NOTICES:
A very warm welcome to you all this morning. After the service please come through to the Lounge for a cuppa and a time to talk.
Many thanks to the Men’s Group for this morning’s delicious breakfast!
A New MenzShed…. An
opportunity has come up to establish a new MenzShed in St Martins.
MenzSheds are a great place for blokes to make new friends and learn new skills
especially in retirement years. There will be a short open meeting at St
Martins Presbyterian Church, 43 St Martins Road, on Monday 27th May
at 7.15pm to initiate planning to get this project flying. We aim to set
up a small team to do the initial set-up. If you are excited by
this possibility please come, or speak to Dugald.
Church Cleaning: Every three weeks, the facilities will be cleaned commercially by Moonlighters Cleaning. We are seeking volunteers from the congregation (men and women!) to clean the church plant in the intervening weeks.
Please add your name to the list on the clipboard in the foyer if you can help. A list of duties required is also available. Thank You.
Caring for creation
Do you have a tip that you could share with others in our church family about something you do to care for our environment. Take a photo and give our newsletter editor Anneke a description of what you do. Let’s encourage one another in this important part of our living out our faith.
Articles are now required for the next ‘Messenger’. Deadline is THIS Friday.
Email: anneke.howie@gmail.com.
Crafty Crafters: Meets on Thursdays in the Church lounge 10am-12noon. New faces are always welcome. $3 per session. Contact Lyndsey 388 1264 for more information.
Session meets this Wednesday 15th May 7.30pm in the church foyer.
Wednesday Walkers 15th May: Meet 9.30am at Westlake Reserve carpark. Coffee at the Old Vicarage. All welcome. Janette & Cyril 021 0756780.
EcuAction Seminar Report
It is clear that climate change is going radically alter life on our planet. There are going to be more severe storms, land is going to be lost to the rising sea levels, there will be extinction of species and loss of human life. It is clear that human beings are responsible, mostly in first world rich countries like ours. But we have shown we can deal with issues like the depletion of the ozone layer through international cooperation and agreements like the Montreal Protocol banning CFC’s. There is hope.
It is easy to say others must do something, but the reality is we all need to do something NOW. Putting our heads in the sand is not acceptable to our creator God. Richard McKenzie an atmospheric physicist spoke at Knox Church last Thursday and told us we have to look at the amount of carbon dioxide we are putting into the atmosphere. We have to dramatically reduce the use of our petrol driven cars by walking, cycling, car pooling, using public transport, or going electric. We have to jump on fewer planes. We have to buy local and food in season so we don’t transport stuff all round the planet. We have to consume less stuff. Christians seem to like the word repent…. Real repentance and a change of direction is what will save the planet as we know it, and that starts with individual responsibility. What are you and I going to actually do to reduce our carbon footprint? …….Dugald
Next Thursday at 5.30pm Colin Muerk speaks on Climate Change and the Earth.
Growing our understanding of Islam – a free open forum Tuesday 14 May, 7-9pm at Cashmere Presbyterian:
Rev Dr Bill Shepard (a retired Religions Studies lecturer from Canterbury
University) will be speaking from his life-time of interfaith understanding.
Bring your questions about Islam, and the issues that lie behind the acts of
terror we have recently witnessed.
Pathways is a friendship and study group in our congregation which is growing together in faith. It meets monthly on a Saturday morning for about 90 minutes and this month will begin looking at a series of 5 studies looking at relationships. We will look at family relationships, church relationships, relating to strangers, broken relationships and how they might be mended, and our relationship with God.
Members of the group say this is a really good group to belong to and journey with. It is gentle, relaxed, friendly, and at our level.
If you would be interested in popping along to check out the group this month would be a good time to do this as they start a new series. Talk to Peggy Cree, Hilary Moore, Elizabeth Penwell, Sue Saunders, Jill Grierson, Margaret Shanks, Alice Shanks or Rob Connell for more information or join us on Saturday 25th May at 10am.
Initial meeting for those who might be interested in being part of a Christian Meditation Group Tuesday May 28th 7.15pm at church. The aim would be to form a small group where we learn to grow together through a practice of stillness. We would follow the tradition of the World Community for Christian Meditation which encourages a daily practice of quiet.
Christian Meditation: The Christchurch Christian Meditation Community’s next community day will be held at the Methodist church community hall on the cnr of Chapel St & Harewood Rd, Papanui, on Saturday 25th May between 1:00 & 4:00pm.
This time, in the interests of interfaith understanding, our guest speaker will be the Venerable Lama Assi. He will talk about the origins and development of Buddhist meditation, and give his views on the commonality between religions as found through meditation.
It promises to be a very interesting afternoon and you’ll find a very warm welcome. Afternoon tea is provided. A Koha to help cover costs would be appreciated. For further information about us, please go to wccm.org or email Chris Wilson at cjw9nz@gmail.com or call 029 357 8433.
Ramadan… Muslims started celebrating Ramadan this week. During this time they will not eat food or drink during the hours of daylight. Ramadan is when the Koran was received so it is a time to read Koran and focus on spiritual practice to rebalance your life in God. Ramadan lasts for a month and finishes with a celebration called Eid Ul Fitr when traditionally families gather and give thanks together for the gift of life.