Our Lay Preachers
During morning worship on 6 August, Lay Preachers Sunday, Rev’d Chris
Lockley spoke about how lay preachers and other people contribute to the
community and to the church.
According to St Margaret’s - The First Twenty Years, in 1984 St Margaret’s had
three accredited Lay Preachers - John Branson, Phil Matthews and Jeff Bishop.
Gareth Thomas was undertaking the course and had conducted several
services as part of his practical training. Sadly, John and Phil are no longer with
us. Jeff has retired from preaching. Gareth went on to be ordained and moved
away.
In more recent years John Goss has undertaken the bulk of lay preaching for
us. And now, we have another new Lay Preacher, Simon Clarke, who has
recently moved to Watson, having previously been a Lay Preacher with
St Kilda Uniting Church. Simon conducted his first service at St Margaret’s on
13 August and we look forward to many more.
“Personally, I regard preaching as a very special privilege, one not to be
abused. Being a lay preacher is one of many ways for a lay person to serve
their church in a voluntary capacity. It is not always ‘give’; it can also be ‘take’.
I often feel that I learn more preparing one sermon than listening to twenty. (No
disrespect to our former ministers; we’ve had some very good preachers; but
we learn more by ‘doing’ than by ‘watching’ or ‘listening’.)” - Jeff Bishop, from
Reflecting on 50 Years - 1964-2014.
Simon Clarke leading the service on 13 August.
St Margaret’s News
4
August 2018