Weekly Bulletin: Staying connected as a church - 28 July 2024

Kia ora St John’s whānau,
 
This Sunday we start a teaching series based on our St John’s Mission Statement…
 
God gathers us to worship and grow our faith so we can live and share Christ’s hope for our world.

If you want to get a head-start on the Scripture reading for this Sunday, it is Psalm 84 “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!...”
 
Our children and young people will go out part-way during the service to their peer groups in the St John’s Centre.
 
This week it’s Souper Sunday and Whanau Night – see details below.

---

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...

SOUPER SUNDAY

This Sunday we have Souper Sunday lunch. You are warmly invited to share in a bowl of hot soup after the Morning Tea.
You are welcome to bring a small plate of something sweet to share with our tea or coffee.  Come and share in the warm fellowship, we’d love to see you.

WHANAU NIGHT

Join us for Whanau Night on Sunday 28 July 2024 at St Johns Centre. This family-friendly event focuses on "Restoring our Environment" (Toitu te Taio) with Heads-Hearts-Hands activities around environmental stewardship. This is an excellent opportunity for us as a church to build on our 'Care for Creation' series we've been experiencing on Sunday mornings. 
Please BYO picnic/food to share (who can bring the most environmentally friendly picnic?)

NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, AND SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT FOR YOUNG ADULTS

St John’s Council invites expressions of interest from young adults in our congregation to join us for the duration of 2024. 
 
The aim is to:
• build intergenerational relationships, increase Council diversity and reflect the perspectives of young adults across Council priorities and activities 
• share the expertise of Council members with young adults and in turn learn from them, thus enriching Council as a whole for the benefit of the church community
• grow the pool of future church leaders through leadership development and service to our Lord Jesus Christ, the church, and our wider community.
 
The Council has capacity to support 1-2 participants this year in activities such as one-to-one or small group mentoring sessions on topics such as leadership development, governance and spiritual discernment in our Presbyterian tradition. Council will tailor the activities and time commitment to the interests and availability of each participant. What this looks like and how much time participants spend is up to each individual. No prior knowledge of governance or leadership is needed.
 
To find out more, please talk with Pamela Cohen or other Council members after church or send a text/email. There will be no obligation or pressure to proceed with an expression of interest. 
 
Council members:

Pamela Cohen, Chair, St John’s Council
Rev Allister Lane, Communication Committee
Rob Anderson, Session Clerk
Ross Chesney, Treasurer
David Galt, Staffing Committee
Mary Gibbs, Fellowship Committee
Catherine Gibbs, Christian Education Committee        
Kevin Jeong, Outreach Committee
David Wood, Property Committee

ROYAL COMMISSION

A letter was distributed earlier this week from the Assembly Executive Secretary about the report from the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care.

CARE FOR CREATION – LID RECYCLING HUB

Bring your lids to Church each Sunday!
As part of our care for creation together we have set up a lid recycling hub at St John’s in the City. Those lids that can’t go in with the curb-side recycling will be collected at Church and taken where they will be recycled.
✔️ Plastic hinge caps and screw caps lids (any colour)
✔️ Plastic milk bottle caps
✔️ Plastic contact lens packaging without foil
✔️ Yoghurt pot lids
Only 2 & 5  please - clean and dry.

CHURCH CAMP

The Church Camp will run from Fri 20th Sept (evening) to Sun 22nd Sept (late morning) at the Paekakariki Holiday Park. 
To register click on this link and follow the prompts:

Any questions please ask Naomi or Allister Lane, or Hannah North.

PRESBYTERY GATHERING

August 17th 2024 in Palmerston North. Information and registration at the Presbytery Central website:
http://www.presbyterycentral.org.nz/gathering/

FREE PUBLIC LECTURE

For those who are super-keen, Prof Gaventa will offer a sit-down chat the next morning on Tuesday 20th August:
What is it like to write a Bible commentary?
Those who preach and teach will be interested to hear what is involved. This time will include lots of discussion.
VENUE: the St John’s Centre Hall, starting with morning tea, 10.30 – 12:30pm

ONLINE COURSE WITH MARTYN DAY

Following the outstanding workshop series Martyn Day delivered at St John’s, he is taking registrations for his on-line course Give the Reason.
This course is to help us understand the historical credibility of the Gospels and wider New Testament.  This course ran last year for the first time and the feedback was positive, so it is being offered again in August. The course is run on Zoom so can be joined from anywhere.
The details are available on this website, where you can also register your interest and get full course information sent to you: https://www.shv.nz/give-the-reason-course

ORPHEUS CHOIR

Performs Hayden’s Creation on 24 August. Discount tickets are available from Linda Van Milligan. 
https://orpheuschoir.org.nz/our-concerts/

CROSS CULTURAL ENCOUNTER TRIP TO INDONESIA

A third trip is planned to depart 27th November this year – serving, sharing, growing. Let Ino or Allister know if you’re interested.

“Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.” Psalm 84:4
 
Allister