Kia ora All Saints

I love Easter! I love that Easter isn't just one day but 50. I love that we celebrate Christ's power and miracle for several weeks. I love that following Easter, we celebrate with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, of course for us, that looks like joining with the global church and praying for our friends and family, our community, and the globe to know Christ, as well as our 48 hour Prayer Vigil.

This weekend I have the privilege of officiating a wedding for a couple whose children are in school with our children. Whenever I do a wedding and ask the congregation to stand for the bride, I immediately turn and look at the groom. Why? Because their face, for me, resembles the way Christ looks at us! When we walk towards him, his face beams with radiance, and he desires us. He wants to have a relationship with us and connect and covenant himself with us. This was made possible by the power of Jesus dying on the cross and by the power of the spirit overcoming death and rising again so that we could have unity with God.
Something else that happens at weddings is we often have a reading from 1 Corinthians 13  : Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

This Friday (25th April) is ANZAC day, where we remember those who have served in armed conflicts on behalf of our country. I think it's also fair that it's hard to remember those times and acknowledge what is happening around us in our present day. Something that we can long and hope for and take heed of is that Jesus never lifted a sword; he brought only peace in the way of peace, he challenged, he disciplined, he brought love, and he liberated. Just as the passage is read at weddings, I think it speaks to a way to operate in this world that heals rather than hurts. In times where we feel hopeless, may we know that this Love mentioned above is the love that Christ has and continues to show us, and how do we reflect that to the world?

Whether you are married, have been married, want to be married but aren't yet, or never want to be married, we know in scripture that above all things in this world, Christ is sufficient for us. Christ is our hope, our freedom, our support. In times of suffering, loneliness, and despair at the world, and all that is happening, His grace is sufficient enough for us.

This week, we are launching our sermon series on the Lord's Prayer; we will break this down for us over the season of Easter. This is a launching pad for us as we head into a couple of series focused on prayer, how to, why, and what for. We desperately need the spirit of God to move amongst us! Come Holy Spirit.

Love in Christ,

Kia ora All Saints

Holy week is well and truly upon us as we arrive at Maundy Thursday (the day this letter is written). We often throw around the saying that you "can't get to Easter Sunday," the day we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, "without going through Good Friday," the day we mourn the death of Jesus. It's in this posture that I come to the beginning of the climax of the Easter story.

There is a very real truth that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are nothing without one very real truth, that we were separated from God by sin; as Romans 1 puts it, we knew God, we knew how good he is, yet we still denied him, we tried to do it on our own, we tried to use tradition, family, creating our own identity, acts of service, and much much more, it is the acknowledgment of this truth, that we were not worthy, we could not pay the price, we could not reconcile ourselves, it is through the act of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again that we can be set free from the power and corruption of sin on and in our lives and brought into unity and relationship with God; nothing else, nothing we can do, nothing we can conjure up, simply believing in the sacrificial act of another for you sets you free from all that keeps you separated from a relationship with Christ. There is no Good news without bad news.

So, as we approach the risen Jesus on Sunday, let us walk through why Jesus did all of that, why he went to the cross, and for many of you who are engaged in the Lent study, you will be well and truly joining the dots here. He lowered himself so that we might be lifted up, and he put himself in our place so that we can be set free, unshackled, made whole, and set apart.

When our friends and family ask us what we are doing this Easter, how will we respond? With the Good news? If so, what's Good news? it can't simply be that a man lived a nice, wholesome life, died, and somehow miraculously rose again. What for?

Let's walk to the road to the Easter Jesus who rose from the grave to set us free together so that we might see that Jesus set our friends and family free, too!

There are a few things happening over the weekend at All Saints.

Thursday 17th - Maundy Thursday
5:45 - Light Meal
7 pm Maundy Thursday Service

Friday 18th - Stations of the cross walk.
10 am Starting at All Saints walk to St Patrick's

Sunday 20th - Easter Sunday Gatherings
9 am - Traditional Eucharist
10:30 - Intergenerational Worship

We would love to see as many of you across the gatherings as we can, and please feel free to invite your friends and family; plenty of opportunities for your people to hear the Good News. Or, at the very least, have a stack of questions to ask afterward.

