LINK Linking you with the

Warkworth Anglican Parish

September 2018—November 2018

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On Sunday 29 July, I announced my departure from parish ministry with this message:

“In the week just gone the Bishops of Auckland received my resignation from the role of being your vicar.

I met with the Bishops on Friday and they have accepted my decision with reluctance and sadness.

They have also acknowledged the careful thought and judgement that has led me to this point. It has become clear to me in the last month or so that while the year I have been your vicar has not been wasted by any means, nor has it been an unhappy time, I am not the priest to lead this parish through the changes that will be necessary for the future of Anglican ministry in the Mahurangi region.

So what happens from here?

I will be away for the coming week, but Bishop Jim will meet with the Vestry on Tuesday evening and begin to plan for the coming months. My last day of work will be the 31st of August, and Noel and I will be moving to our home in the Far North. I will not be moving to another parish; however Bishop Ross has indicated he will be happy to grant me his Permission to Officiate which means I can continue to offer ministry as a priest should I be called on to do so.

My thanks go to the wardens for their superb support over the past twelve months and my prayers will be for you all as you respond to the challenges my departure will inevitably present.”

Then on 19 August, our weekly newsletter the “In Touch” carried the following message from Bishop Jim:

“Dear Friends-in-Christ

I met with your vestry last Tuesday to begin the conversation about interim and future ministry following the departure of your Vicar, Ellen. I will meet again with vestry members and clergy in mid-September to take that conversation forward.

In the meantime, I will retain the role of priest-in-charge of the parish until December at least. I will lead some services in the parish myself as my diary allows, but we will be heavily reliant on the ministry of the team of retired clergy. For this reason, I have taken the decision to roster a single Sunday service at Christ Church at 9am. This change will begin from the first Sunday of September, and I envisage that this will continue through to the end of January.

Thank you for accommodating this significant change at such short notice.

Please be assured that you remain in my prayers as you look towards the future for your parish.

Pax et bonum, +Jim

The Right Reverend Jim White”

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Noel and I were fare-welled from the parish with a beautiful gathering on Sunday afternoon, 26 August, and as I write my last message to you the vicarage is being packed away and I am busy with last things.

Some disappointment and sadness is inevitable at such a time, and among the many tributes of the appreciation and thanks I have received, I also sense a little lingering bewilderment. It is right to be honest about those feelings, because a year feels like no time at all in church terms.

Indeed, we were still getting to know each other in many ways, and we were obviously having a great time doing so! So let me acknowledge the truth that we all hoped for a longer season when I was welcomed so joyfully in August last year. I am sorry to be going so soon.

I want to leave you with a few words that I hope will help, as well as a gentle challenge. I have had a lovely year with you as your vicar. As my announcement said, in no way has the year been a waste. People have generally been kind and gracious to me and to Noel.

However, the role of vicar, for better or worse, does not come with a position description. This means I come with my own understanding of what I think it means to be a vicar, just as every single person worshipping in an Anglican church will have their own idea of what a vicar is and does. This is tricky for everyone (and has been very tricky for your vestry members), as I have sought changes to service times, for example, that a number of parishioners struggled to accommodate.

I have also held back from throwing my support behind the Christ Church site development plans, and while there is no doubt at all that the entrance to Christ Church needs urgently to be remodeled, I believe the interregnum will be a time for the parish to engage seriously with the implications of the wider project as it has been conceived.

Perhaps if I had been willing to take much longer to establish myself as your leader before asking for changes to service times, we might have found ourselves more able to adapt. Perhaps your next vicar will have a different vision for leading the parish into sustainability. I know he or she will be blessed by your sincere warmth and kindness, and my prayer is for a refreshing, renewing Spirit to blow through Mahurangi.

God’s Church has proven herself capable of adaptation for the past two millennia, and I have every trust that you will continue to bring in the Kingdom of Heaven here, whatever God may have in store. Nga mihi nui,

Ellen

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Anglican Diocese of Auckland magazine

Copies of ‘The Anglican’ are available through the parish office, in addition to having been distributed through our churches. If you missed out on a copy, please contact our parish administrator Melody; she would be pleased to make sure one reaches you.

