Vicars Letter 13th June 2025

Rev Guy Benton

 

Kia ora All Saints

I have found myself thinking back to our time together at Pentecost last Sunday and being reminded of the energy in the room, the worship, prayer, and gathering together to praise God. I'm reminded of the 48 hours of prayer Friday - Sunday last week, those moments of being part of a chain of people praying continuously, and the tangible experience of the Kingdom breaking through in that place. 

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday in our church calendar. A Sunday where usually pastors throw away any sense of bible readings and try and theologically explain the vast cosmic wonder of the trinity in one Sunday! Lots of three-leaf clovers and water, ice, and steam analogy! None of these really help or are accurate. This Sunday, we will stick to our gospel reading, which is John 16:12-15, note that its only four verses!, I encourage you to read these ahead of time and see what you feel like the spirit is saying to you about the father, the son, and their relationship to the spirit. 

If you are in a House Church, I encourage you to get along and unpack this week's discussion and draw on our conversation from last week about being filled with the spirit. Remembering, we talked about when we are filled with the spirit, we are brought into the presence of the Future, the Lord, and the Nations. 

If you are at 9 am I will see you there. 

A reminder that next Friday, 20th June, is our Matariki Working Bee from 2-5pm, with dinner to follow. We are looking forward to seeing you all there. Check out the info in this newsletter and sign up. 

We are also excited next Sunday at both our Central Gatherings to have our good friends Rev James and Julia Coleman from Stokes Valley come and preach to us on some of the practical ways they have seen their prayer life develop; they will bring scripture and practical to us. James and Julia are leading a new church plant in Stokes Valley after being sent from St Mary's Silverstream. James, Julia, and I all served at St Mary's Karori together many years ago. They also have vast experience in preaching, teaching, and writing about prayer and the work of the spirit. It's exciting to have them come join us as we continue to cry out to the spirit of God to breathe life into our community. 

Lastly from me, our young adults have organized a Scottish dance, Ceilidh, as a way of fundraising money for the AED at All Saints; click here for tickets and information; this is a great opportunity to invite your none church friends to a fun event for a great cause. 

Love in Christ