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have you taken the opportunity to do our church life survey here? If not, please do. Full details below.
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Water is one of the main building blocks of life, and today we celebrate its role in Creation.
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We need water for everything, our bodies are 57% water and 71% of Earth is covered in water. Water is locked to our survival. Yet we produce too much carbon dioxide, and this gets absorbed into the oceans,
raising the acidity, which in turn with global warming kills off coral and other small life forms.
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Our living has a direct impact on creation, and in terms of water, it has an impact at a microscopic level which we often aren't even aware of. Once again, if we seriously want to testify to the fact that God created us, we must also look after God's Creation and the oceans.
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In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve headed East as they left the garden and moved further away from God. The theme of heading East throughout the Old Testament is often a way of saying we are heading away from God. In the vision of Ezekiel we see God's healing river heading East, symbolically to those who have abandoned God.
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Water is one of the keys of life, for us and for our planet. In biblical imagery it is also a symbol of healing and forgiveness. May you treat water with respect, and may you fully receive God's healing so that you can bring healing to creation.
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Journeying with you, Dion
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Online Worship - Sunday 10am
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St Mary by the Sea Direction Setting
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We are setting our direction at St Mary by the Sea. Our leadership team is called vestry, and they, along with other leaders within St Mary are embarking on setting a direction for us for the next 5 years. To do this well we need to know where we are and what we think our strengths are. So we would like feedback from you. Please take the opportunity to contribute into our direction setting by completing the survey. The survey opened Sun 15 May 12 noon, and closes Monday 30th May 2022. Please make the most of the opportunity to give us feedback to help us set direction. The survey link is here: https://www.beyondconsulting.co.nz/OnlineServices/Survey/mu2/mu2.htm
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Glorifying God, the Holy Trinity
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Our goal is to Glorify God, the Holy Trinity.
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To do this we recognise that there are four key aspects to our life here at St Mary by the Sea.
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In each area we recognise the following as important.
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Knowing God
Inspiring Worship
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Authentic, prayerful worship and joyous music that engages hearts and minds in glorifying God, which appeals to various generations and is relevant to the cultures/contexts in which we live. Well delivered, thoughtful and sound sermons, which apply God’s word in practical ways, promoting growth in faith and inspiring people to Christian action.
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Vibrant Faith and Prayerful Life
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Actively seeking the Holy Spirit’s direction and empowerment for daily life and ministry. Faith is lived out with commitment and answered prayer is celebrated. Enthusiasm about how God is working in the faith community. Active promotion and practice of prayer and bible study.
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Shaping Community
Authentic Loving Community
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United and joyous relationships with members and non-members, showing genuine acts of kindness, caring, support and sharing. Intentional about relationship formation. Efforts to build loving, caring relationships between members, creating a strong sense of community within the Ministry Unit (MU). Invites, and displays hospitality toward the inclusion of newcomers, children and youth, as well as members into active participation in congregational life.
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Stewardship & Governance
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Teaches biblical stewardship and provides opportunities for generosity. Church operates the annual budget with financial integrity and accountability. Provides effective communication regarding decisions and activities.
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Growing in Christ
Maturing Discipleship
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Takes seriously the formation of disciples, nurturing spiritual maturity through relevant Christian education and encouraging all to grow in their walk with God and share their faith.
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Gift Oriented Ministry
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Challenges and equips members to discover, develop, and use their gifts for fruitful ministry. Identifies, trains, and empowers members for ministry.
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Empowering Leadership
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Led by leadership who demonstrates the calling, character, and competence to help the Ministry Unit achieve its God-given purpose and shared vision. Clergy are committed to developing and empowering lay leaders and identifying and training next generation leaders. Leadership builds optimism and hope even in challenging times and is open to innovative solutions.
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Living Beyond Ourselves
Relevant Outreach
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Engaged in the community, making positive changes. Focus on significant ministry reaching out to the community and beyond. Actively expresses the love of Christ through generosity and service to those in need. Outreach is culturally responsive and relevant to community needs and responds in tangible ways to global humanitarian needs.
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Proclaiming the Gospel
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Committed to proclaiming the Good News of Christ through word and action. Members bear witness to their faith.
