Thought for the week

At this month’s parish council meeting we celebrated Murray Facer’s long tenure on the council coming to an end.  Murray shouted us tea (pizza) and Judith made her family’s famous cream horns. Murray joined St Stephens in 1980 when he and Christine came to Timaru and were looking for a church for their young family.…

Welcome to our service this week as we kick off our month-long series reflecting on the role of sport in our culture. Last weekend Catherine and I attended the Alpine Presbytery retreat in Hanmer Springs which was led by Sage Harris from Whakatu/Nelson. One of the topics he spoke about was the need for the…

“Dear whānau, as we gather this morning, may we be encouraged by the God who meets us in every calm and every storm.” This Sunday we step into the boat with the disciples as Jesus invites them to cross “to the other side.” What begins as an ordinary journey quickly becomes a moment of deep…

We have certainly had some days this week that have made it quite clear it is winter.  In winter our focus changes, away from the beach, outdoor picnics and long sunny days in the garden.  We spend more time at home sitting around the fire or basking in the warmth of the heatpump, chatting, reading…

Thought For The Week:  Welcome to our service today. It has certainly been a wet and wild week of weather but happily there has been no flooding in the Trinity Centre basement.  It has a low-lying corner sump that has blocked in the past causing water to go through the doors but happily it has…

At our recent prayer retreat we were given a simple exercise; choose a coloured disc and reflect on the words printed on the underside (the choosing was done without knowing what was printed on the disc). I got the words ‘pay attention’. This led me to think about a rest home service I had recently…

I was in Christchurch on Thursday for our regular Presbytery Council meeting which included an afternoon session with Alan Hirsch. Alan is a globally recognised thought leader in mission, especially to post Christian societies like ours. He is in Christchurch to be the keynote speaker at the Little Revolutions conference. He also heads up Forge…

We welcome to our service today Barbara and Kingsley Sampson from Christchurch. Barbara is a Spiritual Director who led a very good prayer retreat yesterday attended by around 15 people. She will speak on the “hidden life”, reflecting on Luke 18:9-14. Have you noticed that the world is awash with sport at the moment? There’s…

Welcome to our service today. We will be reflecting on Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, which is a shortened version of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Both these sermons outline a new vision for the people of God and how they should live and turn upside down a worldview that insisted that wealth equalled blessing…

Welcome to our service today. It is a joy to be ordaining our newest elder, Catherine Richardson. Catherine has a very pastoral and caring heart and through her career as a counsellor, spiritual director and professional supervisor brings many skills to this role. For a long time, she has desired to serve our church both…