Deacon's Letter - 19 Nov 2021

Kia Ora All Saints Whānau,
 
We are writing to you at the end of day 2 of our ordination retreat. We are sitting together over onion dip and a bit of rosé, after a long day of reflection and challenge as we prepare our hearts and minds for our ordinations on Saturday. ​This afternoon, Bishop Ellie spoke with us about our call as priests to our people and how precious are people are to us. As we listened to her words we held each of you in our hearts and together felt so honoured to have been called to our flock at All Saints’.
 
We are looking forward to having as many of you as possible join us on Saturday as we are ordained. Since numbers are limited please let us know if you’d like to attend. Spots are limited but we both still have some places available. If you can’t join us, both ordinations will be streamed on zoom. The Bentons’ service is at 1pm on Saturday and the Spences’ is at 5pm Saturday. 
BENTONS | SPENCES 
 
This Sunday we have our Central Gathering which is a great thing off the back of ordinations. We will be exploring together the last of our 3 values – Jesus Centred. We are also celebrating Christ the King Sunday, which can be a weird concept for our society as we don’t always think of royalty as something positive. With an elderly monarch and in a Kiwi culture that doesn’t always respect authority, and for whom ideas of royalty are sometimes bound up with a colonising narrative, we likely could struggle to get our minds around the concept of Christ the King. But as usual with Jesus, expect the unexpected. At ordination retreat we’ve been led in reflection around Jesus’ ministry and what that means in concept and in practice. We look forward to exploring this together with you on Sunday.
 
Please continue to hold us all in prayer in the lead up to ordination. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!
 
Arohanui ki a koutou
 
Andy, Emily, Guy and Summer