|
Dear
Friends
Since the last Parish Council Meeting we have
moved through the period of Easter celebrating afresh the events
around that time that remind us of God's great love for us and the
whole world.
Following Easter Morag and I enjoyed a break and had a great time
of rest and relaxation as well as a chance to meet our new grandson.
Thank you to Heather who continued the work in my absence.
Since my return it seems my feet have hardly touched the ground.
There has been a funeral each week, and of course most notably that
of Alan Gilbertson. I want to pay tribute to a loyal and faithful
friend to many in this Parish. Alan's faith shone through in all
that he did, and he is already being missed in many ways. I valued
his friendship, his advice, his willingness to assist in whatever
way that he could. Our prayers and love continue to be with Joyce
and the family over this time.
The usual rounds of meetings, Rest home services, and parish events
continue.
I have also been involved in getting together the budget for the
coming year. We need to constantly remind ourselves and the people
of First Church of what it costs to keep a parish running. Economic
hard times are biting in, even if the signs in the wider world are
beginning to look more positive. However, as these hard time take
hold, the work of the church does not slow, and in fact often increases
as people face difficulties and look for more support.
We need to continue to encourage people to look at how they can
continue to support the work of the church in the community. This
support really only comes from the church community itself. Such
times can also lead to encouraging people to see life in the context
of faith. There is more to life than the material comforts that
we have become so accustomed too. These have often clouded our need
of faith God and any sense of human dependency on the Divine.
There are some events coming up that I am working toward. We have
been asked to give support to a celebration the life of Alex Lithgow,
composer of the Invercargill March and many other works. Gavin Marriott
of Christchurch is attempting to put something together which will
form part of a service on the 12 July hopefully. We will have a
St John service coming up too. I continue my work with the local
Area Committee of St John as chairman. This brings a few other events
and meetings also.
Richard Gray
Minister.
|
