Crossroads News The Official Journal of

Crossroads Christian Fellowship NSW Inc.

Inside this issue

Celebration in Bankstown .......... 1

Chairman’s Chat & MacArthur ................................. 2

Shoalhaven & Parramatta...…….…………………..3

Bankstown Cont’d & Dubbo ....... 4

Newcastle & P’matta Cont’d ...... 5

Tasmania & S’thn Highlands ....... 6

Queensland & P’matta pics.........7

AGM notice ............................... 8

Subscriptions

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Crossroads Christian Fellowship NSW Inc.

A Ministry advocating for and

involving people with Disabilities

Established 1961

ABN 90 070 601 357

Items for Spring Newsletter

to Editor by 6th September, 2013

Winter 2013 Volume 52, Issue 2

Bankstown Crossroaders met for their hall meeting in May and together

enjoyed a wonderful celebration.

May Price was celebrating her 80th birthday that night and, because she

has been supervising the kitchen for Bankstown Crossroads since it

started almost 30 years ago she was presented with a ‘Life Membership’

certificate by Bill and a bunch of flowers from the Crossroaders by

Michael, our MC.

Apart from the celebrations, the May Hall Night was quieter than usual

as the girls from Mount St Joseph Milperra led us through a craft night

making Mothers’ Day cards and small gift boxes of lollies.

The message for this month was thinking about Humpty Dumpty who

couldn’t be put back together again without help, leading to the fact that

we needed to seek God’s help through Jesus.

In mid May, 35 of our members, in two buses, went to the Sutherland

Entertainment Centre to see “The Wizard of Oz” . Our own Val Hull was

the Musical Director for that show. Our thanks go to Martin who took

charge and looked after everybody on that day

Continued page 4

Celebration in Bankstown

May receiving her bunch of flowers.

2

The Chairman’s Chat

Did you know there are at least twenty seven verses in the Bible which speak

about disability? There are stories of deaf, blind, mute, the poor, the crippled

as well as lame people and in some of the verses I identified myself!

For those of us who have been called by God (Leaders, what you do within your

Branches is not just something you ‘do’ but it is a ‘calling’ from God Himself) we

sometimes grow weary serving others so we need as much encouragement as

we can get to continue on!

However, we can rob ourselves and others by our isolation so I am urging you to

come and get some encouragement by attending the Crossroads NSW AGM & Annual Conference where

ideas are discussed, workshops are held and spirits uplifted.

This year our guest speaker will be Di Willis from New Zealand who will challenge and inspire us speaking

on ‘Having a Heart to Care’.

May I urge you then to plan now to be part of the Crossroads family at the Conference August 30 thru till

Sunday 1st September at Blue Gum Lodge, Fells Avenue, Springwood? Further details are on page 8.

WE NEED EACH OTHER!

Len Kingston

members. We enjoy our worship

time especially action songs.

We heard from GOD's word

that at all times we need to

wear our armour to protect us

from bad words and events.

In May we made heart pin

cushions to help us remember

that GOD our father has a

heart for all his children. Our

theme for June will be fruits of

the Spirit so fruit salad will be

on our games list and on our

supper list.

Blessings from MacArthur

Crossroads Team & Members

2013 got off to a

stormy start for

MacArthur

Crossroads as we

experienced a

mini tornado in

Narellan on our

first meeting

night. Praise

GOD no one was

injured and damage to property

was small.

We welcomed Dawn, Genelle,

Laraine and Stuart to our team

and Peter and Paul to our

MacArthur Update

Worship time at MacArthur

Worship time at MacArthur

3

Recently, Shoalhaven

Crossroaders also had lots of

fun learning to say a Bible

verse.

First we had a relay race with

four teams running to paste

little coloured papers on a

shape board. Once the boards

were finished we used them to

help us remember our Bible

verse. We said the verse over a

few times, looking at our

reminder boards. Then we

covered the boards one by one,

as we practised our verse.