An extract from Archdeacon Sarah Moss’ excellent article in the most recent edition:

“Being a healthy Church means we recognise that we do more than ‘go to’ Church on a Sunday. Understanding that we are the Church also takes us beyond a consumer mind-set of preference and perceived needs as our sole focus. Instead, our primary concern is what it means to be part of Christ’s body and thus be Christ to others. When ‘being in Church’ is the paradigm in which we live, we might find that our attitude is not so much ‘what I like’ but ‘what I contribute’. Perhaps then, the ‘Did I like it?’ question of Sunday worship becomes less consuming and is replaced with the question, ‘How did it resource me to go and be the Good News?’’’ Ven. Sarah Moss

St Leonard’s and the Festival of Lights Lorna Laxon writes: St Leonard’s community was delighted to be able to be part of the Matakana celebrations of Matariki in mid July, and the church looked stunning with seemingly hundreds of candles lit on a mid winter evening when we participated in a simple Taize style service. Special thanks go to Rev Dianne Hawken and Delwyn Lawrence as the organisers of this lovely weekend occasion.

The manager of One Warkworth and the inspiration behind the Winter Festival of Lights, Murray Chapman, attended the service and wrote afterwards:

“Thank you, Delwyn and the team for being a part of the festival. I thought it was the perfect way to start the festival and it was the start of what was a very successful weekend. The Church looked amazing and the service was wonderful.... please pass my thanks on to your wonderful team for reaching out and being involved.”

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What next for G&T? The study group plans to resume with a new book to enjoy, for six weeks beginning on 1 October. Look out for more details to come in the In Touch.

G&T time A group of parishioners under the name tag G&T, (God and Talk - thanks Bob Howard - great name!) recently completed a seven week discussion group, ably led by Ellen. The venue was St Leonard’s Church. It was open to absolutely anyone who was interested and numbers attending averaged around 10 - 11 per week from different parishes.

Weekly homework, reading from a book by Dave Tomlinson, with the intriguing and somewhat misleading title ‘How to be a Bad Christian’, was the starting point for each week’s discussion. Lively and interesting participation revealed a diverse and thought provoking range of experiences and ideas around topics such as God, the Bible, prayer, the enneagram, what is a Christian, and society’s perception of Christians, to name a few.

Ideas were sometimes challenging and sometimes it meant going home and Googling for information about things just taken for granted for years. e.g. What is the origin of the Bible as we know it today? Why is it inspired? Who decided which books went into it? etc etc.

Personally, I loved the group. Everyone’s contribution was valued for what it was. It was challenging and at times uncomfortable, but never threatening. It made me research and really think through some aspects of my faith which needed a good shaking and dusting off. It was also great to hear from, and get to know at a deeper level what some of my fellow parishioners think about things. It would be fair to say that we all know each other a little better now.

G&T will evolve and change and develop as needs and interests are identified and catered for, but hopefully, God willing, it is here to stay.

Ellie Greer

9am services at Christ Church An extra reminder that due to being without a vicar for the next few months, and with Bishop Jim retaining the role of “Priest-in-Charge”, from September (and until further notice) there will be only one Sunday morning service at Christ Church Warkworth, at 9am. Our thanks to the team of retired clergy who will shoulder the lions’ share of the roster for the next few months.

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A Saturday morning at St Leonard’s Matakana

It was a grey, winter’s day in Matakana, but that didn’t keep the throngs of visitors away from the markets or the Op shop, where the overflowing items such as books and toys were enticingly displayed along the rock wall at bargain prices. Inside St Leonard’s, the heaters warmed, the flowers showed off their beauty, the candles flickered and a sign welcomed visitors to “rest a while and light a candle”. On the deck a small sign said “art for sale” and that was just the impetus many visitors needed to cross the threshold.

Some edged their way in, eyes steadfastly fixed on the art, their backs to the ‘church’. But, inevitably, their gaze was drawn into the building, to the circular window, the warmth, the cushions, the peace and spirit of this place. Questions flowed, from visitors and locals alike: When was it built? Was it still used? What denomination? Who made the cushions? What did the window symbolise?

