News
From the Moderator
It’s September and I’ve one last month in this journey as Moderator, then it’s off to General Assembly, so this is my final article for Bush Telegraph. Thank you all so much for journeying with me through this column. I have had a full and richly blessed two years, and witnessed God moving in great ways in the Church - locally, nationally and internationally. And if in the process the Church has taken up my challenge to be more “Christ-centred and community facing”, then God be praised!
Over the weekend of 20 September, I was once again part of the graduation of the students who studied for 18 months under Te Wananga a Rangi, our Maori school of theology, based at Te Maungarongo Marae, Ohope. Nine students were presented for graduation by Te Ahorangi, the Rev Wayne Te Kaawa, and all of them had been assessed as ready for licensing as probationers for Amorangi Ministry in Te Aka Puaho, the Maori Synod. In the next couple of months each will be ordained into work within one of our Maori Pastorates.
It was a great occasion. The graduates understand well the call of God in their lives, and are deeply committed to Christ’s mission. Some are undertaking further theological study through Otago University.
My trip last month to Dhaka in Bangladesh was full on, but fruitful in terms of a mutual understanding of ecumenism in Asia.
I am sometimes overwhelmed by the stories my colleagues tell of what it means to be Christian in Asia. In Myanmar and Laos, Sri Lanka and Nepal there is civil war and natural disasters, poverty and dictatorial governments; to be Christian is to be in a tiny minority, and probably to be under “persecution.”
In Dhaka, on a Sunday evening (at 5.30 pm, as it was not a Holy Day and they needed to attend after a days work), the roof of the church in which we worshipped is often pelted with stones, it makes listening to the preaching difficult!
Though our church and nation are so very different, these Asian churches appreciate the solidarity of having our churches as part of their networks, through such organisations as the Christian Conference of Asia and the World Council of Churches. Standing in solidarity and listening to their stories of hardship and injustice makes a difference. Our presence and understanding bring hope and comfort. Our prayers are welcome, as is our aid.
During my visit I became aware that global warming is an extremely urgent issue for Bangladesh. It is common for flooding, cyclones and monsoon rains to cause disasters. And now, as the sea rises and when there is more extreme weather, low-lying Bangladesh will be devastated. It will supply most of the world’s environmental refugees over the next 10 to 20 years.
One (nearly) last thing. I have heard a constant niggle from parishes and Presbyteries that people don’t believe they are getting the information they need to be, “part of the whole Church”. It is so simple. Please can you spread the word that it only takes one email or phone call to be a subscriber to Bush Telegraph? It’s not an exclusive club, any one in the Church who wants to receive it can, if necessary posted to them in hard copy (and yes, I know if you are reading this I am preaching to the converted).
Next week at our Assembly I will place Te Korowai Tapu on the Rev Dr Graham Redding, pray for him and take my seat among the Very Revs. I will do so with great joy, knowing that our God who has been has been with me on this journey, will sustain Graham too.
Kia tau te rangimarie a to tatou Ariki a Ihu Karaiti kia koutou
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Pamela
Assembly Office update
Dear Friends
Large piles of recyclable red bags printed with this year’s assembly logo are piling up in the office. There is one for each commissioner, complete with associated brochures, information, name tag and a special gift from PSDS!
The General Assembly
The General Assembly opens at 11 am on Thursday October 2 with a powhiri and church service at St John’s in the City, Wellington. We are expecting around 600 people at the service. At Assembly (St Patrick’s College, Silverstream), approximately 400 commissioners, associates and observers will be present for the duration.
Those attending GA08 will have registered online and will have received the white book reports and the late report.
If you’re not attending GA08, I encourage to register for the daily email updates that we’ll be sending out during Assembly – you can sign up here: (link removed) Assembly reports and other background material can be viewed on this webpage.. Hard copies of the white book can be purchased for $20 from this office.
Visitors to the General Assembly are welcome but will need to make their own arrangements for lunch and dinner.
I am very thankful to our staff, volunteers and local arrangements committee for their continuing hard work.
South Africa
Last week I had a very pleasant meeting with Dr Kobus Gerber, the General Secretary of the 1.2 million member Nederduitse Gerefomeerde Kerk, the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa. This church shares with us membership in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. There has been a significant immigration to New Zealand by South Africans over the last few years. Dr Gerber and I discussed enhancing the cooperation between our Churches, especially in relation to the Afrikaans speaking migrants to New Zealand. If your congregation is providing some form of specific ministry to this group of people or you have some thoughts or insights on the matter, could you please email me?
