Aside from this, if you would like to meet with me to discuss or simply express any issues you have relating to how the restrictions were managed here, I am making myself available for the beginning of each week (Mon-Tues, 8:30am-6pm) for the next 3 weeks for that. Please contact Roz to organise a time that would suit - I hope to meet with you and listen to any concern.

We do have a sense God is calling us to gather around Jesus and to follow him - all have a place and a role in that as we continue to see his kingdom grow amongst us.

Kia Ora, Church Family.

As we enter into a new phase of the Traffic Light system, I want to communicate to the church why we are doing what we are doing.  We do understand there has been confusion around our approach so want to address that and to encourage us to engage with what is happening here at Nativity.
Vestry has now met, and we had a good session working through people’s concerns and different points of view and sharing possible options. The difficulty is making sure what we do is based on the gospel and our commitment to that, and our struggle is to have a solution that does not affect that negatively.

A little bit about the gospel stance that has been guiding us through this time: The gospel, at its heart, is an invitation and a way made possible to fellowship with God that is free and available to all.
The church cannot control access to that.

Much like border entry into a country, there is a very clear set of scriptural injunctions that tells the church who has responded to that appropriately – this is around repentance, receiving of the Holy Spirit, and a commitment to following the way of Christ.

So a person’s conscience choice, such as the one to be vaccinated or not, does not affect their access to fellowship with God. Therefore, while we endeavor to follow government guidelines around running services as we are called to obey those in authority, we feel the gospel message is at stake in turning people away from our main gathering when it is based on a matter of conscience. Hence a No Vaccine Pass required service, open to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated has been our main service in the church while providing a Vaccine pass worship service for those who want to be in that environment only.

We are wanting to hold to that gospel stance while continuing to provide ministry for all.

We recognize this is not ideal and it is not without feelings of frustration and feelings of anguish. How we have been operating has always been provisional and through regular meetings with care cell leaders, Vestry, and others, we will continually evaluate what we are offering and doing. We would like you, either in groups or as individuals, to come and share your concerns with us. We do understand that it can be hard to get our heads around what is happening, and we do want opportunities to discuss this with you further.

Being faithful to the gospel is essential but we want to remain open and adjustable – we understand we have to be functional and make things as suitable as possible so do come and speak to us.

Finally, we encourage you to engage with what is happening.

As we head into the Red setting, the Nelson diocese has just gathered in a monthly meeting to look at how to run the house church model and to do that well. From that meeting we were encouraged that meeting in house churches for a time is not only a safer option, but also a positive one – there were testimonies that we heard of how much people valued that experience – they grew in their faith, and it opened up some missional opportunities that weren’t there in different settings.

So, we do need hosts and we need people to gather to meet for worship, to invite others to join in on that – and to journey along together and to see what it is that God is saying during this season to us.
It is gathering around Christ and his gospel and sharing that with others that brings life and fruit, there is nothing that can substitute that.
​
Kia kaha and God Bless.

​Following the Diocesan advice at the Red setting of the Traffic Light System (TLS); and given that our approach has been that our gatherings remain available for all, we will move to an online and ‘House Church’ model after our last January service this Sunday (please note the changes around the NVP and VP services for this Sunday due to Red settings).
 
Although we may not see this as ideal, small group gatherings (and online options) are not only valid but are a potentially positive way of being the church during this time. Along with the practical considerations of protecting those most at risk and doing that in a unified way, this model allows us to continue to engage in prayer, Bible study, and faith-sharing and can be a tool for God’s ongoing work among us. Along with the Sunday service continuing as an online option, small groups can consider the ways in which they might be called to develop the church’s ministry and mission.  
 
Some recommendations:

• There will be various resources available for you and these can be used according to your groups needs and abilities. The sermon is an aspect of our community that can keep us journeying along together as a wider congregation so we encourage you to watch that and engage with it as a group. Likewise, communion is a key part of our unity as a body and while the frequency of celebrating that can vary, we encourage you to find a rhythm that works for your group. Again, resources will be provided for that.
• While there is flexibility of when to meet, try to meet on Sunday. This time is already part of the rhythm we have and can help others who may want to join.
• Think invitational and missional – this may be the opportunity to invite someone along who may not be comfortable in a traditional church building setting. You could run the service around a meal and organise what you do more around guests.

