Weekly Notices - 28th September 2025
Introducing our Speaker for the week: Geoff King:
Born and raised in Hawkes Bay, from an early age Geoff King felt called to Christian ministry, and he continues to be surprised by how diverse and deeply fulfilling his experience of ministry has turned out to be.
Ordained in 1994, Geoff worked initially as interim minister at Knox Church Dunedin and later as a Presbyter within the Dunedin Methodist Parish; he also served as a chaplain in the NZ Defence Force and at Columba College, before moving to Knox Church Christchurch in 2003. Whilst working at Knox Christchurch Geoff enrolled part time in a Master of Education degree in Counselling at the University of Canterbury which he had almost completed when a series of seismic events changed his (and the city's) priorities.
Over the next two years Geoff saw it as his mission to keep the Knox congregation together and to get a project to rebuild the historic church building under way. At the start of 2013 Geoff began a new chapter in ministry as Director of Petersgate Counselling Centre, where he served for four years before taking up a position as one of a team of five counsellors supporting more than 2500 students and staff at Burnside High School. In 2022 Geoff was appointed HOD Counselling at Burnside, a role he finds both challenging and rewarding; he also provides supervision to a number of counsellors, clergy and community workers outside of school hours.
Part of Geoff's recent journey has involved diagnosis and several rounds of treatment for cancer. This experience has heightened his awareness of the importance of questions about meaning and mission, and he is very grateful for the opportunity to share some of his musings with us this Sunday.
May God Bless St Aug’s
Your friend and Vicar, Kofe.
Vicar Kofe
This Sunday’s Service (28th September)
Theme: God's Mission in our Hearts.
Sentence: ‘Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful.’
Collect:
Almighty God,
you alone are our true judge, for you know what we are,
you know what we should be, and with you there is great mercy.
Give us feeling for what is right;
set us on fire to see that right is done.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen.
Readings: 1 Timothy 6: 6 – 19 & Luke 16: 19 – 31
This week we continue our St Aug's Mission Month, and we have invited different speakers to address our Combined 10am Services.
The speakers will take the place of our sermons each Sunday, so come and be with us as we support the personal and corporate stories of individuals serving our Lord.
Date Speaker
September 28th Geoff King
October 5th Alistair Philips
Our Diocesan 5 Marks of Mission, adopted to guide us as a church walking into the future:
· To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
· To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
· To respond to human need by loving service
· To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
· To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth
These priorities need not just be corporate or international ideologies; they can be worked into our individual lives as we strive to grow God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Advance Notice: Our next 24-Hour Prayer Weekend is set for: Friday 7 November 5pm - Saturday 8 November 5pm.
Watch this space from the first Sunday in October for details!
We are down to our last Organ Recital with Jeremy Woodside.
The first two concerts (Sea-am Thompson & Martin Setchell) were very popular, get in quick for the last one!
Vestry has agreed to the recommendations from our Mission Motivators (Lerks & Joan) to support NZCMS Māori evangelists with our missions giving.
Joan & Lerks have heard Keri-Anne preach and she had shown Lerks around South Auckland, describing her work there.
We think that Māori evangelists will not only bring the gospel to Māori, but could also re-awaken Christian spirituality with everyone that they encounter.
We see this in our younger generation who want to partner with Māori in their future together.
Please click here for more information about Māori Evangelists.
Messy Church at St Augs!
On Saturday 28th June, we held a very successful ‘Messy Church’ activity day for Pre-School & Primary aged children in the Hall.
Many grateful thanks from Rowena, Thelma and the team to all those that contributed to the success of this day. We hope to hold another session before the end of the year!
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 recently.)
Please remember to use our Diocesan Prayer for Regeneration: As the kotuku gently rests upon the tree, come and rest upon us Holy Spirit as we pray for the regeneration of our Diocese… Ever living God, through your Spirit you constantly renew the whole creation; bring regeneration to your Diocese of Christchurch, grant us courage to grow disciples of Jesus, give us vision to reach young people and their families, and strengthen us to create vibrant communities of faith. All this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Helpful info
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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.