SAINT GEORGES

PARISH MAGAZINE

January—March 2018

Edition one

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1. Front Cover artwork by Dennis Saines 2. Index 3. From the Bishops Office 4. Our Vestry Members 5. Vicars Report 6. Vicars Report 7. “Selfies” by The Rev’d Brenda Deed 8. “Selfies” by The Rev’d Brenda Deed 9. The Rev’d Arthur remembers 10. “ Two new faces” by Jill Mc Leod 11. “ Two new faces” by Jill Mc Leod 12. “Who is this:” by Sharon Cordery 13. “Who is this:” by Sharon Cordery 14. Our new Diocesan member 15. “Life at the Booms” by Bob Cox 16. “Memories of Christmas back home” by

Liz Hall 17. Every Picture tells a story 18. Every Picture tells a story 19. Every Picture tells a story 20. Every Picture tells a story 21. Selwyn Group 22. Vestry Minutes 23. Financial report 24. Property report 25. AGM Date 26. Calendar 27. Calendar 28. Ministry Team directory

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A love for helping people and the longing for a job beyond the office were two factors that lead Ross Bay into his chosen vocations. As a young man he began his working career in banking, but soon jumped ship and followed his Anglican roots into theological education at St John's College. It was during his training for ordained ministry that Bay decided to embrace his inner child and join the volunteer fire service. "I was a little boy that never grew up," Bay said. "I grew up in Papatoetoe where in those days there was still a volunteer fire brigade and I had always wondered if it was something I might do. "By the time I got to the age where I could volunteer I found out about this organisation that is now called Auckland Operational Support which is the brigade that I belong to." Almost three decades later, Bay has a myriad of volunteer hours under his belt and has worked in various parishes around Auckland. He has also served as the dean of the Holy Trinity Cathedral and has been the Anglican Bishop of Auckland for the past seven years. As Bishop, Bay is responsible for the oversight of 90 different churches in the Auckland region and providing support and encouragement for the clergy in those parishes. Despite his devotion to the ministry, he still manages to make time to respond to emergency calls for the fire brigade. "It gets harder and harder the more responsibility I take on but I normally get to about 70-80 calls a year, so I am out more than once a week - mostly in the middle of the night or occasionally on the weekend," he said. "I still enjoy the aspect of it where you feel like you are putting something use-ful into your community, but the other side of it is the friends that you make over the years. "It is the ongoing connections with those friends that holds me there more than anything else. I don't get so excited about the pager going off at 2am on a very cold August morning anymore." Bay serves as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer of the Auckland Operational Sup-port Brigade, a second-tier fire service that provides support for firefighters at the scene. "It is not strictly a firefighting brigade so we are not normally putting water on flames, but we are doing every peripheral thing around the scene that allows fire fighters to concentrate on their job.

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"A lot of it is around scene safety, supporting the specialist units, running a mobile kitchen truck, managing cordons or supporting victims." Bay said his theological training helps with the emotional side of emergency service work, while his fire service work acts as a grounding to the realities of life. "One of the challenges of being a paid worker in the church is that it becomes very easy to get immersed into the life of the church and not necessarily meet or see any other people. "People sometimes say that the church isn't the real world, but I believe to some extent that no world is the real world if it is your only world. "I think it is really good no matter what you do, to have another aspect to your life that reminds you that your world is not the only world, so firefighting has been really good for me personally," he said. "One of the good things about the volunteer fire brigade is it draws together people from all walks of life and you are interacting with a really wide spectrum of people in terms of cultures, ethnicities, personal working life and family situation. I really like that."

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Welcome to this first edition of our Parish Magazine. The aim of this magazine is simple, to keep you informed about the following: • Finance • Property/Church Plant/Maintenance • Vestry matters • Church matters • Upcoming events • Special occasions • Keep us in touch with each other • To celebrate one another • Services • Activities This is your Church, your Parish, your Church home, my role is to ensure you are fully informed of everything. I am looking forward to sharing your stories, your thoughts, your ideas which are all important. Through the generosity of two of our congregation, we have a new Parish office printer that enables us to economically produce this magazine, thank you to you both. We have many Anglicans who for many reasons cannot attend service, this is one way to keep us connected, I look forward to sharing other stories from outside of this congregation, from friends from other Churches, and this amazing community you live in. If you would like an electronic copy of this magazine, please email me and a copy will be emailed to you. The Rev’d Brendon Wilkinson (vicar@thamesanglicanchurch.co.nz)

