The early missionaries to New Zealand were instrumental in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. They put the trust others had in them and their own skills to good use by working for the good of all people. At times the work they did was hard. Their motives were questioned by many, but they…
Many parishioners here look back over a considerable number of years at St Paul’s. Throughout that time they have gained many precious memories, have been fed in their faith, led in their path through life. This church has been a significant part of their life. Those who joined us more recently have hopefully developed some…
Early next year we will have a garage sale. We already have some items from an earlier effort to raise some funds on Trademe. However, more items are always welcome. While the garage sale is indeed a fund-raising opportunity, it is also an encouragement to think about some of the clutter we may have amassed…
The early church celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus regularly and over time this remembrance combined with the regular breaking of the bread to become what we now know as the Eucharist. Nevertheless, Passover provided the opportunity to more specifically remember the events surrounding the passion and resurrection of Jesus every year. Soon an…
Recently I watched the 2002 BBC documentary “The Century of the Self”. It traces the history of an idea that has become very important in our society. Indeed, the documentary suggests that in the 20th century it has come to dominate Western societies. It is the belief that the satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority. This idea was…
Bishop Peter visited our parish last Sunday. It was a good service and a relevant sermon. Like all sermons at St Paul’s, this sermon is available in audio form on the website. In the sermon Bishop Peter also mentioned the conference to launch the Anglican Community of St Mark and the presentation given by Bishop…
On Labour Day we went to the archaeological exhibition at the Arts Centre, which is part of the Christchurch Heritage Festival. Back in 2013 I briefly worked for the archaeological company that examined the Arts Centre precinct, so I knew something about the project, even though I worked at other sites around Christchurch, never the arts centre. The archaeological finds displayed at…
For months my daughter was excited about the new school building she would go to once it was completed. The construction finally came to completion after the school holidays and the children moved into the new classrooms after Labour Weekend. But after all these months of anticipation, she was somewhat overwhelmed by the changes. First of all, we didn’t know where exactly…
There’s a saying that in an Anglican Church something becomes a tradition if it has been done four times—and then it is nearly impossible to change. All churches have traditions, even those who maintain that they have free-flowing worship. Indeed, the structure in some “contemporary” churches is even more rigid, and the words even more repetitive, than those in many “traditional” churches.…
In my sermon last Sunday I mentioned the 2nd century letter to Diognetus. Only one copy of this letter survived among writings from Justin Martyr. The text was then more widely published in 1592. Unfortunately, the manuscript was destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, so that experts can only refer to the published texts. The letter is a defence of the…