Parish Activities - Anglican Parish of Pauatahanui

This informal group meets on Tuesday afternoons at 3.30pm in the Parish Centre, to discuss with the Vicar and others the readings for the following Sunday and to have input into the sermon that will be preached. Everyone is welcome.

Explorations

The objective of the group is to explore connections between faith, spirituality and current social issues.

It is an informal discussion group, meeting monthly (in the Parish Centre on the 4th Monday) looking at current issues from a Christian perspective. Recent topics have been as diverse as Fundamentalism and Green Christianity. The group has also investigated familiar Christian and Anglican rituals and writings to establish their relevance to us in New Zealand in the 21st century.

To find out more please contact the Parish Office.

Prayers & Squares - The Prayer Quilt Ministry

Our Parish is privileged to be the first New Zealand Chapter of the Prayer Quilt Ministry.

Can you touch a prayer?
Can you pull it close and feel its comfort?
You can if it is part of a Prayer Quilt.

What is a Prayer Quilt?

It is a statement of our faith and belief in God's power to comfort, strengthen and heal. Prayer Quilts are lap-sized comforters with prayers knotted into them. As each knot is tied prayers are offered for the person who is to receive the Prayer Quilt. When fully tied the Prayer Quilt is given as a gift of love and prayer. Anyone who is facing a special need for prayer - be it physical, emotional or spiritual - may receive a prayer quilt provided they accept the gift of prayer in this form.

"It's not about the quilt; it's all about the prayers.".

Our Chapter meet in the Parish Centre each Wednesday, 9am-noon. Please come and join us. We need people to help with sewing, sorting fabrics, making morning tea and a host of other tasks, or just pop in and join us for coffee and/or a chat - we will be delighted to see you.

Currently we are tying prayers for :
Helen: Peace, Sense of Love, Blessings
Beryl: Healing, Strength, Courage
Caleb: Vision, Healing, Faith
Marianne: Peace for the World, Family, Love

This prayer stole has been made for Bishop Winston Halapua.

He asked for prayers for Moana, Praising and Life.

Winston is the new Bishop of Polynesia – and one of the three Archbishops of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Archdeacon Bernard Faull from the Diocese of Wellington took the stole to Fiji when Dr Halapua was ordained and installed at Suva’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on August 1.

Read more about Prayers & Squares
or alternatively contact the Parish Office.

The Geoh Connection (God’s earth our home)

God's Earth Our Home

Geoh is a meeting of environmental novices seeking to learn how to care more for God's Earth.
The group meet on the first Sunday of the month to discover and reflect on what it means to care for God's Earth which is our home. To assist us we are using material prepared by the Dunedin Diocese. Topics we have coming up include: Giving the Earth a rest - using resources sustainably; Distribution of resources - the role of social justice; Being wealthy - moving beyond material measures.

THEME
KAITIAKI Guardianship or Stewardship of the earth’s resources.

OUR KAUPAPA
Our church, Pauatahanui Anglicans, has a concern to demonstrate a holistic view of life which includes the environment. As Christians we believe we have a responsibility to care for the Earth which we regard as a God given home for all life. We want to leave a legacy which will sustain life for future generations.

We have a social time 6:00 -6:30pm where we meet over a simple meal. The Geoh time lasts just over an hour ending at 8.00pm.

Read Earth's Ten Commandments.

Read Weather patterns and Climate change facts/realities - be sure to check the websites referred to in this talk.

Study Groups

E 100

WHAT IS IT? This is a way to discover the big story contained in the Bible - 50 stories from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament.

HOW DOES IT WORK? I have just found the Story of Joseph from Genesis a really good read.
Each story is unfolded in 5 pages, with a piece transporting the text into our values and how to apply them to our lives. There are prayers to follow up the themes. I am now on to Moses

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? One of the joys of this study book is that there is no pressure to keep up; it will always be there for you. You may chart your progress with a punch out card if you wish.

WHERE CAN I LOOK AT E 100? At the Parish Office

Enjoy, Liz Sandell.

