Caring for God’s People and World
We are certainly in a changing world. Our days change from hot one moment to heavy showers the next, t-shirts to possum wool jerseys within a couple of hours.
During the lockdown we have focused mainly on creation as our theme for our services. We have watched on YouTube to set the scene for our services. Brian Doerksen composed music to link with videos he has compiled for the song Creation Calls.
I am hoping that during this time you have kept well and have also taken the opportunity on some of the sunny days we have had to enjoy some of the beauty in the creation that surrounds us. Somehow when you slow down a little the variation, the colour all radiates more around us.
I know that I, like many others I have spoken to, have found the lockdown a lot harder this year. I guess many had not fully recovered from the effects of last year before they have been hit again. Likewise, it will take a long time to return to the position that they were in before the outbreak. Mortgages or rent, power, food and other commodities have still needed to be paid. I believe we are very fortunate to live in a kind, caring and generous community. Each day people come in for food parcels. They are so grateful for what they are given, and it only happens through the generosity of so many people. People are also generous in their volunteering, packing, shopping and delivering food parcels. What a wonderful team we have. More people are baking and making soup which is great to see. Thank you to Pauline, Renton and all who work in the parish garden or bring surplus fresh fruit and vegetables in from their homes. These goods are so appreciated.
During the lockdown, Bishop Ross produced a sermon for us all to use on one Sunday. He also wrote a pastoral letter to us all asking clergy to encourage people to be vaccinated. Each time we go into lockdown people lose jobs or have wages reduced and people suffer. An even greater divide comes with our children’s education. The flip side of course is that some families do manage to spend more time together. Sometimes this is good but for others, the underlying stresses in relationships increase and there have been some horrific events happen.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are unable to spend time with their loved ones who are unwell at home or in hospital, or are unable to visit or farewell the ones they have loved and lost. My neighbour commented to me yesterday that she had never realised how important it is to have social interaction with others. She is married and I responded to her how true her statement was and the challenge that faces those who are surrounded by family to remember the need others have for social contact. A huge thanks to all of you who do keep in touch with others who are alone and so appreciate some social contact.
During each of our Zoom sessions, I have had a special candle circled by embracing figures. To me, it is a reminder of the love and warmth we experience when we are together as family or friends, especially when the light of Christ is in the midst of us.
Keep warm and keep well
Blessings to you all
Jan
JOYCE WATSON IS ABOUT TO TURN 100!!!! A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM US ALL, JOYCE
7th OCTOBER IS THE BIG DAY Congratulations Joyce. Joyce has done so much for so many people and the church. This comes with all our love and blessings from us all. I KNOW YOU WOULD ALL LIKE TO CALL ON JOYCE BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THE RULES. IF WE ARE AT LEVEL 3 WE CANNOT VISIT JOYCE AT THIS TIME. We are inviting you to write a note to Joyce and drop it into the office or send an email to the office as we are planning to collate our best wishes onto a display board that we will get to her. Children who know Joyce may like to draw her a picture. We will make her day as special as we can while keeping Joyce and ourselves safe by obeying the rules which have been put in place for the protection of all. We will celebrate this great event when we are able. |
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Creation Calls – Music written by Brian Doerksen
I have felt the wind blow
Whispering Your name
I have seen your tears fall
When I watch the rain
How could I say there is no God
When all around creation calls
A singing bird, a mighty tree
The vast expanse of open sea
Gazing at a bird in flight
Soaring through the air
Lying down beneath the stars
I feel Your presence there
I love to stand at ocean’s shore
And feel the thundering breakers roar
To walk through golden fields of grain
Neath endless blue, horizon’s frame
Listening to a river run
Watering the earth
Fragrance of a rose in bloom
A newborn’s cry at birth
I believe
I believe
I believe
Source: LyricFind
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORSHIP
Sunday Worship Times
St Andrew’s
Each Sunday 8am & 9.30am Holy Communion
1st Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion (Nora Brown Hall)
St Paul’s Buckland
2nd & 4th Sundays this month 11.15am Holy Communion
Services will recommence in church when we are in level 2. Everyone must scan in or sign in. Signing in must be done confidentially by signing your name and adding contact details on a slip of paper and placing this in a posting box.
| Parish Fair!!!