Finally we could say the verse

without any reminders at all -

now we have God's word hidden

in our hearts!

From The Editor

As I put together this edition of

Crossroads News, I am

continuing to recover from a

virus that saw me lose my voice

for a number of days.

As I was unable to speak at all,

I had a little bit of an insight

into what many of our

Crossroads members may

experience on a daily basis.

I found this difficulty in being

able to communicate frustrating

and isolating. I had times

where I felt very sad and times

where I was angry and

annoyed.

Those of our members who have

difficulty communicating,

probably have much less

intense reactions to their

difficulty than I did. They have

had a lifetime of having to deal

with this problem.

In response to my experience, I

have felt that I need to be more

patient and persistent with

helping our Crossroads

members be understood.

I would like to encourage you

also to spend extra time and

effort in showing love to our

members by listening for longer

and trying a little harder to

understand what our dear

brothers and sisters are trying

to tell us.

May God bless you all as you

serve each other.

Lesley Gilbert

The Shoalhaven Mystery of the

Missing Crossroaders.

In April, 15 Crossroaders and 7

carers braved the cold, wet, and

windy weather to catch the

Parramatta Rivercat and then

the Manly ferry for our annual

trip to Manly.

It was unpleasant weather but

the day resulted in warm

fellowship in a restaurant for

lunch and the wildest crossing

of the Sydney Harbour Heads

ever. It was certainly a day to

remember.

The Latest from Parramatta

Halfway through the evening at

the last Shoalhaven Crossroads

meeting it seemed that

many people had gone missing.

Where could they be? Those who

used their listening skills to

solve the mystery soon found the

missing Crossroaders - they

were in the back room singing

their hearts out. Lovely Hennie,

our guitarist, had sore fingers

by the end of the night as we

kept saying ' one more song!' To

save our voices we also learned

a silent song as our last song,

and with Peter leading us we

taught our silent song to

everyone during TAG time! We

love our singing group!

A happy heart is good medicine - Proverbs 17:22

Continued pg5

The Manly ferry

4

Other than our May

adventures, we have had a lot

of activity since our last

bulletin.

In mid-February, 26 of us went

swimming at Homebush and

made a big splash!

Then Bob Wyndham led our

March Hall Night where the

news included Libby reporting

that her parents were

celebrating their 31st wedding

anniversary, and Ella told us

that it was her 44th birthday.

Bob introduced “Freckles” a

puppet and the story of the lost

sheep.

We also had an outing to Kiama

in mid-March.

The April Hall Night was led by

the young ladies from Mount St

Joseph Milperra (they also led

the May night!). The April

night was a very noisy one with

dancing and games such as

bouncing a table tennis ball into

a bucket - lots of fun and

laughter. The girls presented

the message of the sower

sowing on the hard ground,

Continued from page 1

Celebration in Bankstown cont.

among the weeds and the

fertile ground.

We also had an outing to

Brisbane Waters in the

pouring rain in April where

there was a little more water

than we had hoped.

Whatever we do, there is

always a good time together.

Cyril McColough. Miriam proudly showing the

card she made for her mum.

Everyone enjoying the craft session.

Peter and Anthony like to dress well for their evening out

at Dubbo Crossroads. Anthony usually wears his coat and

often a tie as well. These men are both a pleasure to

know. They are always well mannered and happy. Also,

they are friends with everyone and join in all our

activities

Meet PETER AND ANTHONY of Dubbo

5

News from Newcastle

The planned Newcastle

Crossroads trip to the Hunter

Valley Gardens was initially

washed out.

We all left on a rainy Saturday

hoping the weather would

improve as we

approached

Cessnock and the

Gardens. Alas to

no avail!

Nevertheless we

all visited McDonalds at

Cessnock for lunch which was

great.

After lunch the rain continued

to bucket down, which made the

visit completely unviable so we

cancelled our booking and

returned home.

The Latest from Parramatta cont.