PS If anyone finds that they would like to join with one or two others to share some of the challenges found in these readings, please talk to me.

Living The Questions

Living The Questions is a short term weekly programme where participants are invited to explore the questions they are asking about:
How do we live in today’s world as Christians?
Is Christianity a way forward in the 21st Century?
Does Christianity have relevance in the complex world we live in?

This series of Living The Questions has been bought by the Parish to support those wanting to explore their faith more deeply, wanting to meet others and discuss issues of importance beyond materialism, consumerism, and the impact of capitalism. It is also for people whose faith can be nurtured more when in dialogue with others.

A Study Group meets following the 10.00am service on Thursdays at St Andrew's. We enjoy fellowship over morning tea and the study lasts for about an hour. The subjects range from Bible studies and religions of the world to change in the church in the 21st century. The subjects generate plenty of comment and sharing from the group.

Check the Pauatahanui News for up-to-date information about Study Groups.

Meditation Group

The Meditation group meet in the Parish Centre. The session is from 7.00 -8.0 pm on ever Monday in April, June, August, October and December 2009.

There is a long tradition of Christian meditation going back to the monks, both men and women, who followed a simple prayer style in the North African desert in the fourth century.

We follow a simple format of gathering, an inspirational reading or teaching and then silence for 20-30 minutes. Many people find meditation in a small group very supportive in deepening their prayer.

Check the Pauatahanui News for up-to-date information about the Meditation Group.

Shared Lunch

An open and welcoming group of people who meet in the Parish Centre, on the third Tuesday of the month at 12.30pm, to eat and talk together.

Divine Caterers

The Divine Catering team provides high quality services for anniversaries, 'special' birthdays, funerals, book launches or for whatever event you require catering. New helpers are welcomed to our high standard catering team! Some FAQs:

Who are we? A great team of workers, not necessarily great cooks either, as there are many talents needed to maintain the high standard of service we offer. Front of house, setting up, managing the kitchen, serving, flowers and the food preparation are talents we need.

How did we get this name? Quite out of the blue but at the time the new Parish Centre was built with its brand new kitchen, it seemed a good idea to utilise this space to generate a worthwhile income.

What do we do? We have been called the “phone and forget” caterers by one very satisfied client. Once the date was set, and format agreed on he had no further worries and everyone was thrilled with the occasion.

Who do we cater for? Wedding receptions, funerals, family celebrations, special birthdays, dinners for special events. We discuss with our clients what they would like and together we put together a menu for a quotation. Presentation is essential, and so we ask our helpers to make the sandwiches but we like to cut them to our standard size or shape.

Are we all good cooks? Cooking is just part of what Divine Caterers do. We aim to offer a sustainable, professional, hospitality team to provide a catering service for any occasion. We always reimburse our workers for their costs with food preparation.

What sort of hospitality do we do? We are a client focused team so our presentation must be constant and professional whether it is a dinner, afternoon tea, canapés, or supper. We cater for events in the Parish Centre, in people’s homes, or wherever the event is being held.

How much time do we have to give? It is a team effort so we call on people to help with the task they are good at. It is not just a team of women, we always appreciate the assistance we are given by the men who help us.

Please contact the Parish Office for more information.

Mission Support

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full. Proverbs 19:17

Our Church horizons go beyond the parish boundaries. We are committed to the world-wide mission of God's Church.

Five Mission Challenges

To pray
To give
To go
To support
To hear the stories from missionaries

The Anglican Missions Board in relationship with agencies such as the Church Missionary Society and Christian World Service enables the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, in a spirit of partnership, to share in the global dimension to Christ's mission of proclaiming the Gospel, nurturing believers, responding to human need, transforming society, and caring for creation. It achieves this by:

Challenging Christians constantly to enlarge their sense of mission
Raising funds for global missions
Resourcing associated Anglican mission agencies

We have set ourselves an Annual Target for giving to the Anglican Mission Board. There are different ways for people to give towards this target;

