Recently I went through some of the old files in my office. That’s when I came across the work of the 2050 Group. This group met in 2010 and looked at ways to make St Paul’s sustainable and ready to engage with the community to 2050 and beyond. The group took a long-term view of…

At the last Synod the Diocesan Ministry Units Statute 2021 was passed. This means that AGMs will proceed somewhat differently from how they might have been conducted in previous years. According to that Statute, the business of that meeting should include:a. confirmation of the minutes of any prior meetings;b. receipt and adoption of the accounts…

There is an old photo on the wall of a room in my parents’ house. It shows a small village with a prominent church in a valley that is surrounded by forested slopes. The dedication at the back indicates that the small village is called “Middlevale”, which is half-way up the valley to the next…

Since the beginning of the year, we have a new regular group in our Lounge — Youth Space. Previously the group met at the Papanui Youth Development Trust Centre. Because the Youth Centre cannot have so many groups meeting there due to COVID-19 restrictions , Youth Space has found a home with St Paul’s for…

This week I went to a course on governance, which in part also focussed on running meetings. While the speaker had extensive experience on commercial boards, she now often works with charities, trusts and membership organisations. She told us that what many think are essential procedures at meetings are just tradition, not requirements. For example,…

The early missionaries believed in a God who would ultimately work out all things according to his own sovereign plan. In the same way we believe that, in spite of human failings and limitations, the Creator’s purposes will be established in these islands.We believe too, in the rule and reign of the Kingdom of God,…

As the weather has been nice and sunny in recent weeks, we’ve been visiting a few different playgrounds in Christchurch. We hop on buses and move from one playground to the next. That way we not only discover many of Christchurch’s parks and playgrounds, but also neighbourhoods that we probably would never have occasion to…

A while ago I read the book “To dream again”, which talks about helping churches come alive again. Some of the book would also be applicable to a church like St Paul’s, which is part of the wider Anglican Church. The author also discusses the health of churches and whether they are heading into a…

Some time ago I read the book “God knows where they come from” about the lives of four church leaders from different denominations, who all grew up in Hokitika on the West Coast. There’s the Anglican, the Methodist,the Presbyterian, and the Catholic. Even though in the middle of the 20th century, the different denominations often…

I still have problems with the understanding that Christmas is over on Boxing Day. As a child for us Christmas lasted from Christmas Eve to Epiphany. In many countries these days, New Zealand included, Christmas seems to begin sometime in the middle of November, and certainly is here by the 1st of December until it…