Kia Ora All Saints Family,
It’s hard to believe that Holy Week and Easter are just around the corner. This week we are celebrating Palm Sunday, which whenever I think hard about or am challenged to preach on, I am struck with the odd-ness of the celebration of that day. On one hand, we are celebrating the entrance of our King Jesus into Jerusalem and honouring Him as the King that we know Him to be. Yet, the way we honour Him is so different than we would ever expect to honour an earthly King. That fact was not lost on Jesus’ followers who were there that day. In fact, that was probably most of the point of what happened. The people who were waving their palm branches knew Jesus was there to fight their battle, but they didn’t yet understand how. Jesus came into Jerusalem, not on a war horse, but on a donkey. He came to fight the battle, not with strength and power, but with sacrificial love. This is the heart of our faith – that victory over sin and death comes with sacrificial love, with the pouring out of self for another. As we continue through our journey of exploring and seeking to emulate authentic community this year, our understanding of this must be at the core. What does it look like to pour out ourselves for the other, in order to reflect Jesus and God’s Kingdom to the world around us? I encourage you to consider this question as we go into worship on Sunday and then continue to journey together through Holy Week. What can we learn from Jesus and the way He walked through those last days? And how might those learnings help us to better reflect Jesus in our community of faith? See you Sunday, Summer Kia ora All Saints.
This week has been full of gratitude and thanksgiving for us as co-vicars. Over the weekend, we attended our diocesan ministry leaders family camp (MLFC) with 500+ others from around the diocese. One thing I was extremely grateful for was that there were 40 of us there from All Saints. I spent much of the time wrangling kids to their designated programs so others could take full opportunity of the sessions. Still, as I made my way into the sessions or to and fro from our accommodation, it was always amazing to see someone from All Saints. Please take the time to check out what happened over the past weekend, which is all about MLFC and all the things that went on. Click here Another thing I (Guy) was particularly grateful for was as we gathered at camp on Sunday morning, I looked around and noticed how many clergy had left camp to go back to their parish to lead services/gatherings. At this moment, I was acutely aware of the number of people at All Saints willing to lead our people! Praise God. Thank you to all who helped keep things back here cranking while we were away. It is such a privilege to do life and ministry with you all. Saturday night at MLFC, +Justin spoke from Matthew 28 and the great commission, which was the thread for the camp. He also spoke from Matthew 9 & 10, regarding sending out the workers to the harvest field. He spoke hopefully of the fact that we need to shift our paradigm to one full of hope and realization that the harvest is plentiful and ready for harvest; he spoke of examples of people coming to faith, healing, and random encounters of people experiencing God. His charge was this: Jesus called his disciples to find workers for the harvest field, but immediately after, in Matthew 10, he sent them out in his power and authority. I'm sure this video will eventually be available to us all, and we will share that with you, but I would love to echo his charge to us. It is hard out there, and times are challenging but there is opportunity, and we must embrace it. I think about this with those in our parish preparing teams of people to start Mission Communities. +Justin calls us to declare Lord, send me! Here I am; send me into the harvest field. He ended with three challenges which I will put to us.
