Mt Herbert Parish Magazine Dec 2016Mt Herbert Parish Magazine Dec 2016——Jan 2017Jan 2017

DIAMOND HARBOUR GEBBIES VALLEY GOVERNORS BAY KAITUNA LITTLE RIVER PORT LEVY TEDDINGTON

St Andrews Church of the Epiphany St Cuthberts St Kentigerns St Andrews St Pauls St Peters

Mt Herbert Parish

Striving to be a united, Christ-centered, community – serving Parish

Vicar Rev Dr Meg Harvey Telephone: 0274065392 Email: meganharvey@clear.net.nz

PARISH OFFICE 85 Marine Drive, Diamond Harbour RD 1, Lyttelton 8971 Telephone: 03 329 4790 email: mt.herbertparish@xtra.co.nz

WEBSITE mountherbertparish.wordpress.com

Change. Quite a scary word isn't it? Sometimes, however, change can be good, can even be healthy. It can be a positive experience for us to be challenged or encouraged to change something about ourselves, our lives or our thinking.

I had a recent experience of how change can bring something enlightening into your world. It starts with rap music. I really didn't see the appeal of it. Then I heard some music that set me on a journey of discovery. The Hip Hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have released some very catchy tunes. So when I heard they were coming to Christchurch in concert I decided to step outside my comfort zone and go. Having secured a ticket to the concert I thought it would be good idea to download their two albums. And then things got really interesting. I actually quite like some Hip Hop and really got into the rapping by Macklemore. The first challenge I faced was to actually listen to what the music was saying to me. Yes Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have some silly, fun Hip Hop songs, but they also have some very powerful and very relevant political songs.

One of these political songs led me to be challenged in my thinking and understanding and to grow as a consequence. The song is called White Privilege II and is about the racism faced by Blacks in America. In it Macklemore (a White Hip Hop artist himself) discusses how Hip Hop music has been co-opted by white musicians who often don't have an understanding of the Hip Hop movement and its meaning. Wait a second, there's a Hip Hop movement? And what meaning does it have? Turns out Hip Hop and rap music are part of a cultural movement from Black America giving voice to an unheard and often ignored minority. The music originated from the projects and poor neighbourhoods to enable Black youth to share their experience and express their emotions. What white musicians have taken over and used to express inconsequential or elitist problems has its genesis in the gap left by the civil rights movement. Hip Hop is about providing a voice and shining the light on Black issues and challenges. Continued on next page

A Christmas JourneyA Christmas Journey

Sunday 18th December, 4pm

Living Springs Farm Park

Walk through the Christmas story with Mary & Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem and have some unexpected encounters. (Under cover if wet)

Bring a picnic for the end of the journey.

For more details phone Gail (3299212) or Vanessa (3299802)

There will be NO

other services in

the Parish on this

Sunday

The Hidden Meaning to “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

It’s a well known Christmas song, but did you know the meanings behind all the days?

A Partridge in a Pear Tree—Jesus Christ

Two Turtle Doves—the Old and New Testament

Three French Hens—Faith, Hope and Love

Four Calling Birds—Four Gospels, Mat-thew, Mark, Luke and John

Five Gold Rings—First 5 books of the Bible

Six Geese a Laying—6 Days of creation

I don't suddenly like all Hip Hop music or even agree with it (in fact there is some discord in the Hip Hop community about the new "gangster" rap fo-cused around violence). What it does mean is that I don't so easily dismiss Black Hip Hop artists, what they have to say and where they come from. My ideas and prejudices about a genre of music and its musicians was challenged and I was prompted to review and change my attitudes. I feel the richer for it and have had a whole new world opened up to me. So what on earth does this have to do with Christianity, faith and church? It is to provide you with an extreme example of how change can be a good thing, how change can take us to places we never knew that enrich us as people and as children of God. Yes I knew about the racism in America (and am not blind to it here either), but now I have an avenue for recognising and understanding the Black voice in the debates, protests and melee. Sometimes we can get very comfortable in our faith, especially if it is something we have had in our lives for a long, long time. Sometimes it pays for us to stop and maybe just review where we are and what we think we know. Maybe read that article from a minister or author you don't agree with. You may end up completely the same and just annoyed at some stupid commentary and that's fine. But maybe you'll be prompted to think about a belief you have long held or an assumption you didn't even know you had will be challenged.

