All Saints Church
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Blessed Holy Week, All Saints!
What a journey we have ahead of us these next few days. As Lent comes to an end, we journey with Jesus through his final days prior to his miraculous resurrection. I didn't used to be very interested in the Christian calendar (apart from Shrove Tuesday, who doesn't like pancakes). Why bother with all these liturgical colours and seasons when we all live post Jesus' resurrection and the provision of the Holy Spirit anyway? But what I've discovered over time is that we miss so much by jumping to the joy of Easter Sunday too soon. - Palm Sunday reminds us of Jesus' humility as he rides like a king but on a donkey, and also of how fickle we are as humans, changing our minds with the changing of the times. One week we're serving Jesus, the next we're serving ourselves and/or the crowds. - Maundy Thursday reminds us that Jesus is our passover lamb, the ultimate sacrifice. We are reminded again of his humility as he washes his disciples' feet and of his humanity as he sweats blood in the garden with his closest friends, submitting himself fully to drink from the cup of suffering. - Good Friday speaks for itself. Our King and Brother on the cross. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." - Holy Saturday is a reminder that so many of us are in this time of waiting, not knowing, hope seems far off, God's will is not clear. Why me, God? Why this? - And THEN, we come to Easter Sunday. The glorious risen Saviour, death has been defeated, God has been faithful, and we will rise again with Jesus someday. Heaven has broken through, the Kingdom of God is here!!! So this week/weekend, I really encourage you to take your time through each day. Attend a service or make time to reflect, even if just on a commute or in the shower. Allow God the space to show you his character which is revealed to us through Jesus this week. May you be blessed deeply. Ngā mihi nui, Emily Kia Ora All Saints Family,
It’s hard to believe that Holy Week and Easter are just around the corner. This week we are celebrating Palm Sunday, which whenever I think hard about or am challenged to preach on, I am struck with the odd-ness of the celebration of that day. On one hand, we are celebrating the entrance of our King Jesus into Jerusalem and honouring Him as the King that we know Him to be. Yet, the way we honour Him is so different than we would ever expect to honour an earthly King. That fact was not lost on Jesus’ followers who were there that day. In fact, that was probably most of the point of what happened. The people who were waving their palm branches knew Jesus was there to fight their battle, but they didn’t yet understand how. Jesus came into Jerusalem, not on a war horse, but on a donkey. He came to fight the battle, not with strength and power, but with sacrificial love. This is the heart of our faith – that victory over sin and death comes with sacrificial love, with the pouring out of self for another. As we continue through our journey of exploring and seeking to emulate authentic community this year, our understanding of this must be at the core. What does it look like to pour out ourselves for the other, in order to reflect Jesus and God’s Kingdom to the world around us? I encourage you to consider this question as we go into worship on Sunday and then continue to journey together through Holy Week. What can we learn from Jesus and the way He walked through those last days? And how might those learnings help us to better reflect Jesus in our community of faith? See you Sunday, Summer Kia ora All Saints.
This week has been full of gratitude and thanksgiving for us as co-vicars. Over the weekend, we attended our diocesan ministry leaders family camp (MLFC) with 500+ others from around the diocese. One thing I was extremely grateful for was that there were 40 of us there from All Saints. I spent much of the time wrangling kids to their designated programs so others could take full opportunity of the sessions. Still, as I made my way into the sessions or to and fro from our accommodation, it was always amazing to see someone from All Saints. Please take the time to check out what happened over the past weekend, which is all about MLFC and all the things that went on. Click here Another thing I (Guy) was particularly grateful for was as we gathered at camp on Sunday morning, I looked around and noticed how many clergy had left camp to go back to their parish to lead services/gatherings. At this moment, I was acutely aware of the number of people at All Saints willing to lead our people! Praise God. Thank you to all who helped keep things back here cranking while we were away. It is such a privilege to do life and ministry with you all. Saturday night at MLFC, +Justin spoke from Matthew 28 and the great commission, which was the thread for the camp. He also spoke from Matthew 9 & 10, regarding sending out the workers to the harvest field. He spoke hopefully of the fact that we need to shift our paradigm to one full of hope and realization that the harvest is plentiful and ready for harvest; he spoke of examples of people coming to faith, healing, and random encounters of people experiencing God. His charge was this: Jesus called his disciples to find workers for the harvest field, but immediately after, in Matthew 10, he sent them out in his power and authority. I'm sure this video will eventually be available to us all, and we will share that with you, but I would love to echo his charge to us. It is hard out there, and times are challenging but there is opportunity, and we must embrace it. I think about this with those in our parish preparing teams of people to start Mission Communities. +Justin calls us to declare Lord, send me! Here I am; send me into the harvest field. He ended with three challenges which I will put to us.
Shifting gears from here, I would love to draw your attention to some upcoming things. Easter is just around the corner, and we have a bunch of things for you to get involved in. Please check out our easter notice in our newsletter to see all the information. In short, Maundy Thursday here at All Saints, there is a Maundy Thursday Service which starts at 7pm; right before that, from 5:45pm, there will be a simple meal here at All Saints as a time of gathering and fellowshipping before we enter a more somber time of remembering Jesus' journey. Good Friday, we will be walking with your friends from St Patricks again, starting at St Patrick's at 10 am, and don't forget Easter Sunday is two services, 9am and 10:30 celebrating the hope and joy of the resurrection. April 7th is our AGM Sunday. There will be a combined service at 10 am and a shared lunch following. Please bring some food to share with everyone. We are also excited to announce that we have our good friend Pete Williamson, Harvard University Chaplain and Author for Christianity Today, preaching to us. Many of you will know that he also grew up in the vicarage here at All Saints. If you are still with me at this point, it is such a gift to be on this Jesus waka with you. Make sure you are keeping up with all that is happening in the parish. If you feel like you don't know something or need more information, please feel free to email or call us here at the office. Much love, Guy Rev. Andrew SpenceKia ora All Saints,
This week many of us are away at Ministry Leaders Family Camp. It used to be Clergy Conference but many years ago the Diocese opened it up to families and key minstry leaders. It is a chance for us to gather and have some input for those of us in leadership positions. We have 40 of us going (including kids) who are doing some form of leadership here at All Saints. This bodes well for the future of All Saints. When Jesus said "Go and make disciples" in Matthew 28. he truly meant it. This weekend is an example of how we are building disiples here at All Saints. There are many people coming to camp this weekend who are involved with or will be involved with running a ministry. Whether it be the CAP Budget Course or Mainly Music we are all there as people who have decided to disciple others. Many of us are still learning how to do that, but it is a chance to build into that vision and see that come to fruition. We are also thankful for those of you who are holding home base this weekend. Thanks to Ian Flaws for running the service and providing a great space for people to be welcomed this week here at All Saints. As we continue to walk the way of Jesus and build our discipleship capacity here at All Saints I am excited by what God will do through the Spirit. I hope you are too. May God bless you this week! Andrew Spence |
Past News
September 2024
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contact90 Hamilton Road, Hataitai, Wellington, New Zealand
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