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PHOTO HERE

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It’s rather daunting to be asked to write a piece for the first Parish Magazine. ”What do you want me to write about?” “Anything, it’s up to you.” My first reaction was to say, “I Pass”, but as the PASS ( Priest Assistant) , thought it prudent not to! After much thought and tossing out most ideas I settled on a piece about SELFIES My husband Ray enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles particularly the 500 extra large piece variety that he can complete in a day or two, sometimes needing a helping hand from me. He was delighted to get a new 500 piece SELFIES jigsaw from a friend for Christmas and keen to tackle putting it together. We set up the table and opened the box looking forward to sorting out sides and then colours BUT instead of finding the usual regular size and shape pieces we were confronted with a bag full of mismatched shapes and sizes. His first reaction was to put it in the ‘too hard basket’ and shelve it. After some thought he decided to face the challenge and have a go. The edges weren’t as hard to find as he thought and went together quite quickly and then the challenge really began. There seemed to be no logical place to start, usually he worked from side to side or top to bottom with regu-lar cut puzzle pieces but that didn’t work. Then groups of pieces started to make sense, the odd shapes and sizes had their specific role in making up the picture and came together in

unexpected ways. More often than not the colours on the pieces differed from those on the box and you needed to leave your search, walk away and come back with a new look to find what was needed.

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There was great rejoicing when the final piece was found to complete the SELFIE. It was the smallest seemingly most insig-nificant piece that had been there all the time overlooked but the vital link. Why SELFIES? This experience made me realise once again that this is what the make up of any gathering is all about. To be inclusive we need people of all shapes, sizes, colours, ages, life experience to connect and make the picture complete. As we pray for St Georges may one of our prayers be to be vigi-lant and aware of the amazing contribution each person makes to the continuing life of this Parish and give thanks for the diversity that makes the SELFIE of St Georges Parish. In the words of an ancient Sanskrit poem:

Look to this day for it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the realities and truths of existence.

The joy of growth the splendour of action the glory of power. For yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is only a vision.

But today well lived makes every yesterday a memory

and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

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Part One, 315 Mackay Street In 1967 I was appointed to Thames as Assistant Priest and Hospital Chaplain. At that time many people came to Thames Hospital for operations which they could get done more quickly than in Auckland. Because so many people were coming from outside the Thames Parish, The Vicar, Rev. Bob Newman, asked for the Diocese to pay half the Stipend of a Hospital Chaplain. This was agreed to by the Synod.

So in December 1967 I did a few weeks training in Chaplaincy work with Rev. Bob Hanson at Middlemore Hospital. In my first Curacy, I had been living in rooms at Henderson. Shortly before I was due to come here my landlady told me she had met a young man from Thames and suggested he come to Henderson to meet me. The young man was Mervyn Tilsley who later became my Best Man, and now lives a couple of hundred yards from me in Baillie Street. The eighty-year old Curate’s house of the Thames Parish was at 315 Mackay street, now owned by Te Korowai Health Service. There was no garage because the house was built right on the boundary. My car was parked across the road where the High School groundsman now lives. The church house had been used by several Curates but before I came to Thames it had been rented by a school teacher. The House was badly in need of renovation nothing had ever been finished properly. In the kitchen there were boards without even primer paint. One Curate had painted the ceilings and the walls down to the picture rail jet black. My girl friend, Nina, to whom I became engaged a few months later, said she couldn’t let me live in the house as it was. She came up with some very tasteful and discreet patterns for the paintwork and did a lot of the actual renovations. A member of the Vestry who was a painter lent me ladders and trestles. When the work was finished he said he’d give me a job any time. Why didn’t I take up the offer?

