Cathedral News June 2009

A Month of Worship, Hospitality and Education within our Diocese and Province

May has been a busy and exciting month for our Cathedral. As well as our usual full life of worship, we have been host to this Church’s provincial 2009 Hermeneutics Hui – an initiative in our Anglican Communion to spend time together exploring the ways we approach scripture. The Hui has been a valuable opportunity to see the richness of our three Tikanga (cultural stream) Church in action. Our Sacred Space provided the framework of hospitality and worship in which people from varying backgrounds and theological convictions could gather to better equip ourselves as ministers of God’s Word.

Diocesan Visioning Weekend: Closer to home, ten Cathedral parishioners joined with over 300 members of our Diocese to spend a weekend envisioning and dreaming what the next five years for our Diocese could hold. It is ten years since such an event has happened and it was decided that the time had come again to join together as the people of God in this corner of the world to share together in discerning how God might be calling us. The Friday night was a welcome service in which Bishop Victoria Matthews (Christchurch Diocese) gave an inspirational address. The Saturday was a very busy day of ‘Open Space Technology’ brainstorming and discussion with over 70 seminar topics to choose from. This was followed up on the Sunday by a smaller team of people who faced the challenge to distil and capture all that energy into a format of goals and recommendations for the Diocese. We will be conveying the outcomes of that day as soon as they become available to us all. In the meantime, here are comments from some of our Cathedral members who took part:

“We came away convinced that there is no lack of passion for or commitment to God's work in our Diocese and that to build on what we have and are as Anglicans, we need to look beyond our own comfort zone, we need to be hospitable, outward facing and prepared to share what we believe with those we encounter in our daily lives.” Elizabeth and Auke Smaal

“I was impressed that although we represented the diversity of the Anglican community with its conflicting view points, we were respectful of one another, allowing all to be heard and their ideas considered. It was clear we were all committed to Christ as Christians and simply by being there, committed to the diocese as Anglicans. It is easy to be dismayed when we don't see eye to eye, but on reflection our community is in good heart, determined to be the best we can be, and we should celebrate that.” Daniel Woods

“Hearing the bell, rung on the hour every hour, heralding 2 minutes silence in which to pray, was a salutary reminder that we were there to listen to God’s Spirit in discerning the vision for our diocese.” Deacon Judy Wigglesworth

Check out Jenny’s sermon (10th May 5.00 pm) on the website at http://cathedral.wellington.net.nz/index.php/sermons for a taste of the rich variety of topics that were discussed on the weekend and for some of Bishop Victoria’s words of wisdom.

So as we come to the end of Eastertide, we do so with a reminder to be expectant and excited about the calling and enablement that God has in store for us. We are always an Easter people, but we are also the people of Pentecost – people called to wait upon God’s Holy and Life-Giving Spirit to fulfil, with Christ, the reconciling of our world to God. Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not. (Augustine of Hippo, 4th century) Ellie Sanderson, Canon in Residence

Disability Awareness Sunday - 14th June

On June 14th our morning services will have a focus on Disability Awareness. We will be privileged to hear Lisette Wesseling from our Cathedral Choir, as this year we commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Louis Braille. We will also hear from Pamela Cook of Lower Hutt, who was involved with the publication of a book of poems, many by people with a disability, called "Oh Light" (Disability Spirituality and Faith Network Aotearoa/New Zealand, 2008, available from the Cathedral Shop).

Bell Ringer News

• Retirement of Pleasance Purser as Master

At its AGM on 14th April the Cathedral Society of Bellringers had two closely related matters on its agenda. Firstly, it took note that this year has marked 25 years’ service by Pleasance Purser as Master; and, second, accepted that she would not be standing for re-election this year. Pleasance’s has been a most remarkable achievement. Very few tower masters could carry out a function like this for so long without becoming stale. She has served with four Deans and has established the Ringers’ Society as a significant group within the Cathedral community. Having learnt in the very earliest days of ringing in Wellington, she has become a very good ringer and early on became skilled in guiding Sunday service as well as special ringing, together with weekly practices.. She has been elected to membership of the 350 year old Ancient Society of College Youths, a premier English ringing society which rings at that other St Paul’s in the City of London.

Above all, she has always been there. The Society has, over Pleasance’s 25 years, aimed at ringing on all occasions when it has been appropriate to do so, in all seasons of the Church’s year, twice every Sunday, and for special services and events. The ringing community is small and fluctuating, but Pleasance’s reliability has been an anchor, in thinner times as well as better ones, and it is largely thanks to her that there have probably been fewer than 10 occasions when the Society has not managed to ring when it would have been appropriate.

