Easter Services 2023

April 9, 2019 By Audrey Swanbury

Thursday 6th April 7 pm – Maundy Thursday
Led by Rick Sarre, Musician Neil Palmer, Welcomer Barbara Ferguson.

Maundy Thursday – the Thursday before Easter. Maundy is derived from the Latin word for “command,” and refers to Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to “love one another as I have loved you.” Maundy Thursday is traditionally acknowledged as the time when Jesus shared his final meal with his followers before he was crucified. This will be a service of reflection and contemplation. We will hear music and poetry and sing songs in remembrance of that solemn evening. There will be no sermon. Congregants will have the opportunity, if they desire, to participate by partaking in the communion ‘meal’ of bread and wine.

Good Friday 7th April 9.30 am
Led by Keith Maynard, Organist: Ashleigh Tobin, Welcomer: Denise van der Westhuizen.

Good Friday. The Good Samaritan How many Australians would understand what that meant? 80%?? More?? Jesus taught us so much, and it’s still relevant. You’d be surprised at some of the things Jesus said while on the Cross. It’s good to reflect on all these things while on the way home, so there’ll be no morning tea.

Easter Day Sunday 9th April 10 am
Led by Rev Olly Ponsonby, Organist: Jula Szuster, Soloist: Yvonne Sinclair, Welcomer: Ruth Sinclair.

Easter Sunday. “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives!” So go the words of the popular Gaither-penned hymn. In our Gospel reading today, a despairing and desperate Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the risen Christ. Jesus says, “dear woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” With just one word – her name – everything is changed: Jesus is alive! He has shattered the bonds of death, He has cancelled the debt of sin, He has triumphed over the powers of darkness, and now He calls the lost and all exiles home. This Easter Sunday, we consider how Jesus asks us those same questions, and how He calls us too by our name, into a relationship with Him. Our living, conquering Christ, who loves us with an everlasting love, and who meets us in our own despairing and darkness, and brings us hope and the promise of new life. Because He lives…

All welcome.

Persian Dinner held in Hope

August 29, 2014 By admin

written by Shirley Wheeler

Persian carpets festooned the walls and intricate brassware and Persian artefacts enriched the exotic atmosphere.

Long tables and seating were set up in the two church spaces.

Our Chapel and the adjacent Hope’s Café were transformed into a lively Persian restaurant for our fund raiser on the night of Saturday the 23^rd of August.

Persian Dinner Room

The grand evening was booked to capacity with paying diners and refugee volunteers and other guests.

Attendees were treated to an authentic Persian feast of dishes rare and delicious, served on two large heavily laden tables.

There were koresh dishes which combined meat and fruit, kebabs cooked on an outdoor open charcoal grill by Iranian (modern Persian) asylum seekers.

The rice dishes were flavoured with pomegranates, saffron and other amazing ingredients. Vegetarians were not forgotten, with a succulent eggplant dish, salads, pickles, and this is just a small sample of the sumptuous buffet.

Fesenjoon, a Persian special-occasion dish, included meat marinades with walnuts in pomegranate juice. Some of the food was decorated with brightly coloured vegetables, such as carrots and corn kernels, such that it resembled a beautiful work of art.

Persian Dinner Food

A wide range of drinks was served in the Hope’s Café area, including a full barista service.

Desserts included some Australian favourites, such as cream puffs, cream sponge roll, waffles with ice-cream and coconut cookies.

However, the mounds of different varieties of halva made with sesame seed paste and the delicate nutty Turkish delight were Persian treats worth getting your elbows out for.

Everyone had the chance to eat their fill and enjoy the company and entertainment.

Music and singing were provided by the ‘We Women Sing’ choir and the JACI acoustic duo, which were uplifting and joyous.

Persian Dinner Music

A Persian song enhanced the atmosphere of the cultural ambience.

The refugees mingled freely and provided some attendees with their first chance to engage in conversation with someone who had survived a perilous journey to be in a free country.

