Weekly Notices - 15th March 2026
As we enter the 4th Sunday of our Lenten journey, we are, once again, reminded that Jesus is the Light of the World. If we look through Scripture, we find that Jesus healed many blind people and gave them back their sight – apart of course from His healing the lame and the sick, and even bringing back to life, the dead.
Giving sight to the blind and bringing people “out of darkness” was urgent. Jesus, the Light of the world, fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of bringing freedom for prisoners of darkness and recovery of sight for the blind. Jesus did the miraculous….AGAIN.
In two weeks’ time, we will celebrate His entry to Jerusalem, and with those He has healed, will sing Halleluiah and wave palm fronds to welcome Him as King.
In just over those 2 weeks, we will be remembering how He had to carry His cross to Golgotha after being judged and condemned. And then we will sit with Him at His tomb, together with the crowd that demanded His death and all those He had healed, reflecting on how we put Him there.
Yes, we are approaching the end of our Lent Walk. I pray that as we navigate this final piece of our journey, we are able to look back on the steps we have walked so far and continue to reflect on how we have contributed to the layers of sinfulness this world is gripped by.
May God bless St Aug’s
Your Friend and Vicar, Kofe.
Vicar Kofe
This Sunday’s Service (15th March)
Theme: Jesus shepherding us from darkness into light
Sentence: ‘I am the light of the world,’ says the Lord; ‘those who follow me will have the light of life.’ John 8:12
Collect:
God of unchangeable power,
when you fashioned the world
the morning stars sang together
and the host of heaven shouted for joy;
open our eyes to the wonders of creation
and teach us to see all things for good,
to the honour of your glorious name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Readings: John 9: 1 – 23 & John John 9: 24 - 41
This year, we will be heading for an earlier than usual Easter.
- come and join us as we journey through Lent, being marked with the cross of humility, mortality and penance.
Our AGM date has been set for Saturday, 18th April. Please pray over this most important meeting, and let the Vicar know if you're interested in being a part of our Vestry: no age barriers; we are looking for strong voices who be a part of our decision making group.
Did you know that you can subscribe to receive the Dio’s weekly e-Lifenewsletter via email?
This newsletter contains current ‘happenings’ in the Dio, the Bishop’s weekly blog and other interesting articles Well worth a read!
Go to https://www.anglicanlife.org.nz and scroll down to the bottom (left) of the page where you will find a ’sign up’ button.
You need to put in your email address to sign up.
The Bishop has put out a plea (below) asking for people to make submissions to the Council (Heritage Projects) to prioritise funding for the reinstatement of Christ Church Cathedral. Please do so if you are able.
Dear Friends,
I am writing to ask you to make a submission to the Christchurch City Council’s draft annual plan for 2026-27 which supports the City Council prioritising funding for the reinstatement of Christ Church Cathedral. We need you to speak up for the Cathedral in this regard. There will be voices speaking up for other heritage projects in the city in this submission process and it will be vital that we have many voices speaking up for the priority of the cathedral being funded.
You can find out more the Cathedral Reinstatement website here https://christchurchcathedral.org.nz/support-us/speak-up/ and make a submission via that site.
Or, you can make a submission directly to Council here: Our Draft Annual Plan 2026/27 | Kōrero mai | Let’s talk
You can also read the full Council plan concerning four iconic heritage buildings in the city here:Restoring our iconic buildings | Our Draft Annual Plan 2026/27
In essence, the City Council seeks your views on potential future investment in the restoration of these four iconic buildings. The Council estimates there is a funding gap across all four iconic heritage projects of $290m and thus it wishes to understand community views on what investment might be made in the completion of the four heritage projects.
The first question the Council asks is: “How important is completing the restoration of these four heritage buildings to Christchurch’s future?” and we are invited to make one of six responses, from “Critical – these are essential to our city’s identity and economy” down to “Don’t know”.
Then the Council invites us to make comments “about the Council investing in the restoration of these buildings” and this is a golden opportunity to make a comment about the importance and priority of re-opening the Cathedral.
I ask each resident of Christchurch receiving this letter to make a submission in support of the Cathedral’s reinstatement receiving further City Council support and encourage friends and families to do the same. Possible themes for your written submission are:
The Cathedral as the heart & soul of our community.
A place of spiritual nourishment & reflection
A place of refuge.
A place where all are welcome.
A quiet space away from the busy world.
A symbol of hope.
Your support via this submission process will make a difference to the future decision making of the Christchurch City Council in respect of the priority of Christ Church Cathedral among the four major heritage projects of this city. The deadline for submissions is Friday 27 March 2026.
Thank you for your action on this vital step in securing the funding which will enable us to re-open our cathedral.
Arohanui,
+Peter.
Messy Church
We are aiming to run one sometime in Term 1 next year.
See the photos below to see what our previous ‘Messy Church’ session looked like!
What is ‘Messy Church’? Messy Church is a church for everyone who may not feel comfortable attending a ‘normal’ church service and who don’t yet belong to a church. It typically includes a meal, hands-on activities such as arts, crafts, meeting God in the outdoors, science activities and more, which are suitable for all ages.
Check out the NZ ‘Messy Church’ website! www.messychurch.nz
Please be warned that with the commencement of our roof repairs we have LOTS of scaffolding around the place to be aware of. In particular this affects parking near the Hannan Centre ramp.
Be careful out there!
(And here are a couple of shots of the team in the skyline)
Helpful info
Giving
Groups
It’s easy to connect and get involved with some great social and faith-focused groups that meet regularly across the parish. You can find out about all our regular groups on our Groups page. If you have any questions, just click the contact button to connect with the group’s organiser.
Need prayer?
We’d love to pray for you. See the ‘Prayer Support’ section on the Help & Support page for more information on how we can help with your prayer needs. There are confidential and anonymous options available.