Vicars Letter - 2 June 2023

Kia ora All Saints, 

I’m so sad that I couldn’t be with you last Sunday. I have heard that it was a beautiful time of worship and celebration together. I was away on a weekend for the Diocese where I celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit in a much quieter but still significant way. My job on this weekend was basically to use my gifts and to listen to the Holy Spirit. When I came back, I had a renewed freshness in the discipline of listening to God, both in times of intentional prayer, but also simply in the daily moments of life. 

Having just participated in Thy Kingdom Come, I hope you all are also experiencing a renewed freshness in partnering with the Holy Spirit and God’s love for all his people. I have been in many conversations just in the past few days where it is so clear to see the power with which God is moving in our communities and relationships. Sometimes we take these things for granted; we get caught up in the busyness of life and that distracts us from our awareness of God in the smaller moments where the Holy Spirit may be working around us. But the more we talk about these things and share our God stories with those around us, the more in tune to the movements of God that we are. 


This week marks the beginning of a very exciting sermon series on the Gospel. What is the Gospel, exactly? What makes it good news? What kind of impact does it have on our lives? And how is it relevant to those around us who do not yet know about it? As we go through this series, we are doing so, not just with our own growth in mind, but with our hearts for those God is seeking to reach front and centre. I think that many of us know why we love Jesus but might struggle to articulate that in a way that’s able to be understood by others. This is what we are seeking to tackle by spending the next 8 weeks on this topic. 


So don’t put away your list of 5 from Thy Kingdom Come just yet. And if you didn’t make a list of 5, it’s not too late. Let’s commit as God’s family to continue to pray for those people in our lives. And let’s pray specifically. It might feel safer to pray a prayer like, “God I want to lift up all those around us who don’t know you” but it takes a different level of hope and faith to ask God to use you to share the good news with one particular person who the Holy Spirit has laid on your heart. 

I want to encourage you all to step out on that journey. Continue to pray, share the stories of how God is moving with others, and be ready to take brave and practical steps in response to how the Holy Spirit may be leading. 


I can’t wait to see what God does! 
Summer