shared from the World Day of Prayer website World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement led by Christian women who welcome you to join in prayer and action for peace and justice. Each church in Hawkes Bay take a turn to host the day, this year it is the turn of All Saints, Taradale. Starting at 9am with light refreshments then the service at 10am. The 2026 World Day of Prayer materials from Nigeria bring us a powerful invitation drawn from Matthew 11:28-30. At a time

Shared from A Rocha Aoteroa NZ Newsletter dated Feb 2026 Caring for Creation during the Season of Lent The season of Lent begins this Ash Wednesday and concludes on Easter Sunday. For 40 days, as we journey toward Easter, we are invited to reflect on our relationship with God and with all of God’s Creation. Many people take up a spiritual practice during Lent such as giving something up, joining a study group, or adopting a new rhythm of prayer. This year, we invite you to co

A Rocha Aotearoa NZ will be hosting the Hawkes Bay Eco Church gathering in the All Saints Octagon. 7 March, starts at 9.30am. Their aim is to connect, share stories and learn new ways to grow sustainability and Creation Care in our churches. These gatherings are a chance to meet others on the journey, be encouraged by practical examples and discover simple, hopeful actions our church can take. Light refreshments provided. We hope to see you there. Click here to RSVP

Once again I may be accused of bigging up my part here but we can't let another week go by where we don't take a moment to congratulation Derry Boylan. Derry joins us as the new curate. Still the same Derry but with new learnings to achieve. You may (or not) be wondering "what is a curate"? Well Goggle says - I n the Anglican tradition, a curate (from the Latin curatus , meaning "care of souls") is a member of the clergy who serves as an assistant to the parish priest. A

This week a Blog from the Office! These guys make it look so easy, they rattle off a blog to inform or entertain us and it's 2pm and I don't have the words to fill the Newsletter....... here goes nothing (isn't that what they say) These past two weeks have flown by in a blur of sadness, hysteria and quite frankly a whole lot of change. We have pulled together as a team to tackle stuff we haven't had to do before, we have laughed at our own ineptitude, looked at each other in

Dear Wardens We share with both gratitude and sadness that Diego Gomes will be concluding his ministry with the Koru Ministry Unit and the Taradale Parish on Wednesday 4th February. After serving faithfully among us since May 2025, he will be returning to his home country of Brazil to continue the next chapter of his life and ministry. Throughout his time here, Diego has offered steady leadership, pastoral care, and a generous heart for people. His ministry has strengthened o

E te whanau a te Karaiti/Dear friends in Christ, I am writing to you today to announce that the Rev’d Alan Burnett has let me know that he has accepted the role of Chaplain to Iona College, a Presbyterian school for girls in Havelock North.Alan will commence his role at the school in Term 2 and will conclude ministry as Vicar of this parish on Sunday 1 March, 2026. There will be a service in the afternoon of that Sunday to mark the liturgical ending of ministry for Alan. Alan

Dear friends in Christ of the Parish of Taradale, I write to you today with both a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude to let you know that I have accepted an offer from Iona College to take up the role of School Chaplain, and that I will therefore be concluding my ministry as Vicar of the Parish of Taradale. This has not been a decision made lightly. It comes after a long season of prayer, discernment, conversation, and reflection. There is real sadness in letting go of

Over recent months, our Parish has been preparing for a planned change to our Sunday service pattern, moving from our long-standing 8am and 10am services to a new rhythm of 9am and 11am. We recognise that this has involved a great deal of conversation, planning, and personal adjustment for many within our community. After careful consideration, we wish to advise that this planned change will no longer be undertaken in the near future. Instead, from February we will be returni

This article was originally posted to the Anglican Taonga website. The original article can be found by clicking here. ------- Unlike most small churches in rural communities across Aotearoa, Pātoromu Church in Whāngārā can now share its rich and fascinating history in detail online, embedding the voices and stories of its people within a 3D scan of the church building.  Dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, Pātoromu Church was chosen by 'He Taonga Tuku Iho,' the Anglican histories

Check out the poster below to see where you can join us in celebrating Christmas this year. O come all ye faithful as we remember the reason for the season and give thanks to God for the incarnation and God's writing of Godself into the script of creation and into the script of all of our lives.

Christ Turns Us from Despair to Hope Every year we are gifted the blessing of returning to the Christmas season and to the lessons that the story of the birth of Jesus holds for us. Every year we are reminded just how relevant the story of the Christ-child remains. Jesus was born at a time of great despair. His people had suffered under brutal conquest and colonisation, most recently by Greek and then Roman invaders. Herodian Kings, set up as puppet masters by the Romans, rul

On Tuesday, Alan was privileged to attend the end of year assembly for Tamatea Primary School. Taradale Anglican Church and Tamatea Primary School have had a partnership for the past two years, with our community sponsoring the school's participation in the Duffy Books in Schools programme. The programme helps every child at the school receive two books to take home every term, bringing the gift of reading to homes that may otherwise be without books. The assembly involved

Throughout 2025, our Senior Youth group gathered regularly for social events and Bible studies. During our social gatherings, new friendships were formed, meaningful topics were discussed, and through activities such as painting, video editing, games, and creative writing, talents were discovered and Christian values were nurtured. In our Bible study nights, the students dove deep into the book of Romans, learning with Alan and Diego about theology, salvation, and redemption,

This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s  newsletter . Subscribe  here . It was originally posted to Christianity Today - the original can be read by clicking here. The manger scene on your living room table might be keeping you from understanding Christmas. Those Nativity sets are, after all, how most of us want this time of year to be—safe and warm and cheery, with lowing cattle and humming angels in the background. But the actual birth of Jesus shook up the snow globe o

On Wednesday, 10 December we hosted our annual Christmas Community Lunch. Encompassing some of our regulars from community lunches throughout the year, alongside other guests, strangers and returning face the Christmas Lunch is always a time filled with laughter and the joy of being together. We hosted around 100 people in the hall and the lounge, with tables well booked in advance. This year Jen, our lunch cook, prepared a quintessential kiwi Christmas lunch, with ham, turke

A devotional on Psalm 63: When worship becomes the path that leads the heart back home. There are moments in life when the soul feels as though it is wandering through a desert. Not simply because of external struggles, but because of that quiet exhaustion that settles deep within — the hunger that nothing satisfies, the thirst that nothing quenches, the weight that lingers even when everything seems fine on the outside. David knew that feeling well. When he wrote Psalm 63, h

There’s a haunting line spoken to Jesus as he hangs on the cross:  “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross.” It’s a taunt—but also a revelation. It exposes something deep within the human heart: the belief that we know better than God how God should act. Advent reveals this same temptation. As we wait for Christ to come, we often long for a Messiah made in our own image: a God who acts on our timelines, answers our anxieties, and validates our instincts for cont

Sarah and Alan wished to share with you some of the joy of their wedding day at the beginning of November at St Michael's in Puketapu. As they were planning the ceremony, they knew they had to choose between a very intimate service or a very large one to accommodate the people that would like to be there. In the end, it was a very small gathering with immediate family only in attendance. Both Alan and Sarah wish to thank everyone for their kindness and warm thoughts and words

This Advent, engage with the themes of Hope and Christ as the King of a Kingdom we have longed for 'of old'. Two resources are available to make this journey through Advent a little different. For those leading small groups or who like to meet with others, the Advent Study produced by the Reverend Dr. Deborah Broome, Ministry Educator, is an excellent way to dig deeper into the themes and hopes of the season. Check the link below to access the study. With thanks to the Bible