Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to our life or safety but can be any event or situation that leaves us feeling overwhelmed by fear, horror, helplessness, or distress. The greater the trauma, the greater the impact it has on us. Trauma is subjective – what one person may find deeply traumatic another might not.

Just over 100 members of our St David’s Naenae whānau had a wonderful kingdom experience on their church site during Palm Sunday weekend. It was a Palm Saturday/Sunday Sleepover and Climate Change Prayer Vigil on the St David’s church site, with plenty of activities, food and fun.

Many of us have experienced rest, re-creation, refreshment and manaakitanga at Ngatiawa River Monastery. Now, our NRM family are asking for our help - to stay accessible by repairing the legendarily pot-holed driveway.

Palmerston North’s Māori name, Papaioea, means “how beautiful it is” – and several Palmerston North Anglicans pitched in on a project recently that gave new life to that description.

Without the benefit of hindsight, the disciples gathered in Bethany six days before the Passover, where a meal was given in honour of Jesus.  They did not realise the suffering He would undergo on behalf of them and all of us, they had not fathomed the work of power and love that would occur on the third day. Openly criticising Mary in front of the gathering for pouring out such expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, Judas missed the point, and Jesus' response to him poses some interesting questions to us all.

We just wanted to shout out a huge thank you to all those who took part in the Climate Mission for Submissions over the last few weeks – together, we are raising our voices to make a difference for the biggest issue facing our planet.

Warning: This article contains discussions around self-harm and suicide

In Aotearoa and across the globe self-harm is, and continues to be, a complex and increasing issue. Despite a growing awareness of mental distress, the act of self-harm continues to bring a lot of misunderstanding, confusion and concern for those struggling, their families, whānau, and friends. As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus and model his compassion for those in distress. Today we will look at how to do this in the context of self-harm.

The donkey hire industry must have had a bumper weekend this past Palm Sunday, with a number of parishes using live donkeys to bring the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem to life. In our Rongotea whānau, the humble creature chosen to play the part went by the name of Pockets, and the many children there were delighted to have her there.

For Hazel, prayer was a powerful tool as she and her husband faced daunting major spinal surgery - but when God answered her prayer, much to the surgeon's amazement, it became a story of spreading the Good News too.

Government ministers, CEOs, NGO leaders and migrant community representatives were all part of the recent "Tango i te Kaupae Muri - Take the Next Step" conference on people trafficking and exploitation, which we co-organised. It was a conference at which Government launched our new five year action plan to tackle the issue, and feedback suggests it has taken our country's response to the issue to a whole new level. Yet within days of it ending, another prosecution has hit the news - and the exploitation happened right under our noses.

Wellington City Mission, supported by New World, have come together to introduce an innovative new Social Supermarket, improving food security for Wellingtonians in need.

Rev. Jessica Falconer, Co-Minister in Charge in the Parish of Ōtaki, shares this encouragement for our children and family leaders, and us all.

The Government has increased their support for vulnerable seafarers visiting New Zealand ports, and this policy win is in part due to the advocacy of organisations like the Mission to Seafarers, led by our own Rev. Lance Lukin.

Churches in our diocese are busy preparing to hold their Mission for Submissions service in the coming weeks, and some are going all out to theme their service around the important need for us to respond to climate change.

Our climate advocacy team has been busy creating resources, so even if some of us can't host a speaker, or would prefer not to hold the service in the 14th of March, we can all still take part.