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

What a vision: the development and regeneration of Eastern & Western Porirua. Following on from the Prime Minister's recent announcement at Russell School of a 25 year plan to invest in our city, work is underway planning and ensuring that things will begin to happen on the ground in 2019 in Eastern Porirua.

May I encourage Porirua Anglicans, and other Churches and Christians, to be at the forefront of community consultation and action, helping to ensure that local opinion and sensitivities are communicated to the government and agencies who are funding and implementing this vision. Let's do all we can to allow this great opportunity to be a wonderful community building exercise.

A new website has been launched to communicate the vision and concept. A key request is that people sign up for email information as it becomes available. You will learn about community meetings and decisions and be kept up to date about progress. Can we all make sure we sign up as the beginning of our commitment to be involved?

The map below appears on the website and highlights the areas that will be developed. Certainly most of us Porirua Anglicans are living within these areas. We will be affected. Let us be active to ensure that we and our neighbours get the best possible deals.

I am reminded of an old story that has particular relevance at the moment. Let's not leave action to the other person and walk on by...  let's get involved.

We have been presented with a wonderful opportunity to be neighbourly. It will be challenging; it will be worth it. Let's do it!

​Terry Alve
Interim Priest in Charge