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Thanks

Next Monday is Anzac Day.  A day when we remember those who were sent on our behalf to protect and serve our country. While we may not all agree on the worthiness of those wars, we can still recognise their sacrifice and service. Especially when many of them had no choice about going. I once talked with an older person  who still remembered the day, when as a child,  he watched his mother clear the mailbox and saw her pull out the draft letter for his father and saw the look of di...

EASTER

This week is the most important week of the year and to acknowledge just how significant it is for us we’re meeting twice  - on Friday morning to remember the death of Jesus and then again on Sunday as we celebrate the good news of Jesus resurrection from the dead. Join with us as we reflect and rejoice on these two very special days. Friday 9.30am for a reflective Good Friday service Easter Sunday 10am as we celebrate together. We will be holding a physical service this coming Sunday ope...

Palm Sunday

We will be holding a physical service this coming Sunday open to anyone. We do require facemasks to be worn and social distancing is in place. We look forward to seeing you all again. This week we will celebrate Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week and the final week before Easter. Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus came not to wield power and force people to submit to him but instead as one who comes in peace and offers us new life. What might the offer of new life mean for you in the situati...

Whose judging who?

The advent of social-media has allowed us all to become critics, sometimes quite vocally, about what others post or say. And it seems that often those critiques are quite judgemental and personal in nature. Online, it appears that our normal restraints and hesitancy to say what we think disappears. And often those judgmental comments are just cruel and unfair. One group I follow, a traffic page, often has the administrator closing comments as people enter into online war about the merits of some...

When the time is right

On the wall in my study is a verse from a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes which reads ‘If you wait for the perfect conditions you will never get anything done.’ I wonder how often we get caught out waiting for the perfect conditions?  We tell ourselves we’ll start something, stop something, marry someone, buy something, when the perfect time arrives. And so often we discover that we missed out, waiting for something that will never arrive. Sometimes we may strike it just right b...

Owning our own stuff

This week we are remembering the events of Christchurch three years ago and seeing on our T.V.’s, in real time, the unfolding war in Ukraine. Two events triggered by individuals who blame others for the actions they have taken.  It’s an easy thing to do isn’t it. We’re grumpy and so we blame others for the anger we feel. Or we hit the kids or Mrs because ‘well they deserved it’. Jesus was pretty clear to his followers that we all need to own our own stuff, that we can’t blame...

Watch The Chosen here tonight 7.30pm

Here’s your chance to watch a modern retelling of the Jesus story. Sermon.net have made this movie available free for us to stream free from our website. The Chosen tells the story of Jesus from the viewpoints of those chosen to be his followers.  Click on The Chosen in the menu above to view.  To watch a trailer go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-AJdKty74M. We hope this retelling will bring this story to life for you. Please note this story like all movies does carry some arti...

Counting down...to Easter

Many of us are counting down the days till omicron passes and we are free to emerge from our homes and places of safety. But in the church year we are currently in a period of time known as Lent. Lent is the period of 40 days prior to Good Friday, excluding Sundays, so covers about 6 weeks. And this period of time has been used by the Church as a time of reflection and preparation  as we count down to  Easter.  This has been a space to consider what it means to live a life of sacr...

The suffering we inflict

Like many of you I watched with sadness this week as Putin ordered troops into Ukraine.  Regardless of the reasons he used to justify this action, the end result is that ordinary people – men, women and children are the ones who suffer. And this is always the way of war - suffering and death march arm in arm with the troops and guns. It may still be a long way from home but in our global village we too see the images of pain and sorrow. We are all impacted by this at some level. My heart ...

This coming Sunday

Today we moved to Phase 3 in the omicron outbreak which means we have hit more than 5000 new cases per day. In addition the elders have become aware of several cases here on the coast. Faced with the rapid growth of omicron we have made the decision to move to radio services only. There will be NO physical service this coming Sunday and we will continue this until the omicron peak is over, hopefully in 3 to 6 weeks time. We will advise when physical services will resume. If you need help in any ...

Watch The Chosen every Sunday evening at 7.30pm online here.

Here’s your chance to watch a modern retelling of the Jesus story. Sermon.net have made this movie available free for us to stream free from our website. The Chosen tells the story of Jesus from the viewpoints of those chosen to be his followers.  Click on The Chosen in the menu above to view.  To watch a trailer go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-AJdKty74M. We hope this retelling will bring this story to life for you. Please note this story like all movies does carry some artis...

Off with the old

I watched a monarch butterfly this week and as it flitted around the garden I couldn’t help but compare it with the fat caterpillars that gobbled up our swan plant.  This butterfly has been transformed, in a sense recreated from something earthbound to a creature that can fly. It reminded me that sometimes we need to let go of the old, in order to experience the new. The caterpillar will never fly, no matter how much it wishes it could, unless it allows itself to be renewed.  What tr...

