The origins of the Christmas tree seem to be shrouded somewhat in mystery. It seems that there were old pagan customs in Europe of decorating houses with evergreen plants in mid-winter. There are chronicled mentions from the 15th and 16th centuries of public Christmas trees in Baltic towns, for example in Riga, today in Latvia.…

Last week I went to the induction of a vicar into his new parish. As usual when travelling around Christchurch I went by bus. At the end of the event I had just missed the bus that provided the quicker connection back to Papanui, so took the long, slow bus ride home. As I entered…

Over a year ago I wrote about the hole along the bike path that we encountered on our way to school every school day. We had to look out for the hole, so that we would not end up having an accident. One of the parishioners contacted me shortly after the newsletter was published and…

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.Do nothing out of selfish ambition or…

Last week we finally got our washing machine back after more than three months. It had a defect, but was still under warranty. For just over a month we had no washing machine at all. We had to resort to quite a bit of hand washing and I occasionally went to the laundromat to get…

When Christianity was more socially prominent, going to church was seen as doing the “right thing”. A few decades ago society expected people to go to Church. It was the responsible thing to do. Well, I wonder whether gymnasiums have taken over that role in today’s society. My wife got me into a gym, and…

I am a passive member of some railway societies—the sort of organisations that restore and operate heritage railway vehicles, archive historical documents and photographs related to railways, publish magazines and hold meetings. Like so many other groups, these associations currently face difficulties. Some trends are recognisable across many voluntary associations, whether that is sports clubs,…

I write this blog once a week. It takes me anything from 15 minutes to 2 hours. What if I am a bit pressed for time? I hope that I get some good inspiration or I just force some words onto the page.However, there is a faster way, which many “content writers” are now using:…

In the last “Hope for the Future” talk organised by the Anglican Community of St Mark, Lyndon Drake, Archdeacon of Tāmaki Makaurau in the Māori Anglican bishopric of Te Tai Tokerau, gave his thoughts on the future of the Church. He is mainly involved in mission to Māori. For him that is a rich mission…

On 14 February 2021, Valentine’s Day, we had a Future Directions meeting in the Lounge, considering how we as a Parish could proceed. Later that night an alarm was sent to our phones, telling us that we would immediately go back to Level 3. We had our meeting just in time, even though it meant…