Vicar’s Address
“St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Pukekohe”
I sometimes stop and think, when we hear those words as members of the St Andrew’s Church family, as members of the Pukekohe or Franklin Community, as part of the Diocese of Auckland and the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand: What words would we like to spring to minds of other people?
We have a very well known, faithful and committed follower of Christ as our patron saint, one of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, even though there is little mention of him in the scriptures. And we celebrate St Andrew’s day on the last Sunday of November.
According to Christian tradition Andrew preached the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as “crux decussata”, which is an X-shaped cross or a “saltire“. Today this is commonly referred to as “St Andrew’s Cross.” It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself “unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus. This showed his humility and his relationship to Christ.
Have you thought how much courage it must take for a person to walk into a church service if it is unfamiliar to them, and yet they would like to know more? If we follow the example of Andrew and others maybe this Christmas we may invite someone to come along and join with us for some part of our Christmas celebrations. If we think about this over the coming weeks we are more likely to do something about dropping the invitation to someone. A few years ago we had an invitation printed with the statement Christmas@church.come. It is probably time we repeated this in 2018.
When one reads the parish calendar for the next couple of months you realise how the busyness of the Christmas Season is rapidly approaching and there are plenty of opportunities to invite others to join us.
The events of course include a range of musical performances which is always something we look forward to. We are very fortunate to have a couple of musical groups who visit us regularly, firstly with the Handel Consort & Quire and also with Hausmusik and of course the Franklin Community Choir.
You will find advertisements for performances in the parish diary later.
It is good to be preparing for the Christmas season early as very soon Advent will be with us and it is helpful to not be overloaded with unnecessary tasks as we prepare again for the coming of the Christ Child into our hearts and into our lives.
So often as I wander through the complex I pause to remember and give thanks for those who, over the years, have had the vision and foresight to leave us the wonderful resources we have today. We are indeed very fortunate. It is important that we in turn maintain this and ensure it is well kept for those who will follow us in the work and ministry of the parish. To this end we will need to be doing some repainting and repair work, some of which we hope will take place over the summer season when fewer people are using the premises.
Those who have come before us at St Andrew’s have certainly left us a great legacy and for them and for all who attend, help and support us, we give thanks.
Blessings to you all
Jan
Worship
All Souls’ Day
Friday 2 November
10am and 6pm, services of remembrance for loved ones who are no longer with us but remain so much part of our lives.
The church will be open throughout the day for prayer and the lighting of candles.
Rest Homes
Palms Rest Home: 10.30am Tuesday 6 November
Palms Hospital: 11am Tuesday 13 November
Lakeside Rest Home: 10.30am Wednesday 14 November
Pukekohe Hospital: 10.30am Wednesday 21 November
Possum Bourne Village: 11am Tuesday 27 November
Anyone who wishes is welcome to join us at these services
From the Vestry
The Vestry continues to work hard in managing the parish and complex.
My thanks especially to Alistair Park, Renton and Pauline Brown, Richard Gibbons (and Talitha) and Graham Russell.
So what is going on at present?
1. Trees — you will notice the liquidambar tree has been removed from the vicarage lawn. This tree suffered badly from the winds earlier in the year so we applied for resource consent to remove it to ensure there was no damage to people or surrounding property.
2. The oak trees have been further pruned to ensure safety of people and property on Queen St. This related mainly to the reduction of the branches overhanging the road. Some of these branches showed decay in them and we were concerned about the harm they could cause.
3. We have progress concerning the beech tree at the front of St Andrew’s church, thanks to the significant contribution of Talitha and Richard Gibbons in carrying out further investigation of the state of the church and the effect of the tree and other factors on the foundations. We are in a much better position now to proceed with an application for resource consent to remove the tree. Matt Paul, our arborist, has been very helpful and supportive of us in getting the work on the trees to this point.
4. At the same time as this work is being processed Talitha and Richard Gibbons are working on a list of investigations and reports that need to be completed before any progress can be made on ensuring we comply with the earthquake requirements. As the building has historic places status we will be applying for grants to assist with the funding of this exploratory work before decisions are made.
5. As I commented on the state of the buildings — many areas of the exterior of the complex and some parts of the interior are in need of some care. When we do the preparation there may be some other carpentry work that needs to be done first. If you are aware of any parts of the complex that need attention please let Jan, Graham, Alistair or Renton know.
