Dear friends,
I’ve just been writing my “Church and Community" article for the newspaper about Mother’s Day. I’m always aware how people have different feelings about Mother’s Day. For me it is combination of feeling the loss of my mother 8 years ago but also thankfulness for my wife Jacqui who has brought our 3 special children into the world. Our Messy Church in Westport this Sunday at 4pm will be on the theme of Mother’s Day but we are broadening the focus to include all those who have taken on “mothering roles” in our lives and our wider community. Messy Church really is open to all, whatever age and stage you are at, so do consider joining us, and maybe you could invite a member of your family to join us for Mother’s day! Next week (Sunday 15th) we start “LightHouse”, our new all-age congregation at St John’s.
Following on from the success of the Lent Course, Sharon will be running a Bible study group at St John’s at 10.30am on Tuesdays, doing a 6-week study looking at the Psalms. This is open to anyone, whether you came to the Lent course or not. Another Bible study group is meeting at the home of Margaret and Steve on Thursdays 3pm-5pm, looking at “Prayers from the Bible”. This has a mixture of people from St Peter’s and the wider community attending and is open to others to join, including those who would enjoy a trip out from Westport. This is also a good time for me to mention Margaret’s continuing role as a Pastoral Visitor in our parish. Margaret’s pastoral care was appreciated by many following the Westport floods last year. Margaret has experience in counselling, spiritual direction and grief support, and is available to visit parishioners both in Westport and northern Buller.
In Karamea there have been ongoing concerns about much-needed maintenance to Holy Trinity building. People’s Warden Leigh and Vestry Secretary Martyn will both be attending worship there on Sunday 15th May and will meet with those interested after the service to put together a maintenance plan for the building. (As an aside - welcome home to Martyn & Adrienne after their trip back to Wales for Martyn’s father’s funeral).
Coming soon is the visit of Bishop Steve and Watiri to the parish on 21-22 May. Our parish is spread out geographically and so I’ve tried to give them as much coverage as possible. Here’s a summary of what they are attending:-
Saturday 21st May
Please do pray for Heidi as she prepares for confirmation. It is special to see how she has grown in her love for the Lord and for his people over the last few years.
Your vicar,
Matt
I’ve just been writing my “Church and Community" article for the newspaper about Mother’s Day. I’m always aware how people have different feelings about Mother’s Day. For me it is combination of feeling the loss of my mother 8 years ago but also thankfulness for my wife Jacqui who has brought our 3 special children into the world. Our Messy Church in Westport this Sunday at 4pm will be on the theme of Mother’s Day but we are broadening the focus to include all those who have taken on “mothering roles” in our lives and our wider community. Messy Church really is open to all, whatever age and stage you are at, so do consider joining us, and maybe you could invite a member of your family to join us for Mother’s day! Next week (Sunday 15th) we start “LightHouse”, our new all-age congregation at St John’s.
Following on from the success of the Lent Course, Sharon will be running a Bible study group at St John’s at 10.30am on Tuesdays, doing a 6-week study looking at the Psalms. This is open to anyone, whether you came to the Lent course or not. Another Bible study group is meeting at the home of Margaret and Steve on Thursdays 3pm-5pm, looking at “Prayers from the Bible”. This has a mixture of people from St Peter’s and the wider community attending and is open to others to join, including those who would enjoy a trip out from Westport. This is also a good time for me to mention Margaret’s continuing role as a Pastoral Visitor in our parish. Margaret’s pastoral care was appreciated by many following the Westport floods last year. Margaret has experience in counselling, spiritual direction and grief support, and is available to visit parishioners both in Westport and northern Buller.
In Karamea there have been ongoing concerns about much-needed maintenance to Holy Trinity building. People’s Warden Leigh and Vestry Secretary Martyn will both be attending worship there on Sunday 15th May and will meet with those interested after the service to put together a maintenance plan for the building. (As an aside - welcome home to Martyn & Adrienne after their trip back to Wales for Martyn’s father’s funeral).
Coming soon is the visit of Bishop Steve and Watiri to the parish on 21-22 May. Our parish is spread out geographically and so I’ve tried to give them as much coverage as possible. Here’s a summary of what they are attending:-
Saturday 21st May
- 5.30pm for 6pm dinner. Potluck meal at St John’s Westport
- 8am Service at St John’s Westport, including the confirmation of Heidi.
- 10am Service at St Peter’s Granity, followed by a potluck lunch.
- 4pm LightHouse at St John’s Westport.
Please do pray for Heidi as she prepares for confirmation. It is special to see how she has grown in her love for the Lord and for his people over the last few years.
Your vicar,
Matt