The world around us is not holding back on change. In fact, it is moving, changing and growing at an ever increasing pace. What we have "always known" as Christians is being challenged simply by the speed of change of our world. We are called to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Do you understand the world out there enough to do that to the best of your ability or does some idea or understanding you have need to change in order to connect with the world, share the good news and expand the kingdom of God?

Change is not a foreign concept in scripture. Job experiences an extreme and unpleasant time of change. His faith and belief are challenged, but in the end strengthen through his experience. And of course Christ himself is transformed at the Transfiguration. This change does not perhaps have so much significance for Christ himself as much as for the disciples with him. Peter, John and James have their faith and understanding utterly changed and enriched by the experience of the Transfiguration even if they do not immediately understand it. Of course there is also the classic passage Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: for everything there is a season. There is a reason this passage is so popular and so well known. It speaks to something deep in our humanity that acknowledges that we live in a transient world, that we ourselves are transient in the world. Change is nothing new and challenges to our faith are not new either. It is in our nature as people to experience change and be changed. What Ecclesiastes tells us is that God knows this, God knows the fluidity of our world, in fact in inspiring the words in this passage God is affirming change as an acceptable if not necessary part of our experience. So, whatever your age, whatever your stage in life, wherever you are on your faith journey do not be afraid to change or of what change may bring. Change can be scary, but so too can it enrich, encourage and embolden. God did not create us to be stagnant children. He created us as creatures that inevitably grow and benefit from that growth. As much as biological change and growth are an inbuilt part of us, so is change and growth in our faith. That is what we have the Holy Spirit for - to lead us in our times of change to growth and development that will ultimately benefit the kingdom of God. Don't be afraid of change. Don't be afraid of new opinions or knowledge. Who knows, you may actually find yourself listening to some really funky, uplifting Hip Hop. Rev Dr Meg Harvey

Seven Swans a Laying—Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom 12:6-8)

Eight Maids a Milking— 8 Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-10)

Nine Ladies Dancing—Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)

Ten lords a Leaping—10 Commandments

Eleven Pipers Piping—11 faithful disciples

Twelve Drummers Drumming—12 points of the Apostles Creed

Treasurers Report

“The fellow who has no money is poor; the fellow who has nothing but money is poorer still.” -Billy Sunday.

As we enter the advent season, our giving and sacrifice is put into perspective as God enters history in the vulnerability of humanity, the fragility of infancy for the unthinkably immense redemptive suffering of crucifixion and then victorious resurrection. I often think of the words “O teach me what it meaneth, help me to take it in, What it meant to Thee the Holy One, to bear away my sin”

We are excited by the arrival among us of Meg- we are going to grow together as a parish in all sorts of ways, including financially. However these things take time- and in the shorter term there is a definite financial challenge. In the figures graphed and tabled below, I have taken out 3 large lots of money that were just “passing through” our parish general account.

With 9 1/2 months of half-time clergy expense and be-ing able to rent out the DH Vicarage for more than 6 months, we were able to transfer $10000 into a reserve account. We are now close to the end of November and my projected credit in the general account at the end of November (taking account of debit and credit liabili-ties) is about zero. So with significantly increased monthly expenses and just $10000 reserves, unless things change, we will actually be in the red in a few months time.

What can change? We need either to increase income or decrease expenses or both. As a new year approaches, could I ask each of you to prayerfully consider your personal giving. This year we did not have a fundraising quiz night and “profit” from the Orton Bradley fair was nearly $1200 down on last year (mainly because we didn’t have the wonderful income from book sales). There is much potential to raise money from fundraising efforts- but it needs ideas, team effort and hard work to accomplish it.

If you have questions or need help with financial things related to your giving, please talk to Margaret Somerville (Ph. 329-4713) or Russell Lienert (Ph. 329-4066)

Question:If time is money are ATM's time machines?

