E-NEWS FRIDAY 9TH MAY 2025
Kia ora tatou
I saw a Facebook post from Fei from the plane about to leave for Singapore – her sabbatical is now on very real. Sue Hurst also leaves this week for a much-deserved break. On behalf of us all Haere pai atu, hoki pai mai (Safe travels and safe return home).
As always there is a lot happening at St Andrews on The Terrace. We have our second “Ramping It Up” concert on Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are available through the Humanitix website here or at the door. Quang Hong Luu, a PhD student at the New Zealand School of Music is performing a recital dedicated to Liszt’s Years of Pilgrimage Vol. 2 Italy. These concerts are part of our fundraising for the disability access to the front door of the church. It is an important part of our message of inclusion that people with disabilities are welcome through the front door as well as the side one. My thanks to Lynne and the office team for the set up and Pam and all the volunteers for the afternoon tea for Sunday’s event.
Mothering is such an emotive term – both for the women who are mothers and for children. There are such high expectations – not surprising many people fail to live up to these. I recall that the early promotion of Mother’s Day was to honour women’s roles in peace and activism. In the US this acknowledged the role of women post the civil war. In my lifetime I can look at the role of women in resolving the Northern Ireland conflict. We see women today in African conflicts and in Gaza working for peace. Now that’s a movement I can not only celebrate but also aspire to contribute.
I am our church’s trustee for the DCM Board. In a meeting this week I was informed that the foodbank shelves are almost totally empty at the moment. The DCM foodbank appeal runs from 17-24 May. We are not being asked to volunteer at supermarkets this year but I do invite you to make additional contributions to the baskets over the next two Sundays. The calls on DCM are increasing as the pressure on housing and income grows for the most disadvantaged.
As I was writing this news came through of the new Pope. It is an exciting time for our Catholic neighbours as they work through change. Pope Leo XIV, an American who has spent much of his priesthood working with migrant communities in Peru. May his background and service be one that helps bring peace, reconciliation to our increasingly troubled world.
This message comes from Diane who is leading our service this week. “Looking toward this Sunday! Mothers’ Day can trigger in us feelings of trauma or memories of comfort and affirmation. When Fei asked me to preach on Mother’s Day I thought it would be a good time to consider our images of God…healthy and unhealthy…because they can be lovingly shaped or harshly distorted by our early experiences of care or abandonment at home and in the Church. I hope you find freedom and a source of love in my reflection. Nga Manaakitanga, the Rev Diane Gilliam-Weeks.”
Stay warm and connected over the week ahead.
Ngā mihi nui
Nā
Sandra Kirby
Note from Rev. Diane Gilliam-Weeks
Looking toward this Sunday! Mothers’ Day can trigger in us feelings of trauma or memories of comfort and affirmation. When Fei asked me to preach on Mother’s Day… I thought it would be a good time to consider our images of God…healthy and unhealthy…because they can be lovingly shaped or harshly distorted by our early experiences of care or abandonment at home and in the Church. I hope you find freedom and a source of love in my reflection. Nga Manaakitanga, the Rev Diane Gilliam-Weeks.
You can read the full E-news here: https://mailchi.mp/28072ecdad37/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-10134562