I heard about childhood church experiences, about not being a believer but loving the architecture, about wanting to return to a church family soon, and even an offer of a brass candlestick collection so that the candlesticks could be used regularly. Almost all visitors were glowingly positive about the upkeep of the church building, the unique cushions, the sunlight patterns through the rose window onto the walls and the lovely spiritual ‘feel’. I directed visitors to local attractions, beaches and walks. They left with genuine thanks.

And, then there were those seeking to rest, to light a candle, to find and talk with God. They knew who / what they were looking for and were grateful for the opportunity: an unwell woman, a couple from Australia who visited every church they found open, locals with connections to the church, visitors who lit candles for family members ‘back home’. A young couple on a 2 year working visa from Brazil, came in with his parents. With little more than a few words of English, the older man a pastor in Brazil, communicated with gesticulations and his son’s translations . Then we shared a big hug and more than a few tears as the Spirit transcended language and we met as brother and sister in Christ.

It was difficult to close the church and go home. No sooner had I started out the door, than more people wanted to enter the church. What a privilege and blessing to spend Saturday morning at St Leonard’s and what a gift to the community, this ministry continues to be. Delwyn Lawrence

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The here and everywhere God

For me, the most amazing gift of our faith is the way it entwines humanity and divinity, in a depth of intimacy unknown before.

That intimacy can’t be predicted or controlled. It comes like the wind and all we can do is wait for the signs of it coming and open ourselves to the gale.

Eileen Duggan wrote a poem about that:

When in still air the planets shake Like springs about to flow A wind from off Australia Is gathering to blow

And I who have my signs of you Am weatherwise in vain. Oh you are gale and wet to me But come, my wind and rain.

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Descriptive language breaks down in attempting to explain what Jesus is offering when he talks about this intimacy, so we have to resort to poetry and symbolism.

Like the biblical metaphor of the vine and its branches. Jesus describes himself as the whole vine, and we are the branches inseparable from him, confident that even after radical pruning, new life will flow again and new growth will follow.

And another metaphor of this intimacy is the dwelling place. Jesus is the Way. He still provides a unique access path into the heart of God. Western Christianity has traditionally chosen to paint that uniqueness as exclusivity, forgetting that Jesus spends much more time talking about many dwelling places in God’s house. Not high places and low places, first and second best, but different places with room for all who come. This is echoed in the second letter to the Corinthians (Ch 5) – the promise of a house not made with human hands, and in the midst of our afflictions, we long to be clothed with this heavenly dwelling, prepared by God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Another image to express this entwining of the human and divine is consecration, the ritual reserved for the hereditary priests of the Temple. The word literally means to “make holy” and it was used as a metaphor of the relationship between Jesus and God. Now Jesus includes all his friends in this once elite and limited group, reserved for only Israel’s most privilege and devout. So you and I, our piety unpolished, can join the ranks of the sanctified, echoed again in the first letter of Peter; that democratising, barrier breaking call to claim a space to stand in God’s dwelling place: “Come to him like living stones and let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, where all can offer gifts acceptable to God..”

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Breaking down the Berlin Wall, 1989.

All these metaphors, and a hundred more woven through the New Testament, promise an intimacy with God, or rather of God in us, that is simply astounding. And not just for us who believe but for anyone who searches for God who is here and everywhere, now and forever.

All of this is made possible by the gift of the Spirit of God, described by Jesus as another Advocate to take over where he leaves off, doing the same work he did in Palestine, but now on a universal scale, forever. “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or

knows him. You know him because he abides with you and he will be in you.”

This indwelling Spirit of peace and love, no longer limited by geography or gender or language or culture, is known to us as a presence we can experience, but also as a capacity to see things we couldn’t see before. This Spirit does what Gladys Knight and Roberta Flack sing so beautifully about: “ I can see clearly now, the rain has gone...” The ability to see God at work in the world, to find our way where there was confusion before, that is the gift this Spirit gives.

Rt Rev John Bluck 1Selected Poems, Eileen Duggan, Ed. Peter Whiteford, © 1994 Victoria University Press

Holy Images (Found Poem)

The images employed in the Bible define our faith and the way we see God.

