“First Saturday” Gatherings

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“Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.”

-Hebrews 10: 24 - 25, Good News Bible

First Saturdays are a monthly gathering via Zoom on the first Saturday of each month, with the goals of connecting and encouraging AAANZ members and friends around Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The Zoom opens at 3.30pm (Sydney time) for informal sharing.

The hour between 4pm and 5pm is usually recorded, and includes a short meditation, and some discussion around a specific topic.

After 5pm, there's time for those who want to stay a little longer to hear from and pray for people around the AAANZ network.

Email info@anabaptist.au to request the Zoom link to the meeting, or check your email if you're on our mailing list (First Saturday info will be in the "Events & Actions" mailing).

First Saturdays in 2024:

NEXT DATE: Saturday, May 4, 3:30pm AEST - 5pm, on Zoom

TOPIC: A Conversation With Dr. John D. Roth – “Anabaptism At 500”

ABOUT THIS TOPIC: On 29 May 2025, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) will welcome guests from around the world to The Courage to Love: Anabaptism@500. The day-long celebration commemorates the birth of the Anabaptist movement in Zurich, Switzerland. Following workshops, concerts, a panel discussion and self-guided historical walking tours, participants will gather for an ecumenical worship service at the Grossmünster cathedral.  

DISCUSSION FACILITATOR: John D. Roth

ABOUT JOHN: One of the planners of Anabaptism@500 is Dr. John D. Roth. From 1985 to 2022, John was a professor of history at Goshen College, where he also served as director of the Mennonite Historical  Library and editor of The Mennonite Quarterly Review. John has published widely on topics related to Anabaptist-Mennonite history and church life. He is also the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College and secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission.

In July 2022, John accepted a new position with MennoMedia as project director of the Anabaptism@500 initiative. John and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of four adult children and grandparents to five grandchildren. They are active members of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen, Indiana.

If you're on our mailing list, you can find the Zoom link in your emails. Sign up for AAANZ mailings here.

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LATER DATES:


June 1 - Book Study, Anabaptist Essentials, chapters 1 - 3


July 6 - Topic pending


August 3 - Topic pending


September 7 - Book Study, Anabaptist Essentials, chapters 4 - 6


October 5 - Topic pending


November 2 - Topic pending


December 7 - Book Study, Anabaptist Essentials, chapters 7 - 9

ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY SERIES: Anabaptist Essentials by Palmer Becker.

DISCUSSION FACILITATOR: Errol Thompson, from the AAANZ Leadership Committee.

ABOUT ERROL: A long-term follower of Christ who is still struggling to learn the implications of what that means but has found the Anabaptist approach the most encouraging. Having been part of the UK Anabaptist scene for a number of years, he has returned to New Zealand to live out his faith according to how he understands the Anabaptist vision.

Recent First Saturdays on YouTube:

March 2024: Book Study Part 1 - Anabaptist Essentials, Errol Thompson

November 2023: An Anabaptist View of Creation Care, Doug Kaufman

October 2023: Finding Jesus In The Slums of Jakarta, Gracie and Yosiah Prasetyo

September 2023: Anabaptist Movement in the UK, Stuart Murray Williams

August 2023: The Voice, Gershon Nimbalker

July 2023: Loving Young Adults, Melanie Springer Mock

June 2023: Christian Nonviolence, David Cramer

May 2023: Christian Discipleship And Our Money, Ted Sherwood

April 2023: Easter Art And Spirituality Experience, Lynne Head-Weir

March 2023: Political Idolatry: Countering Christian Nationalism, Drew Strait

February 2023: Disrupting Mercy: The Gift of Extreme Kindness Motivated by Compassion, Matthew Clarke

For more recordings, please visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@AnabaptistsAuNZ

God’s Love For Us

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The love of God most High for our soul
is so wonderful that it surpasses all
knowledge. No created being can fully know
the greatness, the sweetness, the
tenderness, of the love that our Maker has
for us. By his Grace and help therefore let
us in spirit stand in awe and gaze, eternally
marvelling at the supreme, surpassing,
single-minded, incalculable love that God,
Who is all goodness, has for us.

Juliana of Norwich (1342–1416)

Prayer

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We pray because our life comes from God, and we yield it back in prayer.
Prayer is a great antidote to the illusion that we are self-made.

Walter Brueggemann

Save us, Lord, from a religion that ignores the cries of the exploited and oppressed. Lead us into a deeper faith that challenges injustice and makes the sacrifices that must be made to build a society that is ever more truly human. Amen.

Walter Brueggemann

Thought For The Day

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Sit down tonight with your Bible. Open up to the Gospel of Matthew. Find the Sermon on the Mount. Read it slowly. Listen to Jesus and what he commands with a new heart. Allow him to crucify your nationalism and, yes, even your political affiliation. Allow him to put to death anything and everything that confuses his authority with any other. I invite you to follow Jesus totally untangled from the powers of this world.
- Keith Giles

Austin Dayal to speak on his book “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God”

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The next First Saturday webinar will be at 4pm (AEST) on 2nd July. Austin Dayal will lead a discussion about his book "The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God"

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and taught about its values throughout his ministry. The disciples continued to preach the gospel of the kingdom for two generations but during the second century things began to change and by the fourth century when Christianity became a state religion, the gospel of the kingdom of God was changed to the gospel of personal salvation. This error had a catastrophic effect on the life of the church. The church must reclaim the gospel of the kingdom and follow its values, to demonstrate the beauty of the kingdom that the world may believe in Jesus.

Austin Robinson Dayal lives in Adelaide, Australia. He is married and has two grownup children. Austin has been associated with the ministries of Operation Mobilisation and Student’s Evangelical Union in Australia and overseas. He and his wife Shobha are passionate about seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount.

They are praying for the establishment of a Christian community in Adelaide and to develop a network of all such people who are trying to follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Austin has published three books on the subject. He currently worships at the Corner Uniting Church, Adelaide. He has a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Sydney and has worked for CSIRO as a research scientist.