Last week I was on my retreat, the first I’ve been on since my ordination. Clergy are encouraged to go on one retreat a year, so I took opportunity of going away during a week when I did not have any rest home service or other urgent commitments. The time proved to be right: I…

In 2021 the local Synod adopted the Diocesan Mission Action Plan (DMAP). This called for ministry units to develop their own mission action plan with the support of the Missional Leader. In light of this the Archdeacon for Regeneration and Mission, Mark Chamberlain, was with us last Sunday to lead us in this process. Vestry…

From when I was about eight years old I was a voracious reader. No book in the house was safe from me. When I was twelve years old I came across a substantial tome entitled “Heroic legends”. I began to read it: fascinating stories of enduring love, of heroic deeds, of battles won, of hardships…

In the last two newsletters I wrote about church funds. Most of those funds are held in trust for specific purposes and there generally is not much money flooding around. Many parishes, including those looking after iconic church buildings, struggle to finance the upkeep of those buildings. Still, the churches, including the Anglican Church, hold…

The fearsome chief Te Rauparaha is particularly well known for the frequent armed expeditions he led to the South Island. These enabled him to control some of the northern parts of the South Island and exact loot from and revenge on Ngāi Tahu. He was taken into custody by British Troops in 1846 and returned…