Church Anniversary
17th April was a day for celebration at Gloucester; but it was more than that; it was a day of reflection on the goodness of the Lord and how He has led His people over the past 50 years and this led to hearty praise, thanksgiving, and worship.
It was also a day of reunion as members who have moved on came back and worshipped with us including the families of former ministers; specifically sisters Margaret Stewart and Mrs D West whose husband are former ministers of the church. We were honoured with the presence of the local politicians who took a morning off the campaign trail to come and worship with us. These included prospective MP’s Parmjit Dhanda and Richard Graham (now current MP) with his wife Anthea; Mayor of Gloucester Chris Witts, Mayor of Barton and Tredworth Harjit Gill and city Council member Paul James. Numerous other friends of Gloucester church from various parts of the country also joined the regular members in commemorating this wonderful occasion.
The worship service started with Pathfinder colour party bringing everyone to attention followed by a warm welcome by first Elder Brother Robert Hinds and the special guests all received a gift.
The worship service was interspersed with Congregational singing and other special musical items. The message for the day, delivered by Pastor Daly, himself a former minister of Gloucester church, was apt – Count Your Blessings. Pastor Daly based his sermon on Psalms 103v1-8 and started by asking the congregation who was blessed and all hands went up! The sermon was rich in biblical principle but full of humour too and delivered in a way that engaged even the numerous non Adventist visitors in the congregation that day. Pastor Daly implored the church to develop an attitude of gratitude and recognise that even in our trials there is a blessing to be had and if we can praise God in our calamities He can turn the worst experience in our lives into the best thing that ever happened to us.
A sumptuous lunch was provided for the visitors and the afternoon program was conducted as a trip down memory lane giving the history of the church which has actually had a presence in Gloucester for 75 years although the first 25 were spent in various rented accommodations. This included a roll of honour of ministers and elders; question and answer sessions from the oldest members who related their experiences, more singing and funny anecdotes from the past.
Gloucester church would be unanimous in echoing the words of one of our church founders Ellen White - we have nothing to fear for the future unless we forget how God has led us in the past. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