To have a Mission Box - available from our churches
To fill in the slip which comes with the Parish Giving envelope and so give regularly in your envelope along with your parish giving.
By Direct Debit to the parish specifying how much is to go to Missions

Jesus said, Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. Mark 16:15

Find out more: www.cws.org.nz www.nzcms.org.nz www.rangatahi.org.nz/angmissions

Music

Music! Our vision, to be 'Church of choice, church with choice, church for community', means we encourage diversity of music which reflects the diverse flavours of our eleven different congregations. The choir or the music group lead the worship and singing at various services throughout the Parish. The Youth Choir is called Pauas. Each of these expressions of music would appreciate new members!

Together in Song is our parish hymn book and is used in most of our services.

See further details in the Music & Choir section.

Good Neighbours

This group meets in the Parish Centre to compile and distribute the monthly magazine, Pauatahanui Messenger. New helpers are always welcomed.

To find out more please contact the Parish Office.

Friendship Group at St. Mark's

The Friendship Group meets in Pukerua Bay in St Mark's Lounge on the first Wednesday in the month at 10.30am. You are welcome to join us for Holy Communion at 9.45am. All residents of the Bay and the Parish are welcome to attend.

Our programme is varied and compiled from members’ suggestions at the February meeting. We have had various speakers, quizzes, outings to places of interest in the Wellington area, and sometimes we just have a chat session. Always popular is the picnic at Aotea Lagoon . Community outreach is what it's all about. We join together for movie outings and are open to suggestions for other activities. We are very happy to provide transport.

To find out more please contact the Parish Office.

Women's Fellowship (AAW)

A friendly group of women linked to the New Zealand Association of Anglican Women. We meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month from February to November.

The primary function of the group is to provide friendship and support for each other as needed. We also support and fundraise for Overseas and Outreach Projects and social concerns.

The meetings comprise a short prayer service followed by a business meeting and speaker, concluding with supper.

To find out more please contact the Parish Office. See also the Wellington AAW website.

Men's Group

An occasional evening of fellowship, food and an absorbing after-dinner address.

Check the Pauatahanui News or Messenger for the date of the next dinner.

To find out more please contact the Parish Office.

Prayer for men

God of Jeremiah,
We pray for men who speak your word to our community
Encourage them, enlighten them, hearten them.

God of Zaccheus
We pray for men who seek you.
Accompany them, meet them, bless them.

God of Abraham,
We pray for men who journey in hope
Strengthen them, enable them, settle them.

God of Zechariah,
We pray for elderly men as they look back on life,
Comfort them, inspire them, befriend them.

God of the boy David,
We pray for young men.
Protect them, challenge them, satisfy them.

God of the nameless thieves on the crosses beside Jesus,
We pray for men in desperate situations
Guide them, equip them, weep with them.

God of Peter the Apostle,
We pray for men who are leaders in church and society
Sensitise them, sustain them, assure them.

God of Jairus, whose young daughter was healed
We pray for family men
Help them, steer them, counsel them.

God of all people everywhere,
Equip us to be what you call us to be
In all our diversity and complexity
Wherever we are
For your love’s sake, Amen.

Jenny Dawson
Evensong – Men and Work and Faith
28 June 2009

Fundraising

Fundraising projects in the parish are times of great fellowship. Working together on these activities has forged deep and lasting friendships. We have had garage sales, theatre nights, art exhibitions, fairs, galas, cake stalls, and Harvest Fairs … Two on-going projects support the Parish.

The Firewood Project is an excellent fundraiser. This team of keen people turn out on Saturday mornings to saw, split, stack and sell firewood. Generally it is light work and there are several women in the team. Heavier work is done by the younger, sturdier members.

The team works on a Saturday morning from 9am until 12 noon. Usually the venue is a parishioner's farm off Paekakariki Hill Road, but sometimes at other places. It is all good fun and fellowship and everyone enjoys a cool beer or a lemonade at the end of the morning's work. We welcome anyone interested in joining the team.

To join the Firewood Project,please contact the Parish Office.