Thought For The Week 30 June 2019

Last weekend Brent, Helen, Joy, Andrea and myself attended the annual   Alpine Presbytery retreat in Hanmer Springs.

As good Presbyterians, we are used to getting together to do “business”,  although I’m not always entirely sure what the means.  The retreat is different.  There are many things that happen over a short space of time.

There is always some useful teaching and discussion.  This time our acting Presbytery moderator Rev. Dr. Andrew Nicol led us through a reflection on Acts 10 – the story of Peter and Cornelius – Peter’s experience of meeting God in unlikely places and with unlikely people.  We discussed our natural fear and distrust of unfamiliar circumstances.  Andrew encouraged us to live our lives with a “will to embrace”.  That is, to overcome our natural hesitancy, and to begin by thinking the best of people we meet and situations that we find ourselves in.

There is also fellowship.  It is at the retreat that people from around our Presbytery get to know each other and build meaningful relationships. People came from Timaru, from Nelson, from Hokitika, and from everywhere in between.  I believe that this core of relationship and trust lies at the heart of the healthy culture that we enjoy in the   Alpine.

We also have the opportunity to share our own journeys, and to seek advice from  others who may have had similar experiences, or may offer their wisdom on our local issues. We also have the opportunity to pray and to worship God together.  Brent and Andrea did a wonderful job in leading us in worship together. The Presbytery retreat reinforces the truth that we are not just another club or society that shares a common constitution among the various local branches.  We are a Church together. The Body of Christ supporting each other in His love.

Rory Grant