Kia ora, All Saints whānau. 

Guy here! This week, Summer and I are in the throes of the school holidays with the kids, for the first time in our new season at All Saints. So far, so good! It’s a mixture of going slow and keeping active with the kids amidst the “I’m bored” moments. This isn’t too different from our conversation about breathing in and breathing out last week during our first week of Revelation. Feel free to check that out in our sermons section if you missed it. 

Next week, Summer and I will be in Auckland for the Laidlaw Abide conference with others from our diocese. We are hoping and praying for a time of hearing about and seeing how God is working in other parts of the kingdom, as well as discovering tools that might help us as a community as we seek Gods leading at All Saints.

This week, we enter our second week of letters from Revelation, focusing on a God who knows our suffering and trials as we live in this world and live out the good news. We will gather at 9 a.m. and in our House Churches for deeper discipleship, specifically looking at Revelation 2:8-11. 

As you gather, make sure to discuss and decide where your group wants to serve at our annual Light Party coming up on October 27th. There are plenty of opportunities, so feel free to sign up for a couple of slots. Check out the signup sheet in the newsletter. 

Be sure to head over to the notices section of our newsletter to see all that is happening here at All Saints. There’s a lot to get involved with!

Ngā mihi,

Kia ora All Saints 

Guy here this week. 

What a fantastic weekend we all had at El Rancho for our first Parish camp in a long time!! There was time worshipping together, praying together, receiving input together, having lots of fun together, and overall going slow together. There were lots of special moments; see the camp article to find out more and see pictures. 

As we weaved our way through camp, we experienced beautiful moments of God's Kingdom coming, and hearts being set alight for others to know and interact with God. We spent much time pressing into what it means to imagine prophetically, discerning God's call on our lives, and what it means to let the Holy Spirit permeate our imagination and heart. 

Something that pressed firmly on my heart as the weekend went on was that there is a role for us all to play in this community, but before we get to that point, we must be able to articulate that it is only by the gift of grace that we have a relationship with Christ, not through anything that we do. From that place, we realize the transformation in our lives. We choose to be obedient and serve. We spoke of the powerful roles in our community: Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors, Prophets, and Teachers. There is a role for us all. But not in our strength but in his. With a heart to see others' lives transformed in the power of Christ. So, as we walk forward in this world together, let us imagine and dream with one another and Christ about how we can participate in the coming of God's kingdom here on earth as in heaven. 

An important update for this week is that we have both of our central gatherings this Sunday, 9 and 10:30am (NOT GO SUNDAY), Go Sunday has been moved to 27th October for our Light Party. 

This week, we are starting our new series from the book of Revelation as we head towards the end of our Authentic Community focus for the year. 

Save the dates

Light Party - 27th October 
AGM Combined service- 17th November 
Start of Advent - 1st December

Much love to you all, 

Kia Ora All Saints Whānau, 

​There is great excitement in our household for our upcoming Parish Weekend Away. Our girls have been counting down and we are so excited to be with many of you on the weekend. This weekend is a perfect opportunity to mark the journey that we have been on towards creating authentic community at All Saints. Spending time together outside of the walls of the church allows us to go deeper with one another, share unique experiences and good teaching, and have a lot of fun along the way. Guy and I are praying that God meets with each of you in a powerful way through our times of teaching, sung worship, and relationships with one another. We are also praying for God to move among us as a community of faith. We have so many exciting things happening at All Saints and God is doing so much around us and through us. We are praying that the Holy Spirit would renew the fire within us as we all commit to working together to reflect God’s Kingdom to the world around us. 

Just a reminder that there will be NO SERVICES at All Saints this weekend. If you are not coming for the weekend but would like to join us at El Rancho for the final service with Bishop Ana it starts at 10:30am on Sunday. Just get in touch with one of us if you need more details. 

Ngā Mihi, 
Summer

Kia ora All Saints Whānau, Guy here this week. 

