Thought for the week
Thought For The Week 13 August 2023
Immediately is a word that shows up again and again in the Gospels. There is an urgency about the life and the ministry of Jesus that demands attention and makes real change in people’s lives. Immediately. But it seems that “immediately” has become a much more difficult word in today’s world. On one side, “immediately” […]
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Thought For The Week 6 August 2023
This year Peace Sunday falls on Hiroshima Day, 6 August. It also falls on a Sunday when the lectionary reading is about Jacob wrestling with God on the eve of being reunited with his brother, after years of discord and disconnection. This is a story that comes to us through the ages as such a […]
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Thought For The Week 30 July 2023
Welcome to our services today. I am looking forward to hearing Luke Blackbeard’s take on the parables in today’s reading from Matthew’s gospel. This is a challenge for any preacher as the reading selects 4 examples of what the kingdom of God is like; mustard seed, yeast, treasure buried in a field and a pearl […]
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Thought For The Week 23 July 2023
Welcome to our services today. Those attending St Stephen’s might have noticed something missing as they approached the church; the row of Silver Birch trees that lined the southern boundary were removed on Thursday morning. These trees had been a feature of the property for many years but due to repeated pruning to keep their […]
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Thought For The Week16 July 2023
Last week my family and I packed up the car and headed to Bannockburn for a few days to spend time with our wider family. As we looked at the weather and road reports wondered if we would make it through the Lindis Pass, or if it would be closed with snow. The roads ended […]
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Thought For The Week 9 July 2023
It is a wonderful pleasure to welcome our National Moderator Rev Hamish Galloway to our combined service today. Many of you will know that Hamish’s first parish was St Stephens and he was a dynamicpastor and leader here. I also had the privilege of working with Hamish at Hope Presbyterian in Christchurch for a number […]
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Thought For The Week 2 July 2023
This last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the winter lunch at St Stephens. This event provides a lovely image of our church, I think. A big team of people working together selflessly to offer something beautiful to our community. Food made in love, shared in love, and enjoyed together in love. One of those […]
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Thought For The Week 25 June 2023
Kia ora te whanau! As you are no doubt aware, we are coming into the season of Matariki. Perhaps five or ten years ago I don’t think that I’d ever heard of Matariki, and now we have a public holiday to celebrate. Many of our public holidays in Aotearoa/New Zealand revolve around the church calendar […]
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Thought For The Week 18 June 2023
In Gods creation we have four seasons in each year, all of them different but each year has a purpose. We tend to describe winter in words such as cold, freezing, bleak, raw, chilly, dark and frosty, a time when its hard to get motivated and tasks seem to take more time to achieve. In […]
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Thought For The Week 11 June 2023
Whenever we explore something there is always the opportunity to learn something new or see something in a different light. We find that our learning and experiences can change and form us, making us into the person, and also the people that Christ made us to be. The following poem by David Moxon can be […]
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