If we are at level 2 on Saturday 16th October and it is legal to do so we hope to have a garage sale instead of a fair. Our problem is that the garage is full. We will need to monitor numbers and ensure everyone signs in. This is very much wait-and-see what rules are in place. The decision will be made by Sunday 10th October. Does anyone have any spare storage space we could use if needs be please? We do need the income because ,as you can well imagine, with Covid our income has dropped and I have again had to transfer money into our account. Not only are our offerings down, but no groups are using the premises. |
Sunday Readings for October 2021
| First reading | Gospel | |
| 3rd | Job 1: 1; 2:1–10 | Mark 10: 2–16 |
| 10th | Job 23: 1–9, 16–17 | Mark 10: 17–31 |
| 17th | Job 38: 1–7, (34–41) | Mark 10: 35–45 |
| 24th | Job 42: 1–6, 10–17 | Mark 10: 46–52 |
| 31st | Ruth 1: 1–18 | Mark 12: 28–34 |
| IMPORTANT NOTICE
CHANGES IN CHURCH SERVICES DURING LEVEL 2 Due to Covid restrictions: Communion is only to be offered in 1 kind during level 2. We are able to choose to have the wine as well in level 1. We request you wear a face mask. You are required to scan in with the QR code or sign in on a slip of paper and place it in the posting box. This is a requirement of the current privacy policy. We are not allowed to have anyone’s contact details displayed and accessible to others without their permission. We will not be offering morning tea after the service. Please keep the 2m distance from any other person who is not part of your bubble. We will not be holding rest home or hospital services. We will not be singing in church until we are in level 1. |
FROM VESTRY
We have continued to have a Zoom service each Sunday morning and thank you to everyone who has contributed to the services, including Pauline and Renton for their contribution to the music, Estelle for help with the technology and to all those who read or led the intercessions. It is my intention to return to services in church when we move to level 2 on condition that we have at least four clear days to ensure the church is properly prepared. The earliest that we will return to the church will be 10th October.
Replacing St Francis’ Day Service. As St Francis’ Day is the first weekend in October we still be at level 2. We would like to have a celebration of creation so what better way to do this than to have a photographic display in church over a couple of days and a brief outdoor animal blessing service on 31st October at 1pm. The 9.30am service will be our All Saints’ Day service and we will be acknowledging St Francis in that. If it’s fine you are invited to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the lawn.
I have been given some beautiful creation photos by members of the Images Photograph club which I am hoping we can display in the church for people in the community to come and view. Remember we would still like to receive some parishioners’ photos of creation if you would like to contribute.
On All Souls’ Day, Tuesday 2nd November, services will be held at noon and 7pm. Please invite anyone who you think would benefit from lighting a candle for a loved one who has passed away at any time. This year there may be people who have lost loved ones in another country, and they have not been able to be present because of the travel restrictions that are or were in place. Anyone is welcome to attend.
BUILDING MATTERS
Replacement of the Arch
Vestry decided to decline a cash settlement offer from the insurance company and accept its second offer, which was:
CHUBB (our insurance company) will instruct the loss adjuster to conduct the reinstatement, which will be managed by CHUBB/Sedgwick.
We put a condition on the acceptance that we wished to have independent quality control of the plasterwork. Our Architects have no knowledge on the quality of the work by either the plasterer or the project manager proposed by the insurers. The Auckland Council heritage team similarly have no knowledge of either of them.
The insurers have now come back and changed this –
The policy does not state or suggest that the insurer is responsible for the reinstatement of the insured’s property, but rather that its responsibility is to pay the reasonable costs incurred in repair of insured property.
The cost submitted by the loss adjuster is considerably less than the quotes we have been given. There is a continuing shortage of materials for construction and with the shortage of supply comes a continuous increase in price.
The battle continues and I am considerably grateful to Richard Gibbons for his ongoing generosity with his time and talents. I don’t know where we would be without his expertise.
Because of the delay due to the insurance company, we have had to postpone the fundraising event planned for 14th November.
Restoration of St Andrew’s Church.
At the same time, Richard is working with the architects and engineers and he is very close to being able to convene the parish meeting to consider our options with respect to the restoration of the church. Again, thank you Richard for your generous gifts of time and talent. We are hoping that we will be ready for a presentation at a parish meeting on 21st November.
Letterboxes
The letterboxes shown in the photo are the style of those that we will be installing for the Wesley St units and should be up shortly. These will be on the new fence once the painting of this has been completed.
SUSTAINABILITY
On 26th September Cathy Bi-Riley, the diocesan sustainable fieldworker, joined with us for a service on Zoom. During the service she talked to us about various aspects of sustainability and mentioned the COP26 climate conference. She also shared a karakia that had been developed in preparation for the conference.
