News and notices from St Michael's | Pānui o te Haahi o Mikaere Tapu
Coming up in our family of faith this week.
Wasn’t church fun last Sunday?! For those who missed out, we used a variety of different science experiments to dig into different aspects of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. Isn’t is great that we can see the hand of God at work in the whole spectrum of creation?! We played with balloons, a thermal detector, a Jacob’s ladder, and a spectrogram (have a play here). My experiment with sand on a drum was a cheap and simple way of creating a Chladni plate - have a look at the video below from a Wellington based artist to see a real one in action (along with a whole bunch of other fun sound based experiments):
Thy Kingdom Come was a wonderful time of praying together - it was so good to have the prayer room full every night, and with people joining on zoom, as we prayed together. We’re keeping this going - why not join us for night prayer in The Lighthouse on Monday nights at 7? You can also join by zoom - check the website for the link.
There is so much to look forward to in the weeks ahead - this Sunday Bruce is exploring the story of Nicodemus, and the following week is Te Pouhere Sunday when Rev Māmari Stephens will be joining us. After that I’m looking forward to launching into a four week series on one of my favourite Old Testament books - you’ll have to come along to find out what it is!
Rev Richard
Ta da! We have a new Archbishop!
If you haven’t caught the news already, our very own Bishop Justin has been appointed as Archbishop of Tikanga Pakeha; one of the three Archbishops that make up our Three Tikanga church. This is pretty amazing! You can read ++Justin’s statement here and more from the Anglican Provincial news site here.
Archbishops also remain the Bishops of their local area, but obviously there are more demands on ++Justin, and likewise on +Ana, so let’s be holding them and their families in our prayers.
Resource of the week
Lectio 365 is an initiative from 24/7 prayer, and is based on the Lectio Divina method of praying through scripture. With the Lectio 365 app you pray the Bible by meditating on the scriptures and asking God to speak through them. The app has short devotionals for morning and evening so you can open and close each day with God.
When you pause in His presence, you create space for peace in a busy and complicated world. What’s not to love about that?
There prayer rhythms are usually based on a theme - at the moment it is ‘The Way’ - a six week series praying through key moments in Jesus’ life from John’s gospel.
Check out this website for more information, and links to download it (you will need to install an app on your phone - but it’s worth it!)
Let us pray | Ka inoi tātou
This week, let’s pray for:
For the peace of Jesus to reign in all areas of conflict in our world;
For those whose homes are cold or heating is a struggle;
For those in public service feeling fearful for their jobs at the moment;
Our year ahead as a church whānau, particularly discipleship groups, Alpha later this year, and our building project;
For those who are sick with winter illnesses;
Absolutely and utterly pray for growth and revival;
For boldness for all of us to share the name of Jesus
For Bishop Justin in his new role, and Bishop Ana as she adjusts
Other things for your diary
Every Monday during term time at 7pm - night prayer in Te Ahi Kā (The Lighthouse) - or on zoom.
Every Wednesday during term time at 9am - Morning prayer in Te Ahi Kā (The Lighthouse)
Tikanga Māori service - 11.30, fourth Sunday of each month (next one this Sunday)
Note - NO Sunday Sanctuary this month as we’ve been focussing on Thy Kingdom Come
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