Weekly Notices - 21 July 2024
As we journey this week with our worship theme of ‘God Caring for Us in All Our Needs,’ we look back at the history of our spiritual home of St Augustine’s, and give thanks for the shoulders upon which we stand today.
Back in 2008, a Centennial Celebration was held here to mark the 100th anniversary of our church building. I have heard that this was a fantastic affair which brought the community into our surrounds, sharing with our parish family the delight of God’s care all those many years ago and throughout that past century.
We are excited now to be working towards our Parish Centennial, which will mark a 100 years of St Aug’s standing in its own right as a fully fledged parish after having been part of the St Saviour’s parish. This is indeed cause for celebration, and your Vestry has been hard at work, organizing a weekend of fun and thanksgiving prayer.
We have now confirmed the weekend of Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 October as our Celebratory Weekend. Our guest of honour will be our Bishop, the Right Rev Peter Carrell who will preach at our Sunday morning Service.
There will be a Variety Concert in our church on the Saturday afternoon, with tours offered to the public, of our premises.
After our service on the Sunday, we are all invited to a fabulous luncheon at the Takahe. Tickets for this event will be at $40 a person, and will be available for purchase through our parish office during and following, the week beginning Sun 4th August.
So diary these dates! Budget for your meal tickets!... and start preparing for a special time of unity and celebration following this miserable wintry season!
God bless St Aug’s! Your Friend and Vicar, Kofe.
Vicar Kofe
Today’s service
Theme: “God caring for us in all our needs”
Sentence: My sheep hear my voice,’ says the Lord. ‘I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life - John 10:27–28
Collect:
Loving Father, imprint upon our hearts
that because we belong to you
no one can pluck us from your hand,
and because we fear you
we need fear no other.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.
Readings: Jeremiah 23: 1 - 6 & Mark 6: 30 – 34, 53-56
Parish News
Diocesan Prayer Community - Reminder
The Diocesan Prayer Community has been operating since March this year. This Community identifies the issues which challenge our Diocese (and parish!) and join each other in praying for those issues.
At the Special Synod a few weeks ago, I discovered that other parishes have embraced this concept, and parishioners have enthusiastically signed up to be part of this Community. I urge us all to deeply consider signing up to pray with others from other parishes! We receive regular updates and forms of encouragement from our Archdeacon of Regeneration & Mission, and it only takes a few minutes of our time each day or week.
Please let the Vicar know if you’re interested. If you want a copy of the flyer in last week’s newsletter, please contact the office.
Our People, Our Place
A few weeks ago, we all received forms to fill out as part of our “Our People, Our Place” drive. Several of you have responded, and these stories are now displayed at the back of the church. Several interesting reads if you are keen to get to know someone more intimately. We look forward to receiving more of your stories!
Vestry Members
We need urgent action in securing photos of yourselves for our Parish Leadership Team block on our church noticeboard. Please make arrangements with Newell Grenfell to have a snap taken of yourselves at your earliest convenience. I too, need an update of mine, so don’t feel too bad about it all; get it done soon though, please.
New Parish Directory
The Parish Directory for 2024-2025 is now available (in booklet and A4 form) at the back of the Church
St Aug’s & Beyond…
Repair Café
Hannan Centre, Thursday 25th July, 5 to 7pm
Let’s repair rather than throw away. Free event! Share far and wide!
We will help fix your stuff and to teach you how to do it yourself; Bring torn or holey clothes, stuck zippers, furniture, headphones and cables, sunglasses, ceramics and pottery, toys, shoes, jewellery, blunt knives (to sharpen) broken plastic objects etc. We can also help you with some technology advice, such as how to install Whatsapp to talk to your relations overseas, or why is your phone doing something weird today, or how do I put it on ‘do not disturb’ ... etc
Volunteers willing to help are very welcome! You can find more details on the Groups page.
Ellel Ministries event - Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July
Ellel Ministries: are very excited to announce an upcoming Explore event, focusing on Healing from Accident and Trauma, at Hope Presbyterian Church.
Please refer to the flyer on the noticeboard at the back of the church for more details.
Living Faith Conference
PRAY DISCIPLE INSPIRE - Bring your parish team and join us for the 2024 Living Faith Diocesan Conference! With Guest Speakers: Elanor SANDERSON, Dallas HAREMA, Grant NORSTWORTHY
This will be a great opportunity for spiritual growth and encouragement as we hear from inspirational leaders who canhelp us grow in confidence in our faith and get better at making new disciples. There will also be a Q & A discussion panel to address your questions.
This conference is for everyone - younger, older, exploring faith, new to faith and the seasoned Christian.
So bring a friend, join a group and register!
Tickets $40/pp, see Jo Ashton Martyn for these, or, scan the bar code on the poster below for this event at the back of the Church, or visit www.bit.ly/LivingFaithConference
Helpful info
Giving
Online Giving - “Green” Tokens (trial) for the Offertory Plate
Hey lovely people, now that the majority of you donate ‘on-line’ we have created green tokens for you to place (if you wish) into the offertory plate. These tokens will then be blessed at the front of the Church along with any other cash/envelopes. If you would like to join those who give regularly online, you can find all the details you’ll need on the Giving Page.
Groups
It’s easy to connect and get involved with some great social and faith-focused groups that meet regularly across the parish. You can find out about all our regular groups on our Groups page. If you have any questions, just click the contact button to connect with the group’s organiser.
Need prayer?
We’d love to pray for you. See the ‘Prayer Support’ section on the Help & Support page for more information on how we can help with your prayer needs. There are confidential and anonymous options available.