Vicars Letter - 25 August 2023

Kia ora All Saints. 

Guy here. I have just returned from a week down south with the family, plus two other families! It was action-packed with four days of skiing, and the rest were filled with resting and some exploration of central Otago; we filled our tank with the wonder of creation and friendship with others. Summer and I both remarked on the way back home how excited we were to get back involved, connect with everyone, and crack back into what God calls us into here in our patch of the Kingdom. 

This coming Sunday, we are together in the room with our 9am and 10:30am Central Gatherings; Emily is back in the pulpit with the fourth week in our Romans series! If you have missed one or two, feel free to check this out here. 

We also have a special week next week with Aunty Hazel's 100th Birthday on Tuesday and a special Midweek service and morning tea on Wednesday, 30th of August. You are invited to join us on Wednesday at 10am for our midweek service and morning tea to celebrate 100 years of Aunty Hazel. 

We are wrapping up our first eight weeks of beginner Te Reo Maori classes at All Saints. We are planning our next steps in Intermediate level classes. There is a limited number of places on this course level, so if you want to loop in at the Intermediate level, please email me here and let me know your interest. We will continue to meet on Wednesdays 6-7pm (start date not confirmed) 
If you are interested in being involved in an eight week beginner course, you heard good things, or you feel like now is the right time to be involved, then email me here to let me know your interest. 

As Andy said last week, September is our Mission Month, where we lean into our Mission, the role of local and global Mission amongst us, how Mission isn't a side of fries in our call as disciples but it is core to who we are and what God is calling us to. We have a range of speakers from Clergy to NZCMS and others. We will hear updates from Missionaries that we are intimately connected with here and globally. 

Finally, following Mission Month and our Romans series, we have our next Go Sunday coming up at the end of October, which is our annual Light Party for our local community, an alternative to Halloween; this is always a massive event that gets us deep into the heart of the community, to connect, build relationships, be visible, and let people know we exist. 
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Opportunities to engage in this missional outreach include hosting and running an activity, event hosts, sausage sizzle, bouncy castle, dishes / tidying, etc. So get together with your House Church or Prayer Group and work out how you want to serve together, maybe one or two different things, Pray about who you are inviting along with you to either help out or participate. 

I am thankful to be working this patch of the Kingdom with you all as we push and pull each other closer to Jesus. 

Aku Mihi, 
Guy