Weekly Notices - 26 April 2026
Heartfelt Thanks!:
During the week Vestry supported Ross Jones as Bishop Peter appointed him the new Bishop’s Warden of the parish. Gina had expressed her desire to step down from this role and so last Wednesday night was Gina’s final Vestry meeting. She has served on Vestry for 16 years and prior to that was Parish Administrator for 24 years! I’m sure I speak for the whole parish in expressing my heartfelt gratitude to Gina for her many years of faithful service to God and our parish.
Strengthen Faith Through Confirmation:
A public declaration of faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ can be a significant step in our discipleship and a way of strengthening faith. Jesus spoke about the importance of ‘owning’ our faith publicly (Matt 10:32) and the book of Acts records the courageous and costly public witness of the first disciples (Acts 5:17-18; 8:1). Confirmation is a way of bearing witness to our faith before the church community and is especially appropriate for those who have been baptized as infants or those who have recently ‘rediscovered’ their faith in God. Recently, a St Paul’s parishioner expressed a desire to be confirmed and the Bishop has agreed to come and lead this special service on Sunday 26 July. If anyone else in the parish would like to be confirmed please contact me on 0274327474 and we can form a discipleship group and prepare for confirmation together.
The Bible Course Begins:
A group of St Paul’s parishioners began ‘The Bible Course’ last week. This is an eight-week course covering the whole Bible! It was written by Dr Andrew Ollerton and published by the Bible Society UK and is fantastic! Its strength lies in providing participants with the big picture of God’s plan in history – the Christian worldview from beginning to end. Each person receives a beautifully illustrated handbook as well as a Bible reading plan that supports each week’s topic. The sessions are structured around video clips, Bible readings and discussion questions. What a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our foundations of faith!
- Mark Chamberlain
This Sunday at St Columba’s we are having a sharing time with readings, prayers, and songs etc, come and join us. At St Paul’s Alice will be speaking and St Saviour’s has Rev Christine Allport at Sunday’s service also their congregation who meet at 5pm this week but will change to the winter times from the 3 May to start at 4pm as the nights are getting colder and darker.
24 May 2026 at 10.30am. All Age Service with shared lunch to follow at St Columba’s, Hornby.
Please NOTE: April 12 service times change: St Paul’s West Melton will start at 9am, St Columba’s, Hornby will start at 10.30am and St Saviour’s, Templeton will remain at 5pm.
Today’s Sentence and Prayer
Sentence: Shine forth from your throne upon the cherubim; restore us O God; show us the light of your face and we shall be saved (Psalm 80:1, 3) [NZPB, p. 597]
Prayer of the Day: God of comfort and compassion, lead us to the fellowship of heavenly joys, so that your humble flock may follow where the brave Shepherd has led the way and is alive with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings: Possible Readings: Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10 and Psalm 23
Parish News
CRAFT GROUP
Saturday 2 May, 10 am-3 pm, Bring along your activity or just come for a natter. Tea and coffee provided BYO lunch.
Gold coin donation to cover costs. Further inquiries to Gina
Next Prayer Meetings
Templeton will be held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday mornings of the month -
9:15am: at Jean’s place.
Hornby will be held on Wednesdays mornings -
Wednesday 10.30am, prayer gathering at Bolton's place
Anglican Parish of Hornby, Templeton and West Melton & Beyond…
Prayer for Leading Your Church into Growth
God of mission, who alone brings growth to your Church, send your Holy Spirit to give vision to our planning, wisdom to our actions, joy to our worship, and power to our witness. Help our parish churches to grow in numbers, in spiritual commitment to you, and in service to our local community. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
News from around the Diocese
See Anglican e-life: http://anglicanlife.org.nz/publications/e-life/
Helpful info
Groups
It’s easy to connect and get involved with some great social and faith-focused groups that meet regularly across the parish. You can find out about all our regular groups on our Groups page. If you have any questions, just click the contact button to connect with the group’s organiser.
Recycling
Used batteries can be placed in the boxes in each church or taken to Mitre 10
Soft plastics can be dropped off at participating store locations. This is any plastic you can fold up in your hand.
Pastoral Care
Need meals or other in-home pastoral support? Please contact the Parish Pastoral Care Co-ordinator.
In-Home Communion
If parishioners can't attend church but would still like to have communion, this can be brought to you at your home or rest home. Please get in touch with the Home Communion Co-ordinator to organise this.
Need prayer?
We’d love to pray for you. See the ‘Prayer Support’ section on the Help & Support page for more information on how we can help with your prayer needs. There are confidential and anonymous options available.
