​Kia ora All Saints,
 
Love God, love others. There, your summary of the Deuteronomy series we are in right now! In all seriousness, I am looking forward to journeying with you all through this series on a book that often seems confusing and outdated. I’ve been watching ‘The Chosen’ on Netflix this past week and have found it a moving depiction of some stories from the Gospels. I’m sure there are many ways to critique it but it does paint a good picture of the relationship between regular Jews, tax collectors, Pharisees and the Romans. This season weaves in the story of Nicodemus and his internal battle with recognising something in Jesus but finding it too challenging to leave behind his life of following and enforcing the Jewish Law. From our sermon last week, we learnt more about why the Law existed in the first place, and what the underlying message was, which was the part most Pharisees seemed to have missed. Love God, love others. This helps us to understand what it means for Jesus to have “fulfilled the Law and the Prophets” as he showed us in the most perfect sense what these commands mean and what God’s plan was for how His people should live all along.
 
Leaning into our value this year of ‘Authentic Community’, what is God saying to you this week? How can you love God and love others this week? By God’s grace, may we continually learn what it means to embody these commands more fully, and be the people of God whose blessing overflows to all the world.
 
Bless you all,
Emily

Kia ora All Saints,
​
What a fantastic service on Sunday! It was such a joy to celebrate the diverse cultures within our congregation. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of different languages spoken among us!
This past week, I attended a Praxis youth work training and visited Waipukurau to observe their youth work for the Anglican Youth Movement (AYM). At Praxis, one workshop focused on young people whose needs aren't met by the traditional school system, particularly those in Alternative Education and those dealing with trauma. The discussion highlighted how these factors can set young people up for failure when the school system focuses solely on behavior rather than underlying developmental needs.
Here is where we, as adults, can make a difference. Research from Hawaii, spanning over 40 years, shows that just one positive adult in a child's life, along with supportive social spaces like youth groups, can foster resilience in young people. When we broke into groups, I found it incredibly encouraging to see that the church, much like the Marae, is ideally positioned to support young people. With multiple generations connected to both these spaces, we are uniquely equipped to mentor, teach skills, and offer academic support.
The church once again stands as the hope of the world! (Not surprising, as this is precisely what Pentecost embodies).
In fact, Israel was the first hope of the world, and the church now fulfills that legacy. This week, we will continue exploring Authentic Community by delving into Deuteronomy. Here, we find Moses on the brink of the Promised Land, instructing his people on how to live and be an Authentic Community.
Additionally, we will hold our first Building Conversation this Sunday at 3 PM. Please join us and share your ideas about the future of our building and site. This is a wonderful opportunity to dream together and plan how we can shape our community in the years to come.
See you Sunday!
Andrew Spence

Kia Ora All Saints,

As we continue to explore what it means to be an authentic community, we know that at the very core of who we are as a people of God is prayer. As we pray with one another, our hearts align to God’s heart as a community, not just as individuals.

Today marks the beginning of our 48 hour prayer vigil where we as a parish will be praying round the clock for people in our lives who do not yet know Jesus and the transformation that comes with meeting Him. If you haven’t yet signed up for a slot, please do, or you can also just come when you’re available and pray alongside whoever is holding the space. Let’s lean in together as a body and allow God to show us what can happen through the power of prayer.

This Sunday is Pentecost, and Cassandra has been working hard to plan quite the celebration for us! Join us Sunday for a combined service at 10 am where we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church. Another part of authentic community is celebrating the uniqueness and diversity of those of us in our community. Cassandra has envisioned our Pentecost celebration to be a picture of the church throughout the entire world and we have many cultures represented at All Saints. So please come dressed in any special cultural clothing you might have (or just come dressed ready for a party!) and bring a dish (again from your culture if you’d like) for a shared lunch afterwards. Let’s celebrate together!

​Love,
Summer

Kia ora All Saints Whānau

Thy Kingdom Come as on earth as in heaven. Yesterday marks the start of the Thy Kingdom Come global movement of prayer from Ascension Day until Pentecost Sunday (9th-19th May). 

We join with millions of others around the world in simply praying for two things: Thy Kingdom come (TKC) on earth as in heaven, we want to see God break through in our communities, and we are also praying for five friends/family to come to know Christ. Who are you praying for? 

This week, we have both of our Central Gatherings at 9 and 10:30. We are excited to have the Director of European Mission Fey Cotter share with us. Gather your House Churches and others and come and hear what God is doing in other parts of the Kingdom. 

I have recently been asked a lot about why All Saints is thriving. The perception from others is that All Saints is "winning." I found myself on a Zoom with the Diocese of Nelson, where they asked me to talk about life and ministry at All Saints and how we see God moving. The first thing I lead/led with in these conversations is that there are only two genuine silver bullets: 1) prayer! and 2) is the truth of the Gospel/Good News. So, as we come into a period of focused prayer and petition, let us lean in together as we pray for the Kingdom to break through around us and in the hearts of those we know and love. Also that, we would stand firm in the truth God speaks to us and know the transforming power of Christ in our own hearts. 

Something I always find myself coming back to over and over again is reading Romans 8 

We have a number of ways for you to engage in prayer throughout TKC.

17th- 19th May | All Saints 48 Hour Prayer Vigil. 
Join us for our 48-hour prayer vigil here at All Saints. Sign up for an hour or more across the 48 hours. Gather your friends and family. 
There will be several guided prayer stations, and you can also pray your own way. 

Sign up to a prayer slot here.

6:30 am Morning Prayer | 15mins 
Jump online and pray with others in the morning before you start your day. This format is light prayer liturgy and space for praying for our 5 and others. 

10 am Morning Prayer | 30mins
Join a group online who pray and read scripture together each morning. This time of prayer follows a more formal Liturgical Prayer format

You can link into both of these spaces by clicking here. 

Check out our other notices in the newsletter. They include dates for our building conversations, Parish Weekend away, Matariki Working Bee, and shared dinner. Click here to see Notices

Much love, Guy