315 Mackay Street, the old Curates house

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Ever since Alec and I were married 57 years ago, (and indeed before we met at Bible Class) we have been active in a worshipping congregation. The journey has been ever changing , though we have spent the longest time at St. Colum-ba’s Presbyterian. Church in Pakuranga, some 30 years, as our family grew. I became a Pastoral Elder, and we hosted a weekly home group at our place, for 15 years. Once the children had been launched to make their own ways, I spent time studying towards a Certificate of Ministry from the B.C.N.Z. and was active in counselling within the church, then adding a postgrad. paper in General Counselling which I took at home, from Massey. The Lord opened my soul to a deeper dimension when a dozen of us attended a seminar presented by the fledgling Spiritual Growth Ministries group in 1990. During that day, I knew that I needed to apply for the course which they were offering ( and still are !). It was called Spiritual Direction ; the first question I was asked at the interview was, “Have you ever made a retreat , a silent retreat ? “ That was intriguing, and I set off on a heart and soul restoring journey, which has continued in surprising ways. At the end of 1996 we moved to the family holiday home at Orere Point. Our parents had left the cliff top property to my brother and me. We were able to divide it so that each of us had cliff frontage with a glorious view over the Gulf to Coromandel. “ He built a new house on his side, and we took over the original house. My aunt had added an upstairs self-contained flat. By then I had had experience in Leading Quiet Days and working with S.G.M . retreat teams. We called the flat Sea song, and offered it for any Christians who wanted time

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That satisfying ministry continued alongside commitment first to Kawakawa Bay Community Church, then later some years to Clevedon Anglican Parish. There, in that tiny Selwyn Church, we learned to appreciate the Anglican form of worship. Before long I was ordained as a Lay minister by Bishop John, and had responsibility for the Reserved Sacrament services at Alfriston, Hunua, Clevedon, Kawakawa Bay, and the monthly home service at Orere. At that time, Clevedon had one ordained priest, and the Parish relied on the team to help out with services.. Five years ago we knew we had to move nearer to medical facilities, made the difficult decision to sell Orere after 60 years! The Lord brought us to Tararu Village. It has been a surprise to find that until now we have been held back from our usual commitment to a congregation! St Francis welcomed us to the midweek services in their chapel, and gathered us up for three or four years though it always felt like a stop on the way to ??? Now we know the answer to that, and are feeling at home with you.

For free confidential appointments please phone the Parish office on (07) 8686267

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I have been asked by Rev. Brendon to share a little about myself as I have a real desire to be of help in this church family wherever it is pos-sible for me to do so and I am seeking the face of the Lord in the mat-ter. My name is Sharon Cordery and I have lived in Thames for the last 13 & 1/2 years. I have had the wonderful blessing of being a Christian for 36 truly precious years and I have been attending St George’s about the same length of time as the Wilkerson family. In July my lovely gentle husband David went home to be with his Lord and Saviour; absolutely wonderful for him but not so good for me! I miss him like I wouldn’t have believed possible but I am so happy for him that he is now with Jesus, after his very gracious 2 year struggle with the disabilities following an earlier stroke. David and I lived in Palmerston North where I trained as a nurse and worked for 28 years in various medical areas in the hospital. David worked as a Radiation Oncologist until his retirement in 1994 when we moved to Auckland where I worked as a Practice Nurse for 4 of the 8 years we were there. A final move brought us to Thames where I continued my work as a nurse at the Thames Medical Centre for 11 years. During this time David and I established a large garden on a rather steep hillside until I retired in 2015 to care for David at home after he suffered a stroke. This was a very precious time we viewed as our “Indian Summer” as our love for each other deepened and our love for and dependence on the Lord allowed us to experience 2 years of joy and friendship with Him and each other. Between David’s retirement and our moving to Auckland, we travelled for 8 months overseas, 6 months of which were spent in Israel working as volunteers in a Christian guest house in a little Druze village on Mount Carmel high above Haifa. It was a wonderful time spent in the service of the Lord and fellowship with other Christian volunteers from many different countries.

