PERTH: CHURCH PICNIC
Dr Douglas Winnail and Mr and Mrs Tyler were special guests at a bbq/picnic in Perth on Monday, March 3. The activity was organised on the Labour Day public holiday in Western Australia. Everyone enjoyed a relaxing lunch and much fellowship. As many members had not met Dr Winnail previously, they all appreciated the opportunity to meet and talk with him before he continued his travels to South Africa. -Jenny Edwards
SYDNEY: MR HEMPHILL'S FAREWELL
After years of devoted service, Sydney Pastor, Mr Graeme Hemphill bade farewell to the Canberra and Sydney congregations, marking the end of an era. On the beautifully warm Sabbath of March 1, brethren enjoyed a delicious, shared meal and joyful conversations prior to services in the picturesque Southern Highland town of Mittagong, New South Wales. At the conclusion of the church service, a presentation was made to the outgoing pastor Mr Hemphill by new Sydney Pastor, Mr Edward Lever. All the brethren joined him in thanking Mr Hemphill for the past 16 years of dedication to the various congregations he has pastored. Although brethren were sad to see him go, they were equally joyful that he has the opportunity to continue serving God’s people in his new role ministering to the Auckland congregation. -Greg Watt
ADELAIDE: CHURCH ACTIVITY
On Sunday, January 26, members of the Adelaide congregation visited Carrick Hill, the culturally historic estate on the eastern outskirts of the city. Built in 1939, this regal estate is full of exquisite paintings, sculptures and tapestries all collected by the original owners. We were taken on a guided tour, with each room brought to life with colourful stories of lives lived in style and opulence. Afterwards, we gathered at a nearby Italian restaurant for more hearty fellowship over lunch, which was the perfect way to cap off a thoroughly enjoyable morning. -Warren Burnett
ADELAIDE TWP
Once again Adelaide hosted two powerfully delivered Tomorrow’s World Presentations at the Holdfast Bay Community Centre in March. The first, titled “Ukraine and Russia in Prophecy”, was presented by Regional Director and Evangelist, Mr Robert Tyler. It was attentively received by 30 guests and 44 Church members. Many guests remained after the presentation, keen to ask questions and to enjoy the refreshments provided.
The second presentation titled “The Four Horsemen: Myth or Soon-Coming Reality?” was given the following Sabbath by Adelaide Assistant Pastor, Mr Martin Montgomery to 16 guests and 44 members. Eleven returned from the first presentation and there were five first-time attendees. Once again, the audience was captivated as God’s truth was delivered with clarity and authority. A regular comment received after each presentation was, “How refreshing to hear explanations of troubling world events being shown in Scripture and not just in man’s opinion.” -Warren Burnett
SYDNEY: MR WYATT CIESIELKA VISIT
The Sydney brethren were blessed when Mr Wyatt Ciesielka and his wife visited Sydney to spend the Sabbath with us. Mr Ciesielka gave the sermon titled “Christ – The Stone of Israel”. He discussed the fulfillment of prophecy in relation to the sceptre promises and how King Charles III is of the house of Judah, a descendant of King David, ruling over Ephraim today.
Mr and Mrs Ciesielka enjoyed fellowshipping with the brethren which was best summed up when he wrote:
“Just a quick thank you to you and the brethren for your warm hospitality. We enjoyed our visit with the Sydney congregation, very much. They are a friendly group.”
