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Update
While Kerry is busy enjoying the climes of Africa, I’ve hijacked this page to let you know about some of our coming events…
Tina Callcut - Acting Communications Manager
<typohead type="2">Communications Manager appointed</typohead>
Great news! Assembly Office and the Council of Assembly are pleased to announce that we have appointed a Communications Manager, Jo Reader. Jo is currently working as a senior communications advisor for the Corrections department. She starts her new role here on 6 September.
Assembly 2004
Assembly 2004 promises to be a mix of the comfortable and the controversial and includes celebration of the 50th anniversary of Te Aka Puaho. It opens on Sunday with worship and cultural presentations on our mission. School of Ministry students and teachers will be assisting and presenting throughout the Assembly.
Our guest speaker is the Rev Dean Drayton, President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Dean’s priority is to call congregations and church councils to reaffirm their love for Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit find new ways to serve, witness and worship. He acknowledges the gifts that different cultures bring to the mission of the church and is engaged in the dialogue on sexuality within the church.
A number of reports have been prepared for the Assembly. One of the most significant deals with developing leaders. The Equipping the Leadership Policy Group outlines a competency framework, and suggests a leadership appraisal system to provide more support and encouragement for (often isolated) leaders. It also signals a future removal of the compulsory retirement age for ministers.
The new Book of Order is still being drafted and will not be presented at this Assembly. A legal opinion clarifying the Church’s requirements, sought by the Council of Assembly, has not yet been received, nor have the constitutional recommendations been finalised. What could be discussed is whether we need a Special Assembly to deal with the completed draft.
Another complex issue is the Church’s desire to have a policy regarding people in same gender relationships in leadership. Like most western broad churches we are divided about how best to approach this question and must come to a compromise that honours different expressions of our common adherence to God’s Word in Christ.
The Church’s national operations are another subject for discussion. Conflicting proposals from parishes and presbyteries around Assembly Assessment signal the need for clarity about the principles by which we operate.
On a lighter note, our hosts at St Andrew’s College will provide some entertainment with a specially prepared drama and there will be reports from the Children’s Assembly and of progress in Youth Ministry.
<typohead type="2">Flights to Assembly</typohead>
And while we’re on the topic of Assembly, please note that the flights that Air New Zealand are holding for us expire on 20 August when they will be reassigned. If you need to book your flights, do so soon or you may miss out...
sPanz
Due to cost cutting measures, sPanz is now being produced only four times a year – March, June, September and December. Your next delivery of sPanz should be around the last weekend of August for the September issue and the third week of November for the December issue.
Friends of Turakina Māori Girls’ College Association Friends
would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and acknowledge support received since our last report to the Bush Telegraph.
Congratulations and a special thank you to Sister Maisie Queale, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of her ordination as a deaconess by giving $100,000 towards the funds for a multi-purpose complex for the college. We would like to acknowledge both the anniversary and her generosity.
Thank you also to:
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all who have paid their subscriptions
life members who use the subscription form each year to make a donation
those who support the college through Telecom’s ‘School Connection’ scheme
The Warehouse for offering the college discounts through its local branches
Warehouse Stationery Petone for a 40% discount on stationery for Friends’ newsletters.
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Some recent college highlights include:
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a very good report on academic achievement from the Ministry of Education
improved literacy levels in students in Years 10-12
waka ama (outrigger canoe) teams doing very well in the national finals
students participating in the pōwhiri for a health conference at Massey University
two girls from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) attending the college during Term 1 – and one arranging to stay on. She is soon to start giving conversational Spanish lessons to other students as an after-school activity.
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Thank you all for your continuing support. Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki.
You can find out more about the college on their website at www.tmgc.school.nz