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Now that my days are not so full I often find myself wondering how the Lord can utilise the skills I still have even as I enter my 70s. Skills never leave us and the nursing role is very hard to relinquish. I have looked at St George’s congregation in the weeks since I started attending and have noticed a fondness developing for the older people there and a recognition that I may be able to be of help to some of these dear people. I wonder for example if they are aware of all the WINZ allowances they are entitled to, maybe amongst others - disabil-ity allowances? There may be entitlements unclaimed because they are simply not known about. Maybe some of them are lonely and would love a visit and talk about lost loved ones or just talk! I wonder if maybe I could help with advice about something that they may not even be aware of! Maybe someone needs someone to share the precious time set aside to pray. My heart has a real concern for the lost in our community and an awareness that the message of the gospel needs to be talked about more than it is, so maybe some people simply have a need to talk about the Lord. I was very heartened to hear Rev. Brendon last Sunday urging our congregation to be a praying people and hearing his yearning for us to seek the face of God for His will for us as His people. What an encouragement that was and I know it was for many others. A church that does not pray will be an empty church. Nothing draws a people together more than corporate prayer and how shall we know the will of God except we ask Him? I am happy to be amongst people who seek to serve and worship a living God but we need to EXPECT to hear from him and see Him working in the lives of His people. We must never take our relationship with Him for granted. We see in the world around us as we wait for His return to earth the darkness getting darker, but thankfully God always has his witnesses in every generation and in pockets around the world marvelous things are being done by the Lord as people seek His face in prayer. I want to be one of those whose motto is “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Sincerely Sharon.

For free confidential appointments please phone the Parish office on (07) 8686267

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The Auckland Diocesan Council "looks after the responsibility of Synod between sessions." It is composed of clergy and lay people from throughout the Diocese and led by Bishop Ross Bay, with Assistant Bishop Jim White also taking a leadership role. During Synod, if there are vacancies on DC, they are generally filled by electing people to DC. Last year there was one space unfilled following the election, so people throughout the Diocese were invited to put forward their interest in joining the Council. There were a number of applicants for the one position and the Diocesan Council determined who they wished to invite to join DC.

I was honoured to be chosen for this role and I take it very seriously. Diocesan Council meets monthly, on the final Thursday of each month, except for December when there is no meeting. I have now attended two meetings, which are held in the boardroom of Neligan House, opposite Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland. After most meetings, which generally run from 4 to 6:30pm, we have dinner together as a group.

The minutes of each Diocesan Council are posted on the Diocese's website, so everyone has access to them. It enables people to understand the work of the DC,

which can involve decisions on funding requests from parishes for capital improvements to approval of payments for sabbatical cover, plus review of the current financial statements of the Diocese.

Further, there are housekeeping matters to address, such as healthy and safety reports. And Bishop Ross and Bishop Jim give updates on their work in the Diocese. Each year the DC also has a retreat, with the Coromandel being the location for this year's.

It is a 2 day retreat in which the Council discusses matters of significance to the Diocese and the wider church and plans for the future. There is an opportunity for the

DC members to visit Saint George's, likely when returning to Auckland (where most of them live) on Saturday 3rd March, as many of them have not visited our church.

Again, I am honoured to be part of Diocesan Council. It is a steep learning curve and involves a lot of reading! I am constantly aware of the importance of being well in-

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For some time I had some back problems which in 2014 were diagnosed as a marked degenerative scoliosis, which with the aid of a walking stick and some mild medica-tion made life bearable. However early 2017 I suffered a sudden decline in mobility and was admitted to the Waikato and then the Thames Hospitals. Many tests and examinations followed, but I progressed poorly in terms of mobility and function, surgery was considered but not advised in view of my age, and the DSL assessment was that I would be better placed at the “Booms” where I have been since May 2017. While here I have been well looked after, and I have been trying various exercises etc. but these have not made any great improvements and I still cannot stand up on my own or walk. Luckily I have the use of a manual as well as a power wheelchair, but I still need help to get out of bed and into them as well as get back to bed again. I do not see any end to this situation, which means that travel outside is limited although the Booms mobility van is availa-ble for me for visits within the Thames area. The Booms is made up of three, the Dementia, Rest Home and the Hospital which I am in the care of. The staffs are excellent and include a number of overseas, both male and female and this variety of cultures makes a good mix as most of the resi-dents spend most of their time on the premises. I have breakfast in my room; have lunch with rest home folk and tea in the hospital dining room. In that way I can keep in touch with most of the other people except those in the secure section. One drawback to the present situation, is that Diana and I are living apart with she still living at Richmond Villas but she is able to visit me each day and join me for lunch, and with the local bus service now operating and help from the staff transport is not too much of a problem as neither of us drive anymore. And we still feel lucky that we are not short of visitors as we do have many that call in. While we can see some drawbacks to our current situation, we are encouraged to make most of what we still can do and not get downhearted by things that we can no longer do. Bob Cox