Complaints processes
Our complaints processes are outlined in Chapter 15 of the Book of Order. Recent experience has alerted us to the need to be responsive to complaints made to ministers and other Church members about the behaviours of those who are users of Church facilities, but who may or may not be Church members. Also, if someone chooses not to use our formal complaints processes but still has concerns, the leadership of your church must ensure that these concerns are dealt with appropriately.
The values of common sense and fairness need to prevail in any response you make to a complaint. It is very important to be mindful of the consequences of pre judging a complaint. All complaints need to be taken seriously, and you should encourage anyone bringing a complaint that relates to alleged illegal action to refer the matter to the police. In situations where you reasonably believe there is a clear and immediate risk or danger, you may need to act accordingly. You may need to get advice, or discuss your response with wise and trusted leaders or elders, or a lawyer. In obtaining advice you need to maintain confidentially and act on a “need to know” and circumspect basis. You could call our complaints officer Heather McKenzie for advice, phone 04 381 8290.
Eday
Many of our churches, and a good number of manses I’m betting, have old printers, monitors and computers sitting around in cupboards and store rooms. They contain various toxic chemicals. If you are not coming to the General Assembly, Saturday 4 October is the day to drop them off for recycling. Check out http://www.eday.org.nz for a drop off location near you.
Prayers
Please pray for all those involved in organising and attending the General Assembly - for encouragement, discernment and wisdom.
Martin
GA08 News
If you're not attending, you can sign up to receive an email every evening of GA08, which starts on Thursday 2 October and concludes on Monday 6 October. This daily email will summarise decisions and events, as well as providing links to fuller information. If you'd like to subscribe, please visit (link removed) View the latest resources for GA.
Kids Friendly update
On my recent trip to Wanganui, Manawatu Presbytery, I shared the Kids Friendly vision with participants at a networking and training day.
I suggested that a shared vision is like a shared song. The song, “Now is the hour” sung solo does nothing for me, but when 200,000 people sing and sway under the stars at Auckland’s “Opera in the Park” I get completely choked up; the hairs on my arms stand up and my heart bursts with joy of being a Kiwi. It also evokes all sorts of images for me: a black and white scene of soldiers leaving our ports, their sweethearts waving from the dock; my mum and I singing at the piano days before I flew off to New Zealand, aged17, to be a Rotary exchange student.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his 1937 book, Life Together, "It is the voice of the Church that is heard in singing together…that serves to widen our spiritual horizon, makes us see our little company as a member of the great Christian church on earth, and helps us willingly and gladly join our singing, be it feeble or good, to the song of the church".
“What is your vision for Kids Friendly?” Andrew Norton of St Columba asked me in the first months of the Kids Friendly pilot. I can answer this, I thought, after all I’m trained in marketing and communications, so I launched into describing a vision with all the appropriate corporate speak. “No, No, No,” said Andrew. “Jill, what do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? How is your heart stirring?” Sometimes that is harder to articulate because it requires you to really get in touch with all your senses, and allow yourself to dream.
When sharing the Kids Friendly vision with churches I invite them to consider why they should be Kids Friendly, because it is in the “why” that their hearts stir and shift. How we can be Kids Friendly is “head stuff”, it’s a programme. When churches say to me “how can we join the programme?” or they introduce me to their session saying, “Jill has come to share the Kids Friendly programme with us”, I know I have some serious heart stirring to do. Kids Friendly is not a programme, Kids Friendly is a vision of a way of being.
Churches working to become Kids Friendly are encouraged to form a “dream team” to review their church and build a Kids Friendly vision.
My vision for our denomination is to be known for the way we effectively reach out to children and families in our communities, and create opportunities for sharing the love of Christ with them. I also dream of us being a Church that truly values and equips people who work with children (and yes Andrew, I can feel, hear, see and experience it).
What’s your vision?
“I have a dream” said Martin Luther King. How did his dream become the dream of his people, and galvanize millions of disenfranchised black Americans to take up the fight and change their nation and their lives for good?
His dream spoke to his people in a way that inspired them to own the dream. His dream became their dream.
When we share a vision from our heart, we invite people to own it. A heart vision stirs the heart and is “bought” by others, and so becomes a shared vision.
A head vision speaks to the mind and too often leaves us with the feeling of having been sold something.
So what’s your vision? Are you dreaming and building a vision that invites your people to own, and join in the song?
