Newsletter
THE PARISH OF WHANGAREI AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
4 September 2011
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
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SENTENCE:
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
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COLLECT:
Creator God,
you have made us
not in one mould, but in many:
so deepen our unity in Christ
that we may rejoice in our diversity.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
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Amen.
READINGS:
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 149 (pg 373, NZPB)
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
Matthew 18: 15-20
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Any Christian is, by these verses, empowered to try to wipe out sin within the community of the church. It must first be done privately - if that is not accepted, the rule of Deuteronomy 19:15 requiring two or three independent witnesses is required. If the sinner is still unrepentant, then the whole body meeting together may excommunicate that member. Clearly the church Matthew was writing for had its share of sinners who did not take kindly to reprimand. Are we any better?
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Dear Friends,
As an archdeacon I used to receive newsletters from many of the parishes, which was great for keeping in touch. I chuckled when reading the list of office holders on the back page of one newsletter. It began: Ministers - the members of the congregation. Then followed a long list of every conceivable office holder, finishing up with “the vicar,” his name and phone number. I thought the idea great, but the irony was that parish was strongly dominated by their vicar - not much happened without his (yes he was a man!) consent. It was he who had said the ministers were the members of the congregation, so it was written down. It’s how we live the gospel which matters, not what we say.
I was reminded of the place of vicars when welcomed into one parish by a life-long member who had been baptized there, who said, “Welcome, vicars come and vicars go, but the people stay.” It’s now more than a couple of decades since that was said, that parish have had half a dozen different vicars, and that person is still attending!
There are lots of different roles in the life of a parish. No role is more important than another, though some are more public. And as that newsletter mentioned, the people of the parish are the principle ministers. Somewhere, somehow, everyone of us involved at Christ Church have caught a glimpse of God’s mission to the world, we may have caught it here or elsewhere. We are all called by God to work for that mission. Each of us has our own task as we seek to be ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven.
But we are not only a group of individuals. One of Paul’s favourite illustrations was to talk of the church as the Body of Christ. Meaning that each part, while separate, was necessary for the whole body to function properly - with Christ as the head. It is that way of integrating the different parts which makes the difference between a parish which is a gathering of good, faithful individuals and a parish which is a community of faith. Our success is not up to the vicar, but to everyone involved.
Blessings,
Richard
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SEMINAR
“Being missionary today with particular reference to the gospel of Matthew”
Saturday 10th September
with Sr. Susan Smith
Venue: St. Paul’s Church Centre Kamo
Time: 9.30 a.m. for 10 a.m. start – finish around 3 p.m.
Please bring – paper, pens, Bible, your own lunch and Koha of 2 gold coins.
If attending please advise – jill.connop1@gmail.com
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Mission Weekend 1-2 October
Mission Dinner – Sat evening 1 October - $10 adults, school age children free. Tickets will be on sale from the church office from Monday 5 September. Our guest speaker from the Anglican Missions Board will be Rev. Mike Hawke. Mike will also be speaking at the 7.30am and 9.30am services the following day.
REGULAR EUCHARISTS.
AT CHRIST CHURCH:
Sunday. 7-30 a.m. & 9-30 a.m.
Wednesday. 7-30 a.m.
Friday. 10-30 a.m.
AT SELWYN PARK:
Sunday. 10-30a.m __________________________________
Readings for Friday 2 September
Psalm 89:19b-28; Colossians 1:9-14; Luke 5:1-11
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Readings for Sunday 11 September
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114;
Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
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PRAYER CHAIN
We are here for YOU.
Please contact Nancy Bollen on 433~ 8579 if you have a request.
All requests are confidential
Whangarei Selwyn Centre __________________________________
Children’s Ministry
Happy Fathers Day to all those to whom it applies! Wishing you a peaceful, blessed day.
Our ‘older young people’ are working on a creation project – ask them about it and watch this space over the next few weeks. Following a specific request, the ‘younger young people’ will be taking a closer look at the creation story, and will be contributing to the project as well.
Have a blessed week. Emma – 433 2630
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Whangarei Selwyn Centre Fellowship
Monday 5 September
We will commence as usual with Tai Chi at 9.45am, followed by morning tea: then a speaker from a newly formed group in Whangarei – “Wild Haggis”. Come and enjoy their inspirational talk about future lifestyle living; followed by lunch. $5.00 per person.
Jean Currie - 435 2489
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Working Bee
Saturday 10th September
Start time 9.00 am
This time we are going to clean up the area behind the altar and move items to the loft at the Parish hall.
Also other things will be attended to if numbers permit.
See you there!
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NEEDED!!
Supermarket bags are needed for the
‘Twice Round Shop’.
If you can help, please drop them into the shop or to the church office.
Thank you.
----------------------------------------------- Whangarei Anglican Care Trust
We invite you to attend our
Annual General Meeting
at the Care Centre on
Sunday 18th September at 2.00pm.
It has been a busy year so the progress should inspire and encourage you as we partner in serving our community. Afternoon tea to follow.
If you would like more information you can contact John Blyth (Chairman) 09 434 4691 or Joyce Beehre (Counselling co-ordinator), Marion Moon (Budgeting Co-ordinator) or Shirley Mellsop (Administrator) at 09 437 6397.
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