E NEWS 17TH JULY 2026
Talofa lava, kia ora and warm Pacific greetings. What a week it has been! It was sad to hear of the passing of Sir Sam Neill. He was an icon and international movie star which we have been proud to boast of as belonging to us here in Aotearoa. Moe mai ra Sir Sam!
We have Aroha Strings here all week and every room in our Building Complex has the beautiful sound of violins, viola’s and cello’s all harmonising althogether. The tutor’s concert on Wednesday was beautiful.
As I mentioned last week, I went to see Moana Live at the Lighthouse Cinema with a friend. By sheer luck, we chose a screening that was full of children, and it was so much fun. Their excitement throughout the movie was infectious. Most of them knew all the words to the songs and sang along with great enthusiasm. The songs are exactly the same as those in the animated version of Moana, so they had clearly been practising for this very moment! My friend and I both thought that Katherine Lagaia (my friend Jay’s daughter) was absolutely amazing in the role of Moana. It was a wonderful afternoon made even more special by being surrounded by so many excited young fans. I will be attending my second miracle great niece Iemaima’s Christening on the 2nd of August in Auckland and after lunch I’m taking the 13 great nieces and nephews and their parents to watch Moana. I usually miss all their birthdays and celebrations so this will make up for everything in one hit at the movies.
I also forgot to mention in last week’s E-news that I was fortunate enough to attend the All Blacks test match at HNRY Stadium here in Wellington. I went along with a friend and bumped into Richard and Gabriel beforehand, so we had a lovely pre-match catch-up. Now, I have to confess that the first half was a bit like watching paint dry! It was rather boring and uneventful. Thankfully, the All Blacks woke up in the second half and finally got going. They’ve only been together for a couple of weeks, so there are bound to be a few teething problems as they find their combinations and settle into the season.
For those of you who don’t follow rugby, you’re probably thinking, “Who cares?” And that’s perfectly fine! But for those of us who do, it was always good to catch a live game from time to time. A huge thank you once again to Eroni Clark, who very kindly arranged a couple of complimentary tickets for me.
Last Sunday, we celebrated Matariki Sunday and we even had a small choir sing a Matariki Waiata. Thanks Tony Kirby for the photo.
Dr Ben Gray led our reflection on Matariki as part of our worship service. What a fantastic reflection it was! If you missed it, the livestream is available on Facebook. We currently have two Facebook pages for St Andrew’s. The one with the cartoon image of the church is the page to join, as that is where we post our livestream clips. The page with the photograph is still there, although we’re not entirely sure what its future will be! Ben’s reflection script will also be available online if you would like to read or download it for yourself.
On Thursday afternoon, I joined a small gathering of city ministers for our regular coffee catch-up at Central Baptist Church. It’s always nice to reconnect with colleagues from across Wellington. We will be hosting the next gathering here at St Andrew’s on Thursday, 20th August.
Last night we held one of the first Wellington forums for Presbytery at Johnsonville Uniting Church. We began with worship, shared a little about ourselves followed by a light supper, and heard from Kate Day of Common Grace. Kate introduced us to three excellent workshops entitled Thriving in This Land, which we’ll be running in August. The workshops explore the interconnected issues of The Treaty, Climate change and the Cost of living, particularly as we prepare for this year’s local body elections.
One important thing to note is that if you have moved house, you’ll need to re-enrol before election day. Unlike previous elections, enrolling on the day will not be possible. Apparently, around 450,000 people enrolled on election day last time, so this change will affect many voters that option is no longer available. We’ll try to have some enrolment forms available at church so that you can double-check that you’re registered and ready to vote on the 7th of November.
Tomorrow the Lower Hutt Cluster group will be meeting at the Cunninghams at 10:30am for morning tea. Please bring some toppings to put on your waffles.
This coming Wednesday at 9.30pm I will be presenting our submission on the Moving On orders via zoom. I know you will be standing in solidarity with me as I do this.
This Sunday, we will be commemorating the 40th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rev Ross Scott will be leading our worship and will be assisted by several members of our congregation. It promises to be a moving and important service as we hear personal stories and reflect on what life was like before the law changed and the journey we have travelled over the past four decades.
Please come along and support this significant occasion in the life of our church and our wider community. If you’re unable to attend in person, do join us online.
Until then, have a wonderful weekend. Ka kite anō.
You can read the full E-news here: https://mailchi.mp/8cbc08011114/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-10141556
