Happy New Year, and welcome to our first E-News for 2026.
Talofa lava, Kia ora tatou. It has been a quiet reflective time for me since Christmas, and as we step into this new year, I want to extend warm New Year greetings to all our friends and church family, those close by and those scattered throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and across the wider world. Whether you have been travelling, resting, gathering with whānau, or holding space through a demanding season, you remain part of this community, held together in faith, hope, and connection.
Christmas and the Season Beyond
Our Christmas Eve service was a wonderful occasion, with around 110 people filling the church. It was a celebration of the birth of Jesus, marked by warmth, music, and a strong sense of community. Christmas Day itself was quieter, and a small group stayed on after the service to share a meal together upstairs in the conference room. We have a lovely photo of David and Laura lighting the Christ Candle with their sleeping granddaughter Luna.
January has been relatively quiet, and in this gentler season we give thanks for signs of healing and recovery among our church family. We are grateful that Sheila Irwin and Jen Kennan have both returned home and are continuing to regain their strength. Quite remarkably, they had both been in the same hospital room at Kenepuru Hospital. We also give thanks that Brian Burrell is now home and recovering following surgery. We continue to hold Sheila, Jen, and Brian in our thoughts and prayers as their healing journeys continue.
Celebrations and Gatherings
On 10 January, we celebrated Margaret Pannett’s 85th birthday and her friends 90th, with friends and family in our hall. On Sunday Heather McFarlane celebrated her 79th birthday. A small group of us celebrated over lunch at the Shepherd’s Arms in Thorndon, enjoying good food, conversation, and the gift of shared time together. I was also privileged to attend Paloma Bruce’s 44th birthday and house warming over Wellington Anniversary weekend.
Last Friday, the Kaumātua of QMC blessed the new residential hostel at Queen Margaret College for Years 12 and 13. As mentioned in the last E-News, it is a truly beautiful complex, offering a safe, welcoming, and thoughtfully designed space for young women to live and learn together. It is a real privilege for students to have such a place to call home and to share community during these important years.
This afternoon, the Board of Governor’s at Queen Margaret College are putting on a barbecue for the staff as it is zero week and the girls return next week. It is good to have a hands on presence at QMC given that SAOTT is the home church for QMC.
A Word from Minneapolis
In today’s E-News, we are also sharing a statement from the Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, following a statement made by the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. The statement, released publicly this week, speaks into the current moment with faith, courage, and a commitment to justice. We will continue to hold in our prayers for the people of Minneapolis, the wider nation of the United States of America, and all those affected by the many complex and interconnected events unfolding around the world.
Looking Ahead: Live-Streaming Reflections
You may notice in the coming weeks that we are taking steps toward live-streaming the reflection each Sunday, beginning in February once we manage to purchase a tripod. This has come from a growing awareness that we need to find better ways to share our message with the wider community, especially with those who are unable to attend church in person on Sunday mornings.
With the support and encouragement of Iona Pannett, who initiated this suggestion, we will begin by live-streaming the reflection as a starting point. Before my time, this was something that we were already doing. Recording the sound and uploading it onto our website. Unfortunately, that has never happened in my time given that our technology and sound quality are no longer able to do this. We plan to trial this at our Community Communion Service on Sunday 1st February. At this stage, we will not be live-streaming the entire service just the reflection and we will see how we go from there. For those living elsewhere, or unable to attend in person, we hope this will be a meaningful way to stay connected via our Facebook page.
This Sunday: Epiphany 3
Our theme for this Sunday, Epiphany 3, centres on Jesus’ call to the disciples: “Come and follow me.” The reflection is still a work in progress as reflections often are but we will see what emerges as we gather and listen together. We will also be drawing on the lectionary reading from Psalm 27, a text that speaks into times of uncertainty with courage and trust.
I will be introducing an older hymn by David Burt, Saviour, I Heard Your Voice Gently Say based on Psalm 27. Some of you may know it, others may not but we will give it a go.
First Parish Council meeting for 2026
Just a reminder to our Parish Councillor’s we have our first meeting for this year this coming Thursday 29th January in Conference room 3 at 7pm. Please bring something to share for supper.
As this holiday period draws to a close, we pray that you stay safe in your travelling and returning. We also continue to hold in our prayers and thoughts the people of Northland who are experiencing the effects of flooding. We also offer our prayers and thoughts to the people of Mt. Maunganui as they continue to deal with the tragic landslide and lives that are unaccounted for (at the time of writing). If you have friends or family in either of those places, please do check in on them and offer your care and support. Let’s pray for a New Year of hope and peace and until Sunday, may God’s blessings rest upon you all. Thank you. Fei
STATEMENT FROM WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS
Dear friends
Kia ora, talofa, kia orana.
Below is the link to a statement put out by the session of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis. You may like to share it in some form with your congregations.
https://www.westminstermpls.org/sessionstatementjan26/
Why am I sharing this with you?
In 1977 at the small church in Mt Roskill, Auckland I grew up in, we had a meeting with Rev Alan Brash, who was then a vice president of the World Council of Churches. He opened my eyes to the understanding I was part of a world wide family. This congregation in Minnesota is part of that family. Can we hold them and others like them in our prayers?
Thank you.
Blessings,
Leanne
You can read the full E-news here: https://mailchi.mp/ddf65374ece4/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-10138660