We rescheduled the

trip for the

afternoon of May 19

which turned out to

be a beautiful day

with blue skies. Everything

went well and the Crossroaders

especially enjoyed the train ride

around the gardens with the

excellent commentary from the

driver.

In May, we had a great hall

night where we spent some

time cooking scones for supper,

we had fruit scones, and cheese

scones warm out of the oven.

Everyone had a great time and

eagerly took home a recipe to

try again at a later date.

We also had a wonderful time

singing praises to our great

God. Everyone loves to get

involved by having a turn at the

microphone and playing the

percussion instruments – the

drum is a particular favourite.

We were reminded from God’s

Word about the great price that

Jesus paid on the cross for our

forgiveness and how we should

forgive each other.

As always, we also spent time

in prayer bringing our many

concerns before the Lord.

May God Bless you all

Until next time

Lesley and all at

Parramatta branch

Afterwards some of us had our

own explore of the gardens

which was most enjoyable,

before heading back for

Newcastle.

Our weekly meetings are all

going well although sometimes

we have to run our own

entertainment when our

scheduled entertainers are

unable to attend. We all still

manage to have a good time!!

Greetings from Newcastle to all

the other branches!!

John Mathieson - President

Continued from page 3

Busy cooks—

Graham,

Anthony and

Wendy

More photos on page 7

Once a year we have a 2

night weekend trip. This

year, travelling from

Burnie, Devonport and

Launceston branches we

joined with Hobart Branch

members, totalling about

80 people gathered at the

Riverfront Motel in Hobart.

Friday evening we settled

into our accommodation,

then after a generous

cooked breakfast the next

morning there was a full

programme of activities

when we were joined by

local Hobart Crossroaders.

We had a visit to the model

village at Richmond,

which is a detailed

and historically

accurate miniature

depiction of the early

days of Hobart Town

and then enjoyed a

delicious fish lunch at

the famous “Mures”

on Hobart docks.

It was then all aboard

for a sailing trip on

the Lady Nelson,

6

singing – we Crossroaders love

music! The congregation

provided us with morning tea,

and we had a birthday cake and

candles for 2 of our group.

We then drove out to the

beautiful Tolosa Park in the

foothills of Mount Wellington,

where we had a picnic lunch

and enjoyed more socialising

together, then back onto the

coaches and home.

A great weekend of fellowship

and fun – exactly what

Crossroads is all about.

Barbara Wood &

Patsie Schramm

Crossroads Tasmania Holiday Weekend which took us onto the River

Derwent and under the Tasman

Bridge while watching (and

listening to the skipper’s

instructions for) the unfurling

of the sails.

There was then time for

shopping and a coffee break,

with more chat and laughter.

We dined and danced on

Saturday night at our motel,

then enjoyed a well earned rest.

Sunday saw us at worship at

the historic Scots-Memorial

Church in Hobart, with a

thought provoking service led

by Rev. Ian Wilson, with lots of

Greetings to all our Crossroads

friends from the chilly Southern

Highlands.

We had a great

time last month

making

Mother's Day

cards. There

were some

wonderful

creations! We

also made some yummy wraps for

lunch and everyone really enjoyed

the day. It's always good to catch

What’s Happening in the Southern Highlands

up with friends and have a chat

and discover what we've all been

doing. Numbers were down due to

some colds and flu around but

those that came had a great time.

This month we will be planting

bulbs in pots and everyone will

take one home. This should be lots

of fun and hopefully we will see

some lovely blooms in spring.

We are looking forward to reading

about what all the Crossroads

branches are doing in the

Crossroads News.

Until next time - keep warm

everyone.

God Bless

from Sandra and Jim.

Scots-Memorial Church in Hobart

All aboard the Lady Nelson

7

What’s News in Queensland Crossroads (QLD) in Brisbane

was off to an exciting start with

a week spent holidaying on the

south island of New Zealand.

All group members had a

fantastic time touring around

the Southern Alps and going on

the Milford Sounds cruise.

