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,