We haven't been using this social media space recently but here is an offering as we proceed into spring 2024. A spring theme is new life which is also an apt way of describing what we aspire to as Church. If Jesus Christ is anything, He is the one who came that we may have abundant life. Life that reflects the love and the power of God in meaningful ways.
Yesterday our Sunday worship readings from Isaiah 35 and Mark 7 offered "Healing Words" as we thought about the lame walking, blind seeing, lame walking, deaf hearing, dumb speaking and possessed delivered. We reinforced the scripture readings by reminding ourselves that Jesus heals today. Testimony was given about modern day healings: grand mal epilepsy, impacted wisdom teeth, leg deformities, deafness, human and dog blindness, child A.L.L. cancer healed and cancer pain quelled. We even talked of blessed handkerchiefs assisting healing! And then we prayed for one another as we had need.
The image below reminds of another way new life expresses in church. We have recently engaged with a number of people from Myanmar (Burma). We have been blessed to have in worship a family of five who have recently arrived from that country. They have little to no English so Mai Lucy has been translating and we have all been blessed to embrace these newcomers who are pictured on the left side of the photo.

Yesterday we were further blessed to have Dominick as our musician as he played the keyboard fr the first time at te Whare. He is a year 13, musicially talented Bishop Viard College student. This week his College band is one of the top ten College bands competing in Auckland. Dominick also brings a Philippino flavour to our growing international community: Maori, Pasifika, European, Myanmar, Philippine, Indonesian and Malaysian. I'm reminded of a Sunday reading we had in Church recently, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
St Paul's Letter to the Galatians 3:28.

​Terry Alve - Priest

​Happy New Year to you and yours. May it be a great one!

We have just completed our Advent-Christmas-New Year community outreach with 150 people attending our various weekend and weekday community and worship events in te Whare Karakia. It is most satisfying from my perspective to see such great responses to what we offer in the Eastern Porirua community. The core group of around 25 people who are the heart of the Porirua Anglican community have excelled by both attending, and encouraging others to attend the ten weekend, and other weekday activities, during December and New Year's Day. We have built an amazing group of people who seem increasingly proud to gather and contribute to our life together.

Recently three of us from Porirua Anglican did an ALPHA Course at Johnsonville over 11 Thursday evenings and a Saturday, and benefited greatly from the food and fellowship. We even got together for a meal pre-Christmas in a group Reunion too. And we greatly benefited from the ALPHA videos and discussions that followed. We were a mixed group; there was even a young Nepalese man there for part of the time, and and an older Chinese lady. The uniqueness of ALPHA is that it attracts people of all ages and, as above, all ethnic groups. More than that, it gives people an orthodox Christian and very understable opportunity for people to ground their faith.

In two weeks time we will begin an ALPHA Course at te Whare Karakia, beginning Wed. 17 January @ 7pm. Details of this and an online enrolment form are here: 

https://www.poriruaanglican.nz/alpha-course.html

The first five sessions will be addressed via video, and allow discussion of these five questions ...

On Saturday 2 March we will spend a day together focused on questions about the Holy Spirit.
Each session will begin with food so don't eat too much before you come as we will eat together for 30-40 minutes before watching a 25-30 min. video which we will then discuss, finishing sharp at 9pm.

The last session will be on Wednesday 27 March when we will address, "What about the Church?"

Want to know more? Contact us via any of our Contact Us channels.

And, let's know you are coming so that we can prepare and maximise your experience of ALPHA.

Hei konā mai | Goodbye for now
Terry

Terry Alve
Priest in Charge

Jesus the Way to the Father
John 14:1 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ 5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Paul, a Titahi bay boy, was the descendant of Welsh bishops and a head choir boy at Old St Paul’s when it was the Wellington Anglican Cathedral. He was a student of ecclesial, heraldic, regal, political and many other histories. He was also an artist, and combining these gifts he has left a rich heritage of artefacts and decorations around Wellington and beyond. More relationally, he has enthralled those of us privileged to hear him wax lyrical on any number of topics. Paul was a raconteur with many vivid stories to tell.

As has been indicated in the tribute, Paul was a fiercely proud Welshman and seemed to know the country as well as, if not better, than most natives of that romantic land. Amongst Paul’s awareness was the poetry of Dylan Thomas and one of his most celebrated writings written in 1947 as his father was dying. Paul’s explicit request was that the first stanza of this poem should be read today, and so I read,

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And so I begin to understand the enigma of Paul’s last battles. Many a man would have died with Paul’s medical history long before he did. His determination and his defiance of death can, I believe, be traced back to sentiments like Dylan Thomas’. These typify the Welsh spirit of defiance of a powerful enemy whether that be the English or things more private like death. Paul, now that the ‘light has died’ for you and you have gone into the ‘good night’ may you rest in peace. Hear the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ saying to you,

3 … I go to prepare a place for you, I will … take you to myself, so that where I am, 
there you may be also.

Paul, your earthly struggle is over. Walk with Jesus now into the heavenly realm and brighten it up, as you have the earthly.

Paul was one with Gwladys in marriage. Gwladys today we must offer a last word to you who have so faithfully kept your vow of marriage to Paul. You have tirelessly and generously supported him. Especially in these last few years as, “He raged against the dying of the light”. You have wonderfully been alongside encouraging, providing and frankly, just loving him. As you journey through the gap that is his physical absence now, may you be strengthened and comforted. God bless you.

Terry Alve