Recently I was in Timaru again visiting my parents and picking up my children after some days with the grandparents. While I come relatively frequently to Timaru, I get to some areas very infrequently. So as I was driving or walking through the city I did notice the changes: the little shop closed, that one taken over by another chain, a house…
Helping People to Meet God • Make Friends • Grow in Faith
Helping People to Meet God • Make Friends • Grow in Faith
Posts by Hank van Til
These days it is very cheap to communicate. It costs hardly anything to send emails or to call someone in the same country. Even international phone calls are significantly cheaper than in previous decades. That should enable us to communicate quickly and effectively with many people. But sometimes it seems that communication has become too cheap. Our email inboxes are now so…
Sometimes the infancy narratives in the Bible are seen as just some stories written to bolster the claim of Jesus’ divinity, particularly the story in Luke Chapter 2. One of the details that is said to be strange is that Joseph would have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house…
This week I went to the annual meeting of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Biblical Studies. Here Bible scholars from throughout New Zealand and a few from Australia gave presentations on various aspects of the Bible and then questioned each other about the presentation. Some of these were quite detailed, for example one presentation about “allusive soundplay in Job 9:17”, arguing…
On 7 October 2025 Pope Leo XIV issued the advisory Mater Populi Fideli—Mother of the Faithful People of God, which discusses matters of Catholic doctrine in relation to Mary. While praising Mary and Catholic devotion to her, it limits some of the excesses sometimes seen among Roman Catholics. It states that many titles have been applied to Mary that have not been…
Last Sunday we attended the church service at St Stephen’s Anglican Church in Reefton. By turning up we doubled the congregation there. The service was led by Hilary Ladds, the local lay minister. Songs were played on the computer and automatically coordinated with the overhead projection – they must use a song-bank that makes this…
Recently the Diocese has prepared guidelines for dealing with homeless people on church property. Vestry decided that a short summary should be provided in the newsletter. Welcoming those experiencing homelessness must be balanced with our responsibilities for the safety and wellbeing of parishioners, visitors, and the wider community. Compassionate care works alongside the law and…
Recently I read a book about the 1960s New Zealand Railways days. One of the things that stood out for me was how often railway employees seemed to move around the country. Every few years they would move to another locality, often with houses provided. Some localities gained a bit of a reputation among the…
PYDT serves the communities of NW Otautahi with 148 community groups and programmes operating, with 47,455 being impacted across the board. Some young people might attend more than one programme.Our centre (LOOP) is functional and funky and maintained by Te Papanui Trust and volunteers.Our purpose is to empower young people to reach their full potential.Currently…