The time has come to say goodbye to my Porirua Anglican friends, at least in my role as priest. Thanks for all your love and goodwill as we have journeyed together over these past 6+ years. Some of you have been there throughout this time; others for part of it. It has been a time of significant change and challenge, a bit like it was for the very first Christian disciples who had a rollercoster of a ride! While I would never pretend that we had the challenges they did; in our context there have been times of high elation and periods of deep anguish. In all our faith in God has been stretched and, I hope, matured.

As I move into retirement, I reflect on the following:

• The young people, and the two pool baptisms in particular: the early one at Russell Street School and the later large one outside St Anne's;
• The marriages: particularly of the Manulevu boys to Rita and Abby respectively, plus Robin and Mai Lucy;
• The funerals: especially the three current church members who died during my watch: Bill Donovan, Erin Bidois and Sala Manulevu - may they rest in peace and their close ones be comforted;
• St Anne's Pantry that had earlier been overseen by Diane and Bob with Val, followed by the time during the Covid19 years 2020-2023. We geared up to offer large numbers of food parcels with the help of KCA staff. Porirua donors and volunteers with Sofia, Margaret, Jane and Fiona worked tirelessly;
• The purchase and renovation of 49A Mungavin Ave: the Diocesan vision to support the purchase in 2021, David Parmenter's practical improvements, the Goss bequest availability, and Bishop Ellie's blessing of the premises early 2022 as the Pantry relocated there;
• The final decision to move on from St Anne's to te Whare Karakia on 1 May 2023, as the Pantry closed after 3+ years serving during the pandemic;
• The arrival of Pastor Charles Nikora on our last Sunday at St Anne's and his great encouragement for a year until family commitments and the Lord took him to Sydney;
• The final decision, a little over a year ago, to confirm the relocation of Parish operations to 49A which paved the way for the decommissioning of St Anne's on 15 December 2024.

​What a ride as we have embraced the many challenges along the way maintaining the unity of Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and in all constantly coming back to the God who stretches, forgives, sustains, nurtures, challenges and loves us. To God be the glory, forever, Amen. ​God be with you and your future together as the Body of Christ in eastern Porirua.  And, Margaret joins with me in this farewell as we end by reminding us all of these wonderful words of St Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 4:32, ... and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Arohanui
Terry

​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

It was a poignant moment when seven of us from Porirua Anglican met at te Whare Karakia for morning tea with Barbara Edmonds MP for Mana and two of her staff at 10am on Monday 27 November. Earlier that morning Chris Hipkins had submitted his Labour government’s resignation and before we parted Christopher Luxton and his team were being sworn in as the new coalition government. For Barbara her term as a cabinet minister ended as we talked! The moment was acknowledged.

We were encouraged to hear from Barbara that the Kenepuru Hospital Emergency Department closure has been delayed. We remain optimistic that this only ED between Wellington and Palmerston North hospitals, serving 80,000 people, will continue operating. Barbara has been at the forefront of negotiations. Our discussion with her was wide ranging including CAB funding; food security and the planned new Ngatitoa iwi social supermarket; housing regeneration in Porirua which includes infrastructure development; social unrest at change of government; retirement village reforms, etc.

Just as Barbara faces new options and possibilities as a member of the Government main opposition party, so this Advent is a reminder for us God is doing a new thing in our midst, rebuilding the Church to be a more effective community in eastern Porirua.

​Please pray with us that our Christmas and New Year community facing gatherings and the ALPHA course to begin 17 January contribute to making us a strongly engaged Church, united in the Spirit and experiencing the Lord adding to our number regularly.