It is gratifying that, as Pleasance leaves office, ringing standards in Wellington are as good as they have ever been. At the AGM her ringing colleagues presented her with a commemorative plaque. At the Dean’s suggestion the presentation was mirrored at a ceremony in company with the congregation at the morning service on Sunday 19th April. The following Sunday before the evening service the ringers rang a quarter peal of 1260 changes, none repeated, in 3/4 hour, as a tribute to her.

The Society elected Derek Williams as Master; Pleasance has assured us to our satisfaction that she is not giving up ringing, but only the Mastership. Daniel Richards

God and Money

• Wellington Institute of Theology - Symposium - 13 June

This will be held in the WIT Library at the Anglican Centre on Saturday 13 June from 10.00am to 3.00 pm.  There will be five sessions:

• •  Biblical perspectives on prosperity and the poor
  •  Prosperity Theology as false prophecy to the wealthy and opiate for the masses
  •  Christian perspectives on money and credit
  •  Ecological economies and local church engagement
  • Where to from now?

Cathedral Companions' Annual Meeting

• 19th April 2009

To quote our brochure the Companions of Wellington Cathedral are a "fellowship grown out of a mutual love and respect for our Cathedral". We undertake not only to pray for the Cathedral's ministry, and for the work of our Bishop, but also to gather together for fun and fellowship. Over the years the Companions have supported the Cathedral in many significant, ways one of the most worthy being funding the young musicians and Composer in Residence.

On April 19th we met, first for our annual meeting, followed by Choral Evensong and finally we wined and dined in the Loaves and Fishes. This delicious meal was cooked by members of the choir to augment their funds. Following dinner we were treated to a very interesting talk by Archdeacon Tony Gerritsen, Archdeacon for Mission in the Wellington Diocese. Beverley Shore Bennett

Young Adults' Eastertide Retreat

At the beginning of May our Young Adult group headed over the hill to the Magnificat community outside Featherston for a time of retreat. During our reflections we meditated on the understanding of Christ as our good shepherd and created our own interpretation of Psalm 23. Here it is for you to enjoy:

‘Lord, you are light. The light who shines and guides me away from the perils and calamity that surround me. You provide me with what I need, with you I have protection and company, with you I am complete, I no longer feel empty. You let me rest in peace and tranquility and show me the way of calmness. You heal the wrongs in my heart. You point us in the right direction in how to live a godly life. I will live unafraid of the world’s evil because you are here. Lord I am yours, you guide me and protect me and I am holy in your name. I cannot afford to fail the tests you set for me but you have already provided comfort for me where I fail. You choose to reach out to me and stand next to me, rather than standing above me; I am rich in spirit. Through faith the holy peace that you provide will never be far away even if sometimes it seems to be; not the goodness and love of the world, but of a higher place that fills every void, the love of all loves that will remain with us through this life and into the next, the eternal. I will always live within you, our living God, for you have given yourself to us as our home’.

Quiet Evening

• Treasures of Darkness - Sunday 21 June, 6.15pm

Make time to be with God: a time of quiet following Sunday Evensong. Sunday 21 June at 6.15 pm; soup and rolls tea in the Anglican Centre Library (next door to the Cathedral) followed by Quiet Evening till 8.00 pm.

Come and spend some time with God on the longest night of the year, and discover God’s promise: “I will give to you the treasures of darkness” (Isaiah 45:3)

• Leader: Jenny Wilkens

Caring for each other

You might like to cut this out and stick it by your phone, or on your fridge, or in an emergency capsule in your fridge if you have one. The idea for this card came as part of flu pandemic precautions, but it can also help family members to keep in touch with us and help us to know and respond to your needs at any time. Sometimes we don’t hear that someone has been ill or in hospital, if family members or friends haven’t known to ring us, so we hope this will help make for good communication and even better care for each other in the Cathedral family. Talk to Canon Jenny if you have further thoughts about this, or other ways we may support you.

From the Registers

Baptism

• James David William Law
• Kaleb Robert Gribben

Wedding

• Justine O’Neill & Andrew Marshall

Funerals

• Mary Walker
• Iris Garvey
• John Adams
• Alvin Clement

Cathedral News Archive

Past editions of the cathedral news are available here.