Dear Friends,
It has been wonderful to receive reports of very good attendances at services through the Easter weekend. It was a joy to be in a very full Transitional Cathedral on Sunday morning. Are attendance numbers back up since the beginning of Covid in 2020? (Yet Covid is widely present still in our community).
Many of our youth groups were at Easter Camp at Spencer Park from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday—some 2400 campers in all from many churches across the South Island. It was a pleasure to visit “APC” or Anglican Party Central on Sunday afternoon and to find a wonderful atmosphere among our campers, their leaders and camp parents. Three of our community at St John’s College, Auckland were at the Camp as much appreciated speakers: Matt and Zara Maslin, and Ciru Mariuki.
Another of our students at St John’s College, Cassie Lee, has begun a part-time role with NZCMS while she concludes her formation at the College. Read an update from NZCMS here.
All students, staff, graduates, and supporters of the University of Canterbury are invited to a special service at 5 pm on Saturday 29 April in the Transitional Cathedral to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the University. The service will be led by the Reverend Dr John Fox, Senior Ecumenical Chaplain at the University, with me as the preacher.
Travelling down Hereford Street, between Barbadoes Street and Fitzgerald Avenue, you can see the final stages of the new City Mission buildings being completed on the north side of the street—we are looking forward to an official opening in May. Not far away, a new central city op shop has just opened for business.
The farewell for Dean Lawrence and Elizabeth Kimberley from their ministries at the Transitional Cathedral will be on Sunday 14 May 2023, following the 10 am Choral Eucharist. All are welcome.
The next Cursillo weekend course is being held in May (11th-14th) and we are looking for people who want to consider where and how they might serve God more fully. A team of people who have completed a weekend themselves aim to share their faith, their insights, and their experience. All of this takes place with song and praise, with prayer and worship. The weekend is like a pilgrimage. Come join the pilgrims and the pilgrimage at the next Cursillo (or “short course”) in our Diocese, Thursday evening 11 May to Sunday afternoon 14 May 2023. For more details, please contact Mike Morley-Bunker, mmb@xtra.co.nz.
This Sunday 16 April 2023, Easter 2 has the Gospel reading is John 20:19-31. There is a lot going on in this passage! In one passage we have two significant appearances of the risen Jesus (to the Ten, to Thomas with the other ten disciples), the Johannine commissioning of the disciples for mission (21-23), the (so called) Johannine Pentecost (22), and the purpose of the whole gospel (30-31). But what is Jesus’ particular message for the church today?
Arohanui,
