Dear Friends

It’s nearly a month since I last wrote to you. The intervening weeks have seen lots of happenings in our church, lots of answers to prayer and lots of praise points.

Last month I had my first meeting with our new Vestry. I will not try and summarise what was discussed. I would just encourage you to have a look through the printed minutes posted on the notice board at the back of the church. Tineke regularly updates the posting. You are very welcome to talk to me or the Wardens if you have any questions about anything in the minutes or any queries about Vestry.

Vestry’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for next week – please pray for us. I would also ask you to pray for Vestry’s day retreat scheduled for 1st of June. Rev Kevin Topp, the minister at the Anglican Church in Havelock, has kindly given us permission to use their hall for our retreat. Please pray that it would be a fruitful and enjoyable time for Vestry.

We praise God for the very generous response from our church family to the food aid appeal of the Barnabas Aid last month. Over 22 food boxes had been collected for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Pakistan. This was amazing generosity, and thank you to all who contributed. Many thanks to Margaret Conway for coordinating the appeal.

Our Day of Pray on 28th April went very well, and we give thanks to the Lord for it. It was the first time we ran such an Interactive Prayer Experience centred around Prayer Stations, and we were very glad it went well and so many of you found it worthwhile and deeply moving. The Prayer Ministries Oversight Committee will be running this event again in the summer with a few adjustments to the time format and improvements to the program.

Here is the quote on prayer from the book The Kneeling Christian which I cited in my sermon on 28th April: ‘Prayer is our highest privilege, our gravest responsibility, and the greatest power God has put into our hands. Prayer, real prayer, is the noblest, the sublimest, the most stupendous act that any creature of God can perform’ (Author anonymous).

In our Sunday services we started a new series on First Peter – a wonderful little book in the New Testament. Peter wrote this letter to Christians who were going through difficult times; he encourages them to trust God to see them through those times. Peter helps them to see not just that their hardships are temporary, but also that they can still be joyful, hopeful and remain holy if they continue to trust God and hold on to his promises. After all, they are God’s special, chosen people simply traveling through this world. First Peter is a great book to both prepare us for the persecution and suffering that may come our way in the future, as well as evaluate our own lives as to whether or not we are living joyfully and hopefully in this world.

There have been answers to prayer over this period as well – some amazing stories of physical healings, but also of other needs being met. Some of you will remember that we prayed for a young family of four, who were looking for a new home in Blenheim. They did find a new home just when they needed it. They shifted into their new home in mid-April.

Our Term-time programs for children and youth have resumed for Term 2. We give thanks to the Lord for the leaders and helpers who run these important programs, but I note the urgent need for more helpers in our children’s Sunday programs. There is also a need for a volunteer to help in the kitchen for our youth ministry.

We were saddened by the passing of Graham Nevill the other week, but comforted by the assurance that he is now with the Lord in heaven. Graham was a faithful member of our Sun 11AM congregation. His service was held in our church last Wednesday, which I was honoured to conduct. Let us uphold Cheryl Neville in our prayers, and their son Craig and daughters Michelle and Rachel and the wider family.

This past Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Ascension. The Ascension is one of the most overlooked aspects of Christ’s work, but in fact it is as vital and central as the Lord’s death and resurrection. In the sermon I talked about three meanings of the Ascension for us as Christians: it means that Christ has completed the work that God had asked him to do, the work of saving the world; it brings hope and comfort for Christ’s followers who remain in the world; and it gives Christians a task to pursue. You are welcome to read or re-read the key texts for Ascension: Acts 1:1–11; Ephesians 1:15–23; and Luke 24:44–53.

The Chinese congregation’s special Mothers Day Family Concert held last Sunday went well, with over 70 people in attendance. We give thanks to the Lord for this and for Guan and her team’s ongoing ministry amongst the Chinese in our town.

This month in our prayers we remember the Church in Eritrea (see information below).

This coming Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost – the birthday of the Church and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s people. The readings are Acts 2:1–21; Romans 8:22–27; and John 15:26–27, 16:4b–15. You are welcome to read these passages ahead of time. Only the Acts and John passages will be read at the services on Sunday.

Blessings in Christ,

Deo