Church
and
Gresswell Uniting Church
Sunday 23 January at 10amFormal Responsive Worship
Rev Dr Jong Soo Park’s Final Service in the Network
Rosanna Uniting Church
Sunday 30 January at 10amNetwork WorshipGresswell Uniting Church

Online Worship

DATE/TIMEWORSHIPONLINE INFORMATION
Sundays at 5pmCross Generation CatchupPlease contact Ian Gordon for Zoom link.

‘Our Creative Community’

The 2021 hope springs online Art Exhibition was launched on 22 October. The curator, Natasha Dewhirst, described the exhibition as ‘a window into the artistic and creative expressions of the hope springs community‘.

The strength and resilience of the community is clearly demonstrated through the range of artwork available. Some of the artwork has been created by members working together – including a collection of origami figures and an installation of crocheted wind spinners.

There are also many individual pieces created with paint, pens, pencils, textas, pastels, linocut prints, computer software – and even a piece of art contributed by Beau the dog! There are also poems and two members of the community performing original songs.

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of beloved community member, Lindsay Hopley, who passed away in January 2021.

The complete video of the exhibition is included below.  (Well worth watching!)

‘Our Creative Community’ 2021

Recently, some hope springs staff and volunteers came together to prepare beautiful care packages for hope springs participants who have been struggling with lockdown.

Sixty care packages were prepared, which included a greeting card, a poem on a painting (written and painted by one of our volunteers), biscuits from church volunteer bakers, a lovely cake of soap, a coffee sachet, a can of soft drink, a chocolate and a fresh mango. Some participants also received a handmade boomerang bag, very kindly donated by Watsonia Neighbourhood House.

The care packages were distributed by hope springs staff, Jon Rumble and JJ, in mid-October and they have already received many appreciative messages from recipients.

At our September Zoom Messy Church we heard one of the ‘Lost Sheep’ stories called ‘Echidnas on Everest’, which focuses on a letter from Saint Paul to the community in Colossae. In his letter, Paul talks about how the people can have good relationships with those they are in community with.

This seems pretty appropriate for lockdown, when we’re all stuck together in our homes and can become a bit ‘spiky’ with one another! Friends, brothers/sisters and parents can all annoy one another at times, but we need to stick together to work things out.

We all had fun making our spiky echidnas out of material we had to hand.