On The Road - Ukraine to Lithuania

Several brothers from our Ukraine Chapter made the road trip last weekend to Lithuania to catch up with some friends of the club there - here's a few snapshots....

Out and About

On The Road - UK

Heading back South from Manchester ...

New Member for United Kingdom

Many congratulations to Adrian on receiving his Colours with the UK Chapter ...

From Tasmania

From Andrew.

Good Friday Focus

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.

Isaiah 53:6-9 (The Message Translation of the Bible)
Written in the region of 700 years before Christ.

Ol Skool Resurrection Blues and Gospel Tour - Australia East Coast THIS WEEK

Ol skool blues/rock, folk/gospel and a message to challenge your thinking, your ideas, your views on life, and your future...

More Info Here
Further media feature in the Salvo's 'War Cry' Magazine

Melbourne - 7pm Thursday 25 March One Community Church, 184 Surrey Road, Blackburn
Albury - 7pm Friday 26 March City Central Church, 445 David Street, Albury NSW
Canberra - 7pm Saturday 27 March Parkway Auditorium, 490 Sulwood Drive, Kambah ACT
Wollongong - 7pm Monday 29 March Regent Theatre, 197 Keira Street, Wollongong NSW
Newcastle - 7pm Tuesday 30 March Belair Baptist Church, 130 Garden Grove, Adamstown NSW
Taree - 6pm Wednesday 31 March Taree Baptist Centre, Kolodong Road, Taree NSW
Destination - EASTERFEST 2010 2-4 April EASTERFEST TOOWOOMBA

UK Chapter Party - South Wales

A couple of hundred guests rolled up to help the UK Chapter kick off their 2010, 15th Anniversary celebrations at Zac's Place .....

International Media

Here's a couple of links to two recent media features about God's Squad.

The first is from an Australian magazine called Alive and God's Squad Sydney Chapter features in an article on pages 16-19 of the March 2010 edition and is viewable online HERE

The second is a Swedish language faith based programme, Himlaliv, broadcast in Finland features the club's 2009 Euro Run with contributions from various European chapters and is hosted by Isak the club's Finnish President. You can view it for the next few weeks HERE

Melbourne - Saturday

How Does God Speak?

In the first of a three week series John Smith, International President of God's Squad explores this tough question. First preached at St Martins, Melbourne, Australia in January this year.

Click here to listen.

49 minutes (77meg MP3 file)

Wired To Love, Valentine's Day

"We celebrate love today. HUMAN LOVE We are wired to love. If you're not on a faith page don't be offended. I love you and Jesus has inspired love in my heart. Sadly multitudes who profess Jesus, hate their enemies and use their friends. They sing, preach, write great books about him, but they don't follow him as the lover of all, even enemies. Faith, hope, love..three essentials, BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE."
From John Smith's facebook page, 14/2/10

Australia East Coast Tour ... in a city near you

God's Squad's John Smith hits the road with Chicago Bluesman Glen Kaiser and Aussie songwriter Steve Grace ...
More Info Here

GSCMC Michigan

Congratulations God's Squad CMC Michigan

After five years of journeying together GSCMC International are pleased to announce the patching up of our first members in Michigan, USA, on 23 January 2010.

Pothy in action . . .

Pothy, a God's Squad CMC Brisbane South member, on a qualifying run at Western Sydney International Dragway on 12 Sep 2009.
He ran a 9.76 on his 124" S & S

Netherlands New Years Party

Last Saturday saw the first open party hosted by our God's Squad Associates in the Netherlands. It proved to be a huge success with God's Squad members representative from UK, Finland, Ireland and Germany adding to those in attendance from numerous Dutch clubs. Great music and a great atmosphere ensured the party went on long into the night as the snow fell thick and fast outside! All the hard work of those involved and everyones' support is much appreciated. Good one Netherlands!

Earlier in the day at a bar in Zwolle.

Michigan, USA - snapshots

Michigan prospects - January 2007

God's Squad has it's roots in Australia dating back to the late 60's and early 70's - (see the history pages on the main website for more details), where it is still thriving. The 90's saw growth into Europe and in more recent years we have built up a relationship with a small committed group in Michigan, USA, who were granted prospect status in 2007, who share our vision and ethos.

... and a few shots as supporters in 2006

Advent

Here's some comment regarding the period of advent that John Smith has recently reminded us of from Archbishop Oscar Romero who was killed by a shot to the heart on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

..................................................................................................

"Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother or sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them Christ will take as done to himself. This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.

In celebrating Christmas, many Christians do exactly the opposite of what the earliest Christians did. By celebrating Christmas, they succeeded in bringing Christ into the pagan feast of the sun. Today’s Christians’ neo-paganism is managing to paganize Christmas. Jesus was not born on December 25 exactly. The Christian liturgy chose that date in order to give a Christian meaning to the Roman feast of the unvanquished sun. The pagans of the Roman Empire celebrated the sun’s rebirth during the longest night of the year. That midnight was considered as the starting point of the sun’s march, which then began to overcome the darkness. It was easy for the Christians to substitute Jesus Christ for the sun and to make the birth of Christ, Sun of Justice, coincide liturgically with the pagan celebration of the birth of the sun. The centuries that followed have proved the church’s genius, for bit by bit the meaning of Christmas pushed into oblivion the jovial pagan celebration and filled the entire world with the joy of the Redeemer’s birth. Today even unbelievers sense that something divine entered history during that night without compare. We all feel that the child born that night is a child of our family, and that the brightness of God’s glory that the angels carol makes of that night the loveliest day, when God himself offers us his peace and invites us to be men and women of good will.

What a shame that all of that Christian inspiration with which our liturgy christened a pagan festival has been betrayed by many Christians, who today surrender that spiritual conquest to paganism. To make the values of commerce and of worldly gaiety prevail over the gospel meaning of Christmas is nothing short of a cowardly surrender on the part of Christians. A return to the spirituality of a genuine Christmas will be a noble gesture of solidarity with Christianity’s spiritual victories in the world. A celebration of Christ’s birth with a sense of adoration, love, and gratitude toward the God who loved us even to the folly of giving us his own Son, will be to arrange our life so that the peace that only God can give may brighten it like a sun."
- Archbishop Oscar Romero
Romero was killed by a shot to the heart on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

New Members in Hobart & UK

Congratulations to new members Reino (GSCMC Hobart, Tasmania) and Gareth (GSCMC United Kingdom). Faith in Christ continues to be free and available to all - but these colours took a lot of work. Well done guys.