Some refugees had escaped extreme danger and death in their home country as they had converted to Christianity, which was viewed as a crime that attracted torture and the death sentence.

The stories of injustice and hardship endured by the asylum seekers were eye opening for many.

Community detention has a prohibition against doing any paid work whatsoever and the provision of much less support than any other Australian resident.

Despite all their deprivations, the refugees demonstrated resilience and cheerfully served as volunteer helpers on this special occasion to raise much needed funds for their English classes and the Hope’s Café program.

At the end of the night, there was still some food left over for takeaways.

All expectations for the event had been met, and largely exceeded.

Thank you and well done to all involved!

Persian Dinner People

Persian Dinner Thanks

August 24, 2014 By admin

Thank you

Thanks to everyone who joined us to raise funds on Saturday the 23rd of August, at our Persian Dinner.

The money raised will help us continue our work at Hope’s Cafe, helping refugees with English classes, meals and friendship.

The successful dinner was sold out and had some great music, entertainment, interesting people and the opportunity to select from a menu of delicious Persian treats.

This event was made possible thanks to our kind sponsors

John Richards Furniture

Fine Quality Furniture
EST. 1956.
63 The Parade, Norwood

Ph: 8362 3380
www.johnrichards.com.au/

The Therry Dramatic Society Inc.

www.therry.org.au

Therry Drama

The Grace Establishment

127 The Parade, Norwood
Ph: 8333 1007
www.thegrace.net.au

Blooms

49 The Parade, Norwood
Ph: 8362 4904
www.bloomsflowers.com.au/

Sally’s Seconds (Salvos)

55 George St, Norwood
Ph: 8332 0283

Kavir Rug Gallery

128 Wakefield St, Adelaide
Ph: 8232 2776

Goodies Op Shop

Tehran Persian Rug Gallery

71 Unley Rd, Parkside
Ph: 8373 0702
www.tehranpersianruggallery.com.au/

Could these be your ancestors?

July 25, 2014 By admin

Could these be your ancestors?

Church Historian Geoffrey Bishop has come across this beautiful photograph of a wedding at Clayton Congregational Church.

The photo provides no clues as to who the people are or the date it was taken, on the reverse side.

Geoffrey’s keen eye for history tells him that from the style of dress, it was probably taken around 1900.

If you have any ideas, email thespirecommunity@gmail.com

‘Cistern Chapel’ gets a Makeover

July 11, 2014 By admin

‘Cistern Chapel’ gets a Makeover

Clayton Wesley Uniting Church site has become more vibrant, with a new mural painted on our toilet block.

Effie Chaniotis is a qualified art therapist who offered her time and talent to beautify what we here at CWUC have coined, the ‘Cistern Chapel’.

Originally from Melbourne, Effie was looking for projects, and the opportunity to paint murals around town while she is here in Adelaide visiting her family.

Effie overheard our Reverend Paul Turley talking to someone in a café about The Spire Community’s projects happening here on site.

She offered her time to paint a mural and of course, Paul jumped at the opportunity.

Within days, the proposal was put to the Church Council for permission to paint the toilet block and to cover the cost of Effie’s paints and supplies.

The Cistern Chapel has now been painted in a decorative melange of cultural patterns.

Effie says the design is inspired by Persian art, as well as the beautiful paintings of South Africa’s Ndebele women put on their homesteads in their town of the same name.

The artwork was completed in February 2016, with the help of other artistically-inclined community members.

If you’re interested in learning more about Effie, head to her website.

Mansoureh to follow her dream

July 4, 2014 By admin

Mansoureh to follow her dream

Marisha, Bev, Mansoureh, Cynthia and Paul just after revealing the brilliant news

The generosity of the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church congregation has helped Mansoureh Ghanbari to take her first step into a new career.

Since becoming a part of the church congregation, Mansoureh has advocated to get her two daughters into school so they can develop their English language skills and have a bright future.

The three women regularly volunteered at the church and assisted in starting up Hope’s Café, donating many volunteer hours in cooking, planning, waitressing and welcoming patrons.