Sometimes life is tough

Today’s post is a bit personal and difficult to write.  Seventeen years ago our fifteen year old son collapsed and died at school. It was the hardest time of our lives as we struggled to make sense of his death. Why did this happen? How will we ever get over this? And of course the where is God in the midst of death and suffering? It was a time of grief and pain, or hurt and despair. And yet, strangely it was also a time when I personally understood God’s presence and love in a deep way...

And the goal is...

There is an old tale told of a wealthy man who was an avid art collector. When he died his art collection was put up for auction. When the auction began the very first piece was a rather simplistic, amateurish piece of the man’s son, who had died while still a young man. No one was interested in this particular piece, all eyes were on the fabulous collectible pieces still on display. Eventually an old woman, obviously poor, offered to buy the picture. The auctioneer sold it to her and then ask...

I see red, I see red, I see red

So here we are at Red in the Covid response system as we respond to the latest Covid variant - omicron.  Perhaps you are beginning to see red as Covid continues to disrupt our lives. Perhaps you are suffering what is now being referred to as Covid fatigue – you’re just over it. Two years on from the first Covid out break it is little wonder many of us are tired and a little bit grumpy. Level red does have some implications for us as a church over the next few weeks and the leadership ha...

Interruption of invitation?

Henri Nouwen once wrote ‘My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that the interruptions were my work.' The last few months our lives have been constantly interrupted by Covid and the impact of trying to reduce its impact on our community. Normal life seems to have gone on hold. Perhaps like me, you have become frustrated at this interruption and long for things to go back to the way they were BC (Before Covid). But what might happen fo...

What will you do with 2022?

According to sociologists the 2nd Friday in January is when the majority of people abandon their new year’s resolutions. We may begin the new year with plans to lose weight, exercise more, be kinder or …whatever you want to insert here….but most of us by now will have already given it away. However the sociologists also discovered that when we do change together, (with a buddy or group) we are much more likely to stick with it and see it through. It seems we really do need each o...

Christmas Carols

You are welcome to join us for carols and fun as we celebrate the coming of Jesus. A vaccination pass is required and we can only accommodate 100 people - sorry about that. Kicks off at 7pm so aim to come early and have your pass ready....

What to do with this baby?

It’s hard not to be a little sentimental at Christmas – all the songs, the heart-moving Christmas ads, the gifts and this story about a little baby born in a manger all those years ago. A young couple, forced to travel to a distant town only to discover there is now room at the inn and so are forced to make do with  a stable and a feeding trough. Somehow even today that story somehow moves our hearts. But of course the baby never stays a baby and eventually this baby, now a man, claims ...

Vaccination Pass Required

This coming Sunday will be our first 'vaccination pass required' service as a church.  This means that from this Sunday you will need to bring your vaccination pass with you and we are required by law to sight it before you can enter. Please note the following requirements put in place by our leadership team to keep you and others as safe as possible. All attendees are required to record their presence – either by app or sign-in (This is a legal requirement). The elders have decided that...

Advent Continues

This coming Sunday will be our final 'unvaccinated' service until early next year, when we hope to offer an unvaccinated service on the third Sunday of each month. We will keep you advised of those dates. Please make sure you wear a mask and if you are at all unwell, we do ask that you stay home and watch via zoom. A zoom link is at the end of this email. From Sunday 19 Dec you will need to bring your vaccination pass with you and we are required by law to sight it before you can enter. Please n...

Covid and vaccinations

This weekend we all begin to operate under the new traffic light system put in place by the Government for restricting the spread of Covid. This means that we must designate whether or not our services are just for vaccinated people or open to unvaccinated people as well. As there is still no recorded Covid in our area the elders have agreed to continue as an open service for the next two Sundays (5th and 12th) and then from Dec 19th become vaccinated only. This will change if Covid is discover...

Sent

The other day my wife sent me on a mission to drop off some goods, we no longer needed, at a local charity. This mission made me a missionary – a person sent to do a particular task – in this case drop off some goods. A missionary is one who is sent on a mission and therefore consists of two parts – the first is the sending and the second is the mission involved. Most often today the term missionary is used to define a person who has gone on a religious mission. The word first came into us...

Learn

Have you ever tried to learn an instrument or take up a new hobby?  There is this period of time when it all feels so awkward and unnatural and you wonder if you are ever going to ‘get it’. The piano keys are just in the wrong place, the guitar chords just don’t happen, and balancing on that skateboard is just way too hard. Experts tell us that it actually takes 100’s of hours for us to learn a new skill.  At first it feels all wrong but then one day something clicks - it’s l...

Can you hear?

How often have you found yourself in a situation where you can’t really hear what is been said to you. Maybe there’s just way too much other noise, a lawnmower or revving cars or the telly. And how many of you have  found yourselves distracted while someone tries to tell you something important. Maybe you keep watching the tv. or looking at your book or phone and the result is that you don’t hear what is being said to you. Carl Roger’s once said ‘We think we listen, but very rarel...