The Anglican Parish of Burnside-Harewood

The Music of Stuart Townend

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:08:19 +0000

We are running “An evening of Stuart Townend songs” for you to enjoy, evaluate and to inspire you to enhance your worship by incorporating them in your services. Details can be found here

Vicar’s Letter – February

Matt — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:42:19 +0000

As I write, we're making preparations for our summer holiday – part of which involves running the Buller Half Marathon. It's a while since I ran a 'half', so if I come back from holiday limping and hobbling then you'll know why!

Our staff team and wardens met for a very productive meeting the other week, something that we'll be doing only a monthly basis to keep in touch with our different areas of ministry as they grow and develop. One of the outcomes of this meeting was producing a calendar of events for 2012. Take a look and print off a copy!

2 things which I'd like to highlight for the coming month are our pancake party and our Lent course. Shrove Tuesday, 21^st February, the day before Lent begins is the traditional time to eat pancakes and party and Llewellyn Smith and his team of conscripts will be organising our very own parish pancake party. It will be great for kids and adults alike, and a chance for us to meet across our different congregations. 5-6.30pm at St Tim's.

Then beginning the following week, 29^th February for 5 Wednesday evenings is our Lent Course in which Les Brighton will be taking us through the book of Romans – a book which people find both inspiring and daunting! Les will help us to hear the message of the book afresh and hear God's voice to our situation today. Les is currently writing a popular level book on Romans, and his material is well researched, vividly presented and designed to challenge the cosy boxes that we put around God. And if you need any more encouragement to sign up, then he will be doing a 'taster' series of 3 sermons at our service during February. Don't miss it!

Vicar’s Letter – December

Matt — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:31:01 +0000

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (Lam 3:22-23).

At the end of a long year, I want to say thank you Lord for your faithfulness. What a year it has been: earthquakes, snowstorms, an adrenalin charged world cup. At every step of the way 2011 has kept surprising us. It's been a long, and a tiring year. But as we reach the end of 2011, I want to thank God for his grace to our parish.

I'm thankful for the way our young adults swung into action so quickly after the earthquake. I'm thankful that our buildings stayed standing. I'm thankful for the opportunity it gave to build stronger links in our communities and meet people we would never have come into contact with otherwise. I'm thankful for the way our schools ministry has borne fruit, particularly through 24-7 in Burnside High School. I'm thankful that over the year 30 new people have joined our parish. I'm thankful that we have seen have seen adults and young people become Christians. I'm thankful that our Sunday school has grown and now has split into two groups. I'm thankful that financially we have a secure base to build for the future. I'm thankful for all your responses to our Mission Action Plan as we look forward to next year. I'm thankful for 5 couples from our churches getting married this summer. And yes, I'm thankful for the AAW's gift of two shiny new teapots.

Thank you, brothers and sisters for being part of the journey in 2011,

Your vicar, Matt.

Welcome from Matt, our vicar…

Matt — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:29:03 +0000

Whether you’ve been coming to our parish for a while or whether you’re considering joining us for the first time, welcome!

St Timothy's and St James' are 2 very different churches in northwest Christchurch. But we're united in our faith in Jesus Christ, our desire to become more like him and to reach out to those around us with his love.

You’re welcome here wherever you are on your faith journey – whether you’ve been following Jesus for years or whether you’re thinking about making the first tentative steps. We hope that you’ll take the opportunity to sample some of the different services and groups in the parish to find where you feel most at home.

Yours in Christ, Matt

MAPping the way ahead

Matt — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:15:03 +0000

Matt and Vestry recently presented our parish MAP (Mission Action Plan 2011), which sets the direction of the parish for the next few years. We'd love to hear people's feedback on this - there are 2 forms to do this on, one for individuals, one for groups in the parish.

Read, pray, re-read, discuss, feedback, get involved!

150 Year Celebrations… coming soon!

Matt — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:46:42 +0000

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 13^th, 14^th and 15^th April 2012 we will be celebrating 150 years of worship at St James in Harewood.

The first service was held on Palm Sunday, 13 April 1862. It was a small wooden church, which was replaced by the present one in 1935. We are very blessed that St James church has survived both earthquakes largely unscathed, so we can go ahead with planning our celebration.

The weekend will start with a social get-together in the church hall on Friday evening for people with past or present association with the church.

Saturday will be open church an exhibition in the church hall of the history of St James up to the present day, including our hopes for the future, with dinner in the marquee Saturday evening. Other daytime entertainment and attractions will be announced when the programme is finalized.

The weekend will conclude on Sunday with a service conducted by Bishop Victoria Matthews, followed by refreshments.

Watch this space for updated information.

Meanwhile if you have information or material that could be of interest to the organizing committee

Please contact Audrey Jackson wandajackson@xtra.co.nz

Margaret Taylor wayland@clear.net.nz