Christmas Eve Services

7pm Church of the Epiphany, Gebbies Valley

7pm St. Pauls, Port Levy

Christmas Day Services

9am St. Peters Teddington

9:30am St. Andrews, Diamond Harbour

9:30am St. Kentigerns, Kaituna Valley

9:30am St. Andrews, Little River

St Andrew’s

Day

30th November was

St Andrew’s Day. To

recognise the

shared use of St An-

drew’s Community

Church in Diamond

Harbour, the

Catholic and Angli-

can congregations gathered for Morning

Tea between our respective services on

Sunday 27th November. This was a great

opportunity for fellowship, as well as offer-

ing opportunities for reflections on St An-

drew himself (e.g. did you know he is the

patron saint of those with gout and sore

throats?) and upon the history of the church

building. We look forward to more opportu-

nities in the future for joint activities as to-

gether we reach out into the Diamond

Harbour Community.

Orton Bradley Spring Fair 2016Orton Bradley Spring Fair 2016

After a rather wet lead up, Orton Bradley Fair went ahead. As stall

holders gathered at 8:30am on Sunday 23 October, a hardworking

team from Mount Herbert Parish gathered to set up. At 10 am the

Mount Herbert Stalls were ready. People came to enjoy the Sausage

Sizzle and Whitebait Fritters (thank you Geoff Searle for not only

making them, but having caught the whitebait!). There were well-

stocked Cake and Plant Stalls, and also a Free Kids Activity Base where balloon people and glitter

bangles were made constantly for over 5 hours! We

would like to say a huge thank you to all involved either in

setting up, helping to run stalls, packing away or by making

cakes or growing plants to sell. It was a busy day and was great

to see everyone chipping in and working together. Parents really

appreciated the free crafts for their kids, and some good

conversations were had.

Also congratulations to Julie Sims and Geoff Searle on both

winning the ‘Guess the Weight of the Cake’ competitions. Both

guessed the weights within 0.4 grams, and now have a beautifully made and decorated cake by Margaret

Somerville to enjoy!

In total over $1300 was raised — and we have a year to recover until next time!

5th Sunday Family Service

On the 30th October there was a

family service for the Parish at

St. Andrews, Diamond Harbour.

It was a more relaxed service

than usual with people sat

around tables as we looked to-

gether at what it meant to ‘love our enemies’. All joined

in to complete a quiz, discuss, watch, listen , sing,

laugh, reflect and pray. It was amazing to see how well

everyone threw themselves into it and how all ages

joined to worship and discover more of God and the im-

pact following him can have on our lives, communities

and the world. It was also Rev Sandy Constable’s last

Sunday with us, so after the service there was a shared

lunch and Sandy was presented with a gift and people

shared how much her time and work here had been ap-

preciated. P.S. If you want to know what skittles have

to do with God — ask someone who came, and make

sure you join us next time!

St. Cuthbert’s—The roof is on! Now St Cuthbert’s is looking more like a church. On the 8th of November Lund’s giant 200 tonne crane lifted the roof into place. This was a very delicate operation carefully controlled by Jim. The original building was not quite square and the roof had splayed a bit over time. Jim and his crew pulled it into shape to match the new, precisely built structure. Originally it just sat on the walls, no ties! Now it is well bolted down.

Figure 2: Up and away! Figure 1: Lowering into place

The stone masons have been working hard and now nearly all the window frames, buttresses and arches are in place and the placing of the cobble wall facing has started. The fitting of the stone tracery for the East window was very tricky as all the blocks and gaps between them are all different. Quite a few blocks have had to be remade. It is very skilled work to ensure it is strong, looks good and the stained glass windows will fit (they are restored ready to reinstall). The stonework is taking a long time but it is worth it as the level of workmanship is very high. It will look better than the original when it is finished! There is now pressure on the budget as there is a lot of unplanned extra work. There has been consider-

able replacement of timbers in the roof structures because of borer and rot and quite a few areas work

were not defined in the original project.

An end date is not yet clear but I believe we should be in there by mid February.