The church congregation recently donated money for both Sepideh and Fatima to attend school and buy uniforms, with the help of the advocacy of congregation members and Uniting Communities.

Mansoureh was so thrilled and has since considered her own future vocation, expressing to other members of the community that her ambition is to work in aged care, assisting and caring for the elderly.

Today Minister Paul Turley announced to those at the café that the Church Council on behalf of the congregation, would provide an interest-free loan to Mansoureh, so she can attend a 10-week Red Cross course to obtain the qualification she needs to follow her dream.Mensoureh has Mansoureh hugs

Shocked and elated, she hugged Bev Watson, who was one of the advocates for the money that would send her back to school.

“What a wonderful surprise!”, she said.

We wish her all the best.

News Flash!

Mensoureh began a paid position at Aldersgate Aged Care Facility in April! Congratulations Mensoureh, we wish you all the best for your future!!

Sarah Hanson-Young visits Hope’s Cafe

July 4, 2014 By admin

Sarah Hanson-Young visits Hope’s Cafe

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young shared some time with us at Hope’s Cafe on Friday July 4.

She spoke with most people there, keen to get an insight into the plight of the many new arrivals who regularly attend Hope’s Café for English lessons, a good meal and advocacy.

She addressed the gathered, stating that she wanted to learn more about refugees who have suffered injustice and hardship so she could advocate for them.

The Senator said she is fighting to make everyday life for people on bridging visas easier, so that life does not have to be a continual struggle.

“I’m standing up and trying to make things fairer,” she said.

Many of the new arrivals with stories to tell spent some time sharing their thoughts and opinions with Sarah.

We hope to see her again soon as the activities at Hope’s Café progress.

About Time: Clayton Wesley’s rich history

May 21, 2014 By admin

About Time: Clayton Wesley’s rich history

Clayton Wesley is again part of History Week’s ‘About Time’ activities. Sessions led by church historian Geoffrey Bishop, recently showed groups of people the church’s rich history.

Geoffrey told them all about the church’s early history, its organ and its beautiful stained glass windows. Dr Ray Booth was also there and gave a wonderful demonstration of the beautiful 1897 pipe organ.

If you’re interested in joining a history week tour, another will be held on Wednesday the 21st of May from 1.30PM. Clayton Wesley Uniting Church takes part in this wonderful South Australian event every year.

Welcome Bahar

May 5, 2014 By admin

Bahar Forghani will be managing the development of The Spire Community Garden

Welcome Bahar – Our New Volunteer

Over the last few months, two Occupational Therapy students from UniSA – Veronica and Georgia – have been developing a plan and undertaking community consultation for a community garden project on the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church site. With their project in its final stages of completion, The Spire Community has installed a new manager of the project who will take it into its implementation stage.

A project coordinator who completed her Masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, Bahar’s background is in Insurance Management with some experience of working at Insurance companies in Iran. She has the experience of working on different community development projects, broadband development for Pacific Islands’ communities and some education programs for the South Asia region through an NGO called Future Earth Systems and Coffey International.

Bahar has offered her time to continue to develop the Spire Community Garden Project and will be here regularly on Fridays working on recruiting volunteers, managing resources and chairing meetings.

Please make Bahar feel welcome.

Our next meeting about the Spire Community Garden’s development is on Friday the 16th of May at 2pm in Hope’s Cafe.

Hope’s in the Name

May 5, 2014 By admin

Hope’s in the name

Minister Paul Turley teaching people to make coffee

The recent collaboration between the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church and the Uniting Communities Eastern Services Office has seen them mobilize some important projects, which are slowly growing to service the wider community, but particularly new arrivals. Calling themselves ‘The Spire Community’ they’re responsible for erecting a sign on the church fence at the prominent corner at Portrush Road and The Parade reading ‘Jesus was a Refugee’, helping to kick start a campaign that’s garnered the attention of the greater public. Natalie Oliveri is the Community Development Worker for the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church and writes about their most recent development in the form of a community cafe. This project contains a formidable mix of community development, passionate volunteers and delicious coffee.

