This week both Bishop Justin and I will take part in our third round of Bishop’s Conversations. These global conversation groups have been created as the pathway for the world-wide gathering of the Bishops within our Anglican Communion at Lambeth next year.

During last year’s lockdown, St David’s Naenae-Epuni began a rhythm of house church gatherings. We caught up with Priest in Charge Martin Robinson to talk about the impact of home gatherings and how they have been affected by the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

Kate and John-Luke Day live in Wellington, and are part of our St Tom's church whānau in Newtown.  When they were holidaying in a small South Island village last year, a wildfire swept through the area overnight.  Everyone was saved, but the village was destroyed.  The wildfire was caused by unseasonably warm, dry conditions - a symptom of climate change. Read / watch how they then chose to reduce their family’s carbon footprint.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. (2 Corinthians 4:1)

August was the month of the Wellington City Mission Winter Appeal. And it wasn’t long before we found ourselves unexpectedly in lockdown.

The Low Carbon Challenge involves three months of prayerful action to shrink our carbon footprint. So what action to take? Nice as it would be, not everyone can afford to shell out for “big ticket” items like electric cars, solar panels, and Tesla wall batteries, so what are some less costly things we could do?

God is always speaking so how might we hear better? Jesus said "My sheep hear my voice." If we are to join God in mission, how can we know where God is at work and what God is inviting us to join Him in?

Our whānau at Peninsula Parish have been trying out a new rhythm of family morning prayers to help engage the whole family.

Dear whānau

Greetings to you all as you settle in to our latest lockdown, and as we all wait to see what the next few days will hold.

How and what are young Anglican social justice activists contributing to civil society in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand? That’s what Catherine Rivera wanted to explore for her Anthropology PhD thesis.

The Season of Creation is an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with creation, and to consider how God may be calling us further into our Anglican Communion’s fifth mark of mission: “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.”

‘…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Phil 1:6)

Over the recent weekends at our Diocesan Training Days in Wellington and Palmerston North, we have all been humble learners together, exploring what it means to be part of the Missio Dei in each of our contexts. As we gathered together to worship, pray, and learn, we were struck once again by the variety of expressions and needs, longings and anxieties that are represented across our Movement.

Many of you had the pleasure of meeting Sisi Fountain, the Diocesan Property Manager, at our training days recently so we thought it would be good to share a little bit more about her and what she does.

The Wellington City Mission relies on a variety of people and organisations to be able to make a difference in people’s lives, and together they are creating a better place to live. Including a gift to the Mission in your will is one way we can have a lasting legacy in our community. In this story, the Mission shares with us a story from one of their bequestors.

It was wonderful to gather together as a whānau on Saturday at Samuel Marsden. The weather was glorious and many made the most of it by eating lunch outside. We were blessed to hear from Bree Mills and our many workshop speakers.

Saturday marked the official launch of the Low Carbon Challenge. This year eight hundred Anglicans had their say on advice from the Climate Change Commission. Now hundreds of us are changing our lifestyles to care for the climate.

The Get One Give One campaign has been going for two months and has so far raised over $35,000. Parishes across the diocese have been getting inventive in finding ways to raise funds.