Weekly Bulletin: Staying connected as a church - 29 January 2023
Kia ora St John’s whānau,
Following the holiday break, the St John’s Office is open again and this is the first of the weekly emails to help us stay connected as a St John’s Church whānau.
The worship services in January have been very inspiring, and I am personally very grateful to those who have been involved in leading these – allowing me to have a very replenishing time with my family.
This Sunday we will be all together for the whole service as we worship God for the love poured out so generously for us and as we ask God to embrace the ways this shapes us in our identity, and how we live.
If you can’t gather in 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.
If using your phone: dial 04 886 0026 (Meeting ID: 370 260 759#, Passcode: 1560107#)
This is the link to the printable Service Sheet
OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT...
ELECTION OF NEW ELDERS
We have a Congregational Meeting this Sunday 29th January, immediately following the service. This is to consider the recommendation from the St John’s Session to elect Eldred Gilbert as an elder – to join the newly-elected elders Jason Fyfe and Nisha George.
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.
This is expected to be a very short meeting, allowing us all to get to Morning Tea quickly!
YOUTH AND FAMILIES MINISTRIES
As we start this new year, we are delighted to have two people serving us in new ways in our ongoing commitment to resource our ministry with young people:
Hannah North as the Youth and Families Pastor, full-time
Grace Webster as a Youth Worker, 15 hours per week
Hannah will be moving to St John’s in the City from Auckland, where she has been working in youth and families ministry. Hannah is a competent and confident communicator who loves to serve young people and their whanau. She is very hands-on, and a good team member as well as team leader. She loves God, and also the Church.
Grace has been contributing to our youth ministry as a leader and intern for the last few years. Grace continues her Praxis study in 2023, with St John’s in the City as her Agency for her practical experience.
We pray that God will bless our ministry and the relationships with fruitfulness.
Youth Group starts again on Friday 10th February, 6:30pm.
And the age-specific peer groups for youth and families will recommence on Sunday 12th February, 10:00am
CWS CHRISTMAS APPEAL
At Christmas we find ourselves part of the life-changing story of God’s great gift of love to us all. It is this love that inspires us to live in hope, doing what we can to make our world a place where all people can live in dignity and peace.
Our Offering on Christmas Day supports the work of Christian World Service (CWS) with their partner organisations around the world, to strengthen people’s dignity and peace.
Together we gave $1,172.20. Those who provided details on the appeal envelope will receive a receipt from CWS
REMINDER ABOUT PARKING
We rent out the majority of on-site car parks during the week, Monday to Friday, 12am to 6pm.
There are 2 spaces allocated for when members of St John’s come to visit someone at St John’s during the week – these are the two mobility parking spaces marked with yellow paint.
• One is off Dixon Street, in front of Spinks Cottage (space #23)
• The other is off Willis Street on the back corner of the Church (space #30)
Anyone wanting to use these parks when visiting St John’s during the week are asked to please phone the St John’s Office: 385 1546.
The Peace of Christ be with you
Allister