Thought for the week

Thought For The Week:  Welcome to our service today. It has certainly been a wet and wild week of weather but happily there has been no flooding in the Trinity Centre basement.  It has a low-lying corner sump that has blocked in the past causing water to go through the doors but happily it has…

At our recent prayer retreat we were given a simple exercise; choose a coloured disc and reflect on the words printed on the underside (the choosing was done without knowing what was printed on the disc). I got the words ‘pay attention’. This led me to think about a rest home service I had recently…

I was in Christchurch on Thursday for our regular Presbytery Council meeting which included an afternoon session with Alan Hirsch. Alan is a globally recognised thought leader in mission, especially to post Christian societies like ours. He is in Christchurch to be the keynote speaker at the Little Revolutions conference. He also heads up Forge…

We welcome to our service today Barbara and Kingsley Sampson from Christchurch. Barbara is a Spiritual Director who led a very good prayer retreat yesterday attended by around 15 people. She will speak on the “hidden life”, reflecting on Luke 18:9-14. Have you noticed that the world is awash with sport at the moment? There’s…

Welcome to our service today. We will be reflecting on Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, which is a shortened version of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Both these sermons outline a new vision for the people of God and how they should live and turn upside down a worldview that insisted that wealth equalled blessing…

Welcome to our service today. It is a joy to be ordaining our newest elder, Catherine Richardson. Catherine has a very pastoral and caring heart and through her career as a counsellor, spiritual director and professional supervisor brings many skills to this role. For a long time, she has desired to serve our church both…

Welcome to our service today. As I write this, I have just finished taking a funeral service for Karunairjan Jeevaratnam, known to most simply as Jeeves (Indi’s husband). Indi and Jeeves came to Timaru in 1974 from Sri Lanka to escape the ethnic and political tensions of the time. He worked as an anaesthetist at Timaru…

I sit and remember. In the middle of the night, I remember. I remember when I go for a walk. The journey of learning and submitting to the Holy Spirit is never static or confined to theological or academic terms. When I recently asked a group of primary school children who the Holy Spirit is, one of…

Welcome to our service today. We have the joy of hearing from Rev Martin Stewart, Alpine Presbytery Executive Officer, speaking on the topic: ‘We can’t do church in Timaru without our neighbours’. Martin is a wonderfully creative thinker, and I am sure he will give you much to ponder! I will be in Auckland attending…

Welcome to our service today and happy Mother’s Day to all the mums among us. Not everyone born is a mother, but everyone born has a mother. That statement sounds more profound than it is! Obviously not everyone born will be a mother. After all about half the population are male and incapable of giving…