Weekly Bulletin: Staying connected as a church - 4 September 2022
Kia ora St John’s whānau,
Some parts of the Bible comfort the disturbed – this week’s Gospel passage disturbs the comfortable.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus sets a high bar for discipleship. Anyone in the crowd looking for an easy ride is told that following Jesus is a whole-of-life commitment.
If you want to read the Bible reading before Sunday, it is: Luke 14: 25-33
And if you want to hear this week’s Rev’s Ramble on the Bible reading, click here. https://www.facebook.com/1643246799/videos/490872989062551/
Our youth and kids have peer groups on Sunday morning – going out part-way in the service.
If you can’t get into the city, and you want to join the worship service via Zoom, here are the details to access the live-stream:
Zoom Meeting ID: 370 260 759
Passcode: worship
The link to join the Zoom worship service is below.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/370260759?pwd=b2ZkajZ5d28rTy9EN1VKZDJUM3N4dz09
If using your phone: dial 04 886 0026 (Meeting ID: 370 260 759#, Passcode: 1560107#)
This is the link to the printable Service Sheet
ELECTION OF NEW ELDERS
Immediately after the service this Sunday (4th September), we have a Congregational Meeting to consider the recommendation from the St John’s Session to elect two new elders.
Eldership in the Presbyterian tradition is a recognised role whereby a person commits themselves to spiritual leadership and care within a congregation, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. The nature of leadership is what the church understands as ‘servant leadership’ and it always seeks peace and unity. It is a consultative and collaborative style of leadership that pursues the welfare of the church into the future.
The St John’s Session is pleased to recommend two people for prayerful consideration by St John’s members for being ordained as elders: Jason Fyfe and Nisha George.
Jason Fyfe
With a Roman Catholic background, he worships with his wife Sophie and his sons Max and Ned, after they made friends with people at St John’s and were invited along. He has a compassionate servant heart and serves passionately at the Dixon Street Café, is a Duty Convenor and loves to take special care of people who are marginalised (e.g. the late Walter Hall). Jason works in IT for ANZ, covering night shifts at various times.
Nisha George
Came from India a couple of years ago with her daughter Adrina – following their husband/father who had come a few years earlier and had been worshipping at St John’s. Nisha has trained in theology and has musical gifts. Nisha leads prayers for others and is involved in All Age Worship. She has been working as a Healthcare Assistant at Sprott House in Karori.
VISION TO ACTION
Our Vision: We explore and share the gospel with our dynamic neighbourhood. We create safe spaces to be, to belong, and to navigate the tough stuff. Getting to know God is a team sport – that’s why we do this together, not alone.
We will do this by:
By nurturing the St John’s community so we can care for the wider community.
By finding out what our neighbours really want/need (not what we think they want or need).
By using our assets – our people and our buildings – to help build relationships, create or contact points and strengthen our community connections.
By experimenting and trying new things – doing, not just talking.
By ensuring that all our activities relate back to the following principles that underlie our vision:
How to get involved… Join a project team – everyone is welcome!!
Site and Space – Get involved in exploring how the St John’s site can be used in an outreach capacity. This could involve physical changes, projects, use of the Centre.
Current Project: Community Christmas Market
Contact Rob Anderson or Judi Ferguson
Community Rebuild – Help re-establish and build back internal relationships and friendship in the St John’s community post COVID.
Current Project: Supporting Attendance at Church Camp and Talent Show
Contact: Margaret Gilkison or Jemma August
Caring for Specific Groups of Need in the St John’s Community – Help us intentionally build connections between generations and serve specific groups of need e.g. young, elderly, youth.
Contact: TBC
Whānau Night Extension – Get involved in building on the success of Whānau Night. Held each month during school terms in the St John’s Centre or in homes. Food, fun, faith and focus.
Current Project: Youth Lead Code Breaker Night, 20 November 2022
Coordinator contacts for 20 November Whanau Night: Antonia Milkop and Bronwyn Wood with St John’s Youth Group
What we need: In order for the church to carry on running Whanau Nights from 2023 onwards, we will need to find a committed leader to help orchestrate and organise teams to run future Whanau nights. Does this sound like you?
Contact: Antonia Milkop
Vision Communication and Connections – Ensuring St John’s is communicating our Vision with the wider community and supporting the project teams.
Current Project: Improving Signage and Billboards
Contact: Elizabeth Gibbs
Getting to Know our Neighbours /Understanding Our - Eco System/Community – Building direct relationships with our immediate neighbourhood i.e. business and organisations, Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University, Kaianga Ora, building developers, WCC, neighbouring Churches, schools.