Most of the damaged pews are repairable and be reinstalled. We have ordered a few chairs to replace some pews and to make the seating more flexible. We are looking for sponsors for the chairs which will have a brass donor’s plaque acknowledging the donor. If you are interested in buying a chair with a

brass plaque please contact Tony.

Tony Eastwood, St Cuthbert’s Treasurer/Sexton tonyeastwood@qualitypro.co.nz

Figure 3: Cutting a new block Figure 4: Making sure the joint is right.

LITTLE RIVER YOUTH GROUP

Meets in the St Andrews Little River

Church Lounge on Wed evenings

during term time.

MAINLY MUSIC

This is held Thursday weekly during term

time at Little River Rugby Clubrooms.

Come along at 10.30am for cuppa and then

join in with the music at 11.00am.

Contact Robyn MacFarlane 325 1119

CARE, SHARE AND PRAYER GROUP Meets every Tuesday at 10am. Locations vary, for details please call Ann Watson 741 2210

LITTLE RIVER HOME GROUP

Meets every Wed evening.

Please call Mark & Rose Fitzgerald for details Ph: 325 1176

St Andrew’s, Little River @ 5pm

All are invited to come and join us

1st and 3rd Sundays

each month for worship and fellowship.

What’s On in Little River

Revival Clothing is open to the public every Tuesday at 10:30am.

We are ONLY taking clothing due to size/space limitations.

Further information please ring Fiona 3290171

waggie@xtra.co.nz

Little River Flower Power Trail

Revival Clothing at St. Andrews Little River was a hit at the recent Flower Power Garden Trail at labour Weekend. The Revival team had dressed the church for a real wedding, bridal gowns were initially loaned from local women who were from Little River and connected to the church. The Weir family had mother and daughter dresses (those three on back row of photos). However the display swelled into anyone who felt like displaying their wedding dress and photos. The chapel was decked out with flowers and tulle and even music for the occasion. Many visitors were interested in the history of the building (so much so there was even a donation jar to help with the upcoming painting of the exterior).

Many locals had never been in the church so it was a great opportunity to open the doors and of course shop for clothing. One bus load of garden club ladies came down from Blenheim and upon entering announced “ Where are the clothes”. There is talk of next year even having a wedding cake and an up cycling wedding dress competition. Revival Clothing has also branched out and opened a Food Bank with the proceeds generated from the sale of clothes. This is for people in the Little River/Birdlings Flat area and available to those not just struggling but also for people who may required a frozen meal if they have been ill or come out of hospital. It is a privilege to be able to share the fruits and labours of Revival and bless those in the community.

If you would like up to date news on Revival Clothing we have our own Facebook page. Fiona Waghorn

What’s On in Diamond Harbour?

BABY & TODDLERS GROUP SUMMER PICNIC TUESDAY 13TH DECEMBER

RESTARTS TUESDAY 24TH JANUARY 2017 Fortnightly on a TUESDAY, a coffee and support group for parents and caregivers of babies and infants 0-36 months is held at the Diamond Harbour Church Hall. For more details, call Wendy Coles on329 4483.

CITY SHOPPING VAN 14th, 28th December 11th, 25th Jan and 8th Feb The van does pick-ups from Diamond Harbour fortnightly on Wednesdays around 9:00am and drops people back home about 1:30pm. Bookings are essential as the van seats 8 people. A $10 donation towards fuel per trip is invited. To book a seat, please call Nicky ph:329 4341 or Wendy ph: 329 4483.

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY GROUP

AT CHARTERIS BAY

Meets Monday fortnightly in a warm and friendly home. Please call Margaret Somerville for details on ph:329 4713.

S e r v i c e R e a d i n g s f o r D e c e m b e r — J a n u a r y

Dec 4th Dec 11th Dec 18th Christmas Eve Christmas Day

Jan 1st Jan 8th Jan 15th Jan 22nd Jan 29th

We want to know what’s going on—

Please contact the Parish Office on ph:329 4790 or mt.herbertparish@xtra.co.nz with any news CUT OFF FOR THE FEBRUARY/MARCH NEWSLETTER IS WEDNESDAY 18TH JANUARY 2017

PRAYER CHAIN

The Prayer Chain is available to pray for you

personally or for any other prayer needs you may have.