Jill
Global Mission update
Hot Topic
About 91 percent of all Mission is aimed at Christians. There are approximately 11.5 million full-time workers serving the world wide church of 468 million Christians. 5 million are home church pastoral workers, and there are about 6 million Mission administration personnel managing about 4,340 Mission agencies around the world.
It is estimated that the world-wide church spends about $250 million dollars on Mission per annum trying to reach 1.6 billion people in 38 non-Christian countries, and over $15 billion on countries where the church is already established. The church generally spends 20 times more on helping itself than the needy (statistics from the “International Bulletin of Missionary Research”, 2007).
I don’t know about you, but I find these statistics extremely challenging. Of course they are only statistics, but we cannot ignore them.
The focus for this month is on the number of Mission agencies there are around the world. If we also examine the number of non governmental organizations, which focus on aid and development work (should there even be a divide here?), then we find an overabundance of groups and people who are involved in these organizations, possibly too many.
It reminds me of going to a smorgasbord restaurant that offers many choices. You choose the food depending on how you feel, how hungry you are, or on what you like. Are we doing the same with Mission and aid and development organisations in New Zealand? Are we doing the same in our church, the Presbyterian Church?
A recent article titled, “Scramble in Africa”, stated the main problem with aid, development (and I would add in here Mission), “…is that aid is fragmenting: there are too many agencies, financing too many small projects, using too many different procedures”. Fragmentation is the opposite of effectiveness, says Lennart Bage, head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Little Eritrea, for instance, deals with 21 official and multilateral donors, each with their own projects, budgets and ways of operating, Uganda has 27. NGOs are more numerous, their explosive growth explains much of aid’s fragmentation. Ethiopia plays host to 12 affiliates from Save the Children, seven from Oxfam and six from Care International.
This largesse is evidence of Western generosity, but it is swamping poor countries. According to OECD figures released in Accra, donors conducted over 15,000 Missions in 54 recipient countries last year. Vietnam played host to an average of three visits each working day. So did Tanzania, its overstretched civil service produces 2,400 quarterly reports a year on projects. Health workers in several African countries say they are so busy meeting Western delegates that they can only do their proper jobs – vaccinations and maternal care—in the evenings.
What then can we say about our Mission as the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand? Are we also swamping poor countries with our desire to be involved with God in his Mission? Are we as a Church becoming fragmented, as parishes and congregations choose to do things their own way? Are we effecting the work and Mission of other churches around the world? Are we being effective in God’s Mission? Are we so fragmented that the good we desire to do, and can do, is becoming watered down instead of being powerfully transforming? Maybe we can learn to work better together. Maybe, we as a Church can begin to trust each other and learn that we don’t need to recreate the wheel.
Therefore, before recreating the wheel here are some opportunities through the Global Mission Office:
Opportunities
South Africa and Zambia: The Global Mission Office is providing an opportunity for a group of youth leaders to go to Zambia and South Africa in January 2009.
Vanuatu: Are you interested in Vanuatu? The Global Mission Office can enable your youth group to go to Vanuatu and experience, and take part in, what the Church is doing there.
Training in Mission: Run by the Council for World Mission. Ten young adults from around the world. South Africa and India. Fully funded. Applicants for the 2010 programme please apply to the Global Mission Office.
Thailand: Are you interested in prison ministry in Thailand? Are you interested in experiencing the ministry of Kathryn McDaniel? A two month stay in Dec and Jan. Partly sponsored by the GMO.
Global Internship: “My Year at the Global Mission Office was fantastic; I was blown away by how much I learnt.” “My year consisted of working for the GMO two days a week, involvement in St Andrew’s Church in Otahuhu, and some study, plus two Mission trips”. It can also be flexible, if a year is too long.
New Zealand: Want to host a group from overseas? Why not host a group who will come and share their stories. An opportunity for us as a Church to be hosts, to share our faith, and to be encouraged by what is happening in other churches.
Madagascar: Have you ever wondered about what the real country is like now that you’ve seen the movie? Go and work at Akany Avoko, which is a home for young girls in Antananarivo: When? Early 2010.
Projects the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand supports:
India
St Thomas School: Support the school by contributing to the principal’s salary, or providing scholarship funds for students.
Christian Hospital: Provide funds for hospital equipment, or sponsor a student nurse.
Africa
Hope House: “Sinethemba” is the Xhosa word for, “We have hope”. This project was set up to provide hope and help to troubled young people and their families.
