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…
Helping People to Meet God • Make Friends • Grow in Faith
Helping People to Meet God • Make Friends • Grow in Faith
Vicar’s Blog (Page 17)
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…
In recent weeks we have been looking at the Prophets in our Wednesday Bible Study. Generally these prophetic books contain warnings and messages of doom and gloom, but they also contain visions of hope. As we looked at their message, we could feel the frustration at human sin, stubbornness, and apathy. The prophets knew that there was a close link between human…
During the recent synod of the Diocese of Christchurch, Edwin Boyce, the Diocesan Manager, gave a presentation on ethical investment and the way the Church invests its funds. The General Synod Office has also recently published a report (Motion 11 Report – He waka eke noa) on the investment of funds by the Anglican Church. Currently the Anglican Church in New Zealand…
On the 7th November St Paul’s will be open as part of the Christchurch Heritage Festival. The festival this year is an opportunity to share the stories of the past that explore and celebrate our historic journeys through arts, culture and identity. In preparation for that I have also met with representatives of the Papanui…
When we left Cambridge, Waikato, we were given some warm socks so that we could survive the cold South Island winters. Yudy and I had lived in Christchurch in the winter of 2013 in a fairly cold house with little money to run the heating. My Caribbean wife therefore remembered Christchurch winters with some trepidation. Because our current house is fairly big…
Watching a baby grow is always fascinating. They develop so quickly! As we see our baby Sebastian do new things, we are constantly reminded of the times when his older sister and brother reached that milestone. When were they comfortable lying on their tummy? When did they turn over? When did they sit up? When…
I am currently reading a book about the work of the Missionaries among the Māori in the early and mid 19th century. Be warned! You might hear snippets from that history in future sermons. As more and more settlers poured into New Zealand, the missionaries tried to persuade Māori not to sell too much land.…
St Paul’s now has an Environmental Management Plan, which is used to monitor environmental performance of our activities and seeks to implement care for the environment in our decision making. In response to a motion from Diocesan Synod last year we were required to formulate a parish response to climate change. However, it is best…