Son of God isn’t called Daughter of God or Brother, though he is our brother.

The Ascension image reinforced the world view that endured until the 18

th century, a hierarchical

chain of being with God up in the highest heavens.

The old hymns to a God enthroned in heavenly splendour are still powerful ways of envisaging the Holy.

The picture of Jesus ascending into the sky quickly became a universal favourite for visualising him.

The Farewell Discourses passage ramps up the relationship we have with God. The imagery is not of a God above us or alongside us but inside us.

Thomas Merton wrote: “at the centre of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and illusion a point of pure truth which belongs entirely to God.” All that is mine is yours and what is yours is mine and through you all does my glory shine.

© Susan Howard. Source: Ascension Day Sermon by The Right Reverend John Bluck.

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Change and loss are part of life, and grief is a normal response to these losses.

Seasons Warkworth/Wellsford is continuing to run educational peer support groups for adults, children and teens who are experiencing change or loss. This may be due to separation/divorce, death in the family, or other major life changes.

The children and teen groups run in most local school and colleges. Groups are currently running in Warkworth Primary, Matakana School and Horizon School. We are also taking bookings for next term. If you know of anyone who may benefit please contact us.

Recent feedback from children on finishing Seasons:

Seasons is the best way to express your feelings and helps you with changes. I learned that it is OK to have changes in my life and family and that I am never ever alone! – 9 year old boy

Change happens. I’ve learnt to forgive. – 12 year old girl

It is OK to have feelings like sad and angry. – 9 year old girl

Change is a part of life and they will happen but I can learn to deal with changes properly. – 13 year old girl

For further information please contact. Seasons Co-ordinator, Heather Free – Ph 021 08133586

seasonswarkworthwellsford@gmail.com

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Church service times Below are the times of church services in the parish - special services are offered and advertised separately. If you can’t make it on a Sunday, you might like to attend on a Wednesday morning (it’s also a good way to support the retired clergy who will be faithfully offering Wednesday worship).

Wednesday services

Holy Communion is offered at 10am every Wednesday at Christ Church, Warkworth. Morning tea in the hall and a “Faith and Friendship” Bible study follows the service on the 1

st and 3

rd Wednesdays of the month.

Note: Communion services hosted at Totara Park on Wednesdays were drawn to a close at the end of July, with a well-attended final service and extra special morning tea. Thanks on behalf of the parish have been expressed to Totara Park for the years of hosting our service without charge.

Sunday services

Christ Church - Warkworth, every Sunday

9.00am Holy Communion

Note: this new pattern from the start of September (as

discussed on page 2) brings together the two congregations

previously meeting at 8am and 9:30am.

St. Leonard’s - Matakana, every Sunday

9.30am Holy Communion

St. Alban’s - Kaipara Flats

1st

Sunday of the month

11.15am Family Service

St. Michael and All Angels’ - Leigh

Anglican Service - 3rd

Sunday of the month

11.00am Holy Communion

Snells Beach Community Church

Anglican Service - 2nd

Sunday of the month

9.00am. Holy Communion

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Selwyn Centre news

The Selwyn Centre has been keeping busy over the winter months and having lots of fun and activity. We spent a couple of months down at the Catholic Church Hall while our usual hall was being repaired and we made the most of the large space with Olympics style activities, High Tea for the royal wedding, and some bowling and other physical activities.

We are however glad to be back at our cosy hall where we continue to play games and share our sessions with visiting speakers and guests. Recently we have had a speaker from Age Concern who updated us on services in the area and who is taking names for a road rules refresher course for those of us who drive. We also have a regular visit from Katie Mitchell from the library who brings us news of events and services at the library, updates about the latest books and sometimes reads to us. This has been a really positive relationship we have built as it keeps us all more connected with what is going on in the community.

Some of the fun recent activities we have done have been a celebration of World Chocolate Day which included a taste testing and a "brain strain" day of quizzes and puzzles. Our guests have been blessed with beautiful baking from volunteers each week and freshly made sandwiches from the weekly volunteer helper. This contribution makes for a really wonderful morning as we come together with good food and lively conversation. We continue to have a lot of laughs as we learn new skills together and often demonstrate some healthy competitive spirit!

