Kia ora, All Saints,

As I have been reflecting on this Sunday's reading from Genesis 12, I have been amazed by the courage of Abram's response to God. God says to him, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you."  God did not give him a map or a detailed and well-laid-out plan; there was no guarantee of comfort. This was simply an invitation to trust and follow. Abram's response is equally simple – He just went.

The story of Abram reminds me that faith is often more about taking the next step than seeing the whole journey ahead. We hesitate sometimes because we want certainty. We want to plan and control the course of what lies ahead. We want to know where we are going, how things will unfold, and whether we have what it takes. Yet God calls Abram into a relationship of trust before He reveals the details.

As I look around our parish community, I see many examples of people who have taken such steps of faith. Whether it is moving countries or cities to come here to New Zealand or Wellington, or being part of this church and community and serving in ministry, welcoming newcomers, praying for others, investing in children and young people, or simply showing up faithfully week after week, these acts of obedience help build God's kingdom among us. Often, we only see the significance of these steps in hindsight.

One of the most significant things in Genesis 12 is God's promise to Abram that he would be blessed in order to be a blessing. God's call was never solely for Abram's benefit. Through him, God intended to bless all nations. The same is true for us today. We are recipients of God's grace, love, and mercy so that we might share those gifts generously with others.

As we continue to discern God's calling for All Saints, I believe we are being invited to ask not only, "What is God doing in my life?" but also, "How is God calling me to participate in His mission?" Faith is not simply about believing; it is about responding.

This week, I invite each of us to prayerfully identify one step of faith that God may be asking us to take.

It might be:

• Inviting a friend, neighbour, or family member to church and Alpha course
• Joining a house church or small group.
• Offering to serve in a ministry where help is needed.
• Reaching out to someone who is lonely or struggling.
• Setting aside time each day to pray and listen for God's guidance
  

Like Abram, we may not know exactly where that step will lead. But we can trust the God who calls us. The life of faith is not built on having all the answers; it is built on walking with the One who does.

May we be a people who respond with courage, generosity, and trust, saying together: "Lord, where you lead, we will follow."

Grace and peace,
Cassandra Mesa

Hi all, my name is Anaiwan, and I am the Youth Pastor for the Junior and Senior Youth Groups. This term has been so awesome for us as a team. The end of term 2 is when we really started to find our rhythm for the year and connect as God's people.

For Juniors this term we have been looking at how to pray. We have been following the Origins 24/7 Prayer course. It has taken us through the P.R.A.Y.E.R acronym. Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yes, Endure and Repeat. One of the really exciting parts of this course is the prayer exercises that we get to run. For our last content night, the prayer activity was to write one prayer on a piece of paper that seems impossible, ask God for help, and then store them for 6 months before reading them and seeing how God worked through our prayers. We currently have these saved in our youth cupboard ready to be opened in Term 4.

We have also had a bit of fun. Attached are some photos of the cakes we made during one of our fun nights. The young people were given the themes, Aliens, Pirates and Minecraft.

For Seniors, we have been working through The Bible Project’s “Sermon on the Mount" series. Our young people have really enjoyed this series. Not only does it have amazing visuals, but it also offers plenty of opportunities to dig into deep theological discussions. One of the favourite conversations I've been a part of is what does it look like to be generous. We were comparing Mr Beast and ourselves when we give homeless people food. We talked a lot about the differences between the situations and the importance of the heart posture of our actions.

Another highlight of the term was the Quiz/gameshow night we ran on the last night of term. The boys' team took home the win with only a one point difference (98-97).

We have a combined seed-planting night, youth group fundraiser, and some refugee house setup planned for next term, and we are just so excited.

To end, I wanted to share a story of God working in our space. Recently we had Rise Up camp. One of the senior leaders, Caleb, wanted to run some evening prayers on the last night. For our boys, we felt that we wanted to challenge them with some uncomfortable prayer. At around 11 pm we took them down to the lake and sat in silence for 5 minutes before reading some of Matthew. We took another 5 minutes of silence. Caleb read out loud The Lord's Prayer, slowly, line by line. We sat in silence as a group; when you felt ready, you were to leave  in silence before making your way back to the cabins for bed.

Over the whole camp, but particularly at this moment, I was reminded of how it feels to be a part of the wider church community. I felt incredibly humbled watching how Caleb ran and held a space of such peace and quiet.

Blessings
Anaiwan Ojala

Kia ora, All Saints

Last Sunday, the kids and I had the privilege of heading down to the half marathon to support Summer (and others) as she ran in and finished her first-ever race event! We were so proud of her and all the others that ran! As I was there with the kids, it's very cheesy, but I was thinking about what it takes to run something like that: the 10km, the half marathon and the full marathon?! The training, the nutrition, the time put aside for training, the actual day, the commitment to it, the grit, the sweat, the tears, the surprise at others cheering people on, the finish! Oh, the finish! The faces that express "thank goodness this is over", "I did it!", "don't make me do that again", "OH MY GOSH you're here supporting me". It was such a joy to witness. 