Cathy suggested that some of us may like to get involved in the conference in big ways or small ways.
A series of vigils have been organised:
- Nationwide Karakia Service via Zoom: 8pm Sunday 31st Oct
- Daily online prayer vigil via FB live: 8pm every day from 1st Nov – 11th Nov
- Friday Night Vigil in person: Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau:30pm at St James’, Church St, Māngere Bridge (Note: this is on the first evening of Synod.)
Cathy invites – as you are able to, please:
- Join us at the online or in-person vigil or Sign up here to receive daily prayer resources.
- Incorporate prayer for creation and for COP26 in your Sunday gathering on 31st Oct or 7th Nov.
Karakia for Creation
E te Atua o te aroha, our loving Creator,
Mountains and oceans,
Mighty kauri and playful tui,
All creation belongs to You.
Remind us of our role as caretakers and gardeners.
Send your Spirit to renew our hurting world.
Give us courage and strength
To simplify our life, to share what we have,
To bear the cost of change
And sow seeds of hope for future generations.
Through Jesus Christ who is reconciling all things even through the cross. Amen.
CANCELLED & POSTPONED EVENTS
Over the next month or so as the lockdown levels change.
Sunday 14 November 2021
St Andrew’s Restoration Fundraising Dinner
at the Pukekohe Town Hall.
POSTPONED UNTIL EARLY NEXT YEAR.
HANDEL QUIRE AND CONSORT OCTOBER CONCERT
CANCELLED.
ST FRANCIS’ DAY
POSTPONED UNTIL LATER IN OCTOBER (I hope)
While it is nowhere as important as the health of people, the nation and the world leading to a very vulnerable society, it is disappointing for children who have prepared their animals for pet day and the day being cancelled for the second year. We are hoping the children will bring their pets along for us to bless once we are safely in level 2.
GET ONE. GIVE ONE
Fundraiser page created in the Community category by Anglican Missions – Wellington
The ‘Get one. Give one.’ campaign protects and supports the world’s most vulnerable from Covid-19 through vaccine equality.
Whether or not you have received your Covid-19 vaccine, give $10 so that one of the world’s most vulnerable people can get theirs. $50 covers a family of five! $100 covers two families!
As vaccines roll out across Aotearoa New Zealand, in many low-income countries, vaccines may not be available; there may not be enough of them to go around; and their cost will significantly impact availability thereby increasing inequality.
While we are thankful for the availability of vaccines in our country, we are aware that many people are not so fortunate. The Get one. Give one. Campaign aims to protect and support the most vulnerable.
Through this campaign, New Zealanders can contribute to a global initiative that funds vaccine equality in countries that would otherwise miss out.
Donations can be left in the plate at the back of church on Sunday or drop into the office labelled Covid Vaccine.
We encourage you to give as soon as possible even if you are yet to receive your vaccine.
POLLINATORS IN OUR GARDENS
By Keith Gardner
Springtime is a time for pollinators to do their thing. A huge community of small creatures work for us every day for free. By pollinating flowers, they help us grow fruit, beans, nuts and seeds. With them, our crops and our native plants thrive.
Have you seen these pollinators around your home?
Honeybees were first brought to New Zealand 150 years ago to produce honey. Today they pollinate crops such as orchard fruit, plums, peaches, nectarines and vegetables.
Native bees look similar to honeybees but are smaller and blacker. They do not have a sting. There are 41 species of native bees. They gather nectar and pollen for feeding their young and they transfer pollen from flower to flower. Most native bees are solitary which means they do not have large hives like honeybees. They nest in small holes in the ground.
Bumblebees are also great pollinators. There are four types of bumblebee in New Zealand. They pollinate some flowers that honeybees cannot such as those of the tomato. Bumblebees like roses and ornamental shrubs.
Monarch butterflies feed on the nectar of swan plant flowers and milkweeds. They can be found all year round but mainly in summer.
Nectar-eating birds such as tui pollinate many native trees and plants. They love being in a kowhai tree, drinking the nectar. At this time of the year, you will quite likely see white-eye (silvereye) in kowhai trees and bushes spreading the pollen.
Health and Safety Policy
THERE IS A DEFIBRILLATOR INSTALLED BY THE OFFICE DOOR
A copy of the Parish Health and Safety Policy, along with the processes required for the implementation of the policy, is available on the shelf at the back of the church, published on our website or available from the parish office.
An evacuation plan is in each area for the church and complex.
