Kia ora koutou whānau

We are over half way through our

journey of lent. Our journey with

Jesus towards the cross. Our journey

towards the resurrec�on life that

comes a�er the cross.

On Sunday I suggested that lent was a

�me of figh�ng for what we lost in

Genesis 3. When human choices led to fractured rela�onships between

humanity and God, and one another. It is a �me to fight for rela�onship.

Jesus’ journey to the cross was a fight for rela�onship too. We weren't

the only ones who lost something then. God's children walked away from

him. Yet he always intended to fight to get them back. To get us

back. Even if it cost him everything.

And yes, the ramifica�ons of the fall s�ll haunt us. Even this week we

were looking forward to spending �me with whānau friend, Nigel Dixon,

but instead we grieve with him as the Dixon whānau lose a loved one. We

s�ll deal with death, sickness, fractured rela�onships, and a desire to have

things our own way. But we also have a God who gave everything he had

to undo the curses we brought upon ourselves by walking away from

him. We have a God whose spirit lives with us, helping us to navigate our

lives of ups and downs, and helping us to choose to live a different way to

how we would if le� to our own devices.

So let's keep pu1ng our stake in the ground and declaring that

rela�onship with God and one another is worth figh�ng for; and then let's

do something about it!

Aroha nui

Andy

Looking AheadLooking AheadLooking AheadLooking Ahead

This Sunday This Sunday This Sunday This Sunday ---- 2 April2 April2 April2 April

10am: 10am: 10am: 10am: Andy and Donald

speaking, baby dedica�on

11:30am11:30am11:30am11:30am: Whānau mee�ng -

important for all members of

Northcity!

6:45pm: 6:45pm: 6:45pm: 6:45pm: Highway brings the

Worship Experiment - come for

a night of worship

Next Sunday Next Sunday Next Sunday Next Sunday ---- 9 April9 April9 April9 April

10am: 10am: 10am: 10am: Worship; Cindy

speaking

6:45pm: 6:45pm: 6:45pm: 6:45pm: Food and hangs,

worship and pre-Easter service

Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events

1st/2nd April 1st/2nd April 1st/2nd April 1st/2nd April ---- Daylight

savings! Turn your clocks

back this Saturday night

7th April 7th April 7th April 7th April ---- Zion End-of-term

Concert

13th 13th 13th 13th ---- 17th April 17th April 17th April 17th April -

Eastercamp 2017!

14th April 14th April 14th April 14th April ---- Good Friday

Service @ Northcity, 9am

Worship, Whanau, Mission Loving God, Loving One Another, Loving Our Neighbour

Issue seven | 29 Mar 2017

Sunday cafeSunday cafeSunday cafeSunday cafe

EFTPOS available

Delicious hot food and baking available for

purchase after the service

All proceeds go to Northgate Trust

Barista coffees and hot chocolates also available

for purchase

Regular tea, coffee, and hot chocolate free

Soul Care CancelledSoul Care CancelledSoul Care CancelledSoul Care Cancelled Due to a bereavement in Nigel Dixon's family, he is unable

to be with us this weekend, so the planned Soul Care event

on Saturday a�ernoon won't go ahead. He also won't be

joining us on Sunday morning. Please keep Nigel and

Caroline and their whānau in your prayers.

India and Sri Lanka NightIndia and Sri Lanka NightIndia and Sri Lanka NightIndia and Sri Lanka Night You are invited to an India and Sri Lanka night

at Chris and Celia Parsons' home on Tuesday, April

18. 20 Warren Crescent, Hillmorton.

6:30pm Bring some curry or other Indian food to

share!

7:30pm Elsie & Danny will talk about their work in

Bible teaching throughout India and Sri Lanka

with Derek Prince Ministries India.

A Night of Worship and PrayerA Night of Worship and PrayerA Night of Worship and PrayerA Night of Worship and Prayer The elders

have invited

us to gather as

a whānau to

worship

and pray

at 7:30pm on

Monday 3rd

April. We will

pray for our

whānau, our

city, and our na4on as we head towards Easter (and

Easter Camp). Many of us will also take the opportunity

to fast during the day as we listen to what God wants to

say.

