At Synod last month we: “committed as a Diocese to uphold the safeguarding of all creation by encouraging all Mission Units to register as Eco Churches and inviting each Ministry Unit to complete the self-assessment for Eco Churches during 2023…”

How good it is to gather together as a family. Ministry leaders from all across the diocese spent the weekend at El Rancho soaking in worship, teaching and relationship with one another.

Ordination services are one of the highlights of the year, and we’ve learnt a lot over the last couple of years about how to celebrate well in this season.

Phil McCarthy and Tawa Anglicans are the new Refugee Resettlement coordinators for our movement family.

In an auditorium in Freedom Church, Cannons Creek, a crowd of people from five different churches across Porirua gather together in worship, prayer, food, and the shared commitment to work together as the commissioning of Te Hāhi Porirua is celebrated.

Well done to Kirsty Willis on her Education for Ministry graduation!

Bishop Justin blessed the work of the Wellington City Mission and celebrated how they continue to ‘kick goals’ for Wellingtonian’s needing a hand.

Amy Ross of Eco Church Aotearoa presented the work of Eco Church and its enabling of churches around Aotearoa towards, environmental sustainability.

Last week saw the installation of Bishop Ellie as the new Bishop of Hull. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, presided over the Service of Commissioning and Welcome at Hull Minster. Archbishop Philip Richardson was in attendance as was our own Rev. Rebecca Apperley.

Below you will find a summary of all the Motions passed at Synod 2022. If you have any questions about any of these, do feel free to be in touch firstly with your Vicar/Priest in Charge or Synod Representatives, or with Diocesan Manager Ben Pringle.

Intermediate age rangatahi (young people) from across our diocese joined together on the weekend for a whirlwind 24 hours packed with laughs, worship, sunshine, trampolines, and everything in between!

Last weekend at St Matthew’s in Masterton, the vision of “Building Community with the hope of Jesus” was evident in a few awesome events.

The Friday Food Share, an initiative of the Waikanae Anglican Foodbank providing a new model in response to food poverty, recently won the Health and Wellbeing award for Kāpiti in the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards. We took the opportunity to talk to Pippa about journey that bought her to this point.

Imagine you have a job cleaning offices in Wellington after hours. You live in Wainuiomata and your shift finishes so late there are no trains or busses available to take you home. So you drive to work. Petrol prices soar and public transport prices are subsidised, but you can’t take advantage of the public transport subsidy. You get paid minimum wage, but wonder if it is even worth it given how often you need to fill the tank.

As +Ellie prepares to leave, we were lucky to find her underneath a pile of boxes and ask her some questions about her season within our Movement. As usual, there is such wisdom and depth in her responses and well worth pondering over with a good cup of coffee.

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer had a choice to remain safe and challenge injustice from the outside; the secure periphery of the conflict and ultimate danger. Yet he chose to return home to Germany against his friends' advice, to work for justice and freedom from within the ravages of World War II. A choice that would see him executed just days before the allied troops, and ultimate freedom, arrived.