Weekly Bulletin: Staying connected as a church - 2 March 2025
Kia ora St John’s whānau,
This Sunday we will be looking at Mountain Top moments, are we like Peter who wanted to stay with Jesus up a mountain?
Hannah North, our Youth & Families Pastor is leading the service this Sunday. Our children and young people will stay in the for the whole service.
At the conclusion of the service we will all share Morning Tea together.
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.
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:
OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT…
CHURCH PICNIC LAST WEEK
Last Sunday the weather was sunny (just in time) for our Church Picnic at Central Park.
There was lots of fun with food, games and small groups exploring God’s creation with curiosity, wonder and praise!
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE BREAKFAST
Next week the season of Lent begins, and we will have our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Breakfast.
4th March, 7:30-8:30am in the St John’s Centre (with the maple syrup)
Koha is appreciated to support DCM.
ASH WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday 5th March at 5pm we have a combined Ash Wednesday service with the Imposition of Ashes, at St Mary of the Angels on Boulcott Street.
PRESBYTERY GATHERING
Twice a year, Presbytery Central holds their Gathering. This is an opportunity to learn, fellowship, and grow together. Everyone from churches in the region is welcome to join in for a meaningful and engaging day on Saturday 15th March.
The Keynote speaker is our own Prof. Neil Dodgson! His topic is “Living in an Age of Disruptive Technologies: AI and What It Means to Be Human” exploring the ethical, theological, and practical implications of artificial intelligence. How does AI challenge our understanding of humanity? What does it mean for the future of the Church? His insights will guide us as we reflect on faith in a world increasingly shaped by technology.
Our world is rapidly changing, and technology is reshaping how we connect, communicate, and engage with faith. At this Gathering, we will explore how the Church can navigate and respond to these changes while remaining grounded in our mission.
This Gathering will take place at St Albans Church in Palmerston North. Ministers have fellowship and learning on Friday, and everyone in invited to be part of the full-day program on Saturday.
WHANAU NIGHT
HOPE continues as we take an international focus in our next whānau night on March 16th!
Ian McInnes, CEO of Tearfund New Zealand, will be joining us and sharing his experience bringing HOPE to some of the world’s toughest humanitarian situations.
Ian is an engaging storyteller who loves connecting and sharing how God is working in many nations and through faith filled people like you. We’ll be thinking about his message of HOPE and considering how we can apply this to Our City, Ourselves and Our Church Community.
We came up with some awesome “Mission Possible’ Hopes during February’s whānau night. Check our HOPES for Our City, Ourselves and Our Church here:
Some follow-up actions you could try are:
Pick an item and pray about that HOPE
Ask God to Guide our HOPE focus as a church for Our City, Ourselves and Our community, and Our World.
Take some action about that HOPE. You can be Gods Hands!!
Diary March 16th so you don’t miss this engaging event,
5:00-6:45pm @ St John's Centre.
All are welcome - invite your friends, neighbours, and family. As usual we’ll eat kai together at 5pm and kick off with activities from 5.30pm onwards.
Ian McInnes, MBA MSc
CEO, Tearfund New Zealand
Ian McInnes is the CEO at Tearfund New Zealand, the second largest international NGO in New Zealand. He has spent the last two decades in international aid and development work, including many years in disaster response work and follow-on recovery operations. Ian has served in some of the world’s toughest humanitarian emergencies - starting in 2004 with the Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka which was followed by a civil war, then in Myanmar, Haiti, Pakistan, East Africa and within various Pacific Island disaster responses. Ian holds a number of governance roles in the charity sector: the Emergency Alliance – a consortia of NZ humanitarian agencies; at Fairtrade Australia New Zealand; Crave and KIND Cafés Auckland; and various Baptist Church bodies - Chair of the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle Governance Elders Board, Deputy Chair of the Tab Trust, trustee at the Northern Baptist Association and trustee of Iosis Social Services. Ian is married to doctor and author Himali McInnes and they have served alongside each other in a number of humanitarian contexts.
EASTER CAMP
Our youth are preparing for the Easter Camp at Forest Lakes, so this is an opportunity for us to pray for them to encounter the risen Jesus in a new way at this special time with other youth.
Mā te wā
Allister