Yesterday I wrote that we're taking a retiring offering at the end of our morning services. So are some of the other Blenheim churches. But apparently I'm not the only "walking talking cashless society" representative. If you are in the same boat as me, live out of this district, or for any other reason won't be at Nativity Church tomorrow, here's a bank account no you can put money into.   

    03 0599 0325943 000 Nelson Diocese Awatere Joint Venture 

In fact, you can keep putting money into it. That is the Emergency account administered by the Awatere Joint Venture, headed by the Reverend Dawn Daunauda. It's a Seddon based Anglican - Presbyterian Parish but working closely with the other Christian denominations, especially the Roman Catholic Marlborough Parish. They've been hit hard again by this latest earthquake and it's aftershocks. Ward is part of their patch and they work closely with Kaikoura too. So for me this is the best place to make donations.
There is a Mayoral Fund and many other community ways of giving. But to my way of thinking we are the church. And the church is not just family, but the biggest single agency in the country with feet on the ground, and a sign of hope for the world.

We've had a good reminder this week about supporting each other. Let's keep doing that, in every way we can.
Libby and I have written on Front page of the pewsheet for this Sunday (See our website News tab) about that. The page says:
Life is fragile. People are fickle. When things have been running relatively smoothly for a while we get complacent – even if we’ve been talking about the last disaster. Then something happens to shake us out of our self-assuredness. Something like a rude comment, the death of a dream, or a 7.8 earthquake just after midnight. In some ways that’s what’s happened this week. We’ve been talking about strengthening our buildings, with the memory of the 2013 quakes in our consciousness. But when Monday morning happened and with each aftershock, we naturally went on full alert.
Staff visited and rang as many of our more vulnerable parishioners and their teams as they could after checking family and neighbours. Stephen Sheat has made two inspections of Nativity this week, and had a 2nd opinion from an engineer in Christchurch. The building seems as safe as it was before. If you have any needs – even for prayer – please contact us.
It’s our southern family and friends, and fellow Christians in the Awatere and Kaikoura parishes who are in trouble. The three most immediate needs are money, water and bread. So, this Sunday there will be a retiring offertory. That money will be paid into an account held by the Awatere parish and distributed by them.
So, praise God for adrenaline and aftershocks. They keep us prepared for danger, and release in a controlled way the tension in the earth’s crust. Praise God for the way they remind us that he will come again, and that we’re never to fall into a Godless complacency. Praise God for the love that can bind humanity, and especially his Church in an outpouring of love for those who are suffering even when we are.
"We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; 2 for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, 4 begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints."
(2 Corinthians 8:1-4)
Hope you can help with that one. God bless

it's well worth reading the rest, and using it as a basis for your prayer - even if you have never consciously prayed before. May God's peace be with you in the aftershocks that are following, and during any other difficulties you encounter.

Today Civil Defence are using the Nativity Centre as a drop in point, manned by Red Cross personell. if you want to use that, please do. Likewise if there is any other help you want that you think we may be able to help with call in, phone, or text.

Grace and peace be with you.

Yes you've only got until 5pm Friday (tomorrow as I write) to have a say on the proposed Easter Day Trading in Marlborough!
You can download a submission form from Marlborough District Council who have  put together a Draft Policy for seeking feedback. This is available via the following
link:
http://www.marlborough.govt.nz/Your-Council/Shop-Trading-Policy.aspx

Be polite in what you write. You may want to develop points I have made in my submission. These are the following:
 - There is a desire to serve visitors to our region.
 - Christians can (have done and do now) celebrate the resurrection without public holidays.
 - There are only 3 and a half days left in NZ that people can guarantee time off.
 - Workers are pressured to work despite the right of refusal provisions. There are also wage issues.
 - Small (=local) business people have no protections. They are forced to open because their larger chain store competition is open. 
 - This proposal adds pressures to already pressured society. More suicides? Impact on families?
Options:
 - Have a policy of no trading other than what is permitted now.
 - A compromise might be to permit trading for tourists who cannot organise themselves or respect local traditions, at the major tourist entry points - ie The port area at Picton and Marlborough Airport only.

The background to this is that Parliament recently voted to allow local councils to make decisions about Easter Sunday trading in their local areas.

One of the most amazing lines in the Bible is the bit about our creation.

"So God created humankind in his image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them" (Genesis 1 v27)

That has to be truly mind bogglingly amazing!
I often wonder how that can be. Then I look around. I still don't understand it but I get it. Two things help me.

1st - All around us is the beauty of the created universe, and the matching results of the skills by which women and men have imitated their creator. It's in us to create. Co-create perhaps. I suspect that in  a perverted way even the pollution that spoils all the beauty is a sign of the mark of our creator in each of us, as well as a sign of how far short we have fallen.
2nd - There is the image of God in us that has so many tryin to do good for others. It's not just when it benefits us. Nor even because it's a duty. But because it's the right thing to do. The efforts of the Fun and Fund-raising Team is an example. And in the Nativity Twilight Garden Tour next Wed 9 November, we see both of these examples. What an awesome team they are. Not everyone can do that and keep coming up with ideas. But they do.

If you want to experience that all first hand make sure you have bought your tickets by this Thursday afternoon, well before 4pm.

How do you see the marks of God in you? You can betcha boots they're there. Have another look.
God bless