Food For Faith made it to the Press this morning offering a comment on the unprecedented opportunity Bishop Martin is giving Christchurch Catholics to be a part of...
a new harmony
There is always a temptation to build “nests”, to cling to our little group, to the things and people we like, to resist all contamination. It is only a small step from a nest to a sect
with Easter joy
Just as the earthquake shook the land at the moment of Jesus’ death, it was an earthquake that helped to bring our diocese to its knees nine years ago. This places us firmly with the first disciples of Jesus
united in prayer
“Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord”. We know that our loving God has not caused this pain, but the freedom God gives us as a mark of his great love has been tragically misused and abused.
united in worship
And it is Christ who brings us together tonight, Anglican and Catholic with friends, to focus again on what is essential. We are united by the challenges we face here in this place. We are at a spring-time of faith in our dioceses, with citizens hungry for mature and adult faith.
Bishop Peter Carrell
The Christian community of Christchurch rejoices today with the Episcopal Ordination and Installation of The Reverend Doctor Peter Carrell as the ninth bishop of the...
love in action
“if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognising God’s closeness…
in giving we receive
From today's gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent: When all the people asked John [the Baptist], ‘What must we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must...
there is love
You might be feeling the hype of pre-Christmas parties. You could be busy tying up loose ends at work. Some families are flat out trying to get all the gift shopping done, preparing for relatives to visit, or trying to organise a trip away.
Rochester lecture
This week in Christchurch the annual Rochester lecture is presented by Bishop Paul Martin SM, the new(ish) Catholic bishop of Christchurch. This is an opportunity to...
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Annunciation
A couple of thousand years ago, a young Jewish woman was going about her normal morning routines, perhaps with a mixture of house and garden work, chatting with parents and neighbours, aware of the local drought, the sickness of a neighbour and annoyed by the neighbourhood’s lack of sleep caused by the Romans’ noisy party the night before, when God broke into her routine and entered her life in a new and powerful way.

the real centre
Over the last month I have had the opportunity to work with many people across Aotearoa and further afield. In every retreat and seminar I have been with committed and faith-filled people who often feel as though they are on the periphery of the Church

the adventure
It’s easy to make the mistake of seeing life as a treadmill, day after day ups and downs, a movement through time from youth to old age, then death and beyond.
Too often if feels as if we are helplessly captive carried along by the momentum of all that is expected of us and demanded from us, and we risk falling into an existence mode, a daily rhythm of survival, enduring, coping and so the treadmill rolls on.

the bigger picture
Over the years, and even in recent months, weeks and days, I’ve prayed many prayers which have not been answered as I had hoped.
You’ve probably had the same experience: praying and wondering if and when or how your prayer will be answered.

moving waters
Bible questions still pop up regularly in quiz shows and they often cost otherwise sharp players much needed points.
I’m ready for a question asking for the two names for the last book of the Bible. The book often known as Apocalypse is perhaps more often referred to as the Book of Revelation.
It’s common (thanks to movies) to think of an apocalypse as a devastating and unwelcome time of destruction.