Thought for the week

In the Season of Creation, we reflect on our mandate from Genesis 2:15 : “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it”. Caring for creation can include advocating for government level changes that can have a significant impact on our collective…

Over the next three Sundays we will be engaging with the Season of Creation, which is celebrated world-wide during September. According to the Season of Creation Ecumenical Steering Committee, “the Christian family unites for this world-wide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. It is a special season where we celebrate God…

Thought For The Week:     1 September – 4 October  IMMERSION IN LIVING WATER The 2026 theme for the Season of Creation, “Immersion in Living Water”, refers to the living waters that flow from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision of the new Jerusalem (Ezekiel 47:1-12). As the river goes out from the city, it gathers strength…

Welcome to our service today as we conclude our series reflecting theologically on sport. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. It’s been wonderful hearing inspiring and often amusing stories and connecting with deeper lessons from the scriptures. As we bring this to a close, we will consider a crucial element…

The few New Testament verses that directly reference sport speak of running and boxing specifically and these are used to illustrate the point that the Christian life requires training and discipline and a determination to endure hardship.  St Paul could have used the popular gladiator battles to make the same point, but he doesn’t. Could…

Welcome to our service today where we continue with our series  looking at sport; today we dive into the dark side! We’ve established that sport brings many benefits to our lives- health and wellbeing, entertainment, character formation and so on. But like all human     endeavours, sport is tainted by what the bible calls ‘sin’, which…

At this month’s parish council meeting we celebrated Murray Facer’s long tenure on the council coming to an end.  Murray shouted us tea (pizza) and Judith made her family’s famous cream horns. Murray joined St Stephens in 1980 when he and Christine came to Timaru and were looking for a church for their young family.…

Welcome to our service this week as we kick off our month-long series reflecting on the role of sport in our culture. Last weekend Catherine and I attended the Alpine Presbytery retreat in Hanmer Springs which was led by Sage Harris from Whakatu/Nelson. One of the topics he spoke about was the need for the…

“Dear whānau, as we gather this morning, may we be encouraged by the God who meets us in every calm and every storm.” This Sunday we step into the boat with the disciples as Jesus invites them to cross “to the other side.” What begins as an ordinary journey quickly becomes a moment of deep…

We have certainly had some days this week that have made it quite clear it is winter.  In winter our focus changes, away from the beach, outdoor picnics and long sunny days in the garden.  We spend more time at home sitting around the fire or basking in the warmth of the heatpump, chatting, reading…