Weekly Notices - 30th November 2025
Welcome to Advent, the season in which preparations begin for the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour. It is also when road intersections get crushed by Christmas shoppers and there is very little hope that you will find peace in any of the shopping malls around our city, being crushed with the rest of humanity into sales spaces and gift aisles.
It is important that we pause in all our busy planning and just enjoy the wonder of the reason for the season. That miraculous birth in the darkness of nowhere – a little village surrounded by hills, shepherds watching; a little room at the back of an inn where animals were watered and fed; a couple who had no idea what their future would look like; a jealous king faraway but plotting.
We imagine these things and we are so grateful for that event! We are grateful for the birth of our Saviour who looks way beyond our inequities and who loves us unconditionally; we are grateful for the silence in which God sent His Son to us, to intercede for us and to carry our brokenness; we are grateful that in today’s crazy world, we get to sing ‘Halleluiah’ with Hope, Peace, Love and Joy over the coming weeks.
And we are grateful that our dear Sumner Silver Brass Band can join us in singing our ‘Halleluias’.
May we be held in the themes of Advent and in prayer as we prepare our spiritual celebrations of an occasion that cannot be equalled!
God bless St Aug’s
Your Friend and Vicar, Kofe.
Vicar Kofe
This Sunday’s Service (30th November)
Theme: Being ready and prepared for Jesus’ Coming: Advent 1
Sentence: Restore us again O God: show us the light of your face and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:3
Collect:
We praise and thank you, Creator God,
for you have not left us alone.
Each year you come to us, Emmanuel,
God with us in a manger.
Each time you come to us
in the broken bread and the cup we share.
In time or out of time you will be revealed
and we shall see you face to face.
Amen.
Readings: Romans 13: 11- 14 & Matthew 24: 36 - 44
FROM THE PRAYER WORKING GROUP (Christine, Jenny and Liz)
Memories of our 24-Hour-Prayer event continue to warm our hearts & feed our spirits!
A big thank you to all who participated; the Saturday section leaders, the parishioners who came along to support and pray, the faithful parishioners who prayed us through every one of the 24 hours at home, and the wonderful background people who assisted along the way.
And now, as we focus on “where to from here”, we’re beginning to look towards prayer goals for 2026.
We’d love to increase the numbers in our Email Prayer Team.
Many of you have received prayer through this team, or through the Prayer Box, and from the 11am Pray-ers at the end of services.
We invite you, along with all parishioners, to seriously consider joining the seven intercessors who currently make up the Email Prayer Team.
In joining, you commit to pray regularly for as long as you like, and in any way you like, for prayer requests that are forwarded firstly to Christine, then on to the team.
This ministry is one that older parishioners can so easily be part of!
Give it a go, and see how this special ministry will bless you and bless others through you!
Just email Christine at cdesenna@gmail.com to join up!
Sunday 30th November:
Please note that this particular Sunday will be the 5th Sun of the month; hence a 10am Combined Service.
It will also be the 1st Sun of Advent, our time of preparation before Christmas, and it is delightful that our Sumner Silver Brass Band will be leading our music selection. We are grateful for our warm connection with SSBB, established through Loki Kristiansen, and always look forward to having them in our midst.
Please diary Sun 30th November as a 10am Combined Service, and plan ahead to bring a plate for Morning tea.
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
The church is currently being opened to the public each Thursday afternoon between 1 - 3pm.
This is a great opportunity for you or others you may know to walk through our beautiful doors and sit in the quiet holiness of our space.
Everyone is welcome, and we thank Kristine & Mick McKey for this ministry.
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.