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Wednesday services
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Wednesday 10am Communion.
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Wednesday 12 noon Bible study - on Zoom here.
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Stay in the loop
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Keeping you safe in Orange
We continue to have our online service at 10am in parallel for the forseeable future. Please do not attend on-site worship if you are supposed to be isolating following a positive test result for yourself or a household contact, or if anyone in your home is experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms, or you are awaiting a Covid-19 test result; please instead join our online service.
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My Vaccine Passes are not required for any purpose on-site, to either visit or volunteer, this includes St Mary by the Sea, the Hall, and the Community Shop.
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We a QR code for you to scan in if you wish. We continue to operate safely in ORANGE onsite, this means:
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We encourage you to wear a mask
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Doors open for ventilation – so wear a jumper or bring a jacket
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- The peace in sign language - with the option of physical sign of peace if the person you are exchanging the peace with is comfortable with that.
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In ORANGE it is not necessary to be physically distanced, morning tea is served from the kitchen. Soft chairs are used. Communion is served at the altar rail.
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Scripture
22nd May 2022
Ezekiel 47:1-12
Rev 21:10,22–22:5
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Sentence
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‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.’ John 14:27
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Collect
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Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel; send us out in the power of the same Spirit to witness to your redeeming love and draw all people to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
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NZSL Week
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To mark New Zealand Sign Language week here is the Lord's Prayer in NZSL.
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Welcome return to Mainly Music at St Marys
I am pleased to announce that our Mainly Music group at St Marys can resume now that we are at Orange level.
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Mainly Music held on Fridays at 9:30am during term time.
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Our group started on Friday 6th May
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Mainly Music is open to all families with preschool children. If you know of a local family please let them know about this group. A $4 donation per family is asked and the music activities start at 9:30am so please arrive slightly before then. For information on attending please contact Carol on 4795289.
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Volunteers Needed.
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We are looking for anyone who is able to volunteer to help with Mainly Music. Volunteers are needed for setting up the space for the session on a Thursday, putting the chairs back afterwards, at 11:30am on a Friday, or to help run the session between 9am and 11:30am on a Friday. If you would like more details please contact Meg on 4738444.
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AAW Meeting at St Mary by the Sea
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Our AAW group is able to meet back up again and will meet on Wednesday, 1 June 2022 in the Lounge (7.30 pm. For more information of the AAW please contact Margaret Rocard. Contact details available via the church office.
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Automated Giving, Envelopes and Tax returns.
Please read all of this carefully, there is information that may effect you.
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We want to say a huge thank you to everyone for the contributions you have made to St Mary by the Sea for the tax year ending April 30 2022. It is donations such as yours that have enabled us to continue the work of the church, providing opportunities for worship and service, along with the hosting of our much-valued community programmes.
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We would particularly like to acknowledge and thank everyone for their willingness to adapt to on-line and automated giving during the many lock-downs and restricted periods we have experienced. We know that the last couple of years with Covid have been difficult and that many people’s incomes have been affected. So, we have been encouraged to see that this has had only a minor impact on regular giving.
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Because so many of our congregation are now using online giving it is uneconomical for packs of giving envelopes to be prepared for all giving numbers. If you continue to use Giving Envelopes and find that you are running low please contact the church office via email and let the office know your giving number (or surname) and the amount of envelopes that you would like. A pack will then be prepared for you to collect.
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Trust Management, our accountant, are hard at work preparing everyone's tax receipt for the last year. If you have had a change of address or email in the last year please inform the church office so your details can be corrected with them. If you are happy to receive your tax receipt by email but have previously received this by post please contact the church office confirming the address you would like the receipt to be sent to.
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Again, thank you for continuing to bless St Mary by the Sea with your support and generosity.
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Word for Today and Our Daily Bread
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Both of these can be collected from the Community Shop when paper copies are available.
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ATWC Winter PJ Appeal Collection
It’s that time of year where winter is fast approaching and the nights are getting much cooler for our tamariki. We are collecting NEW pyjamas to deliver to the ATWC for their winter appeal. If you are able to donate a pair or two of PJ's but would struggle to deliver them yourself to the ATWC collection point please bring them into church before the 5th June. Alternatively you can drop off your donation at one of the sites below direct to the ATWC.
