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

For the past five months Porirua Anglicans have been using te Whare Karakia, 49A Mungavin Avenue, Porirua as their Church Centre. Sunday morning worship has located there as have all other church activities. During this time further thought has been given to the future use, or disposal, of St Anne's and its grounds. On
Sunday 15th October 2023, 11:30am in St Anne's Foyer, 2 Arawhata Street, Porirua, decisions will be made about next steps. We will have new information from engineers and the Anglican diocese; we will reflect on how using te Whare Karakia has been for us; and we will together decide next steps.
In his report to the Porirua October Vestry, priest in charge Terry Alve made these observations that bear on the discussion we will have in the SGM:

• My assumption is that the cost of repairing and restoring St Anne's to a usable state will be $300,000+. I have heard the Bishop muse that it is likely to be more than $500,000 from his awareness of the cost to repair other churches with similar issues. More information will be to hand [at the SGM] relating to these assumptions.
• We have a small congregation and St Anne's is hidden away and difficult to access - factors that have been raised previously by the Diocese, as reasons to move away from St Anne's.
• The Diocese's approval early in 2021 to buy 49A Mungavin Ave., was an implicit indication from the Diocese that St Anne's repair and restoration is not their preferred option.
• For these reasons and others, I have taken the liberty of proposing a draft notice of motion for the SGM, assuming we plan to stay at te Whare and/or agree to relinquish St Anne's church and site. 
  ​
  ​Draft Motion for the SGM (assuming we have a mind to relinquish St Anne’s)
  That Porirua Anglicans agree to continue worship, church life and administration at Te Whare Karakia,
  49A Mungavin Ave., Porirua and we invite the Diocese of Wellington to discuss, and decide with us, the
  future of St Anne’s Church, 2 Arawhata St., Porirua, with a view to it no longer being required for Parish
  purposes.

All are welcome to join the SGM discussion at St Anne's; Porirua Anglican Parish electoral roll members will vote if necessary.