About Us

History of St Lukes

Presbyterian Church in Australia

Along with other Christian churches, the Presbyterian Church of Australia upholds historic Christianity as given in the Bible and held through the ages. We believe in one God in the Trinity of the three persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We affirm the real historic events of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and look to him for forgiveness of sins and a sure hope of eternal life. We see ourselves as now being part of the one true church of Jesus on earth and eagerly look forward to the return of Jesus and His eternal kingdom. We receive the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the Word of God and look to them as the rule of faith and life.

The Presbyterian understanding of Christianity is summarised in the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646, as understood in the light of the Declaratory Statement adopted by the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1901. The Westminster Confession contains what might be called a "reformed" or "Calvinist" outlook. That is, Presbyterians tend to emphasise God's initiative and activity in such important matters as knowing God and being saved. God's initiative is not taken as lessening the need for human responsibility and action, but rather as meeting the conditions under which the human response occurs. The Declaratory Statement seeks to safeguard the church against misinterpretations of the Confession and acts as an official commentary to it.

Further information can be found on the Presbyterian Church of Australia web site in our link page.

'Pearly Gates' Comic Strip

The PEARLY GATES cartoon strip has been produced by Ian Jones, a Queensland  pastor, for over twenty years now. It has been extensively published throughout Australia and in some overseas markets as well. Each week we produce a BULLETIN which contains the Order of Service, Church Announcements and News Items and articles of interest.  We subscribe to the PEARLY GATES and so often include a cartoon.   Their site can be found in our links.

http:// www.graphicheartproductions.com.au

More about us and   . . .

The  Presbyterian  Church

As part of the redeemed people of God, having been brought out of darkness into Gods light through faith in Jesus Christ, the Presbyterian Church  seeks to glorify and enjoy God - as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - serving, Loving and obeying him, in the light of his revealed Word, the Bible.

The Presbyterian Church holds the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant revelation of God, a book fully trustworthy to guide the Church in all matters of faith and practice. Embracing this particular view of inspiration of Scripture means that our work and witness has distinctive guiding values, these being expressed in what is known as:

OUR CHURCH

We Are Australian

Since 1823, Presbyterian Churches have taken an active part in Australian society. Subsequently, Australia has become a home to people of many ethnic and cultural backgrounds. So has the Presbyterian Church, with people of many different origins worshipping in our local congregations as well as in congregations which cater for specific ethnic groups, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cook Island, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Samoan, Spanish.

We Are ‘Presbyterian’ in Church Government

The spiritual leaders of the Presbyterian Church are called ‘ministers’ (who are particularly responsible for preaching) and ‘elders’ (who join with the ministers in exercising pastoral care and oversight in the congregations and courts of the church). These words are English equivalents of the Greek word ‘presbyter’. Ministers and elders are elected by members of our congregations from among themselves, being those whom the members believe are spiritually qualified to lead and care for them.

Each congregation looks after its own affairs under the general guidance and oversight of the Presbytery, a gathering of ministers and elders from the several congregations in the local area. The General Assembly of each state provides leadership in wider areas of the church’s work such as social services, chaplaincy work in the defence forces, hospitals and other institutions, training of ministers, mission and evangelism, and Christian education. The General Assembly of Australia deals with matters of doctrine, overall standards of training of ministers, receiving ministers from other churches and the church’s mission to the world.

Presbyterian  

Like some other denominations, our name describes something about our system of church government. A church that is “presbyterian” is a church that is governed by elders. The name comes from the Greek word for elder, which is used in the New Testament (presbyteros).

Presbytery 

The Roseville, Lindfield and Killara charge comes under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Sydney North  which meets at Chatswood on the third Tuesday of the even months.

Session    

Session refers to the elders of a local church. Session is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation. Elders are “ordained” as elders and are therefore elders for life, just as a minister is always a minister. However, just as a minister may not be active as “the” minister of a church, so too a person may be an elder, but not actually part of the local Session.  

At Roseville our Session usually meets on the first Tuesday of each month.  Contact can be made through the Session Clerk or Minister.

Committee of Management  

The Committee of Management looks after the financial and property affairs of the local congregation. Managers are elected once a year at the annual meeting of the congregation.  Members of Session are automatically able to sit on the Committee of Management.

At Roseville the COM consists of five elected volunteers (plus Elders) who care for the property, grounds, equipment, finances, insurances, use of the premises by various community groups, the annual fete, and many other practical matters.   The Committee has four halls, the church building and seven over 55 Independent Living Units (Heather Brae) to manage.

The Committee of Management meets at 7.00pm on the second Tuesday of each month.  Contact can be made through the Secretary or for use of halls through Janet Spence the Hall Usage Coordinator.