From the Vicar
Dear Friends,
Our Parish Festival begins this evening with the Solemn First Evensong of Michaelmas at 7:00 pm. Tomorrow, S. Michael and All Angels’ Day, the Low Mass is at 8:00 am and then the Solemn Mass and Procession at 6:30 pm. In the middle of the day, from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm, there will be an hour of quiet prayer in the church before the Blessed Sacrament. At the evening Mass and Dinner, there will be a lot of visitors among us and I hope that you will all take your part in welcoming and looking after them.
It will be a great pleasure to welcome our new Bishop of Christchurch, Dr Victoria Matthews, to S. Michael’s, the ‘Mother Church’ of the city, for the first time. As she presides among us, she will be sitting in the Chair of the first Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Harper.
We are also delighted that Imogen de la Bere is to be the preacher at the Solemn Mass. She and Jeremy are back here from England for a family visit. They spent much of their early lives at S. Michael’s Church and School and both have been mainstays of the Choir and Vestry. During the 1990s Jeremy was a Synodsperson and Imogen a Churchwarden. When each new Anglican Taonga magazine arrives, I turn first to Imogen’s column. She has also published three novels, which many of us have read and enjoyed.
Next Sunday we continue our festival by celebrating the dedication of S. Michael’s Church. The church building is a very significant part of our taonga, as identified at the recent parish review, and it is important for us to share it with the wider community. Heritage Week will begin later in October, but already with the spring weather there are more tourists and others out and about. So we want to ensure that S. Michael’s Church will always be open from noon to at least 2:00 pm every day, and indeed longer when possible. Please tell me or Claire Anstice if you are willing and able to join those who will provide this special ministry week by week.
As we celebrate the Festival, we are grateful for all God has given us, and we pray that we may be good and faithful stewards. As a community of faith, may we live a life that shares the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all who seek God’s peace.
May God bless you all.Peter Williams
