Dear Friends,
I am looking forward to being with over 370 people from within the Diocese and from other dioceses on Saturday at the Living Faith Conference in the CBHS Auditorium. Thank you for your prayers for this important event in the life of our church. One of the speakers, Grant Norsworthy, held an excellent ‘More Than Music Workshop’ for church musicians last night. Through tomorrow and Friday there are opportunities for leaders of Under 40s ministries, senior leaders, and women clergy from our Diocese to meet with Bishop Eleanor Sanderson, another of our speakers for the Conference.
On Sunday, Bishop Eleanor is preaching at the 8am, 9.15am, and 10.45am services at St Peter’s, Upper Riccarton and then at the 4.30pm service at St Barnabas’, Woodend.
Last weekend it was a privilege to participate in the following events and services: the City Mission fundraising dinner on Saturday evening; on Sunday morning, Confirmation Service at St Faith’s, New Brighton in the Parish of East Christchurch; AAW Festival Eucharist at 2pm Sunday afternoon in Holy Trinity, Avonside, with the Reverend Teresa Kundycki-Carrell preaching; and then Evensong at Christ’s College, on Sunday evening, during which I presented Joe Eccleton with his licence as Executive Principal of Christ’s College and dedicated a stained glass window in memory of a recent old boy, Wilson Murray. Thank you to key leaders for these events: Corinne Haines, Archdeacon Katrina Hill, the Reverend Justine Tremewan, and the Reverend Cameron Pickering.
Please pray for:
- Healing for the Reverend Jo Latham (Hanmer Springs).
- Preparations for Deeper Camp, Living Springs from Friday 1st – Saturday 2nd of November, and for speakers, Reverend Harry Newton (Sumner-Redcliffs) and Amy Clark (Woodend-Pegasus), together with MCs Cole Yeoman and Azaria Brooker.
- The Diocese of Dunedin preparing for its electoral synod which will take place over the weekend 22-24 November 2024.
- The Reverend Peter Akester as he concludes his work in the Diocese of Kondoa and returns to our Diocese in the next few days.
- Andy Dickson, Robert Jamieson, Anne Shave and Sage Burke preparing for ordination as deacons at 10.30am, Saturday 23 November, in the Transitional Cathedral.
I am always grateful for the work of our clergy who take on interim responsibilities in parishes. Recently I have accepted notice that the Reverend Sue Dickson will conclude her work in the Waimate district at the end of November, 2024 and the Reverend Jan Brodie will conclude her role in the Parish of Linwood-Aranui at the end of December, 2024. Thank you, Sue and Jan, for your ministry in these places.
Two of our retired clergy have died: the Reverend Laurence Le Petit whose funeral was yesterday in St Michael’s and All Angels church, and the Reverend Gerald Fitzgerald whose funeral is at 1.30 pm Friday 25 October in St Peter’s church, Upper Riccarton. May they both rest in peace and rise in glory.
On Tuesday, an important hui was held at Tuahiwi, as part of a series of national hui on the social, economic and political future of Māori in these islands. The Press has an important report on the day which bears reading and reflection: working outwards from the Treaty in 1840, is the future to be one of a Māori nation alongside a Pakeha nation (Te Maire Tau) or a bicultural nation (Ta Tipene O’Regan)?
Tragically, destruction and death continue to occur in Gaza. Oppression of Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians continues in the West Bank (with the Christchurch City Council taking care, according to today’s news, not to knowingly trade with firms involved in this oppression). Meanwhile fighting, missiles and drone attacks from all sides of the conflict, including that now occurring in southern Lebanon, remind us that there are many “bad actors” in this horrible state of affairs. Please pray, as I do, for peace and justice for the Holy Land. Finally, on the situation in the Holy Land, Taonga reports on a recent protest action here in Aotearoa New Zealand concerning the granting of visas to Palestinians.
Many readers here will have read an article in Saturday’s Press which gives pause for thought: recent census figures demonstrate clearly that more than 50% of our population identify as non-religious. Alongside these sobering figures, we also see in the wider Western world today signs of a renewed interest in belief in the Christian God. Good though this interest is, it is worth reflecting on what this interest actually means for current revival of active belief in Jesus Christ. From two sides of the Atlantic it is worth reading these articles, “The Conversion of Public Intellectuals” by Luke Bretherton (Oxford University) and “Is the World Ready for a Religious Comeback” by Ross Douthat (New York Times).
On a different note, what an amazing weekend for NZ sport last weekend. In a world of difficult, troubling, tragic news of war, recession, and climate change, it was a delight to learn of expected success (retention of America’s Cup, Silver Ferns beating the Australian Diamonds here on home ground) and very unexpected cricketing success (the Black Caps beating India in India for the first time in 36 years; the White Ferns winning their first ever T20 Women’s World Cup) – all within a twenty-eight hour period of time. Whether you are a cricket fan or not, for your enjoyment, in this video, the Kerr sisters, Jess and Melie, lead the White Ferns in singing Te Iwi E!
The Gospel Reading for Sunday is Mark 10:46-52. Back in Mark 8:22-26 Jesus healed a blind man. Now he heals another blind man, Bartimaeus. Between these two stories of physical healing of blindness, Mark adroitly places stories of the spiritual blindness of the disciples. What do they not see? What are we not seeing in Jesus which we could ask to be revealed to us?
Arohanui,
+Peter.