On Saturday 2 April and Sunday 3 April we had services for the Third Sunday in Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross.  Matins with the bringing out of the Cross was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday was a day of commemoration of the departed, Matins that evening was preceded by a general memorial service.  A great many people were present on Sunday morning, with friends from Newcastle and Sydney joining us for the service.  In his sermon the rector spoke of the way in which the veneration of the Cross on this day, the mid-point of the Forty Days of Great Lent, serves to encourage the faithful in spiritual struggle.