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Going back 80 plus years I recall the happy and blessed time of Christmas Eve. (That’s the day we celebrated Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ, This tradition I have kept up… living in England for 22 years.) There were my parents, two brothers and two sisters. On Christmas eve we all had supper together, sitting in our large living kitchen, a …. advert … Suspended on bright red ribbons from the ceiling ….. four big red candles which were lit …. Were had our meal. Afterwards we all had to help with the washing up. My father then went in the lounge to light all the white candles on the real TAMMEMBAUM that … from the tree from the ceiling …. …. ….. families. We children were not al-lowed to see the … beforehand remembering I tried to peek through the key hole! My elder brother played the violin and and my elder sister the piano. We all sang “Holy Night, silent night to people then wished each other a happy and blessed Christmas. Presents were always few and useful things, … … I might have received some new clothes for my dolls (made by my mother) or a new comfortable dress or a new ball. 11:30 we wrapped up well (it was usually between .. 150 – 200) to go to mid-night mass. stomping through deep snow to ST. Martins Church. Midnight mass always started with a short service in .. of a beautifully carved nativity scene the figures were quite large and there were many and Joseph, the … baby Jesus laying … .. .. The three wise men and angels, a Shepard, donkey and … (straw) For me as a … this service was …, as there was … in …(i was… life as a catholic) There we .. look home to drink hot punch or GLUHWIH – made from red wine, a … added to bread and cinnamon sticks .. fresh lemon and orange peel, this was drunk out of … chips and at homemade cookies. There was complete silence out in the … everybody was at … … .. family … the .. of quiet because .. is what Christmas is all about, the birth of our saviour.

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This was a common sight along the Thames Coast, after the recent storm.

A gift from a lovely family visiting St George’s from Fiji this morning upon them hearing of my love for

rugby.

In the early 1900’s parishioners would rent space in the pews where they could store

their bible and prayer books to save carry-ing them to church each week.

Technology means you now store them in your phone. (pictured on the left)

An afternoon with Dr Bruce and Rev’d Catherine Mackereth. I am blessed to have 5 retired Priests in the Parish to learn from including Rev’d Catherine,

Rev’d Peter Philip, Rev’d Arthur Mead, Rev’d Brenda Deed and Rev’d David Cooper. Besides

retirement is overrated

Margaret Williamson aged 93 and a half was baptised in 1924 by Rev’d Beck and confirmed in 1937 by Rev’d Corbin. For 40 years she lived in the white building across the road from St George which was once the Vicarage tenanted by Rev’d Lush. Up until 2 years ago Margaret was still serving home communion to many of her junior.

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Dianna Cox once taught Sunday School at St George with 49 children.

She asked the question” what happened”?

St George needed schematic drawings of the Church and so Vivienne stepped in and

used her experience as a draughtsman measuring and drawing plans over a 7

month period. No easy task but another story of fantastic parishioners. Bluetooth and wifi have

been installed in St George.

This will enable us to stream funerals,

weddings and services. Welcome to the 21th century St George .

Volunteers form a team called Inspire. They sit daily in the Church to welcome, in-

form and care for its many visitors. Mavis (pictured on the left) is part of a very

important team to which we are very grateful.

Edward and Stephanie Du Plessis kindly donated all the cable and fittings required to rewire the Parish Hall which the Vicar

as an Electrician installed. Thank you Stephanie and Edward for your

generosity

Our wonderful ladies leading us

for Christmas Eve service.

Rev’d Catherine, Rev’d Brenda and Margaret

Mac Kay

Lynne Mounsey’s

hands not only play organ but

also bake delightful food

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Young Bob Cox has lived in Thames all his 88 years and has recently retired as our treasurer.

Bob is very proud of his Church .

Read Brothers hardware in Thames spans five and soon to be six

generations. John Read, the first generation was a member of St George Anglican Church for 50 years seldom missing a service. 150 years later and Russell( pictured) supplied the Church

today with 9 new keys at his cost. Thank you for your long service and generosity.

