“Brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be
honoured…” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
A summary (A4 or A5 booklet) of prayer and praise items as approved by the GAV, calling upon the wider
church to give thanks to God and to seek His blessing upon our work and witness.
Rev Philip Burns, Acting Deputy Clerk
MONDAY:
Committee: Australian Presbyterian World Mission (Vic)
Purpose: Responsible for Victorian Presbyterian missionaries and assisting in their
support on the field and during Home Assignments, maintaining Partner
Agency and Partner Church relationships, promoting mission work and our
missionaries within the congregations of the PCV.
Convener: Rev David Schulz
- Praise God for the APWM missionary team, and commend to God and the
wider Church those who serve the Lord Jesus as part of that team. - Praise God for relationships with PTS India and the Partner Churches of
South Sudan, Malawi, Zambia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, Ethiopia,
North India, and Japan, and remind the Church that Partner Churches will
benefit from regular prayer. Any financial gifts and donations should be
done carefully and follow the ACNC External Conduct Standards. - Praise God for the work of the PWMU State Council and branches in their
support of missions. - Thank God for the ministry of the APWM National Office in Sydney, and
encourage the wider Church to extend financial and prayer support for
the ministry of the APWM National Director, Rev Kevin Murray. - Thank God for His blessing upon the Coins for Mission programme, the
participating churches, and the extra support provided for our workers in
times of need, and encourage other churches to join. - Pray for the Moderator and his wife, who plan to visit and encourage
(either in person or via Zoom) one or more of the mission team in the
field in the coming year. - Encourage all churches to pray regularly for their APWM missionaries
wherever they are, asking the Lord of the Harvest to send out more
labourers, and that His Church may be enabled to set them aside and fully
support them. - Encourage PCV congregations to prayerfully review their giving to the
work of cross-cultural mission, both locally and overseas.
School: Belgrave Heights Christian School
Chairman: Mr Chris White
Principal: Mr Peter Cliffe
- Give thanks to God and express its sincere appreciation for the years of
service to the Belgrave Heights Christian School by its past Principal, Mr
Andy Callow, and past Council member and Chairman, Mr Dirk Jackson.
TUESDAY:
Committee: Christian Education and Nurture
Purpose: Responsible for the oversight of the PYV and promotion of materials to
support and encourage Christian growth throughout the PCV
Convener: Rev Luke Isham
- Give thanks to God for Matthew James’ work as the convener of the
Christian Education and Nurture Committee and Andrew Edmonds’ work
as the Youth Ministry Director. - Ask God to raise up a new Youth and Children’s Worker and ask God to
guide and bless the fundraising efforts of the committee.
Committee: Church and Nation
Purpose: Responsible for interacting with the State on issues that impact the PCV and
educating the PCV about those issues
Convener: Rev Christopher Duke
- Give thanks to God for the prayerful support of the PCV and for this
committee as it has sought to present the claims of Christ and Christian
concerns and perspectives to members of Parliament and other leaders in
our community. - Give thanks to God for the hard-working and dedicated committee
members and the researcher, Mrs Moira Deeming. - Encourage churches to make good use of the videos as a resource once
they are released and to encourage further use and sharing across and
beyond the denomination. - Encourage members of the General Assembly to pray for the work of this
committee and its members, praying that God will continue to equip and
guard committee members in this challenging ministry. - Encourage all ministers, elders, and congregations to make good use of
the Church and Nation website, Facebook page, Monthly Update, and
other PCV network articles to maintain prayerful engagement in and
support for the work of this committee. - Encourage churches to pray that the men, women, and children involved
in the prostitution trade would find freedom in Christ. - Encourage churches to pray regularly for religious freedom in Victoria,
and for the ability of religious bodies and schools to legally employ those
who hold to their doctrine and ethical standards.
WEDNESDAY:
Committee: Church Planting
Purpose: Responsible for establishing new congregations within the PCV
Convener: Rev Aaron Boyd
Officer: Rev Richard Wilson
- Pray for Rev Richard Wilson as he begins his new appointment as Church
Planting Officer from 1/1/23.
Committee: Defence Force Chaplaincy
Purpose: Responsible for nominating chaplains for service within the Australian
Defence Force and promoting such service within the PCV
Convener: Rev Miles Fagan
- Give thanks to the Lord for the work of Rev Philip Mercer on this
committee. - Pray for ADF chaplains as they engage in all facets of life with the men
and women of the ADF and that they may be the presence of Christ in
their midst.
Committee: Health and Community Chaplaincy
Purpose: Responsible for the oversight of fulltime and volunteer Chaplains in
universities, hospitals and prisons.
Convener: Rev Daniel Dixon
- Thank God for Rev Peter Owen’s 24 years of service as a volunteer police
chaplain.
Committee: METRO (Ministry ∙ Equipping ∙ Training ∙ Recruitment ∙ Organisation)
Purpose: Responsible for recruiting, training and equipping gospel workers through
traineeships within the PCV
Convener: Rev Clinton LePage
- Thank God for the METRO, EquipMETRO, and YouthMETRO graduates
who are now serving Christ and his church as a result of their
traineeships. - Thank God for our Administrative Assistant, Maddy O’Brien and all the
work Maddy has completed this year. - Pray for all the present trainees to grow to be more like Jesus and
to think and serve like Jesus. - Pray that God would continue to raise up many more METRO,
EquipMETRO, and YouthMETRO trainees and that he will raise up
future gospel workers, pastors and evangelists from among them. - Pray that the partnership between MTS and METRO will continue
to enable more METRO trainees in the future.
