Dear Friends,
On one of the Springboks’ tours of New Zealand, a former Springbok sent a telegram which just said, “Scrum, scrum, scrum.” That message still motivates the Springboks today as the All Blacks continue their greatest rivalry tour in South Africa. I see that the free-to-air replay this Sunday is at 11.30am rather than 11am, which means attendance at our morning services should be unaffected by the prospect of viewing this important match!
We could turn that message in the last day or so before our Synod to “Pray, pray, pray“.
Please pray for our Synod Eucharist tomorrow night, 7pm in the Transitional Cathedral – praying for those contributing in leadership to our worship and for Dean Ben Truman, our preacher.
Then, pray for our Synod business sessions which take place through Friday and Saturday at St. Christopher’s Church, Avonhead. Papers to date for the Synod are publicly available at: https://www.anglicanlife.org.nz/christchurch-diocesan-synod/.
Finally, please pray for the good health of our Synod members and staff facilitating the Synod: there is a lot of flu around at the moment and we wish our Synod to be as well attended as possible by our lay and clerical members.
Congratulations to the Parish of Lincoln for excellent celebrations through the past weekend for the 150th anniversary of St. Stephen’s Church, Lincoln. It was a delight at the celebration service on Sunday morning to baptise Carter Roma and Zac Button, and to confirm Tracey Kennedy, Felicity Kennedy, Jasmina Inch, Yvonne Hardwick and Ciara Dickson.
The Reverend William (Bill) Gaudin died at the weekend. His funeral is tomorrow at 1pm, at St. Christopher’s Church, Avonhead. Bill served in the Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin dioceses. In our diocese, Bill served in the parishes of Spreydon-Hoon Hay (1967-68), Bishopdale-Harewood (1968-72), Oxford-Cust (1972-74), and Geraldine (1986-95). Please pray for Ferrabee, his wife and their family as they prepare for the service tomorrow. Clergy are invited to robe if they wish for the service, white stoles.
Many readers will have seen video footage of the terrifying floods which swept down from the China/Tibet/Nepal border into Nepal, with large losses of life, many missing persons and destruction of villages. It is possible to financially assist in response to this disaster via our Anglican Missions Board with details at https://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/worldwide/nepal_appeal_am.
A reminder that Ravenscar House, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch, which has a superb collection of NZ art and other artistic treasures is free to visit this Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September – see https://www.ravenscarhouse.com/.
Also, this weekend, See-am Thompson, Senior Organ Scholar, Magdalen College, Oxford is giving an organ concert in the Transitional Cathedral at 2pm, Sunday, 6 September 2026. All welcome, entry via koha. See-am is a former Cathedral Chorister.
All are invited to the annual Michaelmas service at 7pm Tuesday 29 September 2026 at St. Michael and All Angels, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch. In 2026 we are celebrating on this occasion 175 years since the establishment of the Parish of St. Michael and All Angels. Our guest preach is Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon. Refreshments in the parish hall follow after the service.
As we head to the General Election on Saturday, 7 November, for which enrolment closes finally on Sunday 25 October, Common Grace Aotearoa is mobilising churches for election enrolment. Their recommendation, which I support is that our churches hold an “Enrolment Sunday” in the second half of September to inform their church members of the enrolment deadline. What this could involve for a local church is:
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Play a 3-minute video as a notice during a service about why and how to enrol, tailor-made for a church audience. This video features Archbishop Justin Duckworth, Catholic Archbishop Paul Martin, and others.
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Provide enrolment forms and laptops so people can update their details after the service.
The best timing for Enrolment Sundays is 13, 20 or 27 September, so they fall before 4th October, after which people who enrol or change their details must cast a special vote. If need be, churches can still hold Enrolment Sundays on 4, 11 or 18 October. The deadline for enrolment / changing details is 25 October. For further details, and access to the video, please email Kate Day.
This coming Sunday, 6 September 2026 is Ordinary 23 (or may be celebrated as the new Feast of Creation, per a note in e-Life). The Gospel is Matthew 18:15-20. This passage teaches about the gathering together of followers of Jesus, that is, about the church as an organised body of believers in Jesus. It deals with how we might deal with conflict among us, the importance of the decisions we make, and the encouragement we have that Jesus is always with us, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them”.
Arohanui,
+Peter.