The experts tell us we need to contain the virus whether it be Delta or Omicron so that we can buy time. Time, hopefully to raise our vaccination levels to 95 percent or above for all people, to vaccinate our children, and to deliver booster shots to the vulnerable. All this in order to keep the virus in check – to stop it running rampant throughout the whole of our society.

Learn about the compliance requirements for our buildings.

Ehara I taku toa te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini ke’ My strength is not the strength of one, but the strength of many!

Children didn’t have a lot of rights in the first century. They were seen and not heard. We see this in Luke 18 when parents were bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus, and the disciples try and chase them away. In their opinion, the Lord had more important things to do. But Jesus was passionate about the value of children.

Over the past couple of months it seems that two alternative universes have coalesced and are seeking to occupy the same physical space. They seem to operate on mutually exclusive values systems, each determined that theirs is correct, and the others are either, in one view dreadfully deceived, or in the other clearly delusional. And there seems to be no place for meaningful dialogue. Each universe is made up of people that those in the other universe thought they knew and counted as friends, and no longer recognise.

Te Taha Maori have recently announced the appointment of Peter Baltus, Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua, Ngati Ruanui and Te Atiawa, as the new Pou Whakarae for Te Taha Maori.

The West Papua Council of Churches call for us to pray for their people and John Thornley comments on last month's edition.

“Where did God go?” asked a Time magazine cover a few years ago, signposting an article about the decline of traditional Christianity in Europe.

A couple of weeks ago I watched the online commissioning service for Shirley Rivers, the newly appointed Director of Methodist Mission Northern. The service took place at Pitt Street Church in Auckland, under Covid protocols of a limit of 100 people, masked and vaccinated.

When Dorothy Willis, a lay preacher from Riverton, Southland, retired following 28 years as a school secretary, she decided to enrol in an online learning forum. Her e-learning journey started with an ‘Introduction to Philosophy’ course provided by The University of Edinburgh and delivered by Coursera, an American-based learning provider that partners with universities and organisations globally to provide a vast range of courses online.

The time has come. Covid-19 has landed and is visiting people and places near you. Have you got your plan ready for who is going to walk the dog when your household is isolating, and who is going to deliver the bread or milk when you run out during isolation?

Rev Canon Jenny Chalmers, co-chair of UCANZ and deputy chair of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews. Jenny serves in the Waiapu Cathedral as Canon precentor and Vicar General of the Waiapu Diocese.

One of my favourite quotations from the children’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, has the following conversation between Alice and the Caterpillar.

It is an honor to have been chosen for the role, and I thank the NZMWF executive team and our God almighty for the opportunity.

In Luke 4:1–13 Jesus passes earthly testing by the devil, and ministry rejection by hometown people, before he entered the ministry of the kingdom of good news.

On 15 February the nation moved into Omicron phase two, to slow the spread of the virus and keep the health service and communities protected as transmission spreads. Phase two reduces isolation times and contact tracing methods. People are expected to self-isolate and have a Covid test if they are experiencing symptoms. There are concerns from families that live in crowded homes that don’t have proper isolation space. It is important to have an isolation plan to keep everyone safe. If someone in your household gets Covid-19, the whole household will need to isolate until everyone has fully recovered (3 days symptom-free).

Our most recent Minita-a-iwi from the Taranaki Rohe, Hemi Haddon recalls his public experiences of the use of the Lord’s Prayer, in English and Māori. His engagements here and overseas remind us of a different time when te reo Māori was not as widely spoken as it is today. Te Pire Reo Māori (Māori Language Act 1987) has provided a vehicle for te reo to be recognised, acknowledged and used through everyday use in government institutions, in education, the courts and in the media amongst other avenues. Hemi offers his story.

Hana* self-referred to a Family Start service when she was five months pregnant. Hana’s two older children were in her sister’s care but were removed by Oranga Tamariki due to her sister being a victim of domestic violence. The father of the children was in prison serving a lengthy sentence.

Millions of people living in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by a debilitating Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) called Onchocerciasis, more commonly known as River Blindness. NTDs infect more than one billion people in the world’s poorest communities. The diseases thrive in impoverished, tropical regions where there is poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, numerous insects to spread disease and little access to health services and government support.

Rev Dr Frank Hanson, former Executive Director of the Methodist Education Division (1978-89) and Principal of Trinity Theological College (1989 – 99) reflects on his life in ministry and how his priorities may have changed if he had his time over.

Charity comes from Latin noun ‘caritas’ derived from the adjective ‘carus’ meaning ’dear’ but originally meaning ‘Christian love of your fellow human beings.’

With another pandemic-affected year underway, there are many exciting plans and initiatives that are in store from the TCYFM office this year. Although Omicron is making calendars float in a constant state of uncertainty, exciting and innovative resources are still being developed for children and youth ministry across Te Hāhi.

Aunty answers questions of faith.

Children and parents at Christchurch West Methodist Parish presented a Christmas drama, Away with the Manger. They share their nativity story.

Christian World Service Director Murray Overton expressed his thanks to supporters for the immense support for the Tonga Emergency Appeal. By mid-February donations were close to $150,000.

Christian World Service said thank you and farewell to long serving International Programmes Coordinator Trish Murray who retired in February.

Ugandan students were delighted to return to school on 10 January. Schools had been closed for almost two years – the longest in the world. The government ran out of funds and could not distribute lessons or fund broadcasts after the first months of lockdown. The consequences have been devastating for children across the country. In August last year the government planning authority calculated 4.5 million of an estimated 15 million students would not return. Enrolment data is not yet available.

In 2001, our family enjoyed study leave in the United Kingdom. Top of the bucket list was Ireland. Arriving in Belfast by ferry, we went looking for a rental car.

Author: John C England

Author: Beth Allison Barr

In April last year Connexional Archivist, Jo Smith, advised me that 40 or 50 years ago some Methodist records, previously held at Pitt Street Methodist Church in Auckland Central, had been placed ‘on loan’ with the Auckland Public Library. The Archivist was seeking assistance in facilitating the ‘repatriation’ of the records to the national archive in Christchurch. None of the longstanding members of the Pitt Street congregation were able to recall the records being loaned to the Library. Those Pitt Street members asked me to view these prior to any action being taken.

Around the turn of the 20th century the New Zealand Methodist Conference formally established a committee to deal with the principal social concern of the times – temperance. It called the body the ‘Temperance and Morals Committee’ and so it remained for 30 years, until it was accepted that the Committee’s brief was too “narrow”, in both senses of that word. It felt its agenda was restrictive and it also had reached the point where temperance was a social issue, not an automatic social problem. It is instructive to read the resolution that Conference adopted in 1933 in respect to a name change – that it would give the Committee “the widest possible scope and a name that is easy to handle.” Those last five words speak volumes!

O le taeao na totō fa’aifo ai manū mai lagi, ina ua avea le afioga i le Peresetene, Rev Andrew Doubleday e fai ma sui o le Ekalesia Metotisi Niu Sila, e fa’apaiaina ai le Susuga ia Paulo ma le Faletua ia Faapaiaga Ieli, e fai ma Sea o le Sinoti Samoa, Ekalesia Metotisi Niu Sila.

The Lent season in the Christian Calendar is a time of abstinence. Ash Wednesday (02/03/22), marks the first day and signals the approach of Easter.

Hoko atu ‘a e huhu malu’i ‘a e Vahefonua.

Kuo tu’uta ki Tonga ‘a e koniteina tokoni ‘e tolu mei he Vahefonua. ‘Oku ‘i ai foki mo e koniteina hono fā ‘e fakakakato moia ke ‘ave.