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Anglicans from Titahi Bay, Ranui and Porirua East joined Māori sisters and brothers in Christ at the Rota Waitoa Church in Elsdon for an Ash Wednesday evening service. The Rota Waitoa whanau welcomed us and shared a te reo Māori liturgy with us as we worshipped accompanied on guitar by Archdeacon Reverend Tiaki in a service led by Deacon Reverend Rochelle. The Holy Communion was presided over by Reverend Kura, Porirua Anglican Priest in Charge Reverend Terry preached on our identity in Christ and Titahi Bay Priest Reverend Casey led prayers. Those present were anointed with ash and oil by the clergy in the service of imposition of ashes.
Those who attended rejoiced in the opportunity to experience a service in te reo Māori and to realise our oneness in Christ. A fine evening was sealed with traditionally generous hospitality as we drank and ate sitting at tables covered with red table cloths.
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 Following a review of Parish life in 2019, our Bishops have given Porirua Anglican approval to consider repairing St Anne's Church.
In 2014 the Church was assessed by engineers as earthquake prone and unsafe to congregate in. Since then the congregation have gathered and worshipped in St Anne's lounge. Approval has been given by the Diocese for the cost of repairing St Anne's to be formally and professionally assessed. The Vestry have approved spending for this. The Diocesan property manager will action this assessment and once costs have been determined further decisions will be made. Church members have been waiting a long time to hear this news and are very thankful to hear it. Naturally they are delighted at the prospect that they may be able to return and occupy their Church building. News about progress, as it becomes available, will be shared here and on Facebook. We were blessed this year to welcome and bless Lauren Dooley and her family from Ireland during the Christingle service in St Anne's. This special Christmas service uses as a decorated orange as a symbol of the world we live in that has been so influence by the light of Christ which is seen in the lit candles that are part of the Christingle that the children create during the service. To be a little pc these days we thread dried fruit to the cocktail sticks rather than sweet lollies. Otherwise the image below describes what a Christingle is.  The children and some adults present at the service are seen in the slideshow below.  During 2019 the Operation of St Anne's Pantry has been reviewed. The Review was prompted by the retirement of key volunteers Diane & Bob Stuart and Val Grace. The review process considered all aspects of the Pantry's operation and concluded that its continued operation is warranted, if key personnel are found and other concerns are satisfied.
An informal meeting of Porirua Anglican Vestry members on 16 November 2019 agreed to the continuation of St Anne's Pantry on the following basis:
DONOVAN, William Brookby (Bill): Passed away on 16 August 2019, aged 71 years.  Husband and Father and fellow Christian worshipper at St Anne's. Bill Donovan was a member of the Church Vestry at the time of his death. It is with sadness that we farewelled Bill recently and we especially extend our condolences to Dawn his wife who also worshipped with him at St Anne's. Rest in peace our dear brother in Christ.
Priest in Charge Terry with his wife Margaret have recently returned from holiday in Europe and the UK. Sadly, they were absent when Bill died and return with a deep sense of loss at his passing. Their time away included Retreat time at the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and with the Sisters of the Order of the Holy Paraclete at St Hilda's Priory, Whitby. At both these places they connected with our Celtic Heritage, the amazing devotion of saints from 7th & 8th centuries of the Christian era, and the beauty and ruggedness of the North east England coastline. In Terry's absence, Deacon the Reverend Rochelle Grace oversaw St Anne's Parish ministries and life. We are deeply indebted to her loving leadership and rejoice with her now as she proceeds to ordination as a Priest in the Church early next year. On Sunday 29th September we worshipped joyfully at St Christopher's, Tawa in a combined service with people from the Parishes of the Porirua Anglican Cluster - Pauatahanui, Whitby, Titahi Bay, Porirua and Tawa. Last Sunday (16 Oct) saw a full church at St Anne's and we had an intimation that we are moving into a season of Prayer. Last Friday we celebrated St Luke's Day with healing services in St Anne's that gave rise to testimonies to healing in Church on Sunday. From Wednesday 30th October we are scheduling an additional prayer service weekly 2-3pm Wednesdays in St Anne's. While we will always pray for particular personal needs as they come to our notice; we will be praying for the development of the Porirua Anglican Churches. As we move towards the end of 2019 and anticipate the new year we live with a deep sense that God has something new for us. We are keen to discern what that is and what is required of us. Whether or not you can come regularly to our weekly prayer meets, please do pray with us and feed back to us your discernment.... We congratulate those who have been elected to the Porirua City Council including new mayor Anita Baker and prayerfully commend them to God's blessing and wisdom. And as we go to Press we have just received news that the Reverend Peter Watson vicar of Pauatahanui Parish has just been appointed to St Matthew's in Masterton beginning in the new year. Congratulations Peter; commiserations Pauatahanui.  The Reverend Tric Malcolm, ex Wellington City Missioner and Executive Member of the Council of Christian Social Services will join us on Sunday (21 July) as we continue our St Anne's Pantry Review. Tric will discuss current thinking about Christian and Church food ministries and help us as a congregation to continue our Pantry Review, informedly. The Pantry review working group has met twice and discussed with current Pantry leadership how the Pantry currently works; things that work well and the challenges. One of the Pantry's assets is they make food deliveries. This helps deliverers better appreciate the circumstances of food parcel recipients. We are aware of the extensive network behind the scenes that ensures goods and money are available to resource the St Anne's Pantry delivery operation. While we are aware also of some of the other church and community food providers, we are seeking to learn more as we map the bigger picture. Is there a case for better co-operation, especially across the churches?
In today's Sunday service in St Anne's our Scripture sentence (Psalm 82:3) was, Be fair to the poor and to orphans. Defend the helpless and everyone in need. And our Gospel reading the story of the Good Samaritan. There is no doubt that our neighbours are not necessarily the people next door; rather the people in our community who have urgent need. There is no doubt God is calling us further into such ministry. We continue to become aware of a number of households and families with children who appreciate food support. Recently several children came to church and shared in breakfast before the morning Sunday service. We are open to our food resource being used to these ends - even a weekly Sunday breakfast with church members collecting children and delivering them home after the service? Please pray with us as we at St Anne's seek to be obedient to and discerning of God's call to us about this cornerstone outreach ministry. Terry - Interim PIC  An International Morning on Pentecost Sunday will mark the end of St Anne's Thy Kingdom Come season of prayer which will begin on Ascension Thursday 30 May. During this season of 'prayer focus' various activities have been scheduled including:
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AuthorMembers of the Porirua Anglican Communities Archives
February 2020
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