Saint Johns in the City

The Congregation has voted to call Allister Lane as Senior Minister at St John's. His induction is at 7.30 pm on 27 November.

Our latest Church Magazine, The Messenger September 2008 NEW can be found here, and also our 2007 Annual Report, together with other Church policies and discussion papers, including one on the frequency of Communion.

Examples of youth group activities for both senior and junior groups for 2008 Term 3 are here. See contact details for 2008 at bottom of this page.

The 10 am Sunday morning service each Sunday tends to follow a traditional format, but with much variety. Children and youth go out to their programmes after the second hymn or song.

Most services have a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary songs, with a choir and a contemporary singing group and band. About once every 6 to 8 weeks there is an all-age worship service, which involves the young people and is multi-media in style.

Following the service, tea and coffee are served in the foyer, to which all visitors are warmly invited. Most Sundays, the morning congregation numbers between 190 and 250 people.

Dates for Quarterly Communions followed by shared lunch to which you are all invited and welcome: Second Sunday in March, June, September and December. We now also hold regular less formal monthly communions at morning services.

Creche: During morning worship we offer a free Creche facility in the Chapel so that parents can participate in the service knowing that their children are well looked after.

Sunday School/St. J’s Kids: operates during school terms during 10 am morning services. We have a lively Sunday School "St J's Kids" with three classes currently, ranging from preschoolers to Year 6 children.

For further information on any aspect or services or youth programmes, please contact the Church Office or email us on enquiries

Hi Everyone, just a quick notice that the Annual Youth Group car wash is happening next weekend 23 November so if you want your car looking clean so yuo can cruise around Wellington looking cool, bring along $10 next week. Also a big shout out to everyone doing exams at the moment, our prayers are with you.

The Ordination of Allister Lane to ministry of Word and Sacrament and his induction as Senior Minister at St Jo hn ’s in the City will take place in the church on

A social function will follow in the Conference Centre where there will be an opportunity to welcome Allister and Naomi.

The DRAFT minutes of the recent AGM will be available in the foyer on Sunday morning or from the office during the week for those who may not have been able to attend the meeting. They will also be available on the website.

Copy for the next edition of THE MESSENGER must be to Rob Anderson by Monday 17 November. You can contact Rob on 934-5786.

Hot Tips on Parenting Teens: Parents Network and the Salvation Army are hosting an evening presented by Ian Grant, on Tuesday 11 November at 7.15pm at the Salvation Army Wellington City. Tickets $20 or $35 double. For further information see www.salvationarmy.org.nz/hottips or take a flyer from the church foyer

What has St John's been like since World War II?
You might be interested to find out what the statistics on attendance and

report on this as background for their thinking about the future and it is now available to everyone on the website. See Publications

Session considered a report on the Capital Trust Fund at the October
meeting. The report provided detailed background to the fund, how it came
about, its purpose and also discussed whether any changes should be made to
the rules that govern it. The report provided very useful background
information for anyone interested in knowing more about the trust fund and
so has been placed on the church website, along with other key documents.
They can be found at:

Blair Rodgers is the new co-ordinator. If you would like to join the Prayer Chain or have prayerrequests, please contact Blair on 04 297 3446 or at rodgers.emmaus@xtra.co.nz

See some of the planning for St John's youth activities at this wiki site. Session is discussing new directions for many St John's activities. You can have your say too at this wiki site, managed by Richard Read.

Prayers for Others 'Prayers for Others are an important part of Sunday morning worship and there are a pool of people who are on the rota to lead the church in this form of prayer each week. There are only a few of us and it would be great to widen the pool so that we have a variety and so that the role can be shared more widely. Please contact Chris Parkman if you would like to be part of this rota and add to the enriching variety of prayers we have each week

1 If you have a hearing aid which can be “T” activated please sit where the hearing loop will assist. The hearing loop is installed in the back left-hand section of the pews - it covers that section down to the first pole on which you can see a sign “ Hearing loop: T activated.” The hearing loop does NOT work in any other section of the church.

2 If your hearing aid is NOT “T” activated the hearing loop will not be of any help to you.

Some carparks are available on Sunday mornings between 9.30 and 12 noon at DB Breweries carpark, Ghuznee St, carparks no. 3 - 12. See Malcolm Shaw if you need directions, and also for a yellow St John’s car sticker to identify your car as a legitimate parker.

Underground parking is available for parishioners to use during services, - primarily for the elderly and infirm or those with small children. Please note that parking spaces 4, 5, 9 and 10 are to be kept free at all times, including Sundays. The organist’s carpark, no 16, is solely for the use the organist at all times.

Hotel is now open on Sundays from 9.00 am. This is a convenient location for St John’s.

Parking in the church grounds is also available on a “first come, first served” basis. Please do not double-park in the area alongside the church, parallel to Willis St, as this area enables pedestrian access to the church doors for those with mobility problems who cannot manage the stairs to the courtyard to gain access by that route.

Monday-Saturday: Please consult the church office if you require a parkspace at any time during the week. Generally, we can provide one – during daylight or evening hours. By directing you to a space we know is not in use, we can avoid potential conflict with those who have prior parking arrangements with us.

Note: We have an agreement with all of our clients who pay to park in the underground carpark Monday-Saturday that the church takes precedence over parking spaces during parish functions (such as the recent garage sale), or during weddings and funerals. We undertake to give them adequate advice of such changes to the usual arrangements. To date, we have had no objections to this requirement for flexibility and the system has functioned well. Most clients also let us know if they are going to be out of town or not using their space, for whatever reason, and are happy for parishioners or conference centre clients to park in their space during such absences. So, please ask the office if you are going to need a park in the underground garage, or elsewhere in the grounds. To date, we have always been able to oblige.

