KARORI ANGLICAN COMMUNITY – COVID UPDATE
The Cook family is currently isolating for the next 10 or so days, as required after exposure to COVID. If others are in this situation, you are encouraged to do the same. If you are a household contact you are to stay home until you are verified as COVID free. Ian is available if you need to contact him and will be working from home.
Please note that all clergy presiding at communion will be Rapid Antigen Tested and cleared the day before the service is held, along with all our existing measures to minimise the risk of COVID spread. The Anglican Diocese are running their online service again on Sunday mornings. For those of you who choose, or need to stay home at this time, do join the online service by clicking on this link.
Our House Churches are underway for Lent (more information on our lent groups can be found below) and will be our main source of pastoral connection should the Sunday services need to be discontinued. If you are not yet in a group, and would like to join please email the office. If the services are discontinued we will let the congregations know via email and phone for those who are not online as much!
The Senior’s pastoral care team will be in touch with our more vulnerable congregation members in the coming weeks.
SEASON OF LENT
Our Lent studies have now started! If you are not already a member of a house church there is an opportunity to join a group (just for six weeks) during Lent. You can sign up in the gathering area after the services this Sunday, or email the office. heidi@karorianglican.org.nz. We will be studying “Lent for Everyone: Luke, Year C – A Daily Devotional” by NT Wright.
The study material is available to purchase in digital form through Amazon Kindle, click here (cost around $10) you can then read this in your web browser on your computer, phone or Kindle device (if you have one). Hard copies will be available for purchase ($10 koha) once the shipment arrives (delayed due to COVID) delivery date is estimated around the 12th of March. In the meantime – we will have the coming week available in hardcopy at Sunday’s service – do pick up a copy. It is really amazing to see how God moves as together we explore His word together.
RECRUITING NOW
SMASH is looking to recruit an energetic Second in Charge who would quickly connect with our children and staff within our before school, after school and holiday programme. With up to 60 children daily in the programme it is paramount that all children are engaged in age appropriate, high interest and active activities. If you have initiative, are passionate about serving our community and have leadership skills then contact Tabatha at contact@thesmashclub.org.nz
MIND HEALTH COUNSELLING SERVICES
We are excited to welcome Mind Health counsellor Sarah Richards who will be working from our office from 9.30am-5.00pm each Monday and Tuesday.
To book a counselling session with Sarah, or to find out more information about Mind Health, please visit the website. Sarah enjoys working with adults, teens and children. She is passionate about counselling and the power of the therapeutic relationship to bring healing and freedom. She has experience in the areas of: grief and loss, anxiety, abuse, self-harm, eating disorders, self-worth and school counselling. She likes psycho-education and resourcing her clients with practical tools.
LATEST TE KORŌRIA UPDATE
This week we featured in the Independent Herald – check out the article by clicking here.
There will be a lot happening on-site over the next couple of weeks as we finish the removal of the old roof of the halls, and the installation of the new roof! Great progress to see the roof going on the counselling rooms while the weather is still looking good. The foundations of the main building continue to be established and we expect a massive concrete pour on the 16th Feb – 95 cubic metres of concrete! So, if you need to access the offices or SMASH/ECEC during that day, please take extra care and make sure that you don’t park on Fancourt St. As you can imagine there will be a lot of concrete trucks!
BUY A BRICK – PAVE THE WAY!
Get your names or business names/logos engraved on the bricks we will be putting outside Te Korōria and the counselling rooms! Creating a permanent record of support. We need help to promote this opportunity – please share with friends and colleagues, neighbours, share online with all your contacts. Options start from $250. Brochures are available to pick up at St Mary’s. More information can be found at karorianglican.org.nz or contact Kate Harvey-Green kate@karorianglican.org.nz.
SUNDAY FAMILIES LUNCH
Heads up, the next Families lunch will be held at midday this Sunday, 6 March at the church office. A venue is yet to be confirmed but will be advised in next week’s newsletter.
YOUTH GROUP THIS WEEK : MOVIE TIME!