The week before spending the Sabbath in Sydney, Mr Ciesielka and his wife also visited the Church office in Clarendon. -Ed Lever
ADELADIE: ITALIAN THEMED DINNER
Adelaide brethren welcomed Dr Douglas Winnail with a big, hearty ‘Ciao’, at a specially organised Italian-themed dinner. The carbs were flowing and taste buds were tingling, with several ladies preparing their own special lasagne recipes to share. A big thank you to local elder Mr Warren Burnett and his wife Mary who coordinated the evening, which ran seamlessly. The whole event had a wonderful, festive atmosphere and brethren fellowshipped for hours until it was time to say ‘Buonanotte’ and ‘Arrivederci’. – Troy Kearns
ADELADIE: MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
A
ustralian and New Zealand ministers gathered at the Australasian regional office in Clarendon for the Trans-Tasman Ministerial Conference on February 27 and 28.The Director of Church Administration, Dr Douglas Winnail, was the keynote speaker. He gave two lectures during the conference discussing a number of issues that our end-time ministry is facing and how those in the ministry can best navigate through it. He highlighted the importance of cultivating God’s culture within congregations and fostering unity with God’s people.The conference was a great success this year for many reasons. The ministry received important ministerial training through lectures given by Dr Winnail to help them best serve God’s people. We heard some encouraging regional updates given by the pastors and leaders in the region, and were able to come together to further build a cohesive team spirit as we face more difficult days prior to Christ’s return. The unified spirit and comradery among the Australian and New Zealand ministry was encouraging to see and to experience. We can be very thankful to God for the dedicated men that He has placed in this region to serve His people. – Tony Leman
AUSTRALIA MAIL PROCESSING DEPARTMENT REPORT
In 2024, the Living Church of God Australasian Office experienced a significant increase in the Work of God being spread around the region. This increase stretched from “down under” in Australia all the way to the snowy region of Kathmandu, Nepal and the tiny island nation, Nauru. While literature requests from Facebook Ads reached an all-time high in 2024 with a 50% increase, TV responses from our two Australian channels, 7TWO and 9GEM, gave a 14.6% increase compared to 2023.
We also had an encouraging 34% increase in new subscribers from TV in 2024 compared to 2023. The number of responses received through the Tomorrow’s World website has also seen an encouraging trend upwards. We had a 26% increase in internet responses to our literature in 2024.
The Clarendon Office and other Australasian mailing offices mailed out 114,308 individual pieces of our church literature in 2024. This included sending Lessons 1-4 of the Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course to 1,739 new recipients in Australia. We have also mailed out 1,300 Semi-Annual responses for the new booklet, The Truth About the Rapture, in Australia – a 13% response to the offer from our Presiding Evangelist Mr Gerald Weston. We thank God for the growth of His Work in the Australasian Region and continue to work towards an even greater increase in 2025.
– Timothy Mager
PERTH: FEAST MEMORIES EVENING
After services on December 7, 2024, the Perth congregation enjoyed a meal and an evening of fellowship. The meal was followed by a presentation of photos from four Feast sites – Busselton, WA, Glenelg, SA, Forster, NSW and Prince Albert Park in Canada.
The photos covered a variety of activities and even a variety of animals from elk to kangaroos and whales. This activity gave us all an opportunity to appreciate the different Feast sites. – Jenny Edwards
SYDNEY: FEAST MEMORIES EVENING
On Saturday evening, November 30, 2024, the Sydney brethren enjoyed extended Sabbath fellowship over dinner and an evening of sharing our feast experiences. This activity has become an annual event within the Sydney congregation. We had videos and photos from four Feast sites in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Malaysia and Australia. The speakers performed a great job of enthusiastically relating their Feast experiences. It was also educational in sharing the cultural aspects of the different countries where the Feast was held. Mr Watt did a great job of preparing the presentation via his computer. We now look forward to Feast 2025 and the opportunity to once again share our festival experiences. – Graeme Hemphill
WAGGA WAGGA BIBLE STUDY
After a successful TW Bible Study in November, our first Sabbath Service took place in Wagga Wagga in regional NSW on December 14, 2024, with a total of 10 people in attendance. There was a real sense of anticipation and a joyful atmosphere as our minister, Mr Graeme Hemphill, three new people, two local members and four Church members from other congregations met in the CWA Hall to observe God’s Sabbath together.