Current Projects: Follow-up event from Art Installation and Connecting with local property developers to understand future populations.
Contact: Pamela Cohen
Project Teams are supported by a special crew of facilitators who will walk alongside each group and provide support and advice where necessary.
This team is made up of:
Paul Ramsay
Antonia Milkop
Catherine Gibbs
Rob Anderson
Pamela Cohen
Chris Purchas
Neil Dodgson
The St John’s Vision is a key focus for Session Leaders so feel free to contact any one of them about this. In particular you can contact the Session Clerk, Rob Anderson.
If you have a new or different project idea you wish to discuss, please get in touch with Ino Pasullean so he can connect you with the right project team or provide further advice.
Vision Steering Group
The St John’s Vision is a key focus for Session Leaders. There is a small steering group made up of Session members providing implementation support and oversight. Feel free to talk anyone from Session or Steering Group members, Rob Anderson, Fiona Purchas, Ino Pasullean, Allister Lane or Pamela Cohen.
New Ideas
St John’s wants to innovate and try new things that fit in with our Vision. If you have a creative idea the following information might help you work out how to progress that from a thought to action.
If needed, talk to Ino Pasullean so he can connect you with the right project team or provide further advice.
PANTRY RAID
St J's Kids (Sunday School) visited homes throughout Wellington last Saturday and collected a MASSIVE amount of food for the DCM Foodbank. Poor Rick had to fold down the seats in this car to fit it all in!
Thank you kids – and thank you all those who gave generously and graciously hosted the young people and drivers. It was another lovely intergenerational experience of our church community.
To see a video of the Pantry Raid click here:
QUARTERLY COMMUNION LUNCH
SUNDAY 11th SEPTEMBER
Please bring food to share for the Quarterly Communion Lunch on Sunday 11th September (not this Sunday, but next!)
NAME TAGS
As we turn our Vision into action, one very easy and practical way we can build community is to wear a name tag.
This Sunday all those who wear a name tag (or sign up to get one) will get a chocolate from Jemma!
Please keep your name tag on when you come over for Morning Tea in the Centre, and there will be a receptacle to drop your name tag into before you leave.
ST JOHN’S CHURCH CAMP
This is a special weekend for all of us! 16th – 18th September 2022
The theme is ‘Journeying Together’.
Please make time to come again (and encourage others to come too)
If you haven't already registered and you are toying with the idea of coming to church camp please register as soon as possible (this helps with our planning.)
Click on this link to get to the registration form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZQPEj7R-sidv2ZkpG8wS83hrcjFBAZZWUsAMfSKO9zSx_lA/viewform
LEADERSHIP FOR OUR MINISTRY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
We are looking for new paid leadership to support our ministry with Children & Families and Youth. These are important and life-giving ministries for us at St John’s and we remain committed to these ministries as an expression of our faith shared and grown together.
While we have existing position descriptions for these roles (half-time for the Children & Families role, and full-time for the Youth Pastor role), we are also wanting to be flexible and shape the responsibilities of these roles, where appropriate, to match a) the strengths of suitable applicants, and b) with the emerging needs at St John’s.
Our St John’s Vision is encouraging us to focus on being intergenerational, having safe spaces for people to belong, being flexible and responsive, with an open-minded and positive culture.
We are open to explore possibilities with anyone who has a passion and aptitude for these ministries.
If you, or someone you know, might consider these roles, please contact Rev Allister Lane for more information, including the current position descriptions (Ph: 021 466 526).
Applications close 23rd September 2022. including a CV and a covering letter that lays out your vision for the role.
SCIENCE AND FAITH VIDEOS
At the start of this month St John’s hosted a Saturday seminar on Physics and Ethics: "Science and Faith in an Age of Misinformation".
I am delighted to let you know that the video recordings of the four presentations at St John’s are available to watch on YouTube:
Prof. Jeff Tallon, ‘Seeing the Invisible – black holes, the universe and our place in it’, Dr. Gray Manicom, ‘What the Mysteries of Mathematics Reveal About the Creator’, Dr. Greg Liston, ‘Spirit, Time and Transformation’, Dr. Nicola Hoggard Creegan, ‘From Hiroshima to Recombinant DNA: The importance of ethical reflection’.
ORPHEUS CHOIR PRESENTS BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM
Saturday 10 September at 7.30 pm at the Michael Fowler Centre. Discount tickets of $45 A reserve and $40 B reserve are available from Linda Van Milligan, 027 2889210 or lindavanmilligan@gmail.com
Gamelan Concert
The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Allister