A big thanks to Ann and Marie who assist with coordination every week and always arrive with a smile and a willingness to help everyone have an enjoyable morning.

Bridget Farmiloe, Selwyn Centre Coordinator.

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Christian meditation group

Fridays, 8.30 am – 9.15 am, at Christ Church, Warkworth

We start promptly at 8.30.

Our group includes members from different churches.

We welcome new members, and enquirers.

Ross Miller rossmill@orcon.net.nz

New choir invitation

All are welcome to join Warkworth’s newest a capella choir “North Soul” led by Helen Diaz

Wednesday evenings from 1st August, 7–9pm in Christ Church, Warkworth.

“North Soul” is open to everyone regardless of experience (or inexperience) and is an

opportunity for people to come together for two hours every week to sing. Participation for

each session is by koha.

There will be no auditions and no music reading – just come along and sing your heart

and soul out in harmony with others. The songs will be from a spectrum of our world’s

cultures and from their sacred traditions.

Come into his presence with singing!

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St. Michael and All Angels’, Leigh

Housekeeping & flower roster

Christ Church, Warkworth

Housekeeping & flower roster

September Jennifer Kirker

October Sally Greenwood

November Marguerite Guinness

December Jennifer Kirker

Cleaning Flowers

September

1 Prue Dray Julie Dowland

8 Jenny Green Ann Mansfield

15 Anne Wilson Stephanie McGill

22 Jeannette Stanton Sue Wynyard

29 Mary Starr Lyn Membery

October

6 Vivian Pollock Cheryl Clague

13 Kate Marshall Marjorie Blythen

20 Marlene Buckton Angela Buckton

27 Brenda Marsh Jean Scarth

November

3 Claire Oaks Heather Moss

10 Jane Orange Lorraine Hatfull

17 Pam Ede Ann Dewhirst

24 Maggie Stansfield Pixie Jones

December

1 June Saunders Ann Langdon

8 Daphne Cocker Betty Trewin

15 Jane Managh Stephanie McGill

22 Ann Wilson CHRISTMAS Elizabeth Bridges

Prayer chain

If you wish to place a request for prayer for yourself or others on the prayer chain, please ring Mary Starr, 425 5664. All prayers are confidential.

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St. Leonard’s, Matakana

Housekeeping, hosting & flower roster

Contributing financially to the parish

Would you like to contribute financially to the Parish, but don’t know how? Ring Malcolm Clague on 425 9945 to go on the envelope system or to renew envelopes. Alternatively, phone the Parish Administrator on 425 8054. The bank account number for auto payments is given inside the back page..

Don’t forget that by using auto payment or envelopes, you can claim back the income tax paid on your contribution from the Inland Revenue, almost one third of the amount given, at the end of the Tax Year.

Last resort fund

The last resort fund was used in May this year to support a local family to manage some of the extra costs that support schooling: stationery, activity fees and uniform costs. We become aware of the need to support children through our contacts in local schools.

Cleaning Flowers Saturday Hosting

September

1 Judith Larsen Judith Larsen Dianne Hawken

8 Elizabeth Bluck Elizabeth Bluck Lorna Laxon

16 Sarah Mitchell Delwyn Lawrence Ellie Greer

23 Christine Holloway Carol Hope Carol Hope

30 Lorna Laxon Ina Shaw Laura Lynch

October

7 Ellie Greer Delwyn Lawrence Edna Dyson

14 Judith Larsen Judith Larsen Yolande Carter

21 Elise Macdonald Carol Hope Ina Shaw

28 Sarah Mitchell Delwyn Lawrence Dianne Hawken

November

4 Christine Holloway Carol Hope Carol Hope

11 Lorna Laxon Delwyn Lawrence Lorna Laxon

18 Ellie Greer Delwyn Lawrence Ellie Greer

25 Judith Larsen Judith Larsen Laura Lynch

December

1 Elise Macdonald Ina Shaw Anne Wilson

8 Sarah Mitchell Delwyn Lawrence Edna Dyson

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Contact with the parish

Parish roll The Wardens are responsible for maintaining the parish roll. If you have received this magazine then we have your details in our records. If you wish to have your name removed, please advise us by phoning (09) 425 8054 or e-mailing us at office@anglican-warkworth.org Or if you are not on our roll, or wish to check or correct the information we hold, please contact us and we will review your details.