The Worship experiment The Worship experiment The Worship experiment The Worship experiment Highway have been running a

monthly, open invite, worship night

out in Kaiapoi. This month they

bring it to Northcity. Come from

6:45pm, Sunday April 2, for an

evening of worship. You can also

sign up to their Facebook page to

find out when they hold future

nights back out in Kaiapoi -

www.facebook.com/

theworshipexperiment/

We have great need of caravans for the Eastercamp Camp

Parents!

Last year we rented some and ended up being quite expensive. We

are on the lookout to see if anyone can lend us for the Easter period (possibly star4ng from the Wednesday night prior to Easter)

a Caravan or Campervan...small is good, similar to the pictures

below. No awnings will be erected, as there is not enough space. And the caravans are unlikely to be powered. We will treat

them as very convenient tents and they will be where money and

valuables are kept.

If you are able to help with this, please contact Dom Wilson on

022 073 8744 as soon as possible.

Caravans needed!Caravans needed!Caravans needed!Caravans needed!

Want something in the newsletter? Email your notice to welcome@northcity.co.nz by Wednesday, 9am.

Eastercamp Eastercamp Eastercamp Eastercamp ---- Ways to get involved!Ways to get involved!Ways to get involved!Ways to get involved! Eastercamp is drawing nearer and nearer - we are s4ll in need of one

more volunteer to come with us to camp. It’s $40, you get to camp with us, and hang with NC in between your shi�s. This is a great way

to experience camp if you’re out of high school or not a youth leader, and we are required by EC to provide 2 volunteers. Contact Caleb

(027 237 4423) or Harriet (027 305 2404) if you’re able to help out

this Easter.

Youth - sign up now! Early bird is over, but registra4ons are s4ll open

un4l Friday 7th April, 5pm. Register at eastercamp.org.nz/register.

Talk to your youth leader or Caleb and Harriet if you’d like more info. If you have signed up, start geHng your purple gear organised and try

to find a tent to camp in!

This Sunday there will be many liIle stones scaIered over the steps

of the auditorium stage. There will be a name on each stone - these

are the names of every person (youth, camp parent, youth leader, volunteer) aIending Eastercamp 2017 with Northcity. If you would

like to pray specifically for one or two people in the weeks leading up

to EC, then please feel free to take a stone and li� up that person in prayer.

Sunday 2nd April - The youth are running a carwash this Sunday! $10 for a complete outside clean - pay before church starts, then by the

end of the service your car will be sparkling clean! All the proceeds go

towards sponsoring youth who cannot afford the Eastercamp fees.

Saturday 8th April - Northcity marquee and site set up day. If you are

free on this day or if your youth/you are coming to Eastercamp,

please consider coming to help set up the site and our Northcity marquee.

Confident ChristianityConfident ChristianityConfident ChristianityConfident Christianity Can you give both intellectually and

emo4onally sa4sfying answers to the tough ques4ons people have about God? Join us for

a line-up of top speakers who will train you to sensi4vely and skillfully respond to the biggest

objec4ons Chris4ans encounter today - and

equip you to live a confident, yet gracious faith in everyday life.

The Christchurch conference will be held at

South West Bap4st Church, 244 LyIelton St, Spreydon, on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th

May. Friday is a free event evening from 7pm - 9:30pm. Saturday is from 8:30am - 6:30pm

and requires registra4on. Register online at

www.thinkingmaIers.org.nz/conference, and see the aIached flyer for more informa4on.

Thank you from NorthgateThank you from NorthgateThank you from NorthgateThank you from Northgate Thank you to the many hands that helped make this combined

community event such a great success. The weather was against us

but it didn’t stop us sharing with our local neighbourhood an

a�ernoon filled with plenty of free food, lots of fun ac4vi4es for the

children and great entertainment. It also provided us with the

opportunity to mix & mingle with the congrega4on from Papanui

Bap4st who generously let us share their building. What a great

expression of how churches can come together to bless their

neighbourhood. Thank you all!

From Damian at Papanui Bap4st: An ENORMOUS thank you to our

Northgate and Northcity friends who were involved suppor�ng our

Neighbours Day event last Sunday. We couldn't have done it without

you! You are magnificent! Cheers - Damian Ardell, Papanui Bap�st

Freedom Trust.

Connect Groups Jesus had a small group of people (disciples) that he taught regularly - not just on Sunday.

Sunday worship gatherings are not all that Northcity is about. We have a number of small

groups called Connect Groups which are one of the major ways we express what it is to

be the whanau of God. Northcity Church is the people and not a building; connec4ng

with each other so we can beIer connect with God is an important part of who we are.

Currently, our Connect Groups are held:

Wednesday 10:00am (weekly)

Northcity Café (women) – Janice ScoI

Wednesday 7:30pm (fortnightly)

Bishopdale (mixed adults) – Craig & Kahla Brooks

Casebrook (mixed adults) – Lisa Cameron

Harewood (mixed adults) – Nathan & Esther SchwarReger

Northcity (mixed adults) – James & Kathy Duncan

Russley (mixed adults) – Kathryn Wilson

Redwood (young adults – late teens/early twen4es) – Hamish & Jo Read

Papanui (young adults – mid-to-late twen4es) – Mark & Lisa Willard

Northcity - Combined Young Adults group on the off-week

Thursday 7:30pm

Northwood (mixed adults) – Jeremy & Charleen Chan

Youth Groups:

Friday 7-9pm weekly Northcity Youth (high school age) – Caleb & Harriet ScoI

Friday 7-9pm fortnightly Northcity Intermediates (intermediate age) – Craig & Kahla

Brooks

(Generally held at Northcity church. Regular weekly cost = $2 per person, may be

addi�onal event costs)

Highway Church:

Thursday 7:00pm - Mee4ng weekly for prayer, worship & discipleship at the home of

Dominic and Emma Chilvers in Rangiora

Thank you!

to all who give generously

to Northcity.

Please note that in order for

us to provide a tax receipt

which allows you to claim

back a third of all you give

us, we need to record your

offerings using our 4the

record system. You are

allocated a number to

iden4fy your giving, which

removes the need to record

your name. Please ensure

that you supply this number

with any payment made. If

you have not been assigned

a 4the number or can't

remember it please contact

Barb in the Northcity office

or check with the EFTPOS

operator on Sunday

mornings.

Tithe envelopes can be

found by the EFTPOS

machine in the auditorium.

Northcity’s bank account

number for online or

automa4c bank payments is

02 0816 0113227 000

Service 2 April 9 April 16 April

10am Group Kathryn Wilson Schwartfeger Brooks

10am Welcome Raewyn Bell, Wynton Bell Raewyn Bell, Wynton Bell Dean McLennan, Bronwyn McLennan

10am Host Manager Mike Gilligan Mike Gilligan Nigel Wilson

10am Tithe (incl EFTPOS)

Wynton Bell Wynton Bell Barbara Watson

10am Lunch Northgate Northcity Youth Zion

10am Barista Zane Woodfield Sarah Cohen Mike Ryan

10am Northcity Crèche

Greg and Heather Stanley Marguerite Wilson, Charlotte Woodfield

Marguerite Wilson, Hannah Wright

10am Northcity Kids (Spark)

Aaron's team Aaron's team Aaron's team

10am Northcity Intermediates

Craig & Kahla Craig & Kahla Craig & Kahla

6pm Night Welcome & Kitchen

No Service Heidi Fuglestad, April McLennan

EJ McLennan, Seb Rousse

23 April

Willard

Dean McLennan, Bronwyn McLennan

Nigel Wilson

Barbara Watson

Tim Duncan

Blair and Emily Ashdowne

Aaron's team

Craig & Kahla

Joel Walker, Nina Black

Sunday Service Rosters

Thank you to those who volunteer for our service rosters each week. You are a vital part of our ability to function as we feel called to do. We would love

to speak to anyone else who feels at any time that they may like to help in a rostered area. Please approach Andy or Barb in the first instance.