From the Billboard Easter 2020
This Easter: Don’t go to church, be the church
All Church Gatherings Suspended
Today we received notice that the Methodist Church of New Zealand Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa has suspended all church services – this includes ours at Durham Street. This is not only in consideration of the risks of those attending, but also to reduce as much as possible any further spread of the virus to … Continued
We celebrate birthdays
Celebrating a first birthday (and a few several years older at the same time) in our church community.
February Public Issues Update
Getting to Know and Improve Water Use in our Homes and Churches: There is a link between water and carbon emissions. It is easy to overlook the energy used in treating and delivering water to our taps, and for heating water. Energy is used to treat water and pipe it to our homes and churches. Energy … Continued
The Real Face of Jesus
This beautiful mini-coffe table book, by Sean Hawkey, is a dramatic collection of portraits and very short true stories of men and women in Honduras, who are called Jesus. Honduras is full of drama at the moment: violence and gangs, political upheavals, mass migration, the assassination of indigenous leaders like Berta Cāceres. But among the … Continued
Singing, Oxytocin and Ancient Urges
By Carol Barron Singing is one of our most ancient urges. It connects us to our tribal past and fills us with happiness. When we sing, our whole body is the instrument. Our ribcage vibrates, our airways hum, musical vibrations move through our body and alters our physical and emotional landscape and a light goes … Continued
What is Prayer?
Even though we may not all agree what prayer actually is, as a church community that doesn’t stop us from praying together – tolerant of each other’s understanding. Here is one person’s view, which also offers an interesting exploration of both the scientific and spiritual value of prayer and meditation. (And there are some fascinating … Continued
Ministry of Teddy Bears
The chaplaincy team at Christchurch Women’s (which also includes Children wards, Child Haematology and Oncology, and Neo-natal Intensive Care) have a ministry of giving teddy bears. They are looking for knitters to join their team. The Ministry began after the earthquakes and has made a positive impact on children and their families. The bears are … Continued
Be a Lifeline this Christmas
Christian World Service is committed to tackling the causes of poverty as well as its effects. CWS works in 22 countries with committed local partners deeply rooted in their communities, because they are most likely to make long term lasting change happen for the poorest people.
December Public Issues Update
We are heading to Christmas with the passing of the Child Poverty Reduction Act. The big news is that it was supported by all political parties, so it should give stability for continuing attention to reducing child poverty regardless of who is in power. The Act also sets measures for reporting so we can track … Continued
Website Mysteries Revealed
Interested in learning the mysteries of websites? Ever wondered what it would be like to be your own webmaster or mistress? With the revamping and relaunch of our new website, the New Black (our website consultants) will shortly be running training for people on how to update content, add pages etc. We already have two … Continued
My Life on the Streets
Photo credit: The Press In 2018 Rob Ferguson reflected on his time as Durham Street Methodists’ inaugural chaplain to the StreeTs, using the three Bible readings set for that Sunday. There have been times in the last two and a bit years of walking Christchurch’s often-munted streets when I’ve wondered what I ever thought I … Continued
Welcoming Refugees
The ‘I Welcome Pledge’ asked New Zealanders if they supported community sponsorship of refugees and if they would like to see the current pilot become an annual programme. In all, over 10,000 people have added their voices so far to the Pledge. More information is available at https://www.iwelcome.org.nz/, where you can pledge your support for … Continued
God Shows No Partiality
Based on the writings of Dave Barnhart (www.saintjunia.org) What do Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, James and Peter all agree on? “If you were to ask most contemporary Christians, ‘What verse best sums up the message of the early church?”, they would have no problem telling you that it is John 3:16: “For God so loved … Continued
Does Tithing Exploit the Poor?
It’s a great feeling to be able to give – to make our contribution. And everyone should have the opportunity to give as they are able. But that is miles away from pressuring already-stretched people into giving or shaming people to go under or have to take out usurious loans just to survive. It is … Continued
Gay is OK – Because the Bible Tells Me So
Nathan Jennings used to be adamantly opposed to the ‘gay lifestyle’. He now considers himself LGBTQ-affirming, and an ally to the community. Why the change? Well, he blames Jesus. The more he studied the Bible and learned about Jesus and what it means to be truly human, the more he discovered that love is at … Continued
Church is Who We Are Together
Have you ever sat in church and drifted off when the announcements seemed to go on for ever, or wished we could get started on the real stuff? I want to suggest something radical — that the announcements (at their best) are us creating church together. They need not be an intermission or an ad-break … Continued