FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER 2026

The last couple of months have been busy and joyous for the parish with the commissioning of Fr Ted Starr and his family, Jen and Charles, as well as the Christmas family services. We are so blessed to welcome them to our community.

Thank you to all our Parish family for your generosity and support during the changes that occurred in the last six months of 2025. We are awaiting the structural engineer’s report before we can move forward with the rectory repairs. All previous Parish and rectory maintenance has been completed. The mulch pile in the front carpark came from the removal of the paperbark trees and will be used by the gardening volunteer team.

The Parish AGM is on Sunday Febrary15 after the 9:00am service. Nomination forms are at the white table and annual reports will soon follow.

Fr Ted takes Holy Communion every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00am and every Wednesday at 10:00am. All are welcome to join him in the side chapel. Ash Wednesday will soon be here and during Lent Fr Ted is commencing Bible study of the book of ROMANS on Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. Please see sign sheet on the white table for more information.

If you are unable to attend church and would like to receive Holy Communion at home, our team would happily visit you. Please contact Liz Peters 040 084 4946.

Our wonderful Zoom broadcaster, Gordon, will be away for a month so Zoom will be suspended from Sunday January 25 until Sunday February 22. Zoom contacts are 548747 and ID 3284928300. Safe travels Gordon.

Anglicare are settling in with new social services and Fr Ted and the executive met with Chris, Erin and other staff members in mid-January.

The recycling area is temporarily closed and it will be relocated elsewhere in the church grounds. In the meantime, please hang on to the items. It’s a good little fundraiser,

February will begin with all our groups gathering after the summer break. Friendship and Craft Group 1st and 3rd Thursday 9:30am, 3rd Monday for Mothers’ Union 9:30am, 3rd Wednesday for Ladies Guild 11am, 4th Wednesday for Holy Communion 10am followed by Caring and Sharing. The Growth Committee will also start planning the Parish activities for the year.

The Floral and Art Festival is June 19, 20 and 21, this year. The theme is “A Picture Paints 1000 Words”. The festival organisation will commence with “lift/shift/push/shove” on Sunday June 14 after the 9:00am service. Artists’ exhibitions, potters, jewellery, cards, raffle stalls, floral installations and the plants area will be setting up each day that week until Opening Night on Thursday June 18 at 6:00pm when Bishop Sarah Plowman will bless the Festival. Our patronal festival service will be taken by the Bishop at 9:00am Sunday June 20. Pull down will be Monday June 22 at 4:00pm to replace furniture and have the church shipshape. Please diary note these dates.

The plant stall “home planting” was so successful last year and it’s not too early to start encouraging those cuttings and seeds to flourish. Pots will be found at the back of the deck.

If you have changes or updates of your contact information, please contact your Care and Connect Team member. Please continue to pray for our Parish family and especially for Fr Ted as he settles into his ministry at St Peter’s.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11