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  • 01.04.2021

    “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.” – Psalm 107:1-3 In this Easter week we are marking the end of term 1 and for us in Melbourne it feels like quite the reversal of last year. Restrictions are easing instead of tightening. Our worship services are shifting to be more and more in person rather than online. The sense of fear is being replaced with hope. We have had many challenges and I’m sure they will continue but the work of Jesus at Easter brings the promise of eternal life and the end of death, suffering, and all evil. I am so thankful to God for his sustaining presence during such a horrible 12 months and instead of putting everything on hold, the Lord worked through many individuals during this time to call me here as Lead Pastor to start a new season. Praise God for his plans and being active beyond our understanding! So this is the perfect time to stop and reflect. If you rest in God’s presence for a moment, what sense do you get about Oaktree right now? What do you want to give thanks for? What are you longing to see more of? How has this first term of 2021 been and are you growing as a disciple of Christ? Now take all that and share it in our Reflection Survey which is something for the whole church to participate in. Please encourage others to share their experience and if parents can assist their children in filling it out then we’d have a comprehensive sense from every age and stage of what is working well and what things need to change. It’s completely anonymous but if you’d like to have a followup conversation in person about anything at all then please don’t hesitate to reach out. For our amazing youth group, keep your eye out for a dedicated survey that will be available soon. May you find the time to appreciate the depth and profound impact of Holy Week. Mark....

  • 05.08.2021

    Everyone loses in a pandemic and each of us will be carrying a burden of grief. As a church it is important that we mark this point in the pandemic and pray intentionally over those losses. By doing this in an active way it gives us an opportunity to be really intentional with those prayers and it also demonstrates to others a model of genuine faith. Over the five days of prayer you’re invited to write down on paddle pop sticks the things you have lost so far because of COVID-19 and to plant or bury them in a wheelbarrow of mulch that will be next to the new garden beds at Caulfield. At the end of the five days this will all be added to our compost to decompose and become part of the fertile soil of the future. Here’s are framework to guide our prayers over the five days: Wed 4th August – We pray for courage to name the things that have been lost. Lord, bring us through grief and don’t let us bottle it up to let it fester. Bring your healing. Thurs 5th August – Holy Spirit, give us patience in the ongoing uncertainty and precarious time we’re living through. We pray for everyone who finds their home life, work life, relationships etc. in a vulnerable position. Fri 6th August – We pray for wisdom in the unresolvable tension. Help us in Christ to foster dependence, ask for help, and reach out to connect as a community of great faith. Sat 7th August – God our Father, help us prepare for the future work of renewal and rebuilding. Give us productivity, creativity, and clear vision. Sun 8th August – Lord Jesus, give us joy in our families, friends, and communities. Most of all, give us joy in following you so that you make us mature and robust for these difficult times....

  • 05.08.2021

    In this new season for Oaktree, we are opening the church doors so that we are filled with the Spirit and growing into being the church we’re called to be. We all contribute our voice to the conversation of how we fulfil that vision and we will all have our role to play. We’ve now shifted and reshaped the way in which we will be having these community conversations. We’ve already had to postpone them so we’ll go ahead and make the most of the opportunity we have coming out of this latest lockdown. These conversations for our church will now occur over two Sundays, 15th and 22nd August. Due to the restriction of numbers there will be an option to participate in a morning session at 9.30am at St Mary’s or an afternoon session at 4pm at St Clement’s on each of those Sundays. Eventbrite registration links will be up soon. If you are not able to attend in person but may be interested in attending by zoom, please email vicar@oaktreeanglican.org.au by 10 August to register your interest. Please come ready with prayerful creativity and a passion for building up our church for the glory of God. You might like to refresh your memory of the five doors of the church by listening again here: Opening the Doors of the Church...

  • 28.10.2021

    Combined Celebration Service with Annual Meeting The Annual Meeting will again be held during a combined worship service for all of Oaktree Anglican to participate in. This meeting will be held via Zoom on Sunday 28th November at 10:30am and there will be no other worship services happening on that date. Anyone who is unable to participate via Zoom should let us know that they would like to attend in-person so that we can enable limited seats to be made available. In regards to the electoral roll and those who can vote on any matters arising, the normal practice is to display these names a month in advance so that the list can be updated appropriately before the meeting. As an alternative method to achieve the same aim this year, all members of the electoral roll have been privately emailed a confirmation that they are currently on the roll. If you haven’t received a confirmation email then assume you are not on the roll and if you would like to be added please fill in this form before November 9 by clicking here: Electoral Roll Application Form. Note that being on the electoral assumes you will be present at the Annual Meeting and will submit an apology if you are unable to attend. The Annual Report will be distributed electronically by Sunday, November 14. If a member requires a physical copy, email office@oatkreeanglican.org.au by November 14. If there are any questions or other matters of general church interest they will need to be submitted to vicar@oaktreeanglican.org.au no later than Sunday November 21. There will no be questions taken on the 28th at the Annual Meeting. Any member of Oaktree who also signs off on the Code of Conduct can be nominated for Warden, Church Council member, or Incumbency Committee member. Nominations must be submitted to the Vicar before 9pm on Monday November 22. Note that if any more nominations are received beyond what has already been indicated then a secret ballot will be necessary. The form of the ballot would be voting by way of Zoom at the Annual Meeting or via postal vote....