Crèche Helpers please. We need some more people to be on crèche duty about once every three months. If you would like to help with this very pleasant duty, please see Lesley Shaw , or call her 386 2333 or email preludio@xtra.co.nz .

Candelabras Wanted: We require candelabras for Yulia’s Christmas concert. Can you please help for the night of December 4th? Please contact Marg Gilkison on 476 4144 or 021 1440494 Many thanks.

generously donated money and bought some yummy cakes from the cake stall last week. We raised $268.20 from the quiz night and then a whopping great $352.70 from the cake stall. The youth group thank you all very much for giving us a great start to our fundraising for Parachute.

Some upcoming Parachute fundraisers will be the famous St J's Car Wash on 23rd November and another Cake Stall at a date to be announced.

“The number of food parcels handed out at DCM’s food bank continues to increase and it’s putting a strain on the amount of food available. Visits have increased from 100 in June, hit a peak of 180 in September, and settled at 165 in October. The number of new food bank users also has dramatically increased from 13 in June to a whopping 30 in October.

We have a food bank appeal coming up on the 29 th of November and it can’t come soon enough. Some of the shelves are already empty and we don’t want it to get any worse. But fundamentally low income people simply have insufficient income to meet basic costs. The public can donate food or money straight away to help the food bank. Items needed most are tins of fish and meat, ready to eat packet meals and breakfast spreads.
With Christmas coming it’s a great opportunity for people to collect at their workplaces and make a real difference to people who need it.”

Details of a number of Church Groups, House Groups and Youth Groups can be found here: Church Groups

English as a Second Language Bible Study Group: We meet next on Monday 10 November in the Church Office Lounge. You are all warmly invited to come and bring a friend who might also benefit from this group.

(We have an informal wine-tasting for about 45 minutes and then have a discussion about some topic of interest. The meeting is usually finished by about 9:30. If you have any queries, please call Beth Cizadlo at 476 7733, or email bcizadlo@xtra.co.nz If you would like a copy of the article for discussion, please contact Barbara Newdick in the church office.)

On Tuesday 25 November at 11.00am Rev Denzil Brown will bid us farewell, leading our group in our end of year service in the chapel. There will be a shared finger food lunch afterwards.

“Breathe!” We are a group of mothers with children aged from 1-10 years. We meet monthly to support each other and try to find ways to connect our lifestyles with our faith. If this sounds like you we would welcome your company. For further details please phone Beth Beard 389 1599

Monday Home Group: (evenings) at David and Margaret Galt’s home, 11 Lewer St Karori. You are welcome to join us for Chinese takeaways at 7.00pm. Please ring Margaret by 4.00pm or come for the study at 7.30 pm -9 pm. Contact David or Margaret Galt ph 934 4422

Meets fortnightly at various homes throughout Wellington city. New comers arealways welcome. Contact Paul and Louise Ramsay phone 386 2755 or email paul@clear.net.nz.

babies and preschoolers and their parents/caregivers welcome. Please bring a gold coin donation and be prepared to move, sing, play instruments and chat!Contact Anna Davis 934 2167 or just turn up.

At 22, Yulia, now resident in Wellington , has been a rising star ever since she emigrated to NZ from Russia . In 2005 she was nominated Best Female Vocalist at the NZ Music Awards and won the highest selling album of the year with ‘Into the West’. She has performed with Ivan Rebroff, Russell Watson, Amici, NZSO, Sir Howard Morrison, Dame Malvina Major and Tim Beveridge to name a few.

Yulia has a strong Christian philosophy on giving and caring and is donating her services and her beautiful voice to raise funds for those who are less fortunate.

Please tell your family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours. We want to see our church overflowing with Christmas spirit.

We are eager to hear from people who may be interested in participating in our music ministry here at St. John’s. An enjoyment of, and basic competence in music and a willingness to learn more are the necessary qualities, not a high level of expertise. There are several opportunities. If you’re interested in finding out more about the choir, please email Guy Jansen at gjjansen2003@yahoo.com.au, or contact Dayle Anderson about the Sunday morning music group.

The Choir normally meets for a half hour practice before morning worship at 9.20 am. It then rehearses for the next Sunday service at the end of the morning worship, from approximately 11:15 am until 12:00 pm and has one monthly evening practice on a Thursday. New members are welcome. For details see The Choir

Musicians We have a group of musicians who enjoy playing for worship on a regular basis. If you are interested and would like to be involved please phone Dayle Anderson on 9345786 or email: Dayle Anderson The music group regularly involved guitars, drums, double bass, violin, flute, singers...and could involve you too.

8 th Wellington Girls Brigade: Girls aged 5- 8 meet at 6 pm at the Conference Centre. Company girls will meet at 6:15 - 8:15 pm in the

All girls aged 5 yrs upwards are welcome to come and join us. Any queries please ring Katherine Sutherland 4710202 after 5.00 pm.

Invitation to Children and Youth, 5-16 years, to join The Girls’ or The Boys’ Brigade. If your child would like to visit a Brigade to see if it is for them, talk with David Jackson (3898444 or 2wgtn@bb.org.nz) or see more details at the links

youth group activities are here, now showing what was done in Term 3 2008 Programmes for both the Senior and Junior Youth Group! Watch later for the Term 4 Progammes.

Call 3859549, 0275 729953, a/h 476 4822 or email Youth Group for questions about any of these groups or to join the activities! Email: Ryhan@bgi.org.nz