Bible Readings in November
(including St Andrew’s readers)
4 November
First: Ruth 1: 1-18 Ian McDougall (8am), Ros Phillips (9.30am)
Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34 (Joan Renall, Viv Crimmins)
Theme: The Way of Love
24th Sunday after Pentecost
11 November
First: Ruth 3: 1-5; 4: 13-17 (Graeme Deed, Cecily Daroux)
Gospel: Mark 12: 38-44 (Alistair Parke, Sylvia Gardner)
Theme: The Way of Giving and Receiving
25th Sunday after Pentecost
18 November
First: 1 Samuel 1: 4-20 (Jan Scarth, Geraldine Koopman)
Gospel: Mark 13: 1-8 (Paul Muir, Renton Brown)
Theme: A New Way of Faithfulness
26th Sunday after Pentecost
25 November
First: 2 Samuel 23: 1-7 (Sue Muir, Family Service)
Gospel: John 18: 33-37 (Phil Meyer, Family Service)
Theme: Reign of Christ
27th Sunday after Pentecost
NB: If you are unable to do your duty on the rostered date, please try to arrange
a swap with someone on this Roster. If you are unable to arrange a swap, please
choose a person who is not on this month’s Roster to fill in for you and then
please notify Noeline in the Parish Office.
From the Diary — Mark Your Calendar
All Souls’ Day
Friday 2 November
10am and 6pm, services of remembrance for our loved ones who while no longer physically with us are so much part of our lives and the people that we have become. The church will be open throughout the day for prayer and the lighting of candles in memory of a loved one.
Parish Review
4 November
This will be after the 9.30am service. There will be one workshop before lunch and another one after it. Please bring a plate to share for lunch.
These workshops are important and it would be great to have a good number of attendees as we together explore what God is calling us to be and do in our church family, our community and our world.
Mothers’ Union
Wednesday 7 November, 10am
AGM and lunch at Miree Crawford’s home, 17 Valley Rd, Pukekohe. All Welcome. Please bring a present (unwrapped) for a child/mother, Anglican Trust for Women and Children, and school stationery for Go Forth Kiwi.
Last month Dorothy Gibbons was presented with a beautiful bouquet to celebrate her being a member of Mothers’ Union for 60 years.
Hausmusik Concert
11 November, 3pm, Reid Anderson Hall
Rita Paczian together with Polly Sussex and John Green, music recital “Lost and Found” (see details later in this Messenger).
Armistice Day
100-Year Remembrance
Sunday 11 November, 6pm
Remembrance Day service. A time for us to remember those who served their country. The church is open throughout the day for candle lighting.
Women’s Fellowship
Thursday 15 November, 10am
Meet at the church for Communion. All Welcome
PCA Community Event
15 November, 5pm
Come and hear what has been happening in Pukekohe Community Action Programmes in 2018 as some of the facilitators and attendees share their experiences and situations they have been working with.
Parish Fair Set-up
Friday 16 November from 1pm
We need as much help as is possible to move the goods out from the garage to the hall and to set-up the stalls ready for Saturday.
Parish Fair
Saturday 17 November from 8am
Again we ask for as many people as possible to come along and lend a hand. Please continue to bring along grocery items for the raffle and items for the tombola.
Parish Breakfast and celebration of St Andrew’s Day
Sunday 25 November at 8.45am, last parish breakfast of 2018, in the Reid Anderson Hall.
“Sleeplessness and Stress” Workshop
Tuesday 30 October, 10am to 12 noon
This workshop is held in conjunction with the Tuakau Selwyn Seniors group at St Johns Anglican Church, 148 Buckland Rd, Tuakau.
A second workshop, “Down but not out” next month, also in conjunction with the Tuakau Selwyn Seniors group, will be held from 10am — 12 noon on Tuesday 13 November, at the same venue.
With Love We Remember
All Souls’ Day
Friday 2 November
Church open all day for prayer and lighting a candle in memory of a loved one.
Communion Services at 10am & 6pm, St Andrew’s Church
Light refreshments will follow the services.
Lost and Found
HausMusik Concert, Sunday 11 November at 3pm
St Andrew’s Anglican Church Hall, 43 Queen St, Pukekohe
$20 (Cash at the door, no Eftpos)
Performers are Rita Paczian (mezzo & harpsichord), John Green (baroque oboe) and Polly Sussex (baroque cello and gamba).
Rediscovered Baroque Masterworks
Music by Platti, Lanzetti, Hasse, Bernier, Zipoli, Telemann & Steffani
This programme is inspired by a musical historian’s comment about a now almost-forgotten Baroque composer: “Although [his works] have long been forgotten anyone who desires to take the trouble to excavate them will find enough grains of gold dust there to make an ingot.” This quote brings to mind the many Baroque composers whose works were excellent and wildly popular with audiences during their lifetimes, but who are now unjustifiably almost ignored, being overshadowed in recent times by the likes of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi etc. In this concert we present a selection of such lost but excellent works, most of which we have found in our own searches of European music libraries and obscure publishers’ listings.
The concert includes: Platti’s Triosonata in G Major for oboe, cello & continuo, selections from Lanzetti’s Sonata in G Major for cello and continuo, Hasse’s Sonata in F major for oboe and continuo, selections from Bernier’s Coffee Cantata, Zipoli’s Elevatione for oboe, cello & harpsichord, two Abel Pieces in D major for viola da gamba and Steffani’s love cantata Hai Finito di Lusingarmi. We believe that all these performances may be New Zealand premieres.
More information on the programme is available online at www.hausmusiknz.com.
