At a service of thanksgiving and remembrance at St Johns Golden Church, Whangarei, whanau, friends, former colleagues, fellow Methodists and ministerial officials from NZ and Fiji gathered to reflect on Paul Sotutu’s life and ministry.

Maui Stuart reports on his commissioning earlier this year.

In late April I received an unexpected email from a highly valued, long time contributor to Touchstone reviews page, learned Methodist minister Rev John Meredith.

I’ve been pondering who we are, and what we stand for into the 3rd decade of the 21st century. I’ve started meeting with a small group of like-ish-minded, similar aged colleagues, and we ‘chew the fat’ on where we are. It started with one other, and over the weeks has grown to five.

Jesus teaches us in his sermon on the mount to “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Matthew 7:7 NRSV.

Readers share their views.

This month’s Budget will be much more than a statement of where the economy is up to and how much the Government will spend on what. As with any Budget, it will also be an implicit statement of national identity, values and direction.

Conference planning is well in hand. Two committees have been established for the planning. A Bicentenary group comprising representatives from the Wesley Historical Society, Te Taha Maori, the wider Connexion, youth and regional contacts have been meeting regularly via Zoom. Their mission has been to plan commemorative events for the conference, including guided tours to key sites of historical interest to Te Hāhi and other moments of celebration.

I hope you are all doing well with these ongoing Covid-19 mischiefs. Part of my role with the Church is about risk management. Along with health and safety risks, there are many other sorts of risks that we need to address. This article is about risk in general, and I use Covid-19 as a relevant example.

1972 was an exciting year for three churches in the Bromley, Linwood, Woolston area of eastern Christchurch. More than 230 years of witness from the Linwood Avenue Church of Christ, St Peter’s Presbyterian Church and the Woolston Methodist Church, united in the newly formed Southeast Christchurch Union Parish, later re-named Linwood Avenue Union Parish.

A few weeks ago, whilst buying birthday cards, my eyes alighted on a most beautiful artistic card with one of my most favourite quotes on its cover. The timeless poet Emily Dickinson writing of the nature of hope:

Conversion seems to be a theme for the month of May.

Ten years ago, my husband and I went to South India for a month to volunteer at a hostel for young people, called an Illam, a home of grace.

In 1950, Parliament was debating the Social Security Amendment Bill and one of the MPs quoted Rev Everil Orr saying that the proposed increases to benefits would barely cover the increased cost of living. The Methodist Alliance argued exactly the same thing in our recent media statement regarding the benefit increases on 1 April 2022.

Preface: The kupu whakapuare, opening words of this reflection are a continuation of the Pā harakeke series. The pā harakeke remains a powerful symbol for describing our human behaviours and relationships in community.

Inflation is an economic phenomenon that has profound implications for lawyers, because the great bulk of laws and legal doctrines have been formulated on the assumption that the value of money remains relatively stable.

In April, the New Zealand Government introduced the Older Workers Employment Action Plan (OWEAP) in a bid to help employees and jobseekers aged 50 and older to find sustainable work that fits their needs.

Rhonda Swenson is an artist who has had solo exhibitions and her work has featured in Vincents Art Workshop group shows in Wellington.

At least 79.5 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. This figure includes almost 26 million refugees.

After decades of work, Christian World Service’s partners are hoping the political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka will lead to significant change for its people.

Christian World Service is inviting support for Operation Refugee 2022, an opportunity to ‘welcome the stranger’ in the words of Jesus in Matthew 25.

The Duke is heartwarming drama. Set in Newcastle, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) writes plays, hoping for BBC fame. At the same time, he also protests TV licences.

In this time of seemingly never-ending crises, Leading From The Stop invites the reader to consider three questions and a practical insight.

Climate Aotearoa is a collection of essays introduced by former Prime Minister Helen Clark.

I am honoured to be a member of Tuitui Salevao’s Executive Committee.

The Fijian children celebrated Palm Sunday by leading the service. Their theme was, 'How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?'

As we cautiously come out of Covid-enforced restrictions and traffic light systems, we are excited to announce the return of our premier Connexional youth leaders training event!

Aunty explores issues of faith.

The commemoration of 2022 as the bicentennial of the Methodist Church in New Zealand rests on the shoulders of the Rev Samuel Leigh.

Fred Prosser 1883-1963

O le Viiga i le Atua i mea aupitoaluga, ma le manuia i le lalolagi, o le finagalo alofa i tagata.(Luka 2:14)

NA KENA BULATAKI NA MASU – NA BULA NEI ANA NA TINAI POROFITA O SAMUELA. (How to a live prayer life – The Life of Anna, the prophet Samuel’s mother.

Share your dream or story. Grant requests close 30 June 2022

Orders for the new Lectionary are due by Friday 8 July 2022