Author: Ben Clapton

I'm a violinist, teacher, composer and arranger from Ellenbrook, Western Australia. I love my family, coffee, AFL and running.

Farewell

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, faith, Life

Today is our last Sunday at our Church before we leave. Due to it being January, we actually had our Corps farewell on December 18. Today we will receive a farewell from the Division as well as an “official” farewell from our corps. I thought I’d share today our farewell, which was shared by Mrs Wilson, as well as Liesl’s farewell reply.

Farewell Speech to Ben and Liesl

A few weeks ago Liesl led the devotions at Songster Practice. She spoke about her life being in the ‘count-down’ phase as she was going through ‘the last time I will be doing this’ before leaving WA for the Training Collegeā€¦ the half packed boxes a constant reminder that time was ticking away far too quickly. She expressed that her sense of excitement and anticipation was tinged with sadness because she would be leaving her church family here at Floreat. Liesl has grown up in this church since she was a baby, except for a brief period after the family moved to Morley and attended the Corps there. However Liesl’s heart was always at Floreat so she returned and became one of us again where she has been nurtured and encouraged in her faith and service for God. Those who have known Liesl would be aware of her strong conviction that God had called her into full-time ministry in The Salvation Army. Continue reading “Farewell” →

A new year, a new challenge…

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

Well, it’s 2012. 2011 has ended, and with it a whole heap of changes have been brought about.

We’re in the midst of packing right now – we move to Melbourne in less than two weeks now. The usual routines that we have fallen into will change dramatically, with our new lives being governed by college timetables and expectations. Not only that, but we will be bringing a new child into the world in May – something that will also change our lives dramatically.

So for today, let’s look back on the year that was, and look forward to the year that will be…

Continue reading “A new year, a new challenge…” →

Not a Booksneeze blogger

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life

Looking forward to diving into this - thanks t...I came across this service, Booksneeze, the other day. It looked like a great idea. They send out books to bloggers, the bloggers review the book, publish a review and copy it to a site such as Amazon, and then get to do what they want with the book.

Thinking this would be a great little addition to my website, I applied. I looked through the website just to check any details, couldn’t find any reason as to why I wouldn’t get approved. As part of the application process, they ask what country you’re from, which makes sense because they’d need to send out the book to you and would need to know the address.

So I applied, and waited for my approval. Continue reading “Not a Booksneeze blogger” →

The end of a period

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, Life
Uniting Church in Australia

I know it’s usually the end of an era, but I don’t think eighteen months really classifies as an era. Today I finished at the Uniting Church in WA.

It’s oddĀ  to think that in July last year, I was sitting in Soto, writing this post about how I had finally found a job. After six months of looking for work, and coming literally about a week away from going to K-Mart to do anything there, I found a job that really allowed me to embrace my passions.

Over my time there, I have really grown to love that job, and be proud of my achievements there, so much so that I want to share them with you. Continue reading “The end of a period” →