In May 2019 we gathered around Jack and Tess and celebrated their wedding, it was a major highlight for me in a year which has gone way too quickly. The celebration of Jack & Tess gathered their families, people from the Benedictus community, Tuggeranong UC, Holy Covenant Anglican and a huge collection of friends from all over the place. Together we sung, laughed, cried and we danced as we revelled in the joy of a new marriage, it was one of the most beautiful ecumenical celebrations I’ve participated in.
This year has also brought the deaths of Jae Ho and, more recently Danila, and we’ve mourned their loss as community, many of us are still working through the reality that they’re no longer with us.
Personally, 2019 has been the year where GUC has moved from being my employer, to being my community of faith, my home. The first few months of 2018 we were really just settling in and getting to know people, it was a whirlwind, the last 12 months however has been a time where I’ve fallen in love with the people of this community and starting to dream about the kind of church we can build together.
There are many churches in Canberra for people to belong to, but, in my opinion there are not enough communities like ours out there. We need to continue to celebrate what we are building here, and proclaim loudly that GUC is an open, inclusive, playful, intergenerational and welcoming community, where all are welcome and all are invited to find ways to live out their faith and calling, no matter their age, gender, language, culture, gender identity or faith tradition. We also need to continue to look at ourselves in the mirror to find new ways to improve our hospitality, challenge our presumptions, play and celebrate more. How will you help us do that this year?
