In recent years the number of Anglicans has steadily declined in New Zealand. In contrast, the number of Catholics has slowly grown. That is partly due to immigration: more people from dominantly Catholic countries arrive in New Zealand than from dominantly Anglican countries (such as some parts of Africa).With its worldwide coherence and clear rules…

This week, in a brief moment of quiet, I looked through a book on New Zealand Heritage buildings, which I had bought from Dove Bookshop. I noticed that there were quite a few churches among the heritage buildings. That is not unique to New Zealand. In Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East…

Government requirements have not substantially changed regarding church services, except that the limit for gatherings is now 100 people, rather than 50. However, there have been several changes made to the way the government guidelines are to be implemented in the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch. This is in part due to a letter from the…

From the Middle Ages onwards in some churches there have been rented pews. These gave the family who owned the title to particular pews sole access to the pews in the Church, certainly during service times. This allowed the wealthy and office holders to sit in the most prestigious places, enjoying the service and their…

We might be in lockdown, but work on some projects still continues. That also includes consideration of what will happen to the tennis court lands. Before lockdown the wardens and I met a developer who is working with the Heathcote – Mt Pleasant Anglican Parish to develop land adjacent to St Mary’s in Heathcote. As…

The beautiful weather we had these last days of the extended lockdown reminds me of the sunny days during lockdown last year. Then we were in autumn; now it seems spring has arrived. Maybe apart from the sunny days it is also that we’ve got a bit more time to experience the sunny days, even…

We are in lockdown again. By now we know what to do. We know that it probably is a good precautionary measure. Still, it also means that we miss out on events, gatherings and activities that we value. We were meant to celebrate my parents’ golden wedding anniversary. That has to be put off now.…

I recently saw a reference to the work of a German Christian journalist on the future of the Church, so I decided to check out some of his ideas. Rather than telling people how the church could be more relevant, the journalist looked at historical trends and the current world. For him it was clear…

Somewhere along the walking and cycling path beside the railway line there is a noticeable hole in the asphalt. Cyclists may be thrown a bit off track if their wheels unexpectedly drop into the hole, but they normally don’t have a significant problem to correct their course quickly. But for people on small-wheeled vehicles the…

This Sunday is the 1st of August. Since my early childhood that has meant one thing: the Swiss National Day. We were normally on holidays in Switzerland in early August and enjoyed the celebration. We decorated the house and a small cart with flags and bells, dressed in appropriate festive clothes and then made our…