Scam Alert: Obadiah’s minister writes, “There is currently a scam targetting church people. It involves a text message from a trusted church person (such as a minister) asking for a reply text, which then leads to requests for money or gift cards. I’m aware of several people who have received texts from a foreign number claiming to be from me. One of them lost money.”
The Sydney Anglican website has a warning. “Several Sydney Anglican parishes have reported that their members have received suspicious messages from scammers claiming to be ministry personnel. The Rector of Seven Hills, the Rev Mark Williamson, says he was contacted within a couple of hours by two members of his parish regarding a text message that read: ‘Hello [name], this is Rev Mark Williamson, I’m in a meeting right now, can’t talk on phone but text me back when you get this message, your assistance is crucial and highly appreciated. Blessings.’
“Initially, Mr Williamson suspected his phone may have been compromised and rang his provider. However, the scam was confirmed to be more elaborate when his wife received a warning about these messages from another church she had previously visited, Norwest Anglican.
“It’s a mystery to Mr Williamson how the scammers accessed the information of key church members.
“’We don’t have any mobile numbers on our website – we just have a generic contact email address,’”’ he says. “It’s not immediately obvious [how they’ve achieved this]. They’ve done the research. If you get the right person, it would probably have a higher strike rate because you’re mentioning people by name. But these are people I know really well, so to introduce myself as Rev Mark Williamson is a tip-off.
“’Where it would be dangerous would be if someone was newish to church, or in a bigger church where you’re not as likely to have had a personal connection with the minister.’”
If you get this sort of message, DON’T REPLY. And warn others.
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Great welcome: Obadiah went to church at Wesley Methodist in Singapore this morning. There was a great welcome – here’s a pic of their welcome pack – and a wonderful mix of strong expositional preaching by Pastor Raymond Fong and praise band worship. Obadiah was blessed to be there. It felt like a great blend of Sydney evangelical Anglican and Pentecostal church styles.
(The pic shows Obadiah having an after-church coffee with the great welcome pack)
Too famous: “I’ve always believed it when God says he will make your name great, but this is not the way it was supposed to be,” said Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman who was accused falsely by the Trump team of election fraud and had to go into hiding to avoid harassment. A conservative Lutheran pastor who pursued Freeman is part of this week’s indictments that included former President Trump.
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The book that was rejected became a cornerstone: shuffling past the shelf where the SMH books editor used to put the books that were rejected for book reviews. Obadiah picked up a book called “The Explosive Child.” We had one at home – not the book – a child.
We found the book was gold – and it has become a classic that gets recommended by parents of non-neurotypical children, time and time again. Or any easily frustrated or very inflexible child.
The book helps you see the world from the child’s view, but even better helps a carer see that you can, step-by-step, work on what needs to be worked on: “We can do that together.” What needs to be done, not what might cause other people to stare.
Nowadays, our copy of this book is gathering dust on a bookshelf in Obadiah’s house, but he was reminded of it in a Xeet (what used to be a tweet) that told the story of one parent, Wendy Alsup a Christian author: “I drop off my oldest for his freshman year at college today, and I am flooded with memories. Starting in the nursery at Mars Hill Church, one of these kids was not like the other, and that kid was mine…
“He struggled in preschool, kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Thank God for a lovely sped teacher in Seattle. She loved my son and advocated for him-a gift of grace from God.
“A friend gave me The Explosive Child. I finally understood the #1 thing in his head that exasperated him. He couldn’t keep up with his classmates in a myriad of ways; each felt like a concrete wall he couldn’t get past. He’d explode as a child. He just shut down as he got older.
“I learned the most important tool I had to help him, the words, “Hey, this is a problem we can work through. We can figure this out.” And we did, together, figure out a boatload of physical/social/emotional/academic issues. Over time, he began figuring out more for himself.”
Dr Ross W Greene’s book is in its sixth edition. Its full title? “The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children “
It was a lucky day when Obadiah browsed the reject pile.
And like Alsup, let’s give a shout-out not to one teacher but to two whole schools, Meriden and Danebank. Obadiah is grateful to you and Dr Greene.
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Hmm: Maybe Obadiah needs to check out whether our copy of The Explosive Child is a first edition?
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Double time: Stu Cameron, who runs the Wesley Mission in Sydney, has a fair claim to having two jobs as he holds the titles of CEO and Superintendent, which means he runs a large welfare agency and also looks after a large multi-service service church. But he recently had an epiphany at a recent conference.
“The moment of revelation or insight I experienced sitting in that conference, my mind wandering far from the speaker’s topic, was that I don’t have two jobs so much as I enjoy one, unique calling – a vocation. It was a profound moment, a reframing – and a liberating and freeing one.
“Wikipedia – the fount of all wisdom – defines vocation as ‘an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified.’ While there have been many times when I have questioned whether I have been suitably qualified for roles I have enjoyed, including this one, overriding feelings of inadequacy, have been the God-breathed sense that, more than a job, God has prepared and equips me along the way for the vocations he has called me into.
“All around Wesley Mission, I see people, those who share my faith as well as those who don’t, who are not simply ‘doing a job’, but living into a vocation – a calling. I see it in their soft hearts, hard feet, sharp minds and open hands they bring to their work. I see it in their passion for the people we serve, in chasing after the best possible outcomes for our clients and residents, or in supporting and serving the frontline staff who do. Every single day I am deeply inspired and profoundly grateful as I serve alongside them.”
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Well sung: When nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child were released after two weeks as a hostage in Haiti, she told the Associated Press that a Christian song gave her comfort.
“’God was so very present in the fire with us, and I pray that when I find the words to tell our story, that the mighty name of Jesus may be glorified and many people will come to know his love.’ Dorsainvil said”
“In her most difficult moments, Dorsainvil said she turned to ‘See a Victory’ by the North Carolina-based Elevation Worship music collective.
“’There’s a part that says, “You take what the enemy meant for evil, and you turn it for good,”‘ she said.'”
You never know when the songs that you sing at church may come to your aid.