Our Lenten worship in Holy Cross this year focuses on God’s Mercy in our World through a series of sermons from our Holy Cross and wider community.
The series opened on the 2nd Sunday in Lent with a talk on God’s Mercy for the Environment. You can listen to it again here.
God’s Mercy for the Environment, 2nd Sunday in Lent, Holy Cross Hackett
For the 3rd Sunday in Lent, we heard from St John’s Care on the critical work they do caring for members of our community who are facing hard times, and the importance of mercy at these times for helping people facing hardship get back on their feet. This is a window into God’s Mercy for society. As part of hearing God’s call for mercy in society, at Holy Cross our Lenten journey includes a renewed focus on our weekly giving to St John’s Care.
Tomorrow we will hear about God’s Mercy in the Economy.
We invite you to join us in our journey, in worship and through these podcasts. And as we walk together we invite you to ask how God is calling you in your heart to be part of God’s mercy for our world.
ACT Attorney General and Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury will discuss the ACT’s progress toward 100% renewable electricity, the future of gas and environmental sustainability issues one year on from the 2020 ACT election.
He will be quizzed by young people in his electorate.
The event, part of the Sustaining Our Future Festival 2021 which is this year online, is hosted by the Social Justice and Environment Group, Holy Cross Anglican and St Margaret’s Uniting in Hackett, Canberra.
Welcome to our spring Sustainability Festival in partnership with St Margaret’s Uniting Church, which this year is entirely online. All events are free, open to all, and can be accessed via the usual Holy Cross Zoom link: https://adcg.zoom.us/j/5675297261
Saturday 16 October, time TBC – poetry reading with Geoff Page and John Foulcher
Sunday 17 October, 9.30am – joint service with St Margaret’s for Global Climate Justice Day
As part of the Festival, below you’ll find a gallery of images that celebrate nature / sustainability / the environment and/or the challenges of community during the pandemic. There will be a special section of the gallery especially for younger members, so please encourage our Holy Cross kids / youth to submit their photos and artwork. Please email contributions to gallery@holycrosshackett.org.au
Jamie Isbister, Australia’s Ambassador for the Environment heads to Glasgow in late October as part of the Australian delegation to the United Nations conference. COP26 will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Isbister will outline the goals and challenges of the meeting as Australia comes under increased pressure to do more.
The event, part of a Sustainability Festival which is this year online, is hosted by the Social Justice and Environment Group Holy Cross Anglican and St Margaret’s Uniting in Hackett, Canberra.
Do you have a passion for caring for creation? Do you want to join a dialogue with other Christians and people of goodwill from across Canberra? Then please come along to our joint study course on Pope Francis’s encyclical on integral ecology, “Laudato Si”, run jointly with Holy Rosary Catholic and St Margaret’s Uniting Churches.
The course is run fortnightly on Tuesdays 7.30pm, starting 10 August. All are welcome and there is no charge. To attend please book online at: https://www.trybooking.com/BSSOB.
Our Kids Church kids learn about what foods have the smallest impact on climate change
Our Carbon Action Project in the Home Kids’ Church activities and discussion groups with St Margaret’s have helped our church families take some important steps towards going carbon neutral. From learning about electric bikes to cooking smores in a solar oven (yes, even on a cold autumn morning!) we have learnt a lot and had great fun in the process.
If you missed out, don’t despair. You can have a look at the quick check lists on energy, food and transport on our resources page, to have a think about what changes (big or small) you might be able to make.
In the meantime, be sure to take a look at the presentation given by Rebecca from the Family Footprint Project on reducing food waste to land fill – with lots of great tips on reducing, composting and more…
This Easter season Holy Cross and St Margaret’s are engaging in deep discussions on bringing our carbon action project into the lives and homes of the families in our churches and wider community.
Discussion groups
Community members are invited to join our carbon action project in the home discussion groups–to learn from each other, hear from guest speakers, and share ideas, actions, inspirations and support.
