Category Archives: Social justice

Living Wage visits Hurunui

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LeithfieldAmberley

Can you spare an hour of your time to support Anglican Advocacy and the Living Wage movement as they try to make a difference to people in our very own Hurunui district?

Living Wage Canterbury is taking deputation to the Hurunui District Council at 1pm on the 27th August, 66 Carters Road, Amberley. As ratepayers of the district, we are able to attend this meeting and it would be wonderful to see the chambers packed for a change.

Did you know that of the 285,000 children that live in poverty in New Zealand, 40% of them live in families where at least one parent is working full-time or self-employed? Continue reading →

Don’t stop giving – the need is still great!

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brown paper bag appeal

It was heartening to read in The Press newspaper earlier this month that the Christchurch City Mission has received a  rapid and generous response to its annual ‘Brown Paper Bag Appeal’. The groceries donated will help to keep the Mission’s food bank well-stocked through the most high-demand winter period.

But in our worship service this morning at St Paul’s, Gray Crawford, Manager of Social Services at the Christchurch City Mission, highlighted the biggest problem affecting the most poor and marginalised people of Christchurch: Continue reading →

What to do with that bumper crop?

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punpkin HarvestAbundantly we have received; let us also abundantly give. What a summer it has been! Very tough for the farmers dealing with drought conditions—but there’s no denying that many of our home gardens have produced a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables. (We can’t wait to see what the Waipara Valley vineyards will produce this year too!) So, what to do with all this abundance? Continue reading →

The bolder task of praise

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Kristin, Pamela & Llewellyn

Kristin, Pamela & Llewellyn

‘There is a lot of a-theism in our church. That is, too much church activity and too many sermons are about us, and too little is about God.’ This striking statement, which could stop us in our tracks, is from Sunday’s sermon at St Paul’s (29 June). Licensed lay reader in the parish, Pamela Criglington, addressed us on the subject of Praise, basing her sermon on Ephesians 1: 3–14 as well as other readings for the day.

A few extracts from the sermon are provided below. [Thank you to Pamela for providing the text of the sermon]. Continue reading →

Harvest Thanksgiving

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punpkin HarvestWe are having ‘a week off’ Lent!  Why? Because this is the Southern Hemisphere of course…

It’s autumn in this part of the world and so – unlike our Christian cousins in the northern parts of the globe – this Sunday we will celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving (Holy Innocents Church, Amberley, 9.30am.)  This festival is very close to our hearts here in North Canterbury, and our church will be decorated and filled with all kinds of edible abundance.

All food will be forwarded to the Amberley Food Bank. Fresh, semi-perishable and non-perishable food items are all acceptable. We will also be reflecting on other harvests in our lives for which we can say ‘Thanks.’

Yay! Paddy & Tru

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west-africa-mapLast month, Paddy & Trusella Chrisp visited the parish at our invitation. We had heard of their plans to serve the Lord in West Africa. Rev’d Paddy and Trusella are well known to us since Paddy was  temporary Priest in Charge in 2011 prior to the appointment of our present clergy team. Last month Paddy preached and Trusella explained a little about their calling to work in West Africa. God bless them and we wish them well. We hope they will be kept safe from Ebola. We will keep you posted on how they get on with their work for the Lord.