By Mandy Curley
What a joy it was on Sunday to see 500 members of Christ Church Gladesville gathered together in one place at our All In Day! We really did have people from 0-90 years old and everything in between!
The high energy of the first session reminded us that we are one in Christ and share in one faith and hope because of Jesus. Josh challenged us to remember that we are united together and have a wonderful opportunity to love and serve one another.
As we sang together, led so well by our band, we expressed that unity that we have in Jesus, and encouraged each other to keep our eyes fixed on him.
Spilling out of the hall into the sunshine for morning tea, we were able to not only feast on cake, cookies and coffee from the Kombi Coffee Co Van, but on relationships! Old friends, now at different congregations reconnected with one another. People who had never met before were able to share with one another because of the common faith we have. New people were welcomed alongside those who have been at Gladesville for 30, 40 or 50+ years. So many times throughout the day I found myself looking around at people in conversation with a grin from ear to ear.
In the second session, the kids headed off to spend some time together, while the high-schoolers and adults headed back into the main auditorium for a session hosted by Jono and Jess. Once again as our voices joined together in praise of our God we felt a foretaste of heaven, when many from every tribe, tongue and nation will come together in praise of our king.
As we look forward to continuing to serve our great God, it was encouraging to meet our next trainee: Taylor Telfer, and hear why she is keen to be trained and equipped for gospel ministry. We were reminded of the centrality of Jesus to change people’s eternal destiny.
David preached to us from Romans 15 and showed us why Christ Church is such a good name for our church. Because we are indeed Christ’s church – centred on him, saved by him, existing to glorify his name. We were challenged to prioritise gathering together – for our own growth in godliness and the ability to encourage others. And our partnership in the gospel, as we see the good news go out, was highlighted, including the opportunities we have in prayer, financial support and by going ourselves to see the gospel reach to the ends of the earth.
Over lunch, with plenty of food, those conversations continued. The kids partied on with face painting, piñatas and fairy floss, while many took the opportunity to stay and chat on the lawn.
In the last few days my phone and email has run hot with encouraging messages from people who came along, like this one: “What a wonderful celebration today was! So encouraging to worship and glorify Jesus together and see so many faces alight with the blessing of being united as one.”.
My prayer is that all who came along were deeply encouraged by our fellowship with one another, our partnership in the gospel, and the reminder of all that God is doing in and through us here at Christ Church Gladesville, for his glory!
So many people worked tirelessly, many behind the scenes to make the All In Day happen. I cannot name them all, but they know who they are: from the tech teams, musicians, co-hosts, bible readers, pray-ers, welcomers, parking attendants, those who served us at morning tea and lunch, the people who did Costco runs and chopped chickens, the set up and pack down crews and those who served our kids and everyone in between, we are so thankful for the way you made the All In Day the wonderful celebration that it was.
I’m already looking forward to All in Day 2025!
Mandy Curley