During the service, Mr Hemphill drew our attention to page 43 of Dr Meredith’s autobiography where he wrote about how he established a new congregation in San Diego in the early 1950s. The first Sabbath Service there took place with 12 attendees which included himself, seven locals and four Ambassador College students. A very encouraging sermonette was given by Mr Ashley Stapleton. He spoke about the metamorphosis of a butterfly, and how God uses the struggles in our lives to build our spiritual strength so that we may learn to fully trust in Him and be transformed. Mr Hemphill’s sermon titled “Do You See Your Calling?” admonished us to be prepared to deny the self, to take up our cross daily and to follow Christ, allowing Him to lead us. He concluded by inspiring the brethren to be dedicated to their calling and the Work, to maintain a sense of urgency and to look forward to the magnificent future ahead of us.
After services, we all enjoyed light refreshments and truly wonderful fellowship. What a blessing it was to meet new people and to see this hope of establishing a new congregation becoming a reality! – Lisa Ogle
Melbourne Fellowship Weekend 2024
The vibrant suburb of Ringwood in Melbourne’s east was the setting for the 2024 Melbourne Fellowship Weekend. The event, which took place over the King’s Birthday long weekend of June 7-10, was enjoyed by the local Melbourne congregation, as well as more than 30 interstate guests and even 2 overseas members from New Zealand. The weekend was attended by guest minister Mr Martin Montgomery and minister-in-training Mr Warren Burnett and was themed “Philadelphian Unity”.
The weekend began with a Bible Study and Soup Night on Friday evening. A selection of homemade soups and bread was enjoyed by brethren before the commencement of the Bible Study, given by Melbourne Pastor Mr Adam Jennings.
Brethren arrived back at the hall the following day for Sabbath services. Mr Jennings gave the sermonette on God’s perspective on Philadelphian unity, while Mr Montgomery spoke about various aspects of our carnality that can negatively impact our Philadelphian unity with each other. Afternoon tea involved cheese tasting followed by a catered spit-roast dinner, which included a variety of meats, vegetables and salads. At the completion of the meal, brethren were able to enjoy a fun game of Bible Celebrity Heads.
The next morning, there were two separate lectures continuing on the theme, “Philadelphian Unity”, delivered by Melbourne Elder Mr Zig Svalbe and Mr Burnett. After being well fed spiritually, brethren filled up on delicious sandwiches before embarking on a selection of afternoon activities. Some brethren chose a guided Yarra River cruise. The youth and the young at heart embraced the Melbourne winter and took part in ice skating at O’Brien Icehouse at the Docklands, while others took the option of a relaxed walk in the Fitzroy Gardens.
After returning to the hall that evening brethren enjoyed a fun-filled Loaded Spuds and Games Night. Several minute-to-win-it style games were set up, as well as a table tennis and air hockey tournament and prizes were on offer for the winners of each game.
Monday, the final day of the Fellowship Weekend,
was centred in the hustle and bustle of Melbourne’s CBD. A farewell lunch at one of the oldest licensed pubs, The Mitre Tavern, brought the weekend to a close.
The weekend was a huge success with many opportunities to fellowship and embrace the theme of Philadelphian Unity. It felt like brethren were fully adopting God’s instruction to us through Paul, “that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.” (1 Corinthians 1:10) – Troy Kearns
Brisbane: Mount Coot-Tha Summit Hike
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, fifteen keen members of the Brisbane congregation set off on a refreshing morning walk up to the Mount Coot-Tha Summit. Our path took us from the JC Slaughter Falls, through a small rock pool, up stairs and inclines to the Summit lookout and back, making for a 5km round trip which took about an hour to complete. Although it was an unusually warm day, the group was buzzing with happy conversation and a beautiful family atmosphere. Our energetic little ones helped each other and everyone enjoyed the lush sights and sounds of the area. After the mildly challenging hike, the group met up with some others at the Botanic Gardens Café to rest ourselves and share a wholesome brunch and warm fellowship. – Dakota-Rae Burnett
Perth: Italian Dinner Evening
After the Sabbath on June 8, 2024, the Perth congregation enjoyed fun and fellowship with an Italian themed dinner. Sitting at tables decked with red and white checkered tablecloths, Italian music playing in the background and dining on authentic Italian dishes prepared by the ladies, everyone had a very enjoyable evening. Thanks go to Mr and Mrs Chris Pressler for organising a very successful activity. – Jenny Edwards
Melbourne: International Dinner & Quiz
Members of the Melbourne congregation stayed after services on August 24, 2024, to take part in an international themed buffet dinner and quiz night. Brethren were treated to a diverse array of authentic dishes from around the world that were pre-prepared by members from their home culture. After savouring dinner and dessert, brethren tested their knowledge on fun and challenging international trivia questions. It was a memorable evening that provided the perfect opportunity for extra fellowship. – Troy Kearns
Baptisms:
Mrs Denise Maddicks made the big step and was baptised by Melbourne Pastor Mr Adam Jennings on May 17, 2024 in a beautiful setting at the Maddicks home. Following her baptism, Mr Jennings and Elder Zig Svalbe laid hands on her. A small number of guests witnessed the important commitment she made in her life. We heartily welcome Denise into the family of God.