THURSDAY:
Committee: Ministry Development
Purpose: Responsible for promoting the health of congregations more than 5 years
old, and home mission charges and special interest congregations of any
age
Convener: Rev Stuart Withers
Officer: Rev Chris Siriweera
- Commend the work of Rev Chris Siriweera as Ministry Development and
pray that he would be blessed with wisdom and insight that enables him
to serve others in further developing ministry and mission in the
Presbyterian Church of Victoria. - Thank God for the contribution of retiring committee member Rev Gerald
Vanderwert and pray for his ongoing ministry in the service of Christ. . - Thank God for the work of Mr Ben Palmer as administrative assistant to
the committee and the MDO. - Thank God for the provision of the Thompson Trust and for the work of
evangelism that has been funded in the past year and request prayer for
the Lord to draw all His people savingly to himself (John 6:44). - Give thanks to God for the ‘Kingdom Come’ Online Prayer meetings and
urge ministers, home missionaries, and elders to attend and labour in
prayer for the advance of the gospel in Victoria. - Give thanks to God for the continuing gospel ministry and congregational
life in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria reflected in the Statistical
Returns, and thank congregations, through presbyteries, for submitting
their 2021 Statistical Returns through the online collection system. - Give thanks for the ongoing opportunities for gospel partnership with the
Assembly of Western Australia through the ministry visits and
consultation of the Ministry Development Officer. - Urge sessions and congregations to pray and toil with all Christ’s energy
that He powerfully works in His people so that we see Christian
conversions, the raising up of new elders, and the saints engaging in
church renewal and revitalisation efforts.
Committee: ad hoc Committee: Enactment of Presbyterian Care Victoria Ltd
Purpose: A temporary committee responsible for transferring Kirkbrae from the
Social Services Committee to the Board of Presbyterian Care Victoria Ltd
Convener: Mr Duncan McGregor
- Pray for the wellbeing of Kirkbrae residents, staff, and management and
the members of the committee; and - Pray for the continued improvement in the financial situation for the
betterment of the Kirkbrae residents and staff.
FRIDAY:
Committee: Safe Church
Purpose: Responsible for overseeing the Safe Church Unit and its employees, advise
the courts of the PCV on compliance to State and Federal laws and any noncompliance
to Safe Church policies and procedures
Officer: Mrs Fiona Bligh
Chairman: Rev Brian Harvey
- Acknowledge and give thanks to God for the work of Ian Atkinson and
wish him well upon his retirement. - Give thanks to God for the continued work of Fiona Bligh as the Safe
Church Facilitator. - Give thanks to God for Mrs Amelia Thomas for her years of faithful
service to the Church as a member of the Safe Church Committee. - Give thanks to God Rev David Brown’s time on the Committee, and pray
for God’s blessing upon his retirement. - Give thanks to God for the members of the Safe Church Committee.
- Give thanks to God for the commitment to safe ministry practices by
faithful servants across the PCV.
Committee: State News
Purpose: Responsible for the oversight and production of the ‘Fellow Workers’
magazine
Convener: Rev Stephen McDonald
- Thank God for the work of Luke Isham, Jo Craig, and Tony Zirngast on the
State News Committee and for the appointment of Rob Paix.
Committee: Social Services
Purpose: Responsible for the planning, development, administration and oversight of
social services agreed to by the General Assembly, except Kirkbrae
Presbyterian Homes
Convener: Mrs Jenny Pilgrim
- Pray for the Trusts Corporation and Social Services Committee as they
work together to ensure the administration of the trusts is aligned with
the terms of each trust.
Committee: Committee on Change or Suppression Legislation
Purpose: A committee established to guide the PCV through and respond well to the
‘Change and Suppression Legislation’ introduced by the Vic Labor
Government.
Convener: Rev Peter Phillips
- Pray for the Victorian church in its endeavour to continue to be faithful to
the teaching of God’s Word and in its gospel work and witness under the
effect of this new legislation
SATURDAY:
Committee: Theological Education
Purpose: Responsible for the oversight of the Presbyterian Theological College in Box
Hill
Convener: Rev Kevin Maxwell
Principal: Rev Peter Hastie
- Praise God for the leadership of Rev Ben Nelson in his role as Acting
Principal during the Principal’s sabbatical. - Give thanks to God for the return to face-to-face lectures and the strong
sense of collegiality and community that this brings to the college. - Thank God that the Principal, Rev Peter Hastie, is able to complete six
months of sabbatical leave. - Praise God for the provision of a gifted team of adjunct lecturers who ably
support the college, its staff and students. - Thank God for a favourable result from the ACT surveys and reviews, and
pray for the development of the College’s students, that they might be
equipped to rightly divide the word of God. - Praise God for the calibre and quality of the students and candidates
preparing for gospel ministry at PTC, and pray that they will continue to
grow in their love for God and giftedness for his service as they study. - Ask Christ to continue to give gifts to his church in the form of faithful and
godly men and women who are willing to serve his people in gospel
ministry. - Pray that God will grant the TEC wisdom and prudence as it seeks to meet
the challenging circumstances that lie ahead. - Give thanks to God for the contribution of Rev Ivan Barker to the
Theological Education Committee. - Give thanks to God for the life, work, and ministry of Rev Dr Felix Chung
and for his faithful and humble contribution to the Presbyterian
Theological College, the wider PCV, and the extended body of Christ.
Committee: Women’s Ministry Victoria
Purpose: Responsible for supporting and growing women’s ministries within the PCV
and assisting women towards maturity in Christ
Convener: Rev Ben Johnson
Worker: Mrs Kathryn Gatt
- Pray for the women in the PCV that they might continue to mature in
Christ, be equipped to minister to others in the body of Christ, and be salt
and light as ambassadors of Christ in the world.
Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash