Kia ora All Saints whānau,

I wanted to take this opportunity, as my last Vicar Letter to reflect on my three  and a half years here. Taking us on was a leap of faith. The nominators at the time would have received this idea of four people in a team based leadership. They would have had to make the decision to be a little risky - this was not standard practice (it still is not). It was made even riskier given that although we had many years of youth leadership and missional experience, we had never been in charge of a parish. They did infact take that risk and on Feburary 8th 2021 we were installed as the next Vicar's of All Saints, Hataitai.

As I reflect on it all and the three years here - God has his fingerprints all over it!
All Saints was at one of its lowest points when we arrived. It meant that you were ready to try something different. There were without doubt some rocky patches as we entered into leadership, both learning how to lead a Parish while also trying to work out how a team of four operated to do that. However, the second lockdown of the pandemic gave us an opportunity to instil a discipleship backbone to the way we did church. House churches were born and this has provided a pivotal movement where we are working together as small groups to live out the gospel in our neighbourhoods, with each other and to the people we interact with weekly. It is this platform that has allowed a whole heap of discussion, interaction, closer connections and a welcoming space for people to find life in. 

From there we have seen the church grow and develop to now have a chance of developing people to be missionaries as our Mission Action Plan says. The next step is to create these pathways where people can meet Jesus, be discipled, then reach out and disciple others so that more people would come to know Jesus and his Kingdom would increase. Our strategy for that is missional communities, small groups who orientate their lives and expression of faith around a particular network or neighbourhood, building relationships and try to 'fish for people.' This takes House churches to a new level and creates a networked church of all believers exercising their ministry, so that now matter who the leader is this network will continue to grow Jesus' church. 

What I notice as a reflect on this all is that none of it is about us being great leaders. It is instead Jesus being present and all of us doing what he is asking of us. It is the church in action. It is the people of God being the body of Christ to reach and serve the world. It is your willingness to serve and trust the Holy Spirit.

In the words of the Maori proverb:
He aha te mea nui tea o?
He tangata he tangata, he tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people, it is people, it is people!'

As we (Emily and Andy) finish up this weekend - it is you who stay and continue on this mission so:
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships
So that we may live
Deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that we may work for
Justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer from pain,
Injustice, starvation and war,
So that we may reach out our hands
To comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness
To believe we can
Make a difference in the world,
So that we can do
What others claim cannot be done. 

Amen! Let it be so!
Andrew Spence

Kia ora All Saints,

​As the Benton family are off on an exciting ski holiday this week, it made me reflect on my experiences skiing. I was lucky enough at my primary school to have a few ski trips but one in particular still stands out in my memory. I would have been about 9 or 10 years old and one of the parent helpers was my friend’s dad. He said I was doing well so he decided to take me up to a higher/steeper level of the mountain. He asked me if I knew how to brake and I confirmed that I did. So off I went, down the slope at a lovely shallow gradient, thinking I would slowly make my way down in a wide zigzag. However, at the first turn of the zigzag I didn’t turn enough, and ended up pointed fairly straight downhill. As I picked up speed I tried to brake, however in some miscommunication with my friend’s dad, I only knew how to pizza brake, not swish sideways, whatever that is called, and the pizza brake just wasn’t cutting it at the speed I was picking up. I saw up ahead what looked like a sudden drop and realised I was about to go straight over it. I threw myself to the ground and came to a stop just before it in a pile of skis/poles/nerves. As I looked over the edge, I found it wasn’t a cliff at all but a small bump in the snow, but as I was so short I couldn’t see the snow under it and could only see terrifying sky.

I learnt a few things that day: 1) Parent helpers should probably vet kids’ abilities a little better. 2) My enthusiasm is greater than my abilities sometimes; but more importantly 3) Sometimes we lack perspective. At no point was I actually in any danger. The slope was steep and terrifying to me, but still a very beginner level, and the cliff I thought was coming up was nothing like it in reality. I imagine the Dad following me knew this with the perspective of a bit more height and experience. Our family has some big changes coming up and I know there are many changes happening for people in our All Saints whānau, but we have the privilege of knowing the One with the best perspective of anyone. Trusting God through all stages of our lives is one of the greatest things we can do as followers of Jesus, and we can be sure he will hold us through it all. God has grace for us when we lack perspective and gently guides us. God also knows how to pick up the pieces of us after we weren’t ready for guidance. There are many things I could say about a life trusting God, but the most important is that it is absolutely the best life we can live.

May God guide you through the next few weeks, and may you hear the perspective of a God who loves you more than anyone could imagine.

Signing off my last vicar’s letter for this glorious parish. With God’s deepest blessings,

Emily

Kia ora All Saints whānau,

Over the past few weeks I have been doing a course called Emotionally Healthy Relationships. It is part two of the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course, which you can learn more about here. It has been really insightful and helpful. One of the requirements of the course is to spend 20-30 minutes twice a day in Silence and reading the bible, with the devotion they give you. What I have noticed as I have intentionally stopped and sat in silence (a rarity in my house) is that I have become more aware of my feelings, more aware of God working and speaking to me and also just more relaxed. Despite having quite an extensive to do list I feel more at peace in general in my life.

Here is how the devotion goes:

• 2 minutes silence and stillness
• Reading the Bible Verse for the Day
• Reading a little commentary on it
• Prayer
• 2 minutes silence and stillness

I encourage you to give it a go, particularly if you do not do something at present in this manner. Work your way through a Gospel or a letter in the New Testament. I wonder what we will discover if we do this together?

The reason I write this is that I have noticed that we have a lot on in the next few weeks. It is important in the midst of this all that we slow and recognise God at work in our lives. 

As we work through the Parables we too are looking out for Jesus and his Kingdom. This week we are looking at the Banquet in Luke 14:1,7-14 which is both a great life lesson but also has a deeper message for us as Jesus followers. I am excited to discuss this on the weekend.

This week we are really pushing to get all your answers in about our Building Survey. The last day that you can submit answers for this is Sunday - we will be collating the results for Parish Council next week, so we can release them to the Parish in time for our building conversation on the 8th September.

I personally want to invite you to September the 1st, our final farewell service - we would love to see as many people as possible and bring something finger food like to share.

Blessings this week
Andy