For the past 35 years or so, the members of Cornerstone Community and many friends and 'alumni' have mustered together for a weekend of good teaching and to share stories of what God has been doing amongst us.  We celebrate the men and women who have completed their two years training with us and are moving back to their home towns or into university and mission.  We also commission the new teams heading out to practice living out their faith, getting involved in youth work and community development in regional Australia.

Being a part of a Committed Company in Bendigo I really appreciate having a space made in the year where we can connect with the learning and missional communities spread around the country.  It was such a rich and inspiring time. Our 'national' community and leadership school hosted over 300 of us in Dubbo.  Such a great bunch of people to hang out with!

Our kids had a fantastic time catching up with the rest of the tribe.  The Walker family and friends ran an amazing kids program which included a 3 hour river float down the flooded Macquarie River for the teenagers!

The two teaching sessions this year focused on the life and teachings of Dietrech Bonhoffer and the need to count the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Mark Skinner highlighted that not following Christ has a cost too!  Such excellent, challenging and encouraging input, thanks Les and Mark!  It is so clear that to be an effective missional community each person needs to take their formation as a disciple of the Lord Jesus very seriously.

There was lots of free time to hang out together, a Catch up Cafe Friday night, a feast of spit-roasted absolutely delicious lamb, great singing together and then breaking bread.  Some of the young people, including our own 17 year old son, took the significant step of baptism.  Jesus made His presence felt amongst us.  To hear that beautiful, energetic, enthusiastic crowd of young (and not so young) people belt out the old Celtic hymn "Be Thou my Vision" at the end of the Muster filled my heart with joy and courage.

I hope you feel welcome to join us next year!

Last weekend the annual Cornerstone Community Muster kicked off with a Team Leader's Dinner and the traditional "Catch-up Cafe" held out at Burrabadine on Friday night. The light and colour of this first evening set the tone for the weekend ... "a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere". 

Saturday morning began with prayer and singing, leading into the first talk by James Webb ... 'Living in the Love of God'.  James spoke of this "living in" as shaped by obedience to the Father, an obedience in line with our true, remade selves - not the selves which would continue in their old mess of selfishness and pride.

Next came a time of reporting on mission, where stories from the year were shared by members of Cornerstone's missional teams and companies (long-term communities).  The day was then topped off with a series of baptisms in the Macquarie river, an afternoon of work-shopping various topics ranging from Committed Companies to Growing Young Men, and finally a meal and a night of beautiful and entertaining performances - musical and otherwise!

Sunday brought part two of the talks, from Paul Roe on 'Living Out the Love of God' - a life lived in response to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The day continued in celebration of God and his work in and through the community, with discipleship affirmations, communion, and a time of commissioning, pointing the way forward for another year.

"All in all, the weekend was a great time of reconnecting with the wider community of Cornerstone, enjoying friends, and tuning into God afresh".

We've had some requests about photos of the baptisms, so we've included them below.

By the way, if you can't see the photos above, try going directly to the muster 2011 album and the baptisms 2011 album.

You can download the brochure here!

For more information please contact:

Cornerstone Community

101R Bunglegumbie Road

Dubbo  NSW  2830

 

Postal: PO Box 1151 Dubbo  NSW  2830

phone: (02) 6884 0402