Reid Anderson Hall: Assembly area is the car park behind the hall unless the location of the emergency situation is on the south wall preventing evacuation on that side of the building. In this case the assembly area is by the road in front of the church.
Nora Brown Hall: Assembly area is by the road in front of the church or on the vicarage lawn depending on the location of the emergency situation.
Other rooms in the complex: Assembly area move to the vicarage lawn.
St Andrew’s Church: Assembly area is by the road at the front of the church.
St Paul’s Church: Assembly area is by the road at the front of the church.
First aid kits and accident reporting sheets are located:
- Reid Anderson – In the cupboard over the small hand basin, by the back door in the kitchen.
- Nora Brown – on the shelf above the microwave. Record sheets are next to the microwave.
- Parish office – 2nd to top shelf on left side in the back room. The office is locked when unattended.
Forms are to be completed as soon as the accident has been dealt with.
Treatment including resources that are used are to be recorded on the sheet.
PARISH DIRECTORY
Vicar: The Rev’d Jan Wallace 238-7723 Home
238-7228 Office 0274-521-366 Mob
Email. jan.wallace@xtra.co.nz
Vestry
Chairperson Jan Wallace
Treasurer and acting Vestry secretary Karen Stevens
Wardens Pauline Brown 021-1823703 Glenis Kerr 238-5136
Synod Reps Vicky Mee
Vestry members Jocelyn Brodie, Renton Brown, Richard Gibbons, Maggie Gibson, Helen Halliwell, Julie Perelini, Philip Watson
Buckland Reps Jim Moore, Vicky Mee
Parish Ministry Team
Vestry Wardens Pauline Brown and Glenis Kerr
Family Gael Crimmins Communications Cecily Daroux
Community Vicky Mee Sustainability Pauline Brown
Worship Rev Jan Wallace, Glenis Kerr, Rev David Walker, Rev Merlene Walker, Judith Parke, Rev Irene Brodie, Rev Tricia Carter, Rev John Carter
Pastoral Care Rev Jan Wallace, Rev Merlene Walker
Administration
Treasurer Karen Stevens
Central Vestry Trust Board Treasurer Ros Phillips
Parish Recorder Keith Gardner (Parish Envelope Scheme)
Parish Administrator Judith Tucker
Office Hours Monday to Thursday | 9am ~ 2pm
Address 31 – 37 Queen St, PO Box 338, Pukekohe
Phone 09-238-7228
Email address pukekoheanglicanchurch@xtra.co.nz
Op Shop 9am ~ 12 noon on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
PASTORAL CARE
Community Programmes
at Pukekohe Anglican Church
| THE SELWYN FOUNDATION
For the older members of the community A hot lunch is available for a small charge. Transport can also be arranged. Tuesdays 9.30am |
| SPACE
For you and baby For the first year of baby’s life. Several groups are run each week to keep the age range of the babies within about 3 months. Term time only. |
OASIS
Music & coffee group, a natural progression from Space for preschool children. Monday & Friday, 9.15am – 11am.
Term time only
| SEASONS
An after-school group held at 4pm on Thursdays for children who have experienced a significant loss or grief in their lives. An adult programme runs at various times. Phone 0274521366 for information. |
| St Andrew’s Seniors’ fellowship group |
| For older members of the community – exercise, morning tea and cards. 9.15 am Thursdays |
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Cleaning of the Church – vacuuming and general cleaning. Jan would like the church to be cleaned before we resume services. If you are free at 10.30am on the Thursday before our first service, your help would be much appreciated. Please let Jan know if you can assist with this.
COMING UP (with luck)
- 16th October, Saturday: Parish Fair. If we are at level 2 and it’s legal to do so, we hope to have a garage sale instead of a fair. A decision will be made by 10th
- 31st October, Sunday: St Francis’ Day (moved from 3rd October). Bring along your pets for an outdoor animal blessing at 1pm followed by a BYO picnic lunch on the Vicarage lawn. A photographic exhibition celebrating creation will be held in the church in the days leading up to the service.
- 2nd November, Tuesday: All Souls Day, services at midday and 7pm. Please come along and light a candle for loved ones you have lost at any time. We extend a particular invitation to those who have lost loved ones overseas during these Covid travel-restricted times.
- 14th November, Sunday: Confirmation Service. PLEASE LET JAN KNOW IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING CONFIRMATION.
As we can’t have singing in the church until we are at level 1, it is not possible to provide any dates for performances.