The House of God
“O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts!
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts
of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house and the swallow a nest
where she may lay her young, even thy altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house,
they will be alway praising thee.
For one day in thy courts is better than a thousand.
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.” (Psalm 84)
From the Vicar…
Dear Friends,
Today, as we continue our celebration of Michaelmas, we give thanks for the dedication of S. Michael’s Church building, which has served us for 138 of our 159 years, and which thankfully survived the earthquake with only minor damage.
And today it is our great joy to baptise Matilda Jane Williams, daughter of Anselm and Susy-Jane, and fifth grandchild of the vicarage family. We welcome friends and family and invite everyone to join in the special morning tea afterwards.
Our celebration of Michaelmas on Wednesday evening was a truly wonderful occasion. Thank you to all of you who put in so much work and imagination to make it so. It was a delight to be a part of both the wonderful Mass presided over by Bishop Victoria, and of the dinner which followed. There were a lot of visitors who enjoyed themselves very much. I hope that they will have been moved and encouraged by their participation.
I was glad that at last we were able to have the dedication of the new altar, given by the Martin family. We are grateful to them, as also to their parents, Les and Joan Martin, in whose memory it is given. When you are able, have a close look at the beautiful top of the altar. It was designed by Alun Wilkie and crafted by David Thurston of Takamatua.
We have also received greetings from people throughout New Zealand and overseas, who have once been part of this community, and still celebrate with us.
The Diocesan Synod, which should have taken place on 4 September, has been rescheduled for Saturday 30 October, when we were planning to hold our Affirming Catholics Symposium. Though I had thought we might be able to go ahead, I have finally decided we must postpone the symposium until next year. Some who wished to attend feel duty-bound to be at Synod, and others are low in energy after the month’s trials. Next year is our 160th year and the symposium could be part of the special programme then. Please tell any others who may have been planning to join us on 30 October.
May God bless you all.Fr Peter Williams