Marapyane Christian Fellowship: This Church was established in November 2004, in South Africa, and carries out ministry in the area of AIDS.
Trinity Fellowship in Kenya: A rural training school providing life skills to school leavers.
Messiah Ministries in Zambia: A ministry for orphans, street children & widows that provides education, skills training, shelter, health, spiritual guidance and re-integration.
Livingstone Youth Centre: Providing support for youth in Livingston, Zambia.
Garden Presbyterian Church: Runs programmes to assist people with micro-enterprise projects i.e. tie-dye, sewing & knitting.
Mtendere Presbyterian Mission School: The School was established to provide education for the most disadvantaged children, in an atmosphere of love and spiritual care.
Chilenje Presbyterian Church in Zambia: A tailoring training school for widows, they make school uniforms for vulnerable children.
Vanuatu
Ebule Urban & Rural Workshops: These two training facilities provide practical skills such as agriculture, mechanics and carpentry.
Talua Ministry Training School: The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu’s ministry training college with over one hundred students.
Onesua Presbyterian School & Tata Primary School: Partner with these schools and provide much needed equipment and teaching resources.
Thailand
Kathryn McDaniel: Kathryn has spent many years in Thailand, working and ministering to prisoners in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok prisons.
Nightlight: A ministry in urban Bangkok, it reaches out to women and children working on the street. Their vision is to share the light of the world, in both word and deed, to those who live in darkness
Child trafficking: The Church of Christ in Thailand is running an organisation to help prostitutes leave their trade, and prevent vulnerable children from falling into prostitution.
Blessings
Stuart
Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership update
Summer School: Christianity & Science
In January of each year the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Otago and the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership offer a week-long block course. This is what we have planned for January 2009:
From Monday 26 January to Friday 30 January Professor Ted Davis will teach a paper entitled,
“Christianity and Science: Historical and Contemporary Interactions”.
The course will be held at St Columba, Botany Downs, Auckland and will end at 1pm.
As in previous years, the paper is available as a university paper (visit the University of Otago web site) or for “audit” through the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership. The fee for auditing the paper is $600. Presbyterian ministers and ordinands may apply to the Knox Centre for a $300 study grant.
Enquiries about auditing the paper, including applications for study grants, should be directed to the registrar at the Knox Centre: Email registrar@knoxcentre.ac.nz Phone 03 473 0783.
Professor Davis describes the course in this way:
”Often conceived of as a battle ground, the history of the interactions of Christianity and science has frequently been a field of fruitful engagement and mutual enrichment. This course surveys the history of Christianity and science, examining a wide range of interactions from the early church until today. Specific examples of interaction will include religion and the rise of modern science, the trial of Galileo, evolution and religious responses to it, and contemporary theology of nature. History of science is the core discipline for lectures, readings, and discussions, but some attention is given to theology and biblical interpretation, especially in the modern period.”
Professor Ted Davis is Professor of the History of Science at Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, USA. His main research interests are:
- Christianity and science since 1600
- The "Scientific Revolution," especially Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
- Early history of antievolutionism, especially Harry Rimmer (1890-1952)
- Protestant modernist efforts to control the image of science in America
- The physical sciences since Copernicus
Further information about Professor Davis is available at: http://home.messiah.edu/~tdavis/.
National Mission update
A “Transitional Ministry” course is being offered to anybody who is interested. It will possibly start mid-November this year or early February next year. If anyone is interested in finding out more please contact the National Mission Office, or Margaret Fawcett margaret@presbyterian.org.nz.
National Prayer Network
An invitation has gone out to all the churches around the country to encourage them to pray for General Assembly, before, during and after. There is a room set aside for prayer at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream. People are invited to be in this quiet place.
The National Mission Enabler, John Daniel, recently returned from the CWM Pacific Roundtable Consultation in Nauru.
The present main focus for the National Mission team is the extension and establishment of Student Soul church plant ministry in centres other than Otago.
Finally, we wish Paul Kim a fruitful retirement from his role as Asian Liaison. Paul has been an integral part of the Mission Possible team.
Youth Ministry update
At the moment the PYM office is undertaking a bit of research on, “best practise youth ministry”.
In the Ministry of Youth Development document, Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa,
“…the involvement of young people in policy and programme development, in having a say about what is done and being involved in decisions about what is done. A participatory approach requires an intentional process that progressively grows young people’s capacity to contribute.”
