Dear Friends,

The season of Lent begins on Wednesday 22 February, Ash Wednesday. I hope that you will all attend one of the three Masses at S. Michael’s on that day.

This day is also the anniversary of the most devastating of our earthquakes, in which 184 people were killed. At each of our Masses there will be a time of silent remembrance followed by prayer for those who died and for their loved ones. In addition to this, at 12:51 pm, the time of the quake, some of us and the School will gather near the belfry for a few moments of silence, and then the bell will be tolled 184 times, in remembrance of each of the dead. The church will be open all day for people to light candles, as they remember loved ones.

Lent, this season of forty days before Easter, originated in the time set aside by the early Church for rigorous preparation of new Christians for baptism. It was also a time to prepare lapsed Christians to be received back into the Church’s sacramental life at Easter. It was not long before the Church realised the benefit of such a time of preparation for all members. And so Lent has now become a season of preparation, full of expectation for Good Friday and Easter, marked by special prayer and fasting and almsgiving.

On Ash Wednesday the distinctive action in the liturgy is the marking of a cross in ash upon our foreheads. With this action, our 40-day journey towards Easter begins. The ash is a sign of our poor mortality as human beings (“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return”), but the cross is a sign of the Christian response to that. It links us with our baptism, the other time when a cross is marked upon our brows. At baptism we are given a new dignity and destiny as we are taken into the ever new and living way of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. As the cross of ash is marked upon our brows, we are called to turn back to the way of our baptism and what was promised there, and to rediscover the faithful presence of the Risen Christ always with us on our journey.

Lent therefore needs to be a time for some spiritual spring-cleaning, for being jolted into repentance, for a rediscovery of the rich heritage of our baptism and our life in the Church, and for preparation to make a joyful new start as we renew our baptismal promises at Easter.

Each Sunday during Lent, at 5:30 pm, you are invited to join in the Way of the Cross in S. Michael’s Church. In this devotion we remember the passion and death of Jesus Christ, as we move around the stations represented by the fine carved plaques around the walls. Our prayers are for our broken world, which God loves so much, and for which Christ died.

I hope that you will all strive to make this Lent a time of renewal for yourselves, perhaps using some of the means that the parish provides. These include the daily Bible readings listed here, the study group, sacramental confession, and additional commitments to prayer and worship and service.

Dear Friends,

It is good to be gathered as this community of faith again, as schools return and workplaces reopen for the year. I hope that those of you who have had holidays have been refreshed, and that all are feeling renewed for another year. Johnann and I have had a good holiday, in Wellington, at home, and closing up our red-zoned bach at Pines Beach. I am glad though to be back at S. Michael’s, as when I am away for a time I feel I am missing out on something good.

Today we celebrate Candlemas, the fortieth day after Christmas, when according to the Gospel story the infant Jesus is taken by his parents to be presented in the Temple, and Simeon recognises him as ‘the light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God’s people Israel.’ The light theme, which is so pervasive in the celebration of Christmas and its associated festivals, is undoubtedly more telling at this time in the northern hemisphere. But of course the light is a universal symbol of all that challenges the darkness of much human experience, and speaks of the hope that there is in Jesus Christ and in the Gospel he embodies and proclaims.

Primary schools, including S. Michael’s Church School, begin again tomorrow. Here we shall gather at 8:40 am for an assembly, when we shall pray God’s blessing on the new school year. Then as each class goes to its room, it will be blessed with those who teach and learn there. We welcome back our pupils and our hardworking staff.

Are there any among you who may wish to be specially prepared to renew your baptismal promises at Easter? If so, you will be supported and encouraged throughout Lent in a small catechumenal group. Would any like to join this group for their own renewal, or as a ministry to new believers? Please contact me soon.

