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Mission-based refurbishment at St Ninian’s
In November 1994 the Presbyterian parish of St Ninian’s, Karori and the Wellington West Methodist Parish joined together to become the Karori Northland Uniting Parish.
At the time of amalgamation the congregation decided to settle and join together before any major decisions were made about the buildings’ future. Eventually it was decided the parish would base its activities on the St Ninian’s site and seek to dispose of their other two properties.
The Ward complex was eventually sold to another parish as their worship site, while St John’s was sold to the Wellington City Council for development of the heart of Karori, and particularly for the continuation of a community and youth centre. Money from the sale of the two properties was invested.
It was decided the buildings should be developed as a uniting centre available for the church and wider community, and would include memorabilia indicating the heritage passed on by both denominations.
Once necessary approvals were gained from all parent bodies, the parish launched into a project to improve existing buildings. Architects were employed, followed by many months of consultation with the congregation and user groups. Drawings, plans and more drawings were developed until the design was suitable to most and budget considerations were met.
Every room in the complex has had some form of improvement or repairs made.
The chapel is called the Ward Memorial Chapel and includes furniture and memorabilia from the church in Northland. St John’s Lounge displays items special to that congregation and chancel furniture has been created partly from St Ninian’s furniture. Other items from the Presbyterian partner are displayed in the nave.
St Ninian’s is a busy place. Some areas are used by more than one group a day - often there are several groups in at once. Facility users include small community groups with limited resources, health and fitness groups, childhood art, drama and music groups, entertainment for the elderly, community prayer, and civil defence.
St Ninian’s runs two programmes providing fun and education for children and the facilities are open, light, bright and functional areas. Further development of exterior church signage is in progress to improve exposure about what is happening at St Ninian’s.
The church office at the front of the complex provides an accessible information point for questions about the church. Offices in the front of the building increase exposure to the community and support the desire to have a more ‘open church’. It has developed a ‘church in the marketplace’ identity, and become a place many people come to regularly, for one reason or another. This supports part of the mission statement - “Christ centred – community facing”.
For more information about the parish contact:
stnup(at)xtra.co.nz or www.stninians.org.nz
Minister: Rev Neil Keesing 476-3154
Parish administrator: Mrs Lynley Wilson 476-7137
going BACK in time
Having just returned from holidaying in Orkney, Scotland I write with what I feel is an interesting tale! My wife and children accompanied me to the site of a recently refurbished (and now disused) Presbyterian Church, St Peters in Sandwick, Orkney, near the ancient stoneage site of Skara Brae. We came across a very old, overgrown grave - the person buried there was a young girl by the name of Agnes McGowan, 14 Nov 1843-7 May 1861. She was a daughter of the Rev William McGowan, 30 years of that parish, who went to New Zealand in 1865 and who died there in 1877. I wondered if any of his relatives still live in New Zealand and whether they were aware of the grave.............
Gordon Leslie, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland
If anyone knows of the Rev William McGowan and would like to contact Gordon Leslie, his email address is: Uallasbrus(at)aol.com
Get your dancing shoes on!
Tickets for the largest Christian music festival in the southern hemisphere, Parachute 05, are on-sale now.
The Hamilton-based event, to be held 28-31 January 2005 - is expected to attract 23,000 people from New Zealand and around the world.
While most attendees are between 14-25, it is a family friendly event. Artists performing at the festival include Third Day, Audio Adrenaline, Grits, Day of Fire, and Shawn McDonald.
The festival is organised by Parachute, whose mission is to take Christian Music in New Zealand to unprecedented levels… to use music both locally and globally to move people closer to Jesus Christ.
See the parachute music website, www.parachutemusic.com, for more information about the festival including how to get hold of tickets.
Walter Brueggemann
<typohead type="3">24-28 January, St Kentigan's, Auckland </typohead>
A block course of lectures by Walter Brueggemann, for a Semester 1 paper, is to be held in Auckland in January 2005.