Wow, what a challenge for our churches! It’s great that at a national level we have young people attending General Assembly with full voting rights, and a national youth ministry office committed to youth participation. But what about locally?
For most of us this is a huge challenge. How can we foster an environment where young people actively participate and contribute to the life of the church outside of the “youth group”?
Involving the young people you have in your midst in a meaningful way is more than just consulting them as a token gesture. It’s about engaging them in every area of church life as much as possible. Over the last few years our churches have been focussing on providing ministry toin
I’d love to hear from local churches out there that have young people involved in church life, including policy and programme development, and who have a voice in decisions being made.
Also, anyone wanting to share their thoughts and ideas on, “what is best practise youth ministry?” and “what elements make up best practise?” email me at youth@presbyterian.org.nz
Be blessed,
Steph Redhead
APW National Survey
The APW policy and administration committee thank all the churches who participated in its national survey. A large number of people responded and extended their best wishes to the APW, your comments are appreciated.
The survey results would not meet the rigorous standards of a professional statistician, but they do give some insight into the future direction of the APW.
The survey sought the views of Presbyterian women from women’s church groups that may or may not be affiliated with the APW. They were asked if they wished to link up with APW groups once or twice a year at a parish or regional level and if so what types of gatherings they preferred. This is seen as a possible way to grow the APW.
The survey asked groups if the church groups would like to receive the Gleanings news sheet; and if they were aware of, or would like information on, the APW United Nations Special Consultative Status.
A total of 172 churches responded, some churches had several groups that replied (APW groups were not required to take part in the survey). The overall response rate was 46 percent.
Some concluding comments:
- Firstly, over half those surveyed wished to meet with other church groups, including APW, once or twice a year.
- For some groups transport issues, travelling distance or being too elderly, reduced numbers attending meetings and meant there was no one to take on leadership. They indicated a preference for only attending local meetings.
- We are concerned that women in some churches have neither the time nor energy to meet regularly and support one another.
- Generally speaking it is common in society, and in our church, for younger women not to join clubs or groups. Many lead busy lives: in employment; supporting their children’s school, sport and other activities; and attending Sunday worship.
- It is positive to note that close to half the groups who responded indicated they would like to find out more on the APW and requested the Gleanings news sheet. Over 40 percent requested information on the work of the APW with the UN.
Many women (and men too) generously support the annual APW Special Project, and enjoy reading the Gleanings news sheet but choose not to attend a presbyterial or a local APW group. Perhaps it is timely to conclude that APW seeks opportunities to communicate APW issues of interest to a broader range of Presbyterian women. This might be achieved through greater promotion and higher profile of the APW pages on the Church website; APW working more closely with Church leadership to promote its work; targeting various publications and women clergy; and encouraging individual APW membership. The full report may be found on the APW website
APW policy & administration committee
Noticeboard
Working Safe Training Programme
The Working Safe training programme is now free to all parishes. This programme trains one person in your parish to develop a health and safety plan. If you have any questions, please contact Juliette Bowater on juliette@presbyterian.org.nz
Spanz magazine
Spanz is now available for free to all congregations. This high quality quarterly magazine contains information important for keeping up to date with happenings around our Church. If your congregation would like to receive Spanz, please contact Katrina Graham, katrina@presbyterian.org.nz or (04) 381-8283
The Introduction Workgroup
The Introduction Workgroup seeks further church / parish profiles for the exiting ordinands from the Knox Centre of Leadership and Ministry.
Please consider an ordinand for your vacancy.
Although this will be their first fulltime post, they bring life-skills from previous employment, church experience and fresh ideas and knowledge gained from their training that could be beneficial to your setting.
Please contact: Amanda Guy, IWG Convener, 4 Mount Street, Wakari, Dunedin.
Ph: (03) 476 6559 or email children@kaikoraichurch.co.nz.
Mercy Ships Crew Reunion
Join Don Stephens for reunion dinner events in Christchurch on 20 November and Auckland 21 November to celebrate 30 years of ministry and the 25th Anniversary of the Anastasis in NZ. Bring your shipmates! More info at msnz@mercyships.org or phone: 0800 637 297. Bookings to be received by October 20.
World Council of Churches
Seminar Series for 2009
Bossey Ecumenical Institute
Courses available are:
Pursuing Unity As An Inclusive Community
18-24 May 2009
Human Rights and Human Security
25-31 May 2009
Healing of Memories - Reconciling Communities
17-23 August 2009
Building an Interfaith Community
6-31 July 2009
Please note that a small number of scholarships are available to assist participants to attend the seminars, however because of limited funding most participants will need their own funding to attend.