I have felt for a while now that God was highlighting to me the promise he declared in Hebrews 22: I will never leave you nor forsake you. This is a promise I have been holding so firm to in this season of transition and as we look towards the future here at All Saints. The world is a choppy place; its pull is strong in all directions. As the saying goes, Kingdoms will rise and fall, but the word of the Lord will remain forever. For me, this is what stands loud and tall in our present age. The call from the Lord is not to pick up or trust in the things that keep us from him but to remain in the promise that regardless of what happens around us, he will never leave or forsake us! Even when we think he has. There are some pretty powerhouse biblical characters who have cried out to the Lord, wondering why he has forsaken them! Only for them to realise he hadn't. 

Take heart! Stand firm! Be bold in the knowledge that all barriers that keep us from all the goodness the creator of the universe has for us are gone, and we walk a life that is dead to the world but alive in Christ! 

I'm proud of the way people in the Parish are stepping into roles of leading and discipling others. There is so much energy and power in groups of people sharing about Christ's transformation in their own lives to those who don't yet know him! Keep going. Summer and I are in your corner. 

A few things to draw your attention to in our notices. 
1 - Parish Weekend away is next weekend. Come along for the day if you can on Saturday. There are NO services here on Sunday, 22nd Sept; your options are to come to El Rancho in Waikanae with the Parish led by Bishop Ana or pop along to St Aidens in Miramar for 10am. 

2- Our regular Go Sunday will not be happening on the 5th Sunday in Sept but rather the last Sunday in October due to our Light party falling on that day. 29th Sept will be Central Gatherings and 27th October will be our Go Sunday Light Party. So please gather your friends, house churches, missional communities, and prayer groups and invite your friends to the Annual Light Party. 

3- We are starting our final sermon series for the year, before Advent, next month, looking at the 7 letters to the churches in Revelations, again with the focus on what this is saying to us as an authentic community and how it is this continuing to point us to Jesus. 

I'm always open to coffee and chatting here at the centre if you want to spend time together. Reach out via email, and we can schedule a time. 

Yours in Christ,

Kia Ora All Saints Whānau, 

Over the last week Guy and I have been reflecting what a beautiful day of celebration Sunday was. Andy and Emily were deeply touched at the outpouring of love and support they received from so many of you. There was one thing in particular that Andy said when he spoke during the lunch at All Saints that has stuck with me all week. He was reflecting on the journey that the 4 of us have been on over the past nearly 7 years and summarized his reflections by saying, “so find your people and do life alongside them”. As emotional as it was for us to farewell Andy and Emily and mark the end of our journey of close team with them, the reflection I’ve been having all week is how clear it is that at All Saints we do just that. We find our people and do life alongside them. You all have been doing that for years before we arrived and then this year we have been on a journey of exploring what it looks like to do that even more deeply and authentically as a community. 

The Diocesan nominator that has guided us all through this process of shifting leadership came to worship at All Saints Sunday morning. He came up to me after the service and said that he was blown away at the spirit of love and worship and connection that he felt during our service. He expressed how unique that was and how he hasn’t felt that in other places in a long time. His spirit picked up on the love in the room, the depth of our worship together, and the community God has built at All Saints. I was so proud to be a part of that community he noticed, and we were so proud again when so many from our community came in support of Andy and Emily at their installation at St. Aiden’s. And we have felt that so many times before in the past. Guy and I often look at each other after a big event or significant conversation and say, “I’m so proud of our people”. 

Our journey over the past several weeks has been into the parables and exploring what they teach us about God’s Kingdom. And our journey of authentic community is to learn together how to more boldy and clearly reflect God’s Kingdom to the world. God is moving in our midst and doing bold and new things. That is clear to us, to those who worship with us, and to those around us who catch a glimpse of the reflection of the Kingdom in our people here. 

God has called Guy and I to All Saints to love and serve and offer our priestly leadership. We have never been clearer about that calling. And the heart that God has given Guy and I for all of you is strong and deep. We are honoured and privileged at the opportunity to continue to journey with each of you. You are our people. Thank you for trusting us in the role that we have and let’s look with great hope and anticipation of all that God will do in and amongst us in the future. 

Aroha nui, 

​Summer