Some of our members have also

been fortunate enough to travel

locally to Tangalooma Island,

the Tamworth Festival and a

week in Brisbane exploring our

stunning coasts.

Those people who attend our

weekday respite program are

looking forward to hosting

Australia’s Biggest Morning

Tea to raise money for the

Cancer Council late in May.

They are also looking forward to

our many new and exciting

projects starting up like our

new Veggie Boxes and also

continuing with our Working

with the Community Project

and volunteering with our local

Meals on Wheels.

Lauren McCairney

The Latest From Parramatta in pictures

Candice and Mark in December

What a catch!

Liam and Ken with the kayaks

Sandra, Graham and Amanda

Evelyn at the mic

Irene ‘signing’ a song Phillip on percussion

Lynne and John singing at the mic

John at the drum

Crossroads NSW Conference &

Annual General Meeting

BLUE GUM LODGE FELLS AVENUE SPRINGWOOD

August 30-September 1, 2013

Helpful Workshops! Great Fellowship

Great Fun! Music from Mudgee Branch!

Keynote Speaker

Di Willis (New Zealand)

An Invitation to all Leaders/ Carers at Crossroads Branches

It's time to register for this year's conference & AGM.

The theme is: Having a heart to care.

We need you! ... to contribute to a weekend of good decision making;

great fellowship; and times of discovering how we can make our branches more

exciting and streamlined.

Our Keynote Speaker this year is Di Willis - well known as a motivator with a

passion for meeting the needs of people with a disability. DON'T MISS BEING

CHALLENGED BY THIS WOMAN OF GOD!

$140

INCLUDES:

Friday night: Supper

Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch and

Dinner, Morning & Afternoon Tea

Sunday: Breakfast, Morning Tea &

Lunch

All Enquiries and to Register

Email :- nsw@crossroadsfellowship.org.au

Web :- www.crossroadsfellowship.org.au

Phone: (02) 9980 8911

Crossroads Branches

COUNTRY

Bowral

02 4421 5129

Dubbo

02 6884 1380

Shareability Canberra

02 6254 9549

Lismore

02 6621 2725

Mudgee

02 6372 7609

Newcastle

02 4951 8106

ShellHarbour

02 4262 0981

Shoalhaven

02 4423 2525

Tamworth

02 6764 4243

Wollongong

02 4225 3436

SYDNEY AREA

Annangrove

Kenthurst

02 4587 8841

Bankstown City

02 9773 4754

Central Sydney

02 9817 2289

Kindilan -Trips

02 9809 4235

Kingsway(Caringbah)

02 9527 2410

Macarthur District

02 4628 6386

Wesley Video

Fellowship Sydney

02 9267 5555

Parramatta

02 9624 3130

STATE OFFICES

NSW

02 9980 8911

Queensland

07 3229 9011

Tasmania

03 6431 2289

Victoria

03 8809 3000

Western Australia

08 9380 9427

Crossroads News is a publication of Crossroads Christian

Fellowship NSW INC. It serves to be a voice for Crossroads Christian

Fellowship as well as being a forum for ideas to help stimulate

thought and action.

Editor: Lesley Gilbert

Sub-Editor: Chris Gilbert

Production: Microsoft Office Publisher 2007

Email address for the Crossroads News:

news@crossroadsfellowship.org.au

Telephone: 02 9980 8911

Postal Address: Suite 2, 265-271 Pennant Hills Rd, Thornleigh 2120

Web: http://www.crossroadsfellowship.org.au

The views expressed in Crossroads News are not necessarily those of

the Editor or Crossroads Christian Fellowship NSW Inc. The right is

reserved to reject or amend any article or advertisement. 8

Positions to be voted on at the

Annual Meeting

Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer,

Advancement Officer, Publications

Editor, Public Officer, Web Editor,

Touring Co-ordinator, Training

Co-ordinator, Regional Advancement

Officer/s