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10 Beatty Street, Otahuhu 8am – 430pm
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1288A New North Road Avondale 830am – 430pm
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124 Apirana Avenue, Glen Innes 830am – 430pm
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Canceled Kaitahi Community Dinner
Community Dinner at Takapuna Methodist Church on 19th May is canceled due to covid numbers increasing locally.
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Community Garden
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Community Shop
Now open Tuesday - Saturday inclusive 10am to 4pm.
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Our takings of the Community shop in April was $8800, expenses have to be taken from this.
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Our Community Shop is selling winter clothing and this is going well. If anyone has had a wardrobe clear out and has winter clothing they no longer want please donate this to our store where we can put it to good use. The Community shop has established a route via which we can send excess goods to Tonga to aid with their recovery after they experienced the terrible tsunami earlier this year.
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It is great to think that our Community shop is not only helping support St Mary by the Sea, but also providing financial support via food vouchers to local schools and to those in need in the local community and is providing assistance in Tonga.
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Many thanks also to our band of about 30 volunteers who staff the shop, manage it and generally keep it going. Several of these folk are not actually members of our congregation but give their time and talents, nevertheless. It is great to see items, saved from landfill being used by their new owners while providing our takings. Recently we have found a contact by whom we can send goods to Tonga, especially electrical goods that we are not permitted to sell.
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Youth Hui Sunday 29 May,
1.30pm-5pm St Aidan's, 5 Ascot Avenue, Remuera
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Are you see young person who cares about others and about the church? This hui for you! It's an awesome opportunity for you to gather, think about what’s needed for the future of our Church, what’s happening now, and be part of the conversation to find a way forward. The afternoon will have opportunities to pray, listen, connect, consider problems and solutions, elect youth synod reps and of course afternoon tea. Find out more here. To RSVP and for more info get in touch with Steph 021 535 162 or email steph@aym.org.nz
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PINK SHIRT DAY Friday 20 May
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Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying after a peer was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. In Aotearoa, Pink Shirt Day is led by the Mental Health Foundation and works to create schools, workplaces, communities and whānau where everyone feels safe, valued and respected. We're encouraged to join with others to raise awareness and celebrate diversity and kindness.
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Celebrations
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Happy Birthday to Ann Ranyard for the 23rd May. Many happy returns to you.
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Worship
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Sunday - 8am - worship from NZ Prayer Book
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Sunday - 10am - Intergenerational worship
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Sunday - 10am - Online YouTube worship
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Praying for Others
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Please send names for the Sunday Prayer-List by Sunday evening to Tony Nettleton, 027 278 1450 or prayer@stmary.co.nz Names can be sent at other times as required.
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Donations
Online
Vestry would like to encourage you to give to support our ministry. Giving and donations can be made to:
St Mary by the Sea
BNZ Browns Bay 02-0120-0047903-003
Please reference your donation with your surname or giving number.
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EFTPOS
The EFTPOS machine prints 2 receipts, the first is your copy, the second is printed by selecting MERCHANTS COPY on the screen. This second copy should always be left on the appropriate clip on the notice board. With out the second receipt it is not possible to know what the money was intended for. For Church Giving, you can either keep the first receipt or place it in the DONATION BASKET to go up to the altar for the blessing. Please write your giving number or full name on the second receipt if you want the donation added to your tax receipt. If you do not require your donation added to your tax receipt please write "NO TAX" on the receipt.
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Feedback
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Have some feedback? Feel free to email dion@stmary.co.nz
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Subscribing
Contacts
Office
Debbie Rhodes, 09 4738180 office@stmary.co.nz
Office hours, Mon to Thr 10am-2pm. Working from home whilst at Level Red.
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Vicar
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Rev’d Dion Blundell, Office:09 4738183 Mb:021 1378624 Hm:09 4732270
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Priest Assistant
Wardens
Synod Representatives
Vestry Secretary
Vestry Members
St Mary by the Sea
PO Box 89-082, Torbay, Auckland, 0742
168 Deep Creek Rd, Torbay, Auckland, 0630
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Thanks for reading. See you soon!
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The St Mary by the Sea Team
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