Shifting gears from here, I would love to draw your attention to some upcoming things. Easter is just around the corner, and we have a bunch of things for you to get involved in. Please check out our easter notice in our newsletter to see all the information. In short, Maundy Thursday here at All Saints, there is a Maundy Thursday Service which starts at 7pm; right before that, from 5:45pm, there will be a simple meal here at All Saints as a time of gathering and fellowshipping before we enter a more somber time of remembering Jesus' journey. Good Friday, we will be walking with your friends from St Patricks again, starting at St Patrick's at 10 am, and don't forget Easter Sunday is two services, 9am and 10:30 celebrating the hope and joy of the resurrection. April 7th is our AGM Sunday. There will be a combined service at 10 am and a shared lunch following. Please bring some food to share with everyone. We are also excited to announce that we have our good friend Pete Williamson, Harvard University Chaplain and Author for Christianity Today, preaching to us. Many of you will know that he also grew up in the vicarage here at All Saints. If you are still with me at this point, it is such a gift to be on this Jesus waka with you. Make sure you are keeping up with all that is happening in the parish. If you feel like you don't know something or need more information, please feel free to email or call us here at the office. Much love, Guy Rev. Andrew SpenceKia ora All Saints,
This week many of us are away at Ministry Leaders Family Camp. It used to be Clergy Conference but many years ago the Diocese opened it up to families and key minstry leaders. It is a chance for us to gather and have some input for those of us in leadership positions. We have 40 of us going (including kids) who are doing some form of leadership here at All Saints. This bodes well for the future of All Saints. When Jesus said "Go and make disciples" in Matthew 28. he truly meant it. This weekend is an example of how we are building disiples here at All Saints. There are many people coming to camp this weekend who are involved with or will be involved with running a ministry. Whether it be the CAP Budget Course or Mainly Music we are all there as people who have decided to disciple others. Many of us are still learning how to do that, but it is a chance to build into that vision and see that come to fruition. We are also thankful for those of you who are holding home base this weekend. Thanks to Ian Flaws for running the service and providing a great space for people to be welcomed this week here at All Saints. As we continue to walk the way of Jesus and build our discipleship capacity here at All Saints I am excited by what God will do through the Spirit. I hope you are too. May God bless you this week! Andrew Spence Rev. Andrew SpenceKia ora All Saints,
As we sat down for Parish Council this week, the Wednesday reading was Matthew 20:17-28. Here a mother comes and asks whether her sons can sit at the right hand and the left hand of Jesus when he enters his kingdom. In the end Jesus talks to his disciples and says famously: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:25-28 It was a great reminder that we all often strive for authority and want glory. It is a common desire and seems part of the human condition. Jesus says and later shows the true intent of the Kingdom of God - to serve one another. What I found interesting in the middle of this passage is that Jesus says: “You don’t know what you are asking,” - Matthew 20:22 In the end when Jesus was enthroned (on the cross) the people that sat on his left and his right were infact criminals and died a painful and shameful death. Is this what the mother wanted for her children? In Lent we prepare for the story of the cross, it is meant to represent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert being tempted. So often people fast (or give up things) in order to remind themselves, as Jesus did in the desert that sin is just around the corner. One of the big temptations in the desert was authority and glory: "All this I will give you,” he [Satan] said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” - Matthew 4:9 So I am reminded this week to remember the Kingdom of God way to be a servant. To think of others above myself and to put the authority in Jesus' hands. I am blessed to be with you on the same journey as we all learn this, and re-learn this. This week at Parish Council we also:
See you Sunday Andrew Spence Kia Ora All Saints,
I hope this finds you each well, wherever you are as you read this. We are into the second week of our Lenten journey together. I don’t know about you, but my body doesn’t usually kick into lent until a few weeks in. It’s hard to focus on the significance of honouring this part of our church year so close to the time when our work and school year still feels like it’s getting started. It’s like we are being asked to speed up and slow down all at the same time. As most of you hopefully know by now, this year we are going to focus on our core value of “Authentic Community”. And what a beautiful thing to push into as we journey through Lent. Maybe in this way starting our year and the Lenten journey can be compatible. In my work outside of All Saints, I spend a great deal of time and conversation on the concept of connection. As human beings we are neurobiologically hardwired for connection; it’s how God made us and our very lives depend on it. And yet so much of our world tries to prevent connection. Busyness, fear, shame, anxiety, and so many more things stand in the way of us connecting with those around us in a real and authentic way. This is also true for our connection with God. These same barriers stand in the way of us having a constant, deep, and vulnerable connection with God. Brokenness in any relationship is a result of the fall and therefore it makes sense that as we seek to bring about the Kingdom of God around us, it must begin with connection. I want to encourage you this week as you continue along your Lenten journey, to consider the idea of connection. What are the barriers standing in the way of connection in your life? What are your hopes for a connected relationship with God and others? If we each do a bit of an examen and reflection on this in our own lives then I can only imagine the potential for the Spirit to move among us as we seek to reflect God’s Kingdom through authentic community this year. In Peace, Summer |
Past News
April 2024
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