This year is the shortest Advent time possible, just 21 days long. That also squeezes our Advent celebrations here at St Paul’s and at other churches. The only service dedicated to Advent themes is this Sunday, 3rd December. After that we’re hurrying towards the stable of Bethlehem. For someone who comes from a tradition in…
Last week I went to the presentation of the Faith and Belief Study funded by the Wilberforce Foundation, which ran alongside the Church Life Survey that St Paul’s was part of. This study surveyed 1,009 people, which represent New Zealand demographically and geographically, on their attitudes towards faith and belief. From this detailed survey good…
At a parish meeting in February 2021 about the future of the Parish we decided to use the facilities, especially the hall, as a vibrant centre to serve the community. After conversations with several community groups and the city council we agreed that this would be best achievable through partnering with the LOOP Youth Centre.…
Green Party politicians in New Zealand made some controversial statements during protests in favour of Palestine recently. To balance this, I thought I’d point to another speech of a Green Party politician. The Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck recently gave a speech on this issue, which takes a different approach: […] It was the generation of my grandparents…
For thousands of years parents have sung lullabies to help their children sleep. I think I started singing songs when tucking up my daughter in bed from the time when she moved into her own bedroom. She was five months old at the time. With that I continued a long family tradition of singing songs…
The Gaza conflict is a terrible tragedy that has flared up again after many years. Having regularly excavated in the southern part of Israel, I know the area bordering Gaza quite well. I also know what to do when the alarm sounds. Rockets have long been shot from Gaza quite regularly, but recent events have…
We are excited to announce that we will be employing a part-time children and families worker! Following our successful application to the “Journey to Jesus Fund”, we have got sufficient funding to employ a children and families worker for two years and may look to extend that. Please let anyone you think might be interested…
The results of the Church Life Survey for St Paul’s Papanui are in by now. The wider national survey is not yet complete, but we’ll know more by the end of the year. The people who completed the survey overall seem to especially value the music at St Paul’s, even more so than the preaching.…
In 1972 the World Heritage Convention was signed, with New Zealand ratifying it in 1984. One of the significant features of the Convention is that it links together the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to…
A while ago I went to catch the Number 27 bus. I thought I had still some time, but as I got to Harewood Road,I saw the bus approaching in the distance. I realised I needed to get to the bus stop fast, so broke into a fast jog to get there. As I started…