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

**This article was originally posted by Diego Gomes to his blog www.diegogomes.blog  please visit for more articles and reflections from Diego. Devotional on Psalm 62 Introduction — When David Needed to Preach to His Own Soul Psalm 62 emerges from a season of intense pressure. David was surrounded by people who criticized him, betrayed him, and spoke blessings with their lips while cursing him in their hearts. His emotions could have easily dictated the atmosphere of his life

This articles was originally posted on the Church Times website, the article can be found in its original context by clicking here. ------ A CAMPAIGN by two parishioners of St Peter’s,  Petersfield , to knit enough poppies to decorate the church porch evolved into a community-wide initiative that produced more than 17,000 poppies. The Vicar of Petersfield and Rector of Buriton, Canon Will Hughes, told the  Church Times  this week that the two women, Christine Rushton and Ros

In 2021, we launched a refreshed website to help people outside of our church community engage with who we are, what we are up to and how they can get involved. This website was designed with our previous vision in mind - to connect, equip and serve the city. The functionality and approach worked for that need, but with our new focus and the development of a new strategic plan it was felt we needed to refresh things. Our intention is to launch the refreshed site in late Decem

This message was shared during our Evening Worship  gathering, held every Sunday at 7pm at All Saints Church, Taradale . We’re currently walking through a series called “Jesus Is” , created by Rev. Alan Burnett — exploring who Jesus is, not just in history, but in our lives today. Last Sunday, we reflected on a beautiful truth: Jesus is the Intercessor  — the One who stands before the Father on our behalf. To intercede means to speak for someone else, to step in the gap, to g

This past weekend, the community of  All Saints’ Church, Taradale  gathered to celebrate a milestone few churches ever reach —  150 years of worship, service, and witness . From the first settlers who built the small timber chapel in the heart of Taradale to today’s vibrant intergenerational congregation, the weekend was a tapestry of gratitude, memory, and renewed commitment to the future. It was a celebration that was at once historic and deeply personal — where laughter me

THANK YOU   On behalf of everyone at Nourished for Nil, I want to extend our gratitude for your continued support and generosity. Your regular food donations have made a meaningful difference in the lives of so many individuals and families who rely on food banks. Please pass our grateful thanks on to your parishioners who so generously support us.   Your commitment to helping those in need reflects the very heart of community spirit, and we are truly blessed to have your par

Over the coming weekend, we celebrate All Saints' day, the feast of title for All Saints' Church and a chance for our community to give thanks for 150 years of worship and witness. Following our civic celebration in June, on the same day the church was consecrated 150 years ago, we committed to celebrating more as a family and community - in a more All Saints' way. This weekend gives us the chance. Here are the ways you can be involved. Saturday, 1 November from 6:30pm - Sesq

For 150 years, All Saints’ Church in Taradale has been a home of worship, community, and renewal. As we celebrate this milestone, we look with joy to the past and with deep hope to the generations yet to come. ---- This year, we celebrate an extraordinary milestone —  150 years of worship, witness, and community at All Saints’ Church, Taradale . For a century and a half, this sacred place has gathered the prayers, songs, and stories of generations. It has stood through earthq

Alan and his partner, Sarah Rochfort, wish to announce their engagement. Alan and Sarah have known one another for approximately 18 months and have taken that time to prayfully discern whether this is the right step for them and for their families, and continue to hear a very definite yes. The present plan is for a very intimate ceremony alongside immediate family likely to be held in Puketapu and led by Nigel Dixon, the Vicar of Holy Trinity, Tauranga. As Sarah and Alan come

On Sunday, 12 October Bishop Andrew Hedge joined us for worship at All Saints' Church in Taradale for a celebration of the grace of God and of Confirmation. With 11 candidates prepare, this was one of the largest confirmation services All Saints' has ever seen and is a sign of the life and faith that is being fostered within the parish. This is especially apparent when over half of the candidates have been baptised in only the past 12 months, joining us through Alpha, through

Written by the Reverend Alan Burnett Alan has also written " Remaining Faithful in the Ruins " which is a call to remain as faithful witnesses and as part of God's redemption of the church. As an Anglican Church, we sit within a rich and complex web of relationships that stretch across our region, our nation, and our world. We belong to the Diocese of Waiapu, itself part of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia — one of forty-two autonomous provinces that

There are seasons when the ground shifts beneath the Church. Old certainties crumble, alliances realign, and what once seemed unshakable begins to tremble. Around the Anglican Communion, a  reordering  is underway — GAFCON and others have sought to claim a clearer, purer centre of gravity, one that promises stability and doctrinal assurance in a time of confusion. Their zeal for truth and moral clarity cannot be dismissed; indeed, it calls us all to examine the faith we prof

This article was originally posted by the Anglican Taonga magazine. Please click here to visit the article in its original location. ----- Medical director of Al Ahli Anglican Hospital, Dr Maher Ayyad has spoken out on the big role the Al Ahli Hospital staff and facilities have played during the war in Gaza, since the 7th October, 2023. The only Christian hospital in Gaza, back in 2023 Al Ahli had a capacity of 50 beds, but as the war started they were obliged to increase th