The Easter Sunrise Service was held again this year by the Combined Torquay Christian Churches on Easter Sunday 20 April at Torquay's Cosy Corner. This year's service was attended by a larger than usual crowd of locals and visitors. Local church leaders read the Gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection, prayers were given and songs were sung. After a break of more than 10 years there was a paddle out, where a cross was formed in the water.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The Surfcoast Anglican Parish Cycling Team participated in their inaugural team event on Saturday 12 April, joining the Great Ocean and Otway Classic Family ride course of 60km, starting and finishing in Torquay.
We began the early morning start with a blessing in the gardens at St Luke’s before rolling out to the start line to join a sea of blue jerseys awaiting the starter’s gun.
The course through the rolling hills in the coastal hinterland was enjoyed by a large field of riders of all ages and abilities, in perfect weather. Our team of three sported team signage on our jerseys which attracted a number of friendly comments and interactions, and one blessing!
We hope this will be the first of many group rides, with an ever-expanding team enjoying the camaraderie that comes with being part of large supported events like the Great Ocean and Otway Classic (60, 145 and 204km courses, start and finish in Torquay), the Cadel Evans Peoples Ride (124km and 59km, start and finish in Geelong) in January and Amy’s Gran Fondo (122km, 45km and 14km, start and finish in Lorne) in September each year.
If you are interested in joining us contact Richard.

The Parish and their guests gathered together at St Lukes in Torquay to enjoy a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner on 5th March. The guests included groups from the Lions Club, our Op Shop and St Therese's. Phil and Julie Shirley, the conveners of our Mainly Music Groups, were also guests. Phil gave an address about the reasons for Mainly Music and how it operates. Many thanks to Helen Clement and her team for providing the excellent food.

Revd Nay Htoo Khin was farewelled at a combined parish service at St Lukes on Sunday 23rd February. Revd Nay Htoo had been acting as Parish Locum while Revd Sharon has been on leave for the past two months. At the end of the service Revd Nay Htoo was presented with gifts by Church Warden Richard Kelly and Revd Irwin Faris. After the service the parish enjoyed a shared lunch in the parish hall.

St Lukes Church in Torquay was again the venue for a Surf Coast U3A Organ and Song Recital by Tom Healey and his wife Helen on the Thursday 7th November.
Tom and Helen introduced each of the musical pieces with interesting anecdotes about their composers.
Below is a short sample of the music we were treated to.
We are blessed to have such talented musicians prepared to come and perform for us.

St Lukes Church in Torquay was the venue for a wonderful concert of Baroque music on the afternoon of Sunday the 27th October. The concert was well attended with hardly a spare seat to be found in the Church.

The group "Musicians of the Great Ocean Road" performed concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann and Bach to the delight of the audience.

The group consisted of three violins, a viola, a cello, a flute and a harpsichord, which made for a glorious sound in the small church.

The concert began with movements from a Flute Concerto by Vivaldi and then a Viola Concerto by Telemann. The Spring Movement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons was next, which was followed by Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto.

The concert was a musical treat which was enjoyed by all who attended. Torquay is truly blessed to have such talented musicians prepared to come and perform for us. Bravo.

Another Bach Violin Concert was held in St Lukes Church in Torquay on Sunday afternoon the 24th June. Violinist Olivier Bonnici performed six violin Sonatas and Partitas by Bach, much to the delight of the audience present.
The concert is part of a series of concerts being held at St Lukes by the local group, "Musicians of the Great Ocean Road".

The next concert will be on Sunday 25th August starting at 3pm and will be by Quatuor Oceanique with Allister Cox - Clarinet

The Rev'd Irwin Faris celebrated his final regular Service at St Luke's Church in Torquay on Sunday 7 April. Rev'd Faris held the position of Assistant Priest in the Parish from 2001-2008. Rev'd Faris since then has had the Archbishop's Permission to officiate in the Diocese of Melbourne of which our Parish is part. In recent times he has been conducting a monthly Service at Lorne and celebrating Holy Communion at St. Luke's on the first Sunday of the Month. Rev'd Irwin has also had a crucial role in visiting the sick and elderly in the Parish. Irwin and wife Rosemary thankfully will not be leaving the parish but will remain with us as parishioners. We have been truly blessed to have had Irwin assisting in the life of the Parish.
In his Sermon today Rev'd Irwin preached on the passage about Doubting Thomas from John's Gospel. You can read the text of the sermon by clicking the following link.

Surfcoast Anglican Parish held its annual Parish Fête on Saturday 6th April at St Luke's in Torquay. The weather was cool and overcast and the forecast showers did not eventuate. Locals and visitors and their children took advantage of the pleasant weather and visited the Fête. As usual there were loads of home made produce, the Op Shop, face painting for children, great BBQ'ed sausages, cup cakes, a Coffee Kart, an Icecream Van, wooden toys, craftwork, a raffle and lots of plants. Members of the Parish and the Op Shop volunteers once again all worked together, and had fun, making for another memorable Fête.
This year the Fête raised $7585 for the Parish's ongoing projects.
Thank you to everyone for your hard work before and on Fête Day. Thanks also to all the members of the public who came to support us and opened their purses and wallets.

The Lord is Risen! He is Risen indeed. Happy Easter to all.
St Luke's was full to overflowing with locals and visitors for this Easter Sunday's Service. The congregation joyfully celebrated the Risen Christ.
Following the service the congregation moved outside to bless and officially open the new, long awaited, ramp and steps to the hall.

The Easter Sunrise Service was held again this year by the Combined Torquay Christian Churches on Easter Sunday 31 March at Torquay's Cosy Corner. Local church leaders read the Gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection, prayers were given and songs were sung. Rev'd Sharon delivered an excellent talk outlining the events of the first Easter morning. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The Trio Oceanique held a concert at St Luke's in Torquay on Sunday the 24th March 2024. The concert program consisted of Violin, Viola and Cello compositions by Mozart, Boccherini, Sibelius and Ravel. The audience was treated to a wonderful musical experience.

The next concert will be on Sunday 23rd June starting at 3pm and will be a Meditation on Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.

There were two Baptisms at St Luke’s on Sunday morning the 10th of March. Samuel and Katrina Lander brought their two daughters Imogen & Lucinda for Baptism. The St Luke’s congregation were delighted to welcome the two girls into the Christian Faith.

The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Night was held in St Luke’s Hall on the 13th February.
Thank you to everyone who supported Night. It takes a team to make the night such a success. Thank you to those who organised the night, set up the hall, cooked and served meals and cleaned up. Thanks as well to everyone for sharing conversation and hospitality in our church. We raised around $1300 which will be divided evenly between the Anglican Hospital in Gaza and major parish maintenance tasks.