7pm Tuesdays 4, 11 and 18 May;
7.30pm Thursdays 6, 13, 20 May.
Topics – with guest speakers –
will cover:
Transport
Home Energy and Solar (PV) Electricity
Food Chain in the Home
Whether you are taking your first tentative steps to reducing emissions, or are already a carbon-neutral household, all are welcome. Our discussion groups will provide a supportive environment to explore meaningful ways to make change, and to ask deeper questions about finding hope and caring for our sacred earth in the fact of climate change.
The discussion groups are part of a suite of activities in our two churches. The carbon action project in the home will be a focus during worship services and kids’ church throughout the Easter season, culminating in a joint worship service on Pentecost Sunday, 9.30am 23 May.
We will also be posting information, tips and guides. Keep an eye out for blog posts and check out our Carbon Action Project page for resources.
Our Trinity labyrinth at Holy Cross and St Margaret’s is taking shape. You can be a part of it by sponsoring some of the thousand pavers that make it up. At $3 per paver, your contribution can help this beautiful place of prayerfulness grow. Leave a lasting footprint on our sacred land, and help bring the love of God to fellow pilgrims in the Inner North.
Holy Cross walking group meetings regularly to walk together and experience the blessings of nature, the sites around Canberra and each others’ company.
The group meetings alternate Tuesday mornings at 9.15am at the Holy Cross Hackett car park, and travels together to the site of the walk.
In a spirit of community building and healing, the faith communities of Holy Cross Anglican and St Margaret’s Uniting in Hackett in Canberra’s inner north recently hosted a festival focussed on sustainability.
A stallholder from Canberra Seed Savers shares the fruits of their work
The ‘Sustaining Our Future’ Festival on the weekend of September 19-20 brought together local groups and speakers to offer information on climate change and inspiration on how to reduce one’s individual or household waste and carbon footprint.
“During these pandemic times, it’s even more important we find ways to get together safely and discuss common concerns, be inspired and make a difference,” said Reverend Chris Lockley of St Margaret’s.
People were able to test ride electric bikes and learn about composting. There was also a concert in the church featuring singer-songwriter Lucy Sugerman and local youth bands, a visual arts exhibition, and an ecumenical ‘Celebration of Creation’ worship service.
Dickson College students facilitate the ACT Candidates’ Forum
The program included an ACT election candidates forum moderated by Dickson College students.
“It was a great opportunity for our young people, who have a lot invested in a low-carbon future, to quiz local candidates about their sustainability policies ahead of the October poll,” said Reverend Tim Watson of Holy Cross.
This event, the first of its kind in Hackett, demonstrated the potential of the venue for more community events in the future where people can gather for spiritual and personal resourcing, community development, and to encourage each other in working for the Common Good.”
The Festival was organised as part of Holy Cross/St Margaret’s joint Carbon Action Project, launched earlier this year. Both churches have committed to make their operations carbon neutral within two years, and to help church members and the local community take climate change seriously through local action and engagement.
The once-fixed pews in the ecumenical Hackett church were recently removed to allow for more dynamic and mixed uses of the interior worship space.
Audiences enjoying the live music concert at the end of a great day
“The event was joyful and inclusive, and it put our mandate to evangelise as followers of Jesus into practice in so many different ways. It was a real celebration of beauty (art, music, God’s creation), truth (political debate, scientific and practical learning) and goodness (community, social and environmental action)”, said Reverend Watson.
“It also resonated with Bishop Mark’s encouraging comment about enabling people to return to church after lockdown: ‘re-integrating people to community through community, and helping us think about how we could implement similar steps with people who’ve never been part of our gathered worship’,” Rev. Watson added.
The two ministers also thanked volunteers who worked hard to make it happen.
“So many people made the event work. There were many hours served planning it and then during – to ensure it was safe and kept the festival moving along,” said Rev. Lockley.
