Im a camp junkie! I love a good church camp! Or any camp for that matter. They are beautiful moments of intensity and fun and of slowing down that we don't get on a regular basis; they are moments of shared experience together. 

​If I have been made aware correctly, this is All Saints' first parish camp in a couple of decades. AMAZING!! 

Let me share a few reflections from the weekend with you. 

Camp started on Friday night, as All Saints and Mirimar gathered together, with a genuine intergenerational quiz, one that required you to have a combination of all ages on your team to be able to answer as many questions as possible; questions were catered to all ages, some that olders knew, and some that only 5,6 and 7-year-olds knew. It was a powerful display of intergenerational community! one I will not forget for a long time. 

Saturday was a mixture of worship, input sessions, food, and fun. Our children had a designated children's program for the morning, which was run by a combination of others from around the diocese who were prepared to lay their Saturday down for our kids; it was filled with fun, activities, and learning. Those who are a little older were treated to some input by our friends Alison and Martin Robinson, who have previously served here at All Saints. They spoke about prophetic imagination and listening for God's call on your life, being in and understanding your context, having a passion for what's happening there, and developing resources to support the work. A hunger and a passion was stirring in our people to see God move around us.

The afternoon was left available for free time, with some activities such as archery, football, and an opshop trip to make last-minute purchases for the fancy dress dinner, to spend connecting with one another, walking, resting, or having loads of fun. Some highlights from people were the inter-church football with St. Michaels Kelburn, who had their church camp at the same time, the water slide, and the op shop trip.

That evening, we held a fancy dress dinner with mocktails, again fostering a chance to spend time together and have fun. 

Following dinner, we spent time again listening to Alison and Martin as they shared stories from their context and how God has been moving; this led to a time of prayer and ministry as well as late-night fun. 

Sunday, we spent some time debriefing what we felt like God was saying to us from the weekend and what we felt like we were going to do about it—much to ponder and ruminate on. 

Following morning tea, we combined with St Michael Kelburn for the eucharist, where Bishop Ana spoke and presided. There were about 17 of us in the room together, with voices lifted high and hearts open to what God was doing. It was a powerful moment. 

We are a community that is open to being transformed and, through that transformation, seeing others transformed not through any of our own power but that of the Holy Spirit through Jesus on the Cross, that we might realize the value and magnitude of being part of the Kingdom of God and what that means for the hope of the world. 

Have a look through the pictures that are attached; we are excited for 2025. Watch this space.

​Here are some memories and stories from some of our Parishioners who had all different kinds of connections with Barb over the years.

Barb joined us from St Aidans  in the mid 2000's  .....she had a enormous interest in and knowledge of Anglican history, tradition and liturgy, and served for some years on a Diocesan committee which administered such things... no idea of its title. 
She was on the preaching roster in Simon Winn's time, which she enjoyed and considered a privilege ....
She was an avid patchwork quilt maker and a number of parishioners received beautifully made quilts.  
She enjoyed her work as a policy analyst/writer with Govt departments,  retired and a couple of years later in 2015 relocated to Nelson to be nearer family.

- Melva Woods


I was very sad to hear about Barb's death. I couldn't believe it, as I hadn't realised she was so ill and I've been so lax about keeping in touch, though I have been following her on FB and liking her posts.
I have very cherished memories of Barb. She was a real friend to me at All Saints and I missed her terribly after she left. She had the gift of quiet wisdom, which I benefited from so many times. I so admired her scholarship and her insights, and I loved the way she saw the best in people. I will never cease to be grateful for the graceful way she ran my Dad's funeral in January 2011. This was a non-Christian service, so it was an amazingly generous thing for her to do for us. My family is a real mix of faiths and non-faiths. She had such a gentle, respectful touch that all my grieving family were really warmed and comforted by her words. It was a profound pleasure for me to find that we were distant cousins. We discovered that when my Dad, in his last trip away before he died, attended the Lash family reunion in Golden Bay with my brother and sister. Barb again was so generous to my family. I can't believe she's passed and I feel so guilty about not visiting the last couple of times we were down in Nelson. But, I have been reflecting on how lucky I was to know her and how grateful I am that she moved to Nelson when she did. She was able to be close to her dearest family. She also really loved her Richmond church community. I feel happy knowing that she is safely in the bosom of Our Lord. He will be treasuring her. But, selfishly, I miss her. 
- Kathy Drysdale

For many years Barb Lash and I ran a life group at my house. We all benefited greatly from Barb's faith and theological scholarship. Barb was a Christian, a quilter, a chaplain, a poet, a listener and a deep thinker. She would put a great deal of thought and study into the many sermons she gave to the nine o'clock congregation. 
Ever a stout supporter of the nine o'clock community, although her health was rarely robust, Barb could always be relied upon to turn up to prepare for events such as the midnight mass that All Saints organized every year.
Barb took early retirement from the Department of Statistics and moved to Nelson to be closer to her family. It was a good move for her.
Barb's stalwart, Christian contribution would have been missed whenever she had to move on from a church community. We certainly felt her absence at All Saints.
- Moira-Clare Donovan


Barb was always a very positive person, an encourager. She loved her family and her crafts too, lovely seeing her enjoying them both in her retirement.

- Fiona Bayliss


​Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their kind words and memories of Barb Lash. The outpouring of support and personal anecdotes has been truly heartwarming and a testament to the impact she had on all of our lives.