Kia ora All Saints Whānau 

Guy here this week. This Wednesday, we had our 2nd class of Te Reo Maori learning here at All Saints with our teacher, Joan, from up the road. One of the learnings we discussed is to do with words like This, That, Thing, and Things. We then got onto the waiata "E Toru Nga Mea" (There are three things), which is a waiata about 1 Corinthians 13:13, And now these three remain: faith, hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.

I was struck as we were singing it and pulling apart some of the words we were learning, such as Nga and Mea, that these are really big things in our faith! This isn't something that I have suddenly realized, but it was as if the Holy Spirit was putting them in Bold as I heard - and later re-read - this passage and these three things in a way that I haven't seen before. It was also powerful through the lens of our Gospel series. The faith in God that we profess, a God that is full of grace towards us, Hope in a God that desires a relationship with us and that his kingdom will come on earth as in heaven, Love that we have so experienced, a Love like no other through our faith in God that there is a love that pours out of us that reflects what we have experienced. 

As we head toward the final week of our Gospel series, Claire will be preaching to us on the Gospel and Eternity. We are also hearing murmurings from people in the parish, and this lines up very well with our Mission Action Plan - with regard to growth and evangelism - that there is a hunger to practically learn the art of sharing the Gospel/Good News and presenting that to our friends, workmates, family, etc. So watch this space for some opportunities to dig a little deeper. 

As we come to the end of the series, it would be great to get some feedback on what has stood out to you, what have been some of the critical learning or wrestling you have had, and where have you experienced renewal through this series? Feel free to email the vicars here and let us know. 

July 30th, we have our Go Sunday, We are called to care for creation, and we are called to make disciples and share the good news, lets hit several birds with one stone. A chance for us to take the church outside the walls and to bring our people along with us. 

Invite one person from your five that you have been praying for to come with you on Go Sunday. 

A simple phrase you might use to invite them might look like this, 
"Sunday 30th, my church is going to Mt Victoria to plant native trees; it's going to be a really great time, would you like to come with me?"

Head over to www.allsaints.org.nz/gosunday to check out all the information on how to get there, what to bring, what's happening throughout the day, and of course, sign up yourself and your friend you are inviting. 

This week we have both 9 and 10:30 in the room on Sunday, so we look forward to worshipping with you all on Sunday. 

Ngā mihi, Guy 

Kia ora All Saints whānau,

Our life at present is a little bit hectic. When the twins arrived we needed a new bedroom. We were content with putting two kids together in a room but when the twins came it became a little more difficult, so we are renovating our home.

The process is quite disturbing in terms of our life in our house:
- ripping off walls and linings
- wires exposed
- walls put up and framed up for checking
- gear being repositioned in our house constantly
- then parts will be put back together and we can put things back together slowly.

I am struck by this process up alongside our Gospel series at present. In lots of ways my faith is bring stripped, leaving some areas exposed, we are putting up some framing and moving things around and then we are slowly reframing the new house. My faith has been challenged, my faith has been shifted ever so slightly and hopefully we are slowly reframing things again. If you have followed along, are you finding the same process happening within yourself?

In a wider context the Church at present (at least in developed nations) is also needing to do some shifting and reframing - how to be a place that still offers God and community to our nation, neighbourhood and neighbours when it seems they have run after other things to provide for them and have found them to be lacking also.

Right now God does seem to be moving again in our nation. People are reporting that more and more conversations with God are open to what Christianity has to offer, more and more people are wanting life and support like we offer in the church. Just the other day Emily was in a conversation where the other person was so struck by the support we have and life that we live, even with twins!

This is the great thing about the Gospel - it is Good news. Literally as a translation of the greek word 'euangelion' (Gospel) and also because God offers us all the same thing as always, freedom, liberation and grace!

So as we ask our friends to come plant trees, as we finish off this gospel series and as we pray for more conversations about Spirituality and God, may we remember that this is good news and something that people actually desire but don't know where to find.

See you at the Matariki Working Bee - today (Friday) 2pm.

Ma te atua koutou e manaaki
Andrew Spence

Kia ora All Saints whānau

This season that we are in here at All Saints has felt so encouraging to me (Guy) as your Vicar; I am profoundly impacted by how we are as a community leaning into the gospel series we are chewing through together. The sense that God is renewing our hearts toward the gospel and how that impacts our lives, the people and environment around us, and the role we all play. 

I have been thinking about the 5 Marks of Mission for the Anglican church 
(i) To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom;
(ii) To teach, baptise and nurture the new believers;
(iii) To respond to human needs by loving service;
(iv) To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation;
(v) To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

I have been thinking about these two marks of mission in light of our Go Sunday that is coming up on July 30th, I'm aware of our role in the Kingdom as Children of God, our role as guardians of this planet and creation, our roles as ambassadors for the Kingdom and proclaiming the Gospel or Good News. This month we have the opportunity to lean into both of these as we look to create space for our friends and family to come with us as we care for creation, develop and build relationships, and create space for wonder and questions about spirituality and God. Remembering from week one of our Gospel series, we discussed holding up Christ as the ultimate satisfaction to people's great game of spiritual seek and find. How are we actively holding Christ up for others to see? 

This week Summer is preaching to us on Gospel and Work. I have fielded many questions from you over the last several weeks about how we relate to people in our workplace. How to we bridge the gap between work and faith? How do I share Christ with my work colleagues? 
This week should be a cracker for those of you who are feeling the nudge of God in your workplace. (hopefully, that's a lot of you.)

On July 14th, we have our annual Matariki working bee. Click here for more details. There will be a more significant focus on outside and around the church property than inside, so please bring any gardening gear you might have. Things have been allowed to grow for a while. 

A reminder for those of you who are signed up for the Te Reo course which starts Wednesday July 12th 6pm in the All Saints Centre. 

See you all at our Central Gatherings this Sunday. ​

Ngā Mihi, 

Guy