Application forms are available on the website: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/activities/bossey/study-atbossey/seminars-courses.html
Or contact: Tara Tautari, Programme Executive
Education and Ecumenical Formation, World Council of Churches
Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.
ph: +41 22 9607 366
mobile ph: +41 78 793 4073
WCC fax: +41 22 791 0361
email: tta@wcc-coe.org
web: http://www.wcc-coe.org
CWS notices
Haiti Hurricanes
The Caribbean nation of Haiti, already one of the world’s poorest countries, has been devastated by a series of hurricanes and storms. The damage is widespread. The massive destruction in agriculture has hit people hard, as they were already struggling to survive the ongoing food crisis and political instability in the country. The immediate needs are: food, water, clothing and medicines. CWS is receiving donations for relief efforts and has been supporting community development partners in Haiti for over 15 years. Donate online at www.cws.org.nz or phone 0800 74 73 72
Cell OUT for Congo
Christian World Service is calling on New Zealanders to support an international cell phone usage boycott on Wednesday 22 October. People are asked to switch their mobile phones off between 12pm and 6pm to help raise awareness about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is driven by the scramble for the country’s natural resources and has claimed over 5 million lives. One of the minerals illegally mined in the DRC by rebel militia and foreign forces is coltan, which is widely used in the manufacture of mobile phones. 80 percent of the world’s coltan comes from the DRC.
The Cell OUT is a symbolic act to acknowledge the suffering and atrocities committed in DRC while millions of people enjoy modern technology based on the country’s minerals. It is part of a global week of action to ‘break the silence’. To join in simply turn your phone off on 22 October (no texting) and change your voice mail message to let people know why your phone is off. See http://www.cws.org.nz/what-can-i-do/events for more information and a suggested voice mail message.
World Food Day
World Food Day 2008 is more important than ever as rapidly rising food prices risk increasing the number of hungry people. On 16 October people around the world will highlight the plight of the 923 million people who go hungry each day. This year’s theme is the challenge climate change and bio energy brings to food security.
CWS has produced worship materials for churches wishing to highlight these issues on Sunday 19 October or another appropriate day. They can be downloaded from www.cws.org.nz
CWS Calendar 2009
CWS’s 2009 calendar celebrates 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It features beautiful photos of CWS partners at work to ensure everyone enjoys the rights they deserve. In the popular 18cm x 18cm, the calendar is available now for only $6.50. Phone 0800 74 73 72 to order.
Sweat free clothing
Micah Clothing offers an affordable range of Fairtrade and organic certified cotton t-shirts, jeans and cardigans. Founded on the principles of Micah 6:8 to “Act Justly, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly”, Micah Clothing is committed to helping improve the lives of those currently living in poverty through Fairtrade. A great idea for Christmas presents. They will donate $5 to CWS when you add CWS to the comments box on their online order form. See www.micahclothing.co.nz
Resources
Hewitson Library latest acquisitions
Click here to see the new acquisitions list for June 2008.
Church Register
Church Register Changes for Bush Telegraph as at 17 September 2008
Ordination and Inductions:
Rev Jacqui Cavit, Member Auckland Presbytery, to Ecumenical Hospital Chaplain, North Shore Presbytery, 16 July 2008.
Re-instatement to the Roll (reg. 212):
Rev Dr Mark Keown, to Other Recognised Minister, North Shore Presbytery 22 July 2008.
Resignations:
Rev Ali’tasi Aiona Toleafoa, Other Recognised Minister, South Auckland Presbytery, resigned from Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ, 28 August 2008.
Parish Register
Halkett Presbyterian Church has closed and the congregations have merged with Hornby Presbyterian Community Church, Christchurch Presbytery, 1 July 2008.
Ministerial vacancies
Visit the Ministerial Vacancies page for a complete list of the latest regional vacancies in New Zealand.
General Vacancies
For the latest job vacancies, visit the Job Vacancies page.
Vacancies closing soon:
Ministry vacancy - St Andrews, Hastings
Transitional/Interim Ministry
Principal: Trinity Methodist theological college
Prison Chaplaincy Service of Aotearoa New Zealand
Events
Visit the Events page for upcoming events near you
October Events
-
Hornby Presbyterian Community Church Centennial Celebration