Through the vast expanse of Scripture we see men and women following behind on the path that God is already treading. Often we see them living into the consequences of attempting to lead themselves, or struggling when God’s path seems hard to see.

After 7 years of helping to resettle former refugees, Patricia Cooper is stepping down from her voluntary coordinator role. We talked to Patricia about her time as Refugee Resettlement Coordinator.

For over a decade our movement has made strides, through a variety of means, to better align with the fifth mark of mission, “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” With this in mind, we invite you to consider what it is you can be doing in this present day with your families, churches, and communities to limit your carbon footprint.

The Chaplaincy Team at Victoria University are making it count twice. University is a time where there's so much pressure on students to perform. It's also easy to feel a sense of lack; that they are confronted with these huge problems of the world in their courses, but don't have enough time or money to contribute, or don't know how.

Since the Omicron outbreak began, the Wellington City Mission has experienced a 400% increase of demand for food support. They are spending $20,000 a week on groceries to ensure the shelves of the Social Supermarket are stocked to meet that need.

Some years ago there was a cartoon which caught my attention. It was of a naval vessel showing the power of its guns, with its commander leaning over the stern looking down at the tiny overcrowded boat below filled with migrants. “Where are you from?” He shouted. Back came the response, “Earth.”

With a vision focussed on youth and young whanau, All Saints Hataitai are reimagining how their church facilities might contribute to wellness in their community.

This Saturday, we are coming together as a family for a bit of fun and reflection. While many of us had hoped to be at El Rancho enjoying Ministry Leaders Family Camp, Covid-19 has prevented us gathering together. Instead, we are inviting the whole Diocese to join our online fun night this Saturday night.

Bishops on the Wing

We wanted to give you a bit of an update about our travels over the next few months. It feels strange to be re-entering a global space after so much time with a locked-down world, but we are excited about the opportunities it presents to connect with brother and sister Bishops across our global communion.

Building has begun on Te Korōria, a community social enterprise facility, developed by Karori Anglican to support whānau through a welcoming community space.

The old Plunket car seat hire rooms in Ranui, Porirua spent several years vacant, and quite derelict, until our Porirua whānau stepped in. The building was comprehensively renovated to become a new community resource after the Porirua Anglicans successfully tendered for it in May last year.

Dear family, this week as our church begins our Lenten journey with Jesus to the cross, we write to you with deep awareness of our hurting world and its impact on each of our lives. This year, more than most, our world, for which Jesus’ life was given, calls us into our Lenten disciplines: prayer, charity and the self-discipline of fasting. We want to encourage us all into these disciplines this Lent, not just because our world yearns for the kingdom of God to come in greater fullness, but also because these disciplines strengthen and support us to hold close to Jesus in distressing times.

Anglicans in our diocese and throughout the country have been a driving force behind the Free Fares campaign, which is advocating for free public transport for Community Services Card Holders, under-25s, and students nationwide. On 17 March the campaign group will present their petition of nearly 10,000 to the Minister for Transport, asking that Free Fares will be funded in this year’s budget.

As the noise of protestors on Parliament’s lawns echo around Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul, the Cathedral whānau are offering a peaceful presence and word to those dropping by.

We’ve had to get a bit creative in order to have fun as a church family and here is how some of our Masterton whānau are doing that at the same time as helping to fund much needed projects.

Almost every Thursday evening between July 2020 and June 2021, I could be found in front of a Zoom call with people from every part of our Diocese who were current or budding small group leaders.

It was a totally mind-blowing year that continues to influence and shape me even now, eight months after it finished.

Thanks to generous donations made to Anglican Missions’ Tonga Emergency appeal, our Tongan whānau can find some small respite in the relief packages currently on route to the disaster-ravaged nation. But, we still have a long way to go.

Lent begins on 2 March this year, and as we wait to see what the arrival of the Omicron variant in our communities will look like, we’re encouraging our Movement to think about how to use Lent Studies as a way to continue to gather safely, build teams, care for one another, and continue to learn together about who God is and who we are called to be at this time.