Regular weekly pew sheet We e-mail our weekly pewsheet “In Touch” to a number of people. If you would like to receive it, please let us know via the office.

From the registers

Weddings

Emmaleene Faye Becroft and Garth Wallace Dunlop 18 August 2018

Charlotte Amelia Kirkland and Philip Russell Perkins 25 August 2018

Baptisms

Tai Arorangi Kingi-Viliua 14 July 2018 Themis Titman 15 July 2018

Funerals

Colin Wallace Treadwell . 7 June 2018 Roger Thomas Stansfield 9 June 2018

Cynthia Dorothy Cox 21 August 2018

Neville George Lake 29 August 2018

Rosemary (Rosie) Grayson 30 August 2018

Garth and Emmaleene Charli and Phillip

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Repairs and maintenance report A lot of work has been undertaken around the parish so far, this year. Major works included addressing the issue of water ingress through the belfry flashings at St Leonard’s, Matakana and St Michael and All Angels’, Leigh.

A new suspended ceiling in the Warkworth parish lounge has encapsulated the asbestos that was identified in the surface coating of the ceiling (and which led to a temporary hall closure). This installation has been inspected by Work Safe so we can have complete confidence in the safety of the containment provided by the new ceiling. With a new carpet, a new coat of paint, some nicely adapted curtains from a well-spotted op shop donation fixe on new curtain tracks, we are enjoying using the facility again. Groups also appreciate the added bonus of a room that is easier to heat.

Christ Church’s bell has been a challenge this year due to its age and natural deterioration in the swinging mechanism, but thankfully it s ringing again now (if the ringer does not ring it too exuberantly!). Changes in legislation mean that the same Health and Safety regulations that protect employees also apply to church volunteers, so the days of sending parishioners up extension ladders or having them scrambling around on the roofing iron are over.

With working at height now a serious (and expensive) undertaking, further maintenance and repairs to our belfries have had to be deferred, and will be considered in next year’s budget. However, the vicarage now has a full set of new aluminium windows, Kaipara Flats has a restored picket fence, and myriad other day-to-day repairs have been undertaken by volunteers throughout the year, and our sincere appreciation and thanks go to them.

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PARISH CONTACTS

Parish Office: Postal address P.O. Box 7, Warkworth

Telephone (09) 425 8054

e-mail office@anglican-warkworth.org

Website: www.anglican-warkworth.org

Facebook page: facebook.com/WarkworthAnglicanParish

Priest in Charge: Rt Rev’d Jim White

Bishop’s Warden: Neil McEnteer - 021 142 5756

People’s Warden : Cheryl Clague - 425 9945

Assisting Clergy: Rt Rev’d John Bluck

Rev’d John Blundell

Rev’d John Harris

Rev’d Dianne Hawken

Rev’d Bob Howard

Rev’d Leslie Steel

Rev’d David Stevens

Rev’d Bryan Taylor

Seasons Coordinator Heather Free - 425 7665

Selwyn Centre Coordinator Bridget Farmiloe - 022 510 2921

Repairs & Maintenance Trevor Managh - 425 7216

Parish Recorder Malcolm Clague - 425 9945

(To start or renew donation envelopes)

Parish Administrator Melody Nightingale - (09) 425 8054

Church Bank Account Number 02 - 0480 - 0021360 - 00

Office Hours

Parish office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.00am – 1.00pm

LINK in colour?

Would you like to receive your copy of LINK in full colour and save the parish money at the same time? We can e-mail a copy directly to you (or you can get it on the church website) as a pdf file, easy to open on any computer, and will be available in advance of the print copy. The illustrations and photographs will be in colour. This way, you receive your copy sooner and save the parish printing and postage costs. To make the change from in-the-hand to on-the-screen reading, please contact Melody by phone 425 8054 or e-mail office@anglican-warkworth.org.

The Parish Trust

Remember us in your will. Copies of “Endowing the Future”

are available in the foyer of all Churches

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