July 21, 2024 was a very important day for Mrs Vicki Evagora of the Melbourne congregation. Elder Zig Svalbe baptised her at her home and hands were laid on by Melbourne Pastor Adam Jennings and Elder Zig Svalbe. Witnessed by a small number of friends and family, we celebrated the joyful location with a well prepared meal and heartfelt fellowship.
On July 22, a small group gathered in Brisbane to witness the baptism of Ms Kim Khatri into the family of God. Brisbane Pastors Anthony Mew and Dayrell
Tanner laid hands on Ms Khatri. Despite the chilly weather and cool water, those present were warmed with joy to be part of such a special occasion.
Ms Delma McKenzie was baptised on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, by Perth Pastor Mr David Edwards. The baptism was performed in the calm waters of a sheltered cove near the Port Geographe Marina. After the baptism Mr and Mrs Edwards and Ms McKenzie enjoyed a celebratory lunch. Ms McKenzie is the only Church member in Busselton.
Adelaide: Tomorrow's World Presentation
Two very powerfully delivered Tomorrow’s World Presentations were conducted at the Glenelg North Community Centre, Adelaide during the month of April. The first, on April 6, titled “Signs Announcing Christ’s Return” was presented by Australasian Regional Director and Evangelist, Mr Robert Tyler. It was attentively received by 49 guests and 32 Church members. Many guests stayed back after the presentation to enjoy refreshments and the members eagerly mingled to make them feel welcome and answer any questions they may have had. A few guests remained to attend afternoon Sabbath Services.
The second presentation titled “Who or What is the Antichrist?” was given the following Sabbath on April 13 by Adelaide Assistant Pastor, Mr Martin Montgomery to 33 guests. Twenty-four were returning from the first presentation and nine first-time attendees. Once again, the audience was “all ears” as God’s truth was delivered with boldness, authority and clarity. It was obvious from the comments given by the guests afterwards, that prophecy is certainly being revealed in the Scriptures and is plainly seen through the unfolding of world events. Six guests attended Sabbath services again that week, which was greatly encouraging for us all.
The Tomorrow’s World Presentations have proven to be a very tangible way in which the members of God’s Church can participate firsthand in the Work of God and to see the impact that it is having in the lives of our subscribers. – Warren Burnett
Adelaide: Maritime Museum Activity
Sunday, March 17, 2024, saw 22 landlubbers from the Adelaide congregation embarking on a historical voyage at the Maritime Museum situated in Port Adelaide. Interesting facts of the Port’s history were brought to life with a guided tour, displays of ships, berths, galleys, artifacts, written and video accounts of real-life experiences on the sea. The salt air induced a hearty appetite which was satisfied at the nearby Lighthouse Wharf Hotel. Thank you to everyone for participating with courtesy, lively conversation and laughter for the enjoyment of all. – Mary Burnett
Adelaide: Indian Dinner Evening
On the evening of April 28, 2024, several Adelaide brethren enjoyed a delicious meal at the Raj on Taj Indian restaurant. While the restaurant was very busy, we were able to book our tables ahead of time, giving us a private room, allowing privacy from the other diners. We had two visitors – one from Brisbane and one from the United States – who we were excited to catch up with and get to know. Coming together for a meal and fellowship, was a wonderful way to end God’s Sabbath day. – Joshua Jamieson
Tasmania: Tomorrow's World Presentation
The Tomorrow’s World Presentation held in Devonport, Tasmania on February 24, 2024, was quite successful. Mr Martin Montgomery presented the topic “Prophetic Signs of Christ’s Return”, and reported that 45 guests attended the presentation from 262 invitations sent out. That was an excellent response rate of 17.2 percent! Some people travelled as much as two and a half hours to attend. One guest attended because she had previously read the Tomorrow’s World magazine in a waiting room and happened to recognize the banner outside the presentation room.