The Prayer Chain is totally confidential

Phone Anne Fountain ph: 329 4202

PRAYER FOR THE PARISH

Wednesdays at 8:15am in the Library at St Andrew’s, Diamond Harbour. This is to specifically pray for God’s presence in all our lives and His spirit to move in our Parish. All are welcome. If you are unable to join us, please pray wherever you are.

Eph 3:1-12

Matt 2:1-12

1 Cor 1:1-9

John 1:29-42

RAINBOW

MUSIC Tuesday 6th December

RESTARTS TUESDAY 31ST JANUARY 2017

This fun time is held fortnightly on TUESDAYS during term time alternating with the

Baby & Toddlers Group, at St. Andrews Community Church Hall. Come along at 10am to join in with the music and fun and then

for cuppa at 10:45am. All are welcome Contact Helen for details. Ph.3294790 or

mt.herbertparish@xtra.co.nz

All preschoolers welcome (Bring a parent tho’)

Rom 15:4-13

Matt 3:1-12

James 5:7-10

Matt 11:2-11

Rom 1:1-7

Matt 1:18-25

Titus 3:4-7

Luke 2:8-20

Heb 1:1-4

John 1:1-14

Phil 2:5-11

Luke 2:15-21

1 Cor 1:10-18

Matt 4:12-23

Heb 2:14-18

Luke 2:22-40

Gamma Group

We meet Wednesday nights at 7:30pm at a

home in Diamond Harbour. We pray, read

and discuss the Bible and work out to-

gether what it means to be followers of

Christ. For more information contact Ross

Fountain, phone number: 329 4202

STANDARD SERVICE TIMES

DIAMOND HARBOUR St. Andrews, 85 Marine Drive, Diamond Harbour Sunday weekly at 10:30am Wednesday Quiet/Reflective Communion Service weekly at 9.00 a.m.

GEBBIES VALLEY Church of the Epiphany, Gebbies Pass Rd, Gebbies Valley 1st Sunday of the month at 9am

GOVERNORS BAY St. Cuthbert's was badly damaged in the Sept 2010 earthquake. The 9am congregation now gather weekly at St. Peters, Teddington.

KAITUNA VALLEY St. Kentigerns, Kaituna Valley Rd, Kaituna Please contact the office for information. Baptisms, weddings & funerals by arrangement.

LITTLE RIVER St. Andrews, Church Road, Little River We gather as a community of churches 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 5pm.

PORT LEVY St. Pauls, Port Levy Road, Port Levy

Easter & Christmas, and for baptisms, weddings & funerals by arrangement.

TEDDINGTON St. Peters, Gebbie Pass Road, Teddington Sunday weekly at 9am. The first Sunday of the month is in the form of either Methodist or Presbyterian to fulfill the 1996 Covenant

We look forward to seeing you and celebrating together.

Please visit the Parish website mountherbertparish@wordpress.com for greater access to contacts, audio sermons and much more information

MOUNT HERBERT PARISH CONTACTS

PARISH OFFICE: ph: 329 4790 email: mt.herbertparish@xtra.co.nz.

PRIEST IN CHARGE: Rev Dr Meg Harvey 0274065392

WARDENS: Vivienne Jackson ph: 329 9930

David Cobby ph:329 4601

PASTORAL CARE: Rev. Sandy Constable ph:0223459900

Gebbies Valley: Karen Reid ph: 329 7923

Governors Bay Karen Stenhouse ph: 329 9055

Little River: Fiona Waghorn ph: 329 0171

CHURCH CONTACTS: Diamond Harbour: Merylin Haxell

Gebbies Valley: Karen Reid

Governors Bay: Gail Weaver, Vivienne Jackson.

Little River: Fiona Waghorn,

Teddington: David Dean, Kelvin Duncan.

PARISH TREASURERS: Margaret Somerville, Russell Lienert

St. Andrews Church, Diamond Harbour will be open for people to

use for quiet prayer and reflection on Monday, Wednesday and

Fridays from 9am—4:30pm.