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Christchurch South Parish
St Marks Somerfield
Our Core Values:
Acceptance Caring
Creativity Outreach
Teamwork Worshipfulness
Christchurch South Methodist Parish - Contact details:
St Marks Church and Hall
Cnr Barrington & Somerfield Streets, Somerfield, Christchurch 8024
Presbyter:
Rev Andrew Donaldson
C/- Parish Office, 7 Somerfield St, Barrington, Christchurch 8024
Phone: +64 (03) 981 0699
Email: stmarks7@clear.net.nz
Worship Times:
St Marks Somerfield 10:00 am Sunday
SUNDAY February 5th Holy Communion & Covenant Service
10:00 a.m. Rev Andrew Donaldson
SUNDAY February 12th
10:00 a.m. Rev Andrew Donaldson
SUNDAY February 19th
10:00 a.m. Rev Andrew Donaldson
SUNDAY February 26th
10:00 a.m. Tania Shackelton
Rev Andrew Donaldson’s February piece!
I’ve been thinking …
Maybe that’s a dangerous thing. Over the holiday period I had coffee with a Roman Catholic Priest we were at high school together and we’ve followed each other’s work in the church over our life-times. As we talked, the topic of church unity and how it might look in the medium to long term was discussed. It wasn’t an in depth discussion by any stretch of the imagination. Thinking about it since I have been struck by the need in some quarters to believe that church unity can only come about if we all believe the same way, manage and govern ourselves using the same systems. I’ve been in several church related situations over the last few years where it has been either openly stated or implied that right belief is what is important.
One of the freedoms we do enjoy today in the church is openness to diversity of practice and belief. In this sense we are a church that emulates the church of the first centuries CE. What then unites us today? If I may be so bold, the cause of our disunity today, is the rigid belief in the notion of “I am right and you are wrong”. There is a story from the Crusades, I’m not sure which side the story comes from but it goes that a warrior took some prisoners; at the point of a sword they converted faith. The warrior quickly dispatched them to the next world in order that they not recant and be doomed to a hellish hereafter. As Wesleyans we would argue that if your heart be right with mine then give me your hand (a paraphrase of John Wesley’s words).
Our order of service for Holy Communion gives us some wonderful words that lay at the heart of our faith. “And Jesus said ‘the first commandment is to love God with all your heart and mind and strength and the second is this, to love your neighbour as I have loved you’”. Although there stands centuries of thought and debate around what the word ‘God’ refers to, how we understand God is in reality up to our religious context and imagination. However we understand our God we are to love God with all of our being. We are called to love our neighbour (undefined) also as Christ loved; to love our neighbour with all of our being. It is in this sense that our faith shall be known. I believe there is no room in our faith for exclusion and division.
Where is all this leading? I wonder if we should be calling for a new ecumenism. I question the idea that God is that concerned about Church structures, institutions of authority and in our Christchurch context, church buildings. We do need structure I don’t want to deny orderliness and discipline. If we are to carry out our calling these things are needed. I don’t, think God is that interested in which office should hold authority except that whoever holds that office be a servant rather than an authoritarian, or how we order our institutional life. I do believe however, that as the Church, divided as we are, we could be united in loving the world. We could be united in our building of the kingdom. This is what God is interested in. God and God’s compassion are not tied to any particular set of creeds, dogmas, doctrines, scriptures, messiahs, prophets, teachers and statements of church leaders. Unity in God is about love, concern for the other, inclusion, feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed, healing and housing, a just sharing of the world’s resources, and a care for the planet, God’s creation.
Andrew
St Marks Church Organ
Our pipe organ was damaged in the February 22nd, 2011 earthquake and has now been replaced by a Rogers 578 Digital Electronic Organ. It was played for the first time in the service on January 29th.
An Organ Recital will be given by Martin Setchell on Sunday March 18th @ 2:30pm. Details will follow later.
Email: stmarks7@clear.net.nz
Phone +64 3 981 0699
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