Highfields Anglicans

03/06/2026

innerVIVID 6.4 What is the "soul" really and why does that idea make a difference?

6.4 Tied up in ideas about death and dying is the concept of the so...

02/06/2026

Park bench

Sit on a park bench
or a street corner
observing humans
in all their glorious
strangeness
and know you are one.
Let the sun hold you
in its loving gaze.
Marvel at the baby
in the carriage
who you used to be
something like,
and how you have become
this.
Sit there long enough,
lifted on a tide of wonder,
simplified,
to choose yourself
and recover
your own splendor.

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

01/06/2026

God's Grandeur
By Gerard Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44395/gods-grandeur

31/05/2026

What do we do with all that? I think we just gaze in awe and wonder and love, and glorify God. And we thank God that, in Jesus, we were promised that eternal loving embrace of the Holy Trinity: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God loves us into being and God loves us into eternity. Our calling? To share the love of the three.

- Melissa

https://everlastingfelicity.au/blog/pie-pi-and-the-power-of-three/

31/05/2026

Today we enjoyed the magnificent gift of fresh sunflowers in both of our churches. The sunflower symbolises faith and adoration.

The Sunflower Prayer
Plant me like a sunflower, Lord,
deep in the fold of your will.
Forge my faith in soil’s darkness,
sprout hope up as I wait still.

Grow me like a sunflower, Lord,
leaning close toward your light.
Extend bright rays of direction,
keep me warm in your sight.

Adorn me like a sunflower, Lord,
humbly wearing a righteous crown.
Stack petals of mercy and grace,
golden forgiveness in Christ I’ve found.

Use me like a sunflower, Lord,
to offer nourishment and cheer.
Harvest the Spirit’s fruits within me,
encourage others you are drawing near.

Surround me like a sunflower, Lord,
in a field of believers ripe with faith.
Bring us together for a troubled world,
display your love through our bouquet.

Thank you, Lord, for creating
endearing reminders of your Word.
Looking up,
away from the earth’s concerns,
my gaze meets yours,
and joy
like a mighty sunflower
stirs.

~by Jamie Trunnel ©2020, ascripturedlife.com

30/05/2026

Meet Chris Bate and find out about his faith journey back to the Anglican Church, secret skill, what book he is reading, his childhood growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand and about Ember Week.

Meet Chris Bate and find out about his faith journey back to the Anglican Church, secret skill, what book he is reading, his childhood growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand and about the forthcoming Ember Week

29/05/2026

The gifts of the Spirit are an attestation of God’s presence with the church. These can be eye-catching: gifts of healing pointing to the God who restores and renews; miraculous speech to share the good news of Christ. Often they are less spectacular but probably more vital: the gift of showing up to teach a Sunday school class; the gift of patience to work through a vestry meeting. These latter gifts may be more eschatological, more supernatural, more unnatural than we immediately realize. The Spirit accomplishes peace and diligence, familial affection, a common life, even a solidarity with the poor and with enemies. These are important themes to consider. Together they constitute looking forward in mission. - Calvin Lane

If the Spirit, the chain of love, that unites the Father and the Son dwells with us, then we will likewise be raised from our graves.

28/05/2026

“This anniversary year is a time for reflecting on, and giving thanks for, those who have formed us in the faith and mentored our Christian and Mothers Union journey,” says Dr Robin Ray, President of Anglican Mothers Union Australia.

“This anniversary year is a time for reflecting on, and giving thanks for, those who have formed us in the faith and mentored our Christian and Mothers Union journey,” says Dr Robin Ray, President of Anglican Mothers Union Australia

27/05/2026

Epray Daily is now available again following recent upgrades.

Please note that the old Epray Daily app no longer works and should be deleted from your device.

The new version is accessed by visiting:
https://daily.epray.com.au

You can then save it to your phone or tablet Home Screen so it works like an app.

A step-by-step video guide is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PCoMhtTkmo

27/05/2026

I am aware that I have days — dark days, if I’m being honest — when a deafening silence overwhelms me. This silence exists amongst a whole lot of noise. It is not a deep, revelatory silence but rather a hollow one perpetuated by a cacophony of opinions and chatter about the state of the world. On days when I most clearly understand these times, I realize that all of this noise is trying to ask: who will save us from ourselves and from what we’ve done to each other and to the Earth? - Joe Primo

Our hearts are shouting into the dark for a shared vision. The question is not who will save us, but rather: what will we birth together?