Hausmusik NZ is a chamber music ensemble performing mainly Baroque music on period instruments. Depending on the works to be played the size of the group varies from three to 20 musicians. We aim to perform in intimate settings with small audience sizes, thus providing an exceptional, up-close-and-personal, concert experience. Typical venues are large rooms in private houses, small halls and churches. Repertoire may include instrumental sonatas, trios etc, arias, concertos for various instruments accompanied by small string ensembles and small scale choral works. Programmes are characterised by an individual design, often focusing on a particular theme.
Web: www.hausmusiknz.com
Email: hausmusiknz@worldnet.co.nz
Phone: 021 0250 1480
Adult Seasons for Growth Programme
Begins Tuesday 6 November, 7pm — 8.30pm
For adults who have experienced some form of grief or significant loss in their life.
If this sounds like something you or someone you know would benefit from please let Jan know.
Please feel free to pass my phone number on to people who may be interested.
Ph. 0274-521 366 or email Pukekohecommunityaction@xtra.co.nz
Remembrance Sunday, 100th Commemoration
Sunday 11 November 2018, 6pm Evening Service
St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Queen St, Pukekohe.
This church, along with the memorial archway at the front of it on Queen St, are dedicated as a peace memorials. A power-point presentation of people listed in the memorial book in the church will be played throughout the afternoon.
People are welcome to come and light candles in remembrance of the great sacrifice made by so many, so people can live in freedom and peace.
The church will be open after the morning services.
Celebrate 2018 with Pukekohe Community Action
Thursday 15 November, 5pm
Pukekohe Anglican Church Hall, cnr Wesley & Queen Streets, Pukekohe.
Please join us to celebrate what Seasons for Growth, SPACE for you & your baby and Oasis have achieved in 2018.
Hear the stories from our group participants and our goals for the coming year. Bring your friends to celebrate over light refreshments.
Parish Fair
Saturday 17 November, 8am
This is a major fundraising event for the year!!! Can you help, please? Volunteers will be needed to help with setting up on Friday 16 from 1pm and with the FAIR from 8am until 1pm on Saturday. Now is the time to start getting those
* Jams * Pickles * Books * Plants * Household and White Elephant items * New items for the Tombola * Grocery items for the Raffles
Get involved in ALL the FUN
December Events
Christmas Carol Service
Franklin Community Choir, Sunday 2 December, 3pm, at St Andrew’s Church.
Taize Evening Service
Sunday 2 December, 7pm, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church.
A combined service with the Pukekohe Catholic congregation, a time to pause and reflect as we enter the Season of Advent.
Op Shop Christmas Meeting
Tuesday December 4, Parish Lounge.
Handel Consort & Quire Christmas Concert
Sunday 9 December, 5pm, St Andrew’s Church.
We usually provide a simple Christmas meal after this concert. Are there a few parishioners who would be willing to help with the preparation and serving of this?
Family and Community Christmas Pageant
Sunday 16 December, 9.30am.
Nine Lessons and Carols
Sunday 16 December, 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church.
Seniors Lunch
Tuesday 18 December, Reid Anderson Hall.
There will also be Carol singing at Pukekohe Hospital and the Palms Hospital and an afternoon Eucharist and Carol singing at Possum Bourne Village.
Make at note in your diaries now and don’t miss out
Combined Contemplative Style Service
Sunday 2 December, 7pm, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church.
St Andrew’s Anglican & St Patrick’s Catholic church congregations invite you to join us at our service as we enter the Advent Season. We take time to stop and reflect as we await and prepare for the coming of the Christ Child anew into our lives and into our hearts. All are welcome.
Sustainability
Much has happened in October from a sustainability perspective.
The Government last week released a new report Essential Freshwater: Healthy Water, Fairly Allocated, on how to improve the quality of our freshwater systems. We will all be affected by new rules, to be in place by 2020, that will halt the degradation of our freshwater systems. Those rules ought result in a noticeable improvement in freshwater quality within five years.
Then, on World Food Day, leaders in the global food movement set out their clear opposition to “gene drives” in a new report, Forcing the Farm. The report explored controversial new genetic engineering technologies, the same tech that our Government has proposed as a means to make the country pest-free.
And a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted just how dire our inaction on mitigating the drivers of global warming will be.
The report is unequivocal — in case you hadn’t noticed, our climate is changing now. So political and social action and commitment is required now. There can be no more procrastinating.
What climate actions can you take?
Our energy, food, waste and water systems account for a significant proportion of our household emissions. These four areas of sustainability are all founding principles of the St Andrew’s food garden. Become a Friend of the Food Garden and learn how to make small changes in your carbon footprint. we meet at the garden every Wednesday evening from 7.15pm for an hour.
Cheers, John Allen
Sustainability Fieldworker, Anglican Diocese of Auckland. Ph 021-463 686 or 09- 238 1357
john@wjohnallen.nz or cherishedearth@auckanglican.org.nz