new church life: jan uary / february 201 4
others, such as saving for retirement, communication skills, etc. In November
we launched our Bible study component, following a topic through the Lord’s
Word, with some insight from the teachings for the New Church to guide our
understanding.
Probably the most important aspect of Leading Men is for us to be active
and visible in the life of the Church. Leading Men handed out flowers to all
the ladies for Mother’s Day, raised money for a water conservation project, and
then through a number of work parties made the necessary reservoir repairs,
installed the tank, pipes, pump, etc., and then handed out bottled water to the
congregation as a show of thanks for support of the water project.
As Leading Men we enjoy getting involved in social functions and
supporting the congregation through the all-important task of South African
outdoor culture – cooking the meat.
We are still in the beginning stages of running this group, trying new
things, seeing what works and what doesn’t. It requires effort to get something
new off the ground, but thanks to the dedicated core group of men who are
leading the way, we look forward to getting more and more men involved who
are developing spiritually, growing personally and serving others – while having
fun.
(See photos on page 75.)
The Rev. Mark B. Allais is the pastor of the New Church Buccleuch
in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he has served since 2010. He
was ordained in 2009 and into the second degree in 2010. He and his
wife, Karen (Mortlock), live in Buccleuch with their three daughters.
[email protected]
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