MARGUERITE MARSHALL
The Greensborough Living Faith Church celebrated a decade of outreach and adventure on Sunday 10 July. An innovative co-operation of the Uniting Church and Churches of Christ, the two churches came together 10 years ago under the motto: “We can do more together than we can apart.”
Living faith has lived up to its motto, developing many new programs to serve the community. These include mentoring program Kids Hope, free monthly community meals, visiting and advocating for refugees and asylum seekers, supporting prisoners and their families via Prison Fellowship, work with Food Share and the Diamond Valley Community Support, a carer support group, supporting Vanuatu Eye Care program and a marching group to aid health in older people.
The combined church continued programs including Sunday school, Christian Women’s Fellowship, youth group, kids club, two community playgroups, annually providing school equipment for children in the Pacific, and LINC (Love in the name of Christ) which works with other churches locally to provide transport to people in the wider community to attend doctor and other important appointments.
In the past 10 years the congregation has lost and gained new members. Some left because of the union, and the Living Faith Church faces the same challenges of declining numbers as the wider church. The church now has 204 members, most of retirement age.
The celebration was marked in powerful symbolism with the baptism of two new members of the church, Rachel and her seven-year-old son Michael, at the Sunday morning service. This was followed by a ‘bring and share’ lunch when old and new members and visitors reminisced or got to know each other.
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