Walter Brueggemann is a pre-eminent biblical scholar, a widely published author, a United Church of Christ minister, and emeritus professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He is the author of The Prophetic Imagination, The Land, Reverberations of Faith, An Introduction to the Old Testament. A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes, The Bible Makes Sense, Struggling with Scripture, commentaries on Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, The Psalms, Samuel, Kings and many other books on Old Testament themes.
This course is available for University of Otago credit or for audit only.
The paper is BIBX 412 Special Topic Prophets: voices of alternative imaginations
It is available as credit towards MMin, PGDipMin, PGDipTheol, Mtheol or simply for COP.
Fees for 2005 have not yet been set, but the 2004 amount is $811.25, so there may be a slight increase.
Should you wish to register for this series of lectures and the university paper, please contact the Department of Theology & Religious Studies, University of Otago, P O Box 56, Dunedin, or theology(at)stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Should you wish to audit this series of lectures the fee will be $500.
If you wish to register for this series of lectures for audit only, please contact The Registrar, School of Ministry, Knox College, Arden Street, Opoho, Dunedin, or registrar(at)knoxcollege.ac.nz
Christian World Service
<typohead type="3">World Food Day </typohead>
October 16 is World Food Day, drawing attention to the huge problem faced by most people in the world who don't have enough to eat.
Christian World Service (CWS) is highlighting this issue and the activities of partners around the world aimed at ensuring food security for their people. The year will culminate in the Christmas Gift Appeal, with the theme “Plant Seeds, Plant Hope”, which underlines the importance of secure food supplies for all aspects of people's lives - not just to quell their hunger. CWS has a video, The Global Banquet, which explains the huge problem of world food supplies. It is available by contacting CWS and stating the date you wish to borrow a copy.
<typohead type="3">Christmas Gift Appeal </typohead>
Don't forget to send your order forms to CWS for Christmas Appeal resources. All parishes should have received a resource kit. Posters and other orders are being sent out now.
<typohead type="3">Calendar 2005</typohead>
CWS Calendars have arrived. The calendar includes stunning photos that reflect 60 years of Christian World Service's action against poverty. It’s a great Christmas gift at $12.50. Darfur Crisis
CWS reports continuing attacks in Darfur, forcing thousands more people from their homes and into relief camps. Over 1.5 million people have now been displaced by the ethnic violence. People are fleeing for their lives without food or water. At the moment, there is no shelter, food, water, sanitation or medical care available for new arrivals.
"More relief aid is urgently needed. We ask New Zealanders to give generously to the Sudan appeal," says Jonathan Fletcher, CWS National Director.
Contact CWS for more information about any of the articles in Bush Telegraph by phoning 0800 74 73 72 or 03 366 9274. You can also visit their website at cws(at)cws.org.nz.
Get your office needs sorted. Cheap.
Assembly Office has negotiated competitive rates for the purchase, hire and lease of a range of audio visual and office equipment including, photocopiers, printers, facsimiles, TVs, videos and just about anything else you can think of!
To find out more information about how to take advantage of the offer, please contact Hazel Smith (HazelS(at)presbyterian.org.nz) at Assembly Office for more details.
Learning awaits you
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Otago offers course in Christian Theology by distance learning for people throughout New Zealand. It is possible to complete a Bachelor of Technology (BTheol) degree, study for individual papers, or for other university qualifications such as the Certificate and Diploma of Theological Studies.
Enrolments for first semester papers close in December 2004, and second semester papers at the beginning June 2005.
More information on the courses available has been included with this newsletter, and can also be found on the Presbyterian website at www.presbyterian.org.nz
Police Checks
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Police check requests
Assembly Office checks
Requests from Boards of Nomination for Minister’s information forms
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For the next six to eight weeks, there are changes taking place in the administration section of Assembly Office.
It would help us to help you in dealing with requests for police checks, Assembly Office checks, and Minister’s Information Forms if you could get your requests in as early and allow us a couple of extra days to deal with them.