The follow-up presentation by Mr Zig Svalbe, which was titled, “The Beast Power is Rising”, drew 29 repeat guests and two new guests. As a result, a
strong witness was given to many people living in Tasmania. – Zig Svalbe
Melbourne: Church BBQ Activity
It was a cool Monday morning described as “a sad and sorry day that was supposed to be summer”; but this miserable weather did not deter 25 members of the Melbourne congregation. Gathering at the home of our minister, Mr Adam Jennings, for a relaxing, warm, bonding lunch and afternoon together, we were removed from societies’ festivities on December 25, 2023.
Mr Jennings cooked the meat on his barbecue in the covered outdoor patio where some men ‘supervised’ the cook, while the youth were inside talking and playing together. The women prepared and dished up the potluck meal while most of us sat and chatted in the open dining/rumpus room. We all greatly appreciated the abundance of food, drinks and the bonding
fellowship of the whole afternoon. Thanks to the Jennings for opening their house and hosting a fine afternoon. – Michael Alter
Sydney / Canberra: Combined Services
March 2, 2024, was a much-anticipated combined service between the Sydney and Canberra congregations. Mittagong Community Centre was the chosen venue which had been a great success on previous occasions. Mittagong also has the advantage of being approximately midway between Sydney and Canberra. The venue opened at 9:30am with all of the Sydney congregation in attendance. Considering some had travelled over three hours, it was a very positive start.
Sydney Elder Ed Lever started services at 11am with a Bible Study discussing “the Power of The Holy Spirit and the Godhead”. We then paused for a sumptuous cold dish lunch that had been prepared by our hardworking and dedicated ladies, overseen by Corry Watt.
Afternoon services followed with Mr Michael Gill, Pastor of the Canberra congregation, giving the sermonette on the importance of “Praying for Our Leaders”. Mr Graeme Hemphill, Pastor of the Sydney congregation, gave the sermon explaining the “Mystery of the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God”. Most brethren continued to fellowship until hall closure at 5pm. However, many also met up afterwards for a restaurant meal with more fellowship.
On Sunday morning, a number of brethren met in the southern highlands for breakfast in the millennial surroundings at Peppers Hotel. This was organised by Mr Doug Stapleton and was a fitting end to what had been a truly remarkable weekend. Everyone is keen to repeat the experience, with many asking “when are we going to do this again?”. – Graeme Hemphill
Baptisms:
On Sunday, February 11, 2024, Ms Sonia Lange of the Adelaide congregation was baptized at Gawler. Assistant Pastor Mr Martin Montgomery officiated over the baptism and the laying on of hands. Afterwards a small group of brethren enjoyed an afternoon of warm fellowship at Dexter and Amy Javate’s home to welcome Sonia into the family of God.
In a beautifully warm country setting, on Monday March 11, 2024, Mr Thomas Hammond of the Melbourne congregation was baptised by Elder Mr Zig Svalbe. Proceeding the baptism, hands were laid on Mr Hammond by Melbourne Pastor Mr Adam Jennings and Mr Svalbe. A small number of friends and family witnessed this joyful occasion and after this, we celebrated his commitment by enjoying a hearty lunch and meaningful fellowship. We welcome Thomas into the thriving family of God!