This photo from the 1950s was taken at a time when communion was served at the high altar.

91 year old Rev Arthur Mead displays psalm 27 printed on his shirt from

Bangladesh “ The Lord is my light and

my Salvation, whom shall I fear”

Finishing touches to the Parish hall bathrooms. Thank you Paul and Rex.

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The handsome Rev’d David Cooper with Kate Sayer

Young Betty Smith has lived in her home in Sandes St for 93

built by her father. She has the best view overlooking St

Georges from her kitchen win-dow

Claire Twentman is one of our young Inspire team members

The faithful Rev’d Claire

Steward

Young welcome team members Christine and

Raewyn do a great job making us all feel very welcome

each Sunday

Dr Nick Harry was a GP in my previous Par-ish of Northern Wairoa. He and Babara faith-fully serve God in many ways throughout the

Coromandel and beyond.

Selwyn Christmas party with the the Rev’d Joyce Marcon and Miriam. John Mounsey and

Judy are pretending not to be in the photo

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SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT

1

2 3

4

5 6 7 8 The Rev’d Peter Philip

9 10

11

12 13 SHROVE

TUESDAY

14 ASH

WEDNES-DAY

15 The Rev’d Catherine Mackereth

VESTRY

16 17

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The Rev’d David

Cooper

19 20 21 22 The Rev’d Peter Philip

23 24

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The Rev’d

CHURCH IN THE PARK

FINANCIAL AGM

26 27 28 DIOCESAN TRAINING

FEBRUARY 2018

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SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT

1 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson DIOCESAN TRAINING

2 3

4 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson

5 6 7 8 The Rev’d Peter Philip

9 10

11 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson BAPTISM SERVICE

12 13 14 15 The Rev’d Catherine Mackereth

VESTRY

16 17

18 The Rev’d

Arthur Mead

19 20 21 22 The Rev’d Peter Philip

23 24

25 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson PALM

SUNDAY

FINANCIAL AGM

26 27 28 29 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson

MAUNDY THURSDAY

30 The Rev’d Brendon

Wilkinson

GOOD FRIDAY

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MARCH 2018

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Selwyn Centre

Friendship for older people

Every Wednesday 9.30am—12 noon

_______________________________

Social games, activities and morning tea

________________________________

At Saint Georges Hall

ALL WELCOME

The Selwyn foundation (Auckland Diocese) funds staffing of Selwyn Centres throughout the upper North Island so that over 65s can gath-

er for friendship, exercise and contact on a regular basis.

Thames SELWYN CENTRE is assisted by the Thames Anglican Parish and is available to all members of the local community

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Services of Worship

Saint Georges Anglican Church Thames 9.30 am. Eucharist

Thursday Eucharist 10am

Te Puru Community Church Eucharist every 3rd and 5th Sunday 10am

Selwyn Group

Each Wednesday 9.30 am in the Parish Hall

Saint Georges Ministry Team

Vicar: The Rev’d Brendon Wilkinson Parish Office Ph: (07) 868 6267

Vicar’s Mob: 021 556 710 Email: vicar@thamesanglicanchurch.co.nz

Website: http://www.thamesanglicanchurch.co.nz Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thames.anglican.1

Assistant Priest: The Rev’d Brenda Deed 07 8678012 Clergy : Rev’d Catherine Mackereth 07 8686829 Rev Arthur Mead 07 8683913 Rev’d David Cooper 07 8682769 Rev’d Peter Philip 07 8685208 Rev Jim Neilson 07 8683134 Jill Mc Leod 07 8690284 Wardens: Kate Jones 021958003 Paul Jennings 0278685102 Organists: Finlay Clement Stuart Du Preeze John Mounsey Lynne Mounsey Parish Office: info@thamesanglicanchurch.co.nz 07 8686267 Vestry : Paul Jennings, John Mounsey, Margaret Mac Kay, Raewyn Grey, Kate Jones, Doug and Fiona Norris, Fiona White, Sue Lewis O Halloran. Synod Persons : Doug Norris and Sue Lewis O Halloran Recorder: Calvin Jones