Dear Friends in Christ,
It was good to be among the worshippers at St Paul’s Papanui for the 8am service on Sunday and then to travel later in the morning to Hororata to join parishioners there for a lovely, heart-warming farewell lunch for the Reverend Jenni Carter as she concludes her long service in that Parish as its Vicar. Jenni and Ximena will remain living in the Hororata district and we wish them well for a long and happy retirement [see images later in this publication].
The Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project has now been underway for two years in respect of work on the Cathedral site itself. Recently, Teresa and I were fortunate to have an in depth visit to the Cathedral site to see first-hand the work which is happening there [see image further on]. It is very impressive. We’re bound to be asked many questions when we travel to the Lambeth Conference soon, and we feel confident we can answer them!
We’re in the stabilisation phase of the Project and a huge amount has happened, from the installation of the permanent steel frame into the west end, to sending in a remote-controlled dog to take images and a remote operated digger to clear out the nave, to rescuing Hillary’s flag and removing the crossing roof to allow for the top-down deconstruction of the stone gable arches.
Stabilisation will conclude towards the end of this year when the Cathedral will be safe enough for personnel to enter, paving the way for the main Cathedral and tower strengthening and reinstatement phase. This is where we will really start to see our Cathedral rise again.
I encourage you to not miss a milestone as this important Project moves forward! Please sign up to the project’s quarterly newsletter at www.christchurchcathedral.org.nz. Follow the project on social media: Facebook [@ChristChurchCathedralReinstatement], Instagram [@Chchcathedralreinstatement] and LinkedIn [@Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project].
July is Bible Month. The Bible Society of New Zealand is making available resources for use in churches under the theme of “The Bible is Hope.” You can find the resources at www.manna.nz/the-bible-is-hope.
This Sunday 3 July 2022, Ordinary 14 our Gospel reading is Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. The mission of Jesus is expanded and delegated to a band of 70 missioners. When we read a passage like this, we can see ourselves among the expanding band of missioners. What is Jesus saying directly to us? One encouragement is in verse 16, “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” When we share the Good News with others, we speak for Jesus and Jesus is speaking through us. That’s an awesome privilege and a weighty responsibility.
KidsFest is coming soon—the KidsFest Cathedral celebrations are themed “As in Heaven”. They have three events: the KidsFest Service is at 10am, Sunday 10 July, in the Transitional Cathedral, there are two KidsFest Guided Tours that take place at 10am on Wednesdays 13 and 20 July, and KidsFest Colouring In is at 10am Friday 15 July. Getting our children engaged with the Cathedral is a great thing—after all they are the future worshipers.
Arohanui,