The one that really got me thinking, and maybe it's because we lived it, was the family and friends that support someone to get to and run in the race! It isn't done alone. There is something really powerful in what it takes as a support unit. This is the same in our walk of faith with one another. I think further on my comments last week about what it means to be family? Thinking further about it, what it takes for all of us as we run this race together, what does the support we offer to each other look like? What does the commitment to our training and effort look like? The sweat and tears? 
Are we cheering each other along? Holding each other accountable during times of training? Reading scripture? praying? spiritual disciplines? 

As I did last week, I challenge you to think through who the people in your life are that you are close enough with that can support you and challenge you as we run this race together in Christ. Not a sprint but a Marathon. One that requires time set aside to prepare and train and get fit. 

Please make sure you check out all our notices this week, specifically our notice for Alpha Course 2026. 

We are challenging you all to invite one friend to Alpha this year. To find out more information, please head over to our Alpha webpage. 

Big reminder that this coming Friday, July 10th, is Matariki - We have our annual working bee from 2-5 pm, followed by a fish and Chip dinner. 

Much love, 

Kia ora, All Saints

This week, I was reflecting on the power of the "family". Summer made a quick trip to America to surprise her mum (mom) for her 80th birthday, which was such a gift and joy to enable. Her being away meant that I was parenting solo for 5 days, which included playdates, sports and dance schedules, managing workload and some sickness, which meant a missed conference opportunity. 

There were so many facets to this, the joy of being able to take the load so one could go, the joy of spending one on one time with the kids, having fun, the challenge of getting people to where they need to be, the long days until you crash at night because its all you, being outnumbered, sacrificing things you might have been able to do because its just you, being lonely. 

These are not things set aside for someone whose husband or wife is away overseas; they creep into all our lives. 

This is where the power of the "family" comes in. A family is not just a Husband and a wife and 2.4 kids, it's a community of people who are willing to go beyond being guests or casual friends and really lean into each other's lives—creating space to truly be FAMILY. 

I love it when people offer to help out when Summer's away, because I think in the back of my mind, would you really be up for it? If I called you in the middle of a meltdown and said I need you to come and help.

What does it mean for us to be a family here at All Saints? Some of us are lucky to have our own nuclear family and maybe even an extended biological family locally, but what about our Holy singles? What about those who don't have a partner or kids? Those whose spouse isn't here? our widows? those whose families live a long, long way away, or we are not in a relationship with them for whatever reason. 

I love that as we explore our Big Picture series, we are seeing how intimate the relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is, and how that intimacy is passed on and expressed to us even amidst our distance. It's what draws us in. 

As we think about who we are doing life with, who we are family with, let us gather together and lean in both with vulnerability of life's challenges, but also as people who centre ourselves around God's word. The great story of redemption that climaxes in Jesus' resurrection and ascension points to the hope that one day all will be redeemed. 

Maybe our challenge is to lean into life a little deeper with someone we haven't, or with someone who God is putting on our heart. 

Just a reminder that we have a 9am central gathering this Sunday (Dennis Gordon is preaching on Genesis 3), and we have our House Churches in the centre. 

Much love, 

Kia ora, All Saints

It has been a great joy to chat with many of you this week about meeting and discussing the first week of our Big Picture series together. 

My heart is full of joy at our community going on a journey together to unpack God's unified story that leads to Jesus. We have spent the last two weeks looking at the first section, "The God who has a plan", which focused on the passage from Ephesians 1:1-14. The reason we have started here is so that as we go, we are able to continue to go back to that reminder that God has a plan, a plan to redeem the world through Jesus, a plan to flood heaven and earth together, where death and sin no longer reign. 

This week, as we gather in our bigger Central Gatherings, the sermon will centre around the week 2 text in our booklet from Genesis 1 and 3, "The God who made the world" We will be exploring how the world was made and what it was like and then the impact of the fall and sin upon the world and creation. 

I encourage you to read Genesis chapters 1 and 3 before coming on Sunday. Look through the booklet and start pondering the questions, specifically thinking about the world that God has created. 

I would also love to share with you that the Parish Council met on Wednesday, 17th June, as we do each month. This month, we spent some considerable time praying and then discussing how we would like to position ourselves in the future as we look towards growing as a parish. The discussion centered around two things that felt really important. To invest in the children, family and youth space specifically to disciple and raise the younger generation. Secondly, as a Parish, the collective passion to continue to live into a part of our DNA that has existed for a long time to Gather, Equip and Send people out, specifically thinking strategically about our leadership pipeline. This is a really Spirit-filled conversation that generated some real energy and excitement. 

Parish council would also like to report that over the first 5 months of this year, All Saints' giving is up considerably. Praise God!! and mihi to you all as we continue to lean in together! I've been pondering the thought after hearing testimony of others about what it means for us privately and corporately to change our mindset from, what must I give away to God has blessed me with all this that his anyway, " to " what do I need to keep and the rest I give away.

A reminder that we have both 9 am and 10:30 am Central Gatherings this Sunday. Invite your friends, gather your house churches and bible studies and let's worship together. 

Much love,