Much love to you all this Easter.

Kia ora All Saints

Preperation, Proclamation, Prayer! Three things that I have been thinking about over the last few weeks. Lent is a season of preparation for what? As we walk towards Easter, we prepare our hearts through prayer and repentance, and we often slow down our lives as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' death on the Cross. Easter can be a time of proclamation; why? Jesus has risen from the grave and defeated death! Oh death, where is your sting?! What a joyful thing to proclaim: He's alive! It is a time of proclaiming the good news of Jesus to those around us. Conversation of, what did you do at Easter? Why Easter? What does Easter mean for you? Remembering that Easter isn't just a day but a number of weeks as we walk again towards Jesus' Accession and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, this is a time of prayer; why pray? Pray is our connection with God! This is forming a relationship! This is one of the Silver bullets; it works. Many of you know that from Accession Sunday to Pentecost, we pray alongside the global church in a season of Thy Kingdom Come, praying for five people we know to come to know Christ; we have our annual Prayer Vigil in the center.

As we walk together in preparation for Easter, let us also look towards Easter as a time of Proclamation and Prayer.

Many of you know that in 2025, we are looking at a focus of prayer here at All Saints; we are really excited about a few things bubbling away under the surface that will help us to engage in a meaningful expression of prayer in the Parish, we are also setting so really good Biblical Discipleship pathways for people to go deeper in the bible and how the word of God is alive in our lives today. Watch this space.

We have our House churches and 9am Gathering this Sunday; Easter is coming close. Check out the services that are available across the Easter weekend.

Please accept my apologies for failing to communicate a building update at the AGM, but check out the newsletter for a short update. As always, if and when anything happens, we will let the parish know.

We also had a moment of real trust and vulnerability at our recent AGM, where we noted that the Parish is growing and is pushing the margins on our budget; with our commitment to Mission, Youth and Children, and local modes of engagement, we are looking at a shortfall this year. The challenge to each other was to review our individual giving and consider increasing, start giving for the first time if not already, and propose creative solutions for fundraising.

Click here if you require our banking details to change or start giving; if you have any creative ideas for Fundraising, Parish Council and would love to hear them; you can email the Wardens here.

Much love to you all,

Kia ora All Saints

Guy here this week. Last weekend, we had the joy of joining 500+ other ministry leaders and their families from around the Wellington Diocese for our annual Diocesan ministry leaders family camp. We have included an article in our newsletter giving a rundown of how it all went, as well as Bishop Justin's message around communion.

The camp's theme was rebuilding the ruins, drawing from Isaiah 58. Aside from being incredibly busy Mc'ing the event in the main stage area, I found myself in awe of what God has been doing amongst us here at All Saints, as we heard from Roshan Allpress, the principal of Laidlaw Theological College on Friday night talk about the way the church particularly the Anglican church has renewed itself through new and innovative ways throughout the ages, how the new (not so new) missional communities are popping up here and there to create spaces where people are praying and discipling as well as creating spaces for those who don't know Christ to engage. As we heard from others around the Diocese about what God is doing in their context and the simplicity with which it looks and operates, I was excited by not only the things that are happening here but also the people who we have amongst us who are already or are on the verge of trying new, nimble, innovative things for the Lord.

The Lord has always been renewing the church. It swells up, and then it disperses. God is continuing to rebuild our church today, and he is using you and me to do it. Let us be prepared to be part of that renewal as we seek to see God move amongst us in our parish worship context, in our workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and much more.

This is a quick reminder that we have our AGM this Sunday. There will be a combined service at 10 a.m. and lunch following, during which we will present our finances and discuss a few other things.

I look forward to gathering with you all again this week for worship.

Much love to you all,