Volunteers? Check. Coffee machine? Check. Patrons? Check. Choosing a name for our new cafe? Tumultuous.

Bringing people together to get a cafe in the church hall up and running, was not really a hard job. Volunteers put their hands up to make soup, cake, set up, clean up, make coffee, manage the kitchen… but deciding on a name for the cafe – now there’s a challenge!

When you start a cafe that’s born out of tradition, necessity and the fact that we got a grant for a coffee machine from the Burnside City Council – you start running into a few dilemmas in finding a name. They all seem unrelated, right?

Number 1: Tradition. ‘Cafe Spire’ ran out of Hope Hall for a number of years and over time, the vigorous flame of our volunteers dwindled. People became less capable of facilitating it, mainly due to age and the demanding nature of running a commercial kitchen. Our new cafe is a testament to the old cafe and what our volunteers achieved with ‘Cafe Spire’ for approximately 8 years, applying much energy, determination and commitment.

Number 2: Necessity. Uniting Communities Eastern Services office manager, David Winderlich is no stranger to helping people in proactive ways. He began the Circle of Friends initiative back in the early 2000s to provide community support to those held previously in detention before arriving in Australia. He and others at the Clayton Wesley site, who have regular contact with people seeking social services, recognised a need for new arrivals to have somewhere to go to learn English and socialize with a wider community of people. Together with Paul Turley, Minister of the church, they have garnered the support to combine resources to try and improve the everyday lives of the marginalized in our community. Their idea is that a new café would be a platform for refugees and others to receive support in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Number 3: The Coffee Machine. Well this part is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s been the catalyst for the idea that our cafe should serve delicious coffee. And who better to make that coffee than people who want to learn? The coffee machine has been a useful tool to skill people up in coffee making so they can have more employment opportunities.

So in all of these reasons for having a cafe, what’s the common thread? Well… hope. Hope that we’re making a difference and hope that we can provide people with opportunities for a better life into the future. Thus, we’ve called it ‘Hope’s Café’.

Hope’s Café is starting out small, open only on Fridays from 10AM until 4PM with English classes for whoever turns up from 11AM. The entrance to the café is cleverly located through the Goodies Op Shop, inviting customers and other members of the public to join in too. Bev Watson, manager of Goodies takes on the role of maître d’ on Fridays, and bustles about making sure everything keeps ticking along. “If we can just help a few people, it’s all worth it,” she says, “we hope that this place can be somewhere people can come use our resources to look for a job, learn a valuable new skill, or where a mum can come for a coffee while her kids have a play.” Since early March this year, the café has attracted Goodies customers, local mums and kids, new arrivals and the generally curious.

The paint-chipped walls of Hope Hall are adorned with the regular church notices and posters calling for social justice alongside saris and tapestries to add to the atmosphere. Minister Paul Turley is ‘head barista’, but has trained up a couple more people so that he can take a break to chat with the customers. Members of the congregation and volunteers join in welcome the walk-ins. The café is based on a pay-what-you-can-afford system, to ensure everyone can enjoy a coffee, a piece of cake, some soup and a bread roll. Marisha, a regular volunteer and driving force of the cafe with a strong knowledge of Iranian culture, provides delicious cultural treats like Persian bread and pomegranate fruit so everyone feels at home. One-on-one English lessons are held around the room by our healthy cohort of volunteer teachers and a mixture of voices can be heard under the chuckle and swoosh of the coffee machine.

Both David Winderlich and Minister Paul Turley both see the project growing into something that provides support to the local community every day of the week. Minister Turley especially hopes that the church site and it’s aging congregation can get a breath of new life from the project as it attracts more people interested in proactive social justice activities. “Our hope is that this is eventually a fully functioning cafe that people can come to everyday and talk, dream up new ideas and make them happen,” he says.