Fridays 7.15pm to 9.30pm – meet at the church office, 8 Fancourt Street
We are currently in the process of recruiting a new Youth Leader to lead the Youth Collective on Friday nights and we hope that we will have this sorted in the next month or two. Please keep this in your prayers.
In the meantime, we will be running a number of outings/social events for youth, exploring various parts of Wellington and having some fun together. Kids are more than welcome to bring along their friends! Youth Group is for secondary school aged youth and meets every Friday during term time. If you have any questions please contact Ian Cook.
WE HAVE NEW RECYCLING BINS!
As part of our passion for integrating care of creation and sustainability into life and activities in our church and community, we are excited to reveal our new recycling bins for St Mary’s gathering area and the church office. We now have four separate bins for Glass, Landfill, Paper and Plastics and Cans. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to help keep our community and country clean! When using these bins it is very important that rubbish is put in the correct bins and that any recycling items, ie. plastics, cans and bottles, are thoroughly washed and dried before throwing them away. We thank you in advance for your continued support in keeping our church community eco-friendly! You will see these bins in St Mary’s as well as in the offices, SMASH, and the Early Childhood Centre thanks to a grant from Wellington City Council.
COVID UPDATE
With Covid now circulating in communities around New Zealand, please ensure you do not attend services if you are feeling unwell, or are required to isolate (more on isolating can be found below).
Vaccination Certificates
We have started recording that we have sighted your vaccination passport and you will not need to present it again, if you have already, except for some random spot checks as required by law. However, upon entry you still need to scan in with the contact tracing QR codes and/or fill out a Record Keeping Contact Slip.
If You Are Unvaccinated
If you are unvaccinated, you can access an audio recording of the sermon which will be posted early the following week under the Resources section on our website https://www.karorianglican.org.nz/
Isolating
If you are asked to isolate due to either having Covid, or you need to self-isolate due to being a close contact with someone who has Covid, it is important that you have support while isolating and that we take care of each other. If you are in a house church, your first point of contact is your house church leader. If you are not in a house church, or cant get hold of your house church leader, please contact Heidi in the parish office. It is important that you let at least one of them know so that they can keep in touch and arrange help for you when required.
To minimise risk to our most vulnerable congregation members, please note the following:
- Masks are required, except for those leading and reading. Please make sure you are wearing your mask when you arrive (especially during the crossover between our two services). We will have spare masks available should you forget.
- Chairs will now be placed 1m apart. However, you can move chairs into groupings should you all agree to.
- Communion is still by one element only.
- The peace is non-contact only.
- Morning tea will not be served.
- Children and Youth can join us at the start of the 10.30am service and then can exit to their programmes.
PASTORAL CARE
If you have any pastoral care concerns or queries please contact Ian Cook ian@karorianglican.org.nz
NEW STAFF MEMBER – JANET TIFFIN
We are excited to welcome Janet Tiffin to our Karori Anglican staff. Janet is our new Treasurer and is already working in the office learning the ropes alongside Shirley Black who is stepping back from this role in April. If you have any accounts queries, please email janet@karorianglican.org.nz and she will be in touch. We acknowledge the longstanding commitment that Shirley has provided as Treasurer to Karori Anglican and we wish Shirley well in her upcoming retirement!
KARORI ANGLICAN CAPS & TEE SHIRTS FOR SALE
We will be selling Karori Anglican caps and tee shirts on Sunday in the gathering area. If you have already ordered one, come and collect it, and if not you can buy one on the spot! These will look great when you are out serving the community in Kaitiaki or anywhere else! You can pick up the tee shirts and caps
Pricing: $20 per cap and $35 per Tee shirt (navy with KA logo on chest) – both the cap and tee shirts are dark navy in colour – refer picture above.
REFUGEE DONATIONS – THANK YOU
Thank you to parishioners for the generous indication of support for the refugee family of four. The girl and boy are thought to be in the 5-10yr age range. Please deliver the items you are donating to either church, church office or phone Mike or Judy to arrange collection on Ph 04 970 3069.