Last year we began with big hopes for our celebration of 160 years of the Church in this place. The earthquakes rather shattered all those plans. This year our church building is 140 years old. We are very fortunate that the building is still safe to use, and looking wonderful. But all the shaking has wracked the structure considerably, and we shall embark on further strengthening work as soon as possible. As we know, the organ was also damaged and is being rebuilt. A fundraising group is working hard, and will soon be addressing us again about that. 

May this be a better year for everyone, and especially for those who have lost houses and jobs and even loved ones.

Dear Friends,

It is with great joy that we gather together again with Christians everywhere, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s ‘Word made flesh’.

2011, in which we had hoped to celebrate our 160 years as a Parish and a School, has been a terrible year, with the destruction of our city and the disruption of the lives of so many. We are grateful that community life continues, and are poised to be part of the rebuild.

May those of you who are visitors to S. Michael’s be blessed by your visit, and may God keep you safe as you go upon your way. Some of you are people who have moved away, but for whom S. Michael’s will always be home. We love to welcome you back. Others will be seeking to keep this festival in a significant way, and so have come to this holy place. May the Spirit of the Christ-child grow in you, and may you discover with all of us, that indeed ‘God is with us’, as he always promises.

Tonight in this lovely church, decorated with candles and flowers, and filled with music and wonderful people of faith and goodwill, we celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the birth as we attend to the Christmas crib, and place the Christ-child there, as we listen to the readings from the Scriptures and let their wisdom and proclamation seep into us and shape us, and as we gather at the altar and receive God’s gracious gift of himself, offered before us, in the Body and Blood of Christ. We do all this in the confidence that, whatever our state in life at the moment, whatever the cloud that may cover us and ours, Jesus Christ is living within and among us.  He alone brings new life when death and its works are all around, and in the darkness enables us to find light.

Thank you, on behalf of us all, to those who have done so much to make our celebration of the festival so very special. Musicians, servers, readers, sacristans, flower arrangers, printers and publishers, cleaners, pastoral visitors, clergy, and all the rest who keep this wonderful ship afloat.

Our cash collections at Christmas are all given to the Christian World Service Appeal. I hope that this year the Appeal will be supported as generously as always, so that we may help CWS to keep hope alive for people in some of the world’s dark places. It is good for us to be intentionally generous to those who have few resources, at a time when we spend so much on ourselves. Envelopes are available tonight (gifts are tax deductible). CWS has a proven track record, and we can give through this agency with confidence.

May those of you who are having annual holiday at this time keep safe, and return refreshed for the year ahead.

May God bless you all.

Fr Peter Williams

Dear Friends,

We are in the last days of Advent now, and savouring the countdown to the Nativity festival. The daily readings are rich in the sense of yearning for, and promise of, better things.

This morning we baptise Lucy Karin Rouch, daughter of Rupert and Laura who were married here and whose elder sister Harriet was baptised here. They are now living in Wellington and have returned to visit family. We welcome Lucy and her friends and family. 

Today the Gospel turns from John the Baptist to Mary, as it prepares us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, we are told, is the one ‘who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled’. She committed her life so that this would indeed happen, as she brought to birth and nurtured to maturity her gifted son.

All of us who respond with welcome to Jesus Christ, and who seek to live in his Spirit, will listen to the promises of God and strive to be part of the means by which they are fulfilled. At this time, God’s promise of a reign of peace is as precious and as apparently impossible as it ever was. Perhaps we are called once more to allow ourselves to become instruments of that peace, letting it come to birth in the smallest details of our human interactions and nurturing it with just deeds and generous trust. And, as the angel told Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Tonight we shall enjoy the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmas. The choir is in very fine form. I hope that many of you will come and bring friends as well, for this lovely service of scriptural and musical meditation on the Christmas story. Please bring a small contribution of food or drink for supper afterwards.

On Monday evening at 6:30 pm we shall welcome families to the Children’s Carol Service. Please invite any children you know to come. After the short service there will be a Christmas supper for the children.

On Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm we are hosting the City Mission Carol Service which would normally have been held in the Cathedral. There will be a huge crowd, and it will be good for these long-standing supporters of the Mission to be welcomed here. While the Mission has its own staff for catering, it would be good if some of us could be ushers and safety wardens, and guide people to the hall afterwards. Please speak to me if you are able to do this.

Finally, I hope that the CWS Christmas Appeal will be supported as generously as usual. It is good for us to be intentionally generous to those who have few resources, at a time when we spend so much on ourselves. CWS has a proven track record and we can give through it with confidence. Envelopes are available today, and gifts are tax deductible.

Dear Friends,

Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the joy that will come to those who open their lives to welcome the Spirit of God. The day’s readings are full of the promise and joy of renewal that comes through those who trust simply in the Lord. In the case of John the Baptist we see the joy that belongs to those who accept their vocation and pretend to be nothing other than their humble selves. He is content to be only the voice that carries the word God puts in his mouth. His way is to hand his life over totally to Christ. This Sunday is sometimes called ‘Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday’ because of the references to joy in the texts. The vestments worn today are rose, and the third candle on the Advent wreath is pink. The music also reflects this theme of joy.

At 5:00 pm today the School community will gather in the church for their annual Carol Service. On Monday the Parish will provide a lunch for the Year 8 leavers, and on Tuesday evening the School Break-up Ceremony and Prize-giving will take place in the Christ’s College Hall. On Wednesday morning at 9:30 am the School will celebrate its final Mass of the year, then the School closes at midday. We wish the staff and pupils a blessed Christmas and a relaxing summer, and look forward to welcoming them back next year.

Next Sunday evening we have our service of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmas, for which the choir has prepared carefully. Come and bring your friends. This will be followed by a special supper in the hall. And on Monday 19 December, at 6:30 pm we have our Children’s Crib and Carols Service, to which some come who have little other connection with S. Michael’s. We are glad to welcome them, and we would appreciate offers of help with hospitality and the running of this simple service.

Christopher Orczy, who was a catechumen here and a member of our community before the family moved to Australia, is to be ordained to the Diaconate by the Bishop of Newcastle on Wednesday, to serve in the parish of Singleton. I have sent a message of encouragement from us all at S. Michael’s.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is as always available here, and particularly so in Advent. The cleansing in this sacrament helps to make ‘a highway for our God’ through our cluttered lives. It used to be said that “all may, no one must, and some should” make use of this Sacrament of the Church. Confession times are as advertised, or by appointment.

Dear Friends,

Today we baptise Madeline Isabella Jane Mooney, daughter of Gemma and Aaron who were married here not long ago, and great-grand-daughter of Nancy Lee of this congregation. We welcome their friends and families as they gather here today.

Tomorrow, Mary Harding is to receive a Canterbury Volunteers’ Award for the huge contribution she has made over the years to the setting up and maintaining of the Diocesan Archives. (The Archives are safe but still out of reach at the moment.) And John Graveston has received a special award at Shirley Boys’ High School for his exceptional service to the school community. It seems no time since he was showing this promise at S. Michael’s Church School. Congratulations to you both.

In this busy season, please do not forget the CWS Christmas Appeal. I am glad that as a parish we contribute generously to it each year. As we spend a lot on ourselves and families, may we put aside some resources to give hope to those who have very little. CWS is the Church’s very reliable and efficient agent, delivering help to carefully chosen projects in places and communities where it is especially needed.

I hope that you may take time to read the daily Advent readings, and so expose yourself to some of the wonderful images there: images of God who comes to us at any moment, and often in circumstances unpromising and surprising—as a child born in an animal shed, or a young man executed on a gibbet, in hope when all seems  grim, in acts of kindness and undeserved forgiveness, in extravagant generosity.

May God give us all strength and discernment in this season. May our quiet trust help us to make it a time when our longing for the reign of God is refreshed and nurtured, and our desire for many lesser things put in its proper place.