Rev. Andrew SpenceKia ora All Saints,
As we sat down for Parish Council this week, the Wednesday reading was Matthew 20:17-28. Here a mother comes and asks whether her sons can sit at the right hand and the left hand of Jesus when he enters his kingdom. In the end Jesus talks to his disciples and says famously: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:25-28 It was a great reminder that we all often strive for authority and want glory. It is a common desire and seems part of the human condition. Jesus says and later shows the true intent of the Kingdom of God - to serve one another. What I found interesting in the middle of this passage is that Jesus says: “You don’t know what you are asking,” - Matthew 20:22 In the end when Jesus was enthroned (on the cross) the people that sat on his left and his right were infact criminals and died a painful and shameful death. Is this what the mother wanted for her children? In Lent we prepare for the story of the cross, it is meant to represent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert being tempted. So often people fast (or give up things) in order to remind themselves, as Jesus did in the desert that sin is just around the corner. One of the big temptations in the desert was authority and glory: "All this I will give you,” he [Satan] said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” - Matthew 4:9 So I am reminded this week to remember the Kingdom of God way to be a servant. To think of others above myself and to put the authority in Jesus' hands. I am blessed to be with you on the same journey as we all learn this, and re-learn this. This week at Parish Council we also:
See you Sunday Andrew Spence Kia Ora All Saints,
I hope this finds you each well, wherever you are as you read this. We are into the second week of our Lenten journey together. I don’t know about you, but my body doesn’t usually kick into lent until a few weeks in. It’s hard to focus on the significance of honouring this part of our church year so close to the time when our work and school year still feels like it’s getting started. It’s like we are being asked to speed up and slow down all at the same time. As most of you hopefully know by now, this year we are going to focus on our core value of “Authentic Community”. And what a beautiful thing to push into as we journey through Lent. Maybe in this way starting our year and the Lenten journey can be compatible. In my work outside of All Saints, I spend a great deal of time and conversation on the concept of connection. As human beings we are neurobiologically hardwired for connection; it’s how God made us and our very lives depend on it. And yet so much of our world tries to prevent connection. Busyness, fear, shame, anxiety, and so many more things stand in the way of us connecting with those around us in a real and authentic way. This is also true for our connection with God. These same barriers stand in the way of us having a constant, deep, and vulnerable connection with God. Brokenness in any relationship is a result of the fall and therefore it makes sense that as we seek to bring about the Kingdom of God around us, it must begin with connection. I want to encourage you this week as you continue along your Lenten journey, to consider the idea of connection. What are the barriers standing in the way of connection in your life? What are your hopes for a connected relationship with God and others? If we each do a bit of an examen and reflection on this in our own lives then I can only imagine the potential for the Spirit to move among us as we seek to reflect God’s Kingdom through authentic community this year. In Peace, Summer Kia ora All Saints whānau
Guy here this week. I have been thinking this week how mildly humorous it is that we are a long way through February, and we just feel like we are getting started for the year. What seems to be par for the course is that the start of the year comes pretty fast and no more than this year, with Lent starting this week. This week was filled with, a wonderful Pancake party with loads of community families attending alongside loads of the Parish, it is here that we celebrate Shrove Tuesday. We also had our Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday morning, which was well attended and had a great sense of reflection and penitence, followed by a time of fellowship. With this week marking the start of Lent we will use this time to prepare ourselves for Easter. It is also during this time that we will walk with the rest of the Diocese through our annual Lent study. There are two parts to this, there is a lent study guide which has videos attached with it from people from around our Diocese. There is also a Sunday morning series which we will be using on Sunday mornings. So for the next few weeks we will, by the power of technology, be hearing from a number of people from around the Diocese. Just a reminder that this week we are launching our House Churches back up again. So if you are in a House Church, make sure you connect in with your group. If you are not in a House Church please Email me me (Guy) here and let me know so that we can pop you in one. Something exciting that has been happening this week is that I found myself with different people in our Parish talking about starting and building teams around Missional Communities; this really leans into our mission action plan with regard to creating spaces for people who don't know God to find out more through relationship and conversation. Please continue to pray for them as they build teams and develop ways forward. If someone approaches you about possible involvement, I would encourage you to pray and discern if God is calling you to step out of your comfort zone and join a team with them. Last week marked the first week of our new newsletter format, Thank you to those of you who provided very helpful feedback; with anything new, we would love for each of us to give it a really good whirl and keep an open mind. we are still working things out at our end, so please continue to keep us up to date with things that work well or not. One thing about being a growing parish is that there are many ways to get involved and work alongside others to see the kingdom breakthrough, so feel free to look around the newsletter and all the different ways to get involved. Click Here to jump through to the weekly notices, and if you find you get through it and you still feel like God is calling you to build a team and try something different, please reach out! We are up for anything. It is one of life's greatest joys to journey with you all on this road! With Love, Guy Kia Ora All Saints,
2024 has well and truly begun and we're launching into the year with a focus on our final value - Authentic Community. This Sunday we're back into our split Central Gatherings at 9am and 10:30am but what a marvellous summer we've had! It has been such a joy to worship together as a parish. Just a little plug about the morning tea between the services - this is a great opportunity to keep developing a connection between those of us who like different service styles and connect with God in different ways. Grab a coffee and have a chat with someone - even better if they are from a different generation. I've heard some impressive stories from our church whānau who have a wealth of wisdom or some hilarious ones from those with perhaps less wisdom! Let me know if you want a wing-woman to set you up with a great chat. Also, next Tuesday is one of my favourite days in the Christian Calendar - Pancake Day! Otherwise more maturely called Shrove Tuesday. No sooner does it feel like Christmas has ended that Lent is beginning. Have a celebration on Tuesday evening with us at church, or come for a more solemn Ash Wednesday service at 10am to lean into this next season well. If you read this before Sunday, please pray for us clergy and Synod reps who are off electing a new Assistant Bishop on Saturday 10th Feb. May God's will be clear and encouraging. God bless you all, and may you draw closer to your mighty and compassionate Creator in this next season of Lent. Ngā mihi nui, Rev Emily Welcome to 2024! I am excited about another year of working towards the Kingdom of God reaching our neighbourhood, world and our friends. This year at All Saints we are focussing on our third value: Authentic Community. But what does it mean? Authentic is about being real. We don't want to pretend that we are something we are not. We don't want to hide from the fact we are all broken and put on some show to seem like we are all together. We also want to honest, trustworthy and show Christ in a good light. Community means being together, realising we are all in this together and looking out for every one of us. It also means sorting out our problems and issues that we have together, because we are in this together. I am reminded of the end of Phillippians 2 , after we hear how Christ gave up everything to humbly submit to the cross, Pauls says: 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. So as we begin 2024 and lead into this year, doing ministry and working with each other. May we also lean into Authentic Community and be like the Apostles - that although they were very different they banded together and changed the world.
See you Sunday for our last combined Summer service at 10am Ngā mihi, Andrew Spence |
Past News
February 2025
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