 
We are planning to meet with care cell leaders and any others willing to be hosts of groups as soon as possible. Please be in touch with us with any issues you have so we can assist in any way.
We have been greatly encouraged over this time with people’s desire to continue to gather. So to finish, some words from scripture I shared with the VP gathering on Sunday.

SUNDAY 19th DECEMBER
8am Church (NVP)

• This service is open to all - vaccinated and non-vaccinated.
• (This service will use the Nativity Centre for morning tea and toileting facilities. These areas will be disinfected between the 8am and 10am services.)

8am Barnies (VP)

• This service is open only to those with vaccine passports.
• (This service will be able to use the morning tea and toileting facilities within Barnies and will therefore be separated from the NVP service.)

10am Church (NVP)

• This service is open to all - vaccinated and non-vaccinated.
• (This service will use Barnies for morning tea and toileting facilities and will therefore be completely separated from the VP service. We ask all participants in this service to use the main church doors as the entry and exit point where possible and to avoid entering the Nativity Centre space).

10am Lounge (VP)

• This service is open only to those with vaccine passports.
• (This service will have exclusive use of the Nativity Centre, including the kitchen and toileting facilities.)

Please note link has changed for Sunday's sermon from what was emailed out.
For upcoming services:
Sunday's sermon, available from 8am (changed) - https://youtu.be/cQ1VO58htIk
Communion Service (unchanged) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUspi-3p1ng

Dear Nativity Family,

We feel so thankful for our Church and the many opportunities we have to be a blessing to our community through the special services we hold; Combined Services, Family services, Nine lessons in Carols, Taize, Choir, the beauty of candles and flowers and opportunity to sing the timeless carols which tell of our wonderful Saviour’s birth.

Joe and I are so privileged to be a small part of your journey this year, this wonderful, chaotic, amazing, messy year where we have all had opportunity to grow in grace, longsuffering, endurance, and other fruit of the Spirit!

Highlights of course; the new organ and a stunning organ concert fundraiser, our Parish Picnic, (we really know how to play well), what a great reflection of who we are as a family.

We so appreciated gathering in real time once again after Covid shutdown (we really missed each other) and thank God for an awesome team who worked their hearts out and so successfully led us through via church online and phone trees and genuine consistent pastoral care.

We are thankful for a hardworking Vestry and building committee who spent significant time and thought but made great decisions around buildings for the future and we can look forward to new heating in the new year, no longer the frozen chosen😊. Good mana!

New friends, new families, new ways of doing life and ministry as the whole Diocese enters conversations for pathways to mission. It has certainly not been boring!

The line in a song by Delirious that has resonated with me this week is “dancers who dance upon injustice.” This is part of the call of the Church.

As we think of the light Jesus brings, we know from the Christmas story it is a revealing light.  A light which puts chaos to flight.  As the verse from Johns’ gospel says, it is the condemnation of mankind that they loved the darkness more than light (Jn 3: 19-20). The light Jesus brings is something that shows things as they are, their true character and their true values.

Sadly, a recently released report from the New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into historical abuse in State care and in the care of Faith-based Institutions stated that up to 256,000 children, young people and adults at risk were abused physically and /or sexually in state run and faith-based institutions across the nation from the 1960’s to 2019.[i]

It's not the kind of thing we like to hear about, especially at Christmas, but as Bishop Peter Carroll commented in a recent blog,” we can only be a Church shining the light of Christ out to the world if we have that light shining also on us, because we know we need help with our dark tendencies." [ii]
 
We have had a wake up this year… no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel, the sad thing is here in our very own church, our dear friends Jacinda and Aaron Thompson encountered darkness. You will recall there is an apology to them from the Nelson Diocese on our website. Whilst we will never understand the cost or consequence for them, we must take a lesson from their courage and join them in the battle to bring all things into the light and protect anyone else from such suffering.

We can begin simply by being aware people have been hurt by the Church and we can choose to listen with empathy, and in doing so assist in healing.  We must learn how to better prevent abuse in the future and how we can love people to wholeness again. I invite you to take the time to find the faith-based redress hearings on the Royal Commission website (www.abuseincare.org.nz)[iii] and listen or read people's experiences of harm, perpetrated by those trusted to care for them in faith-based settings.  
​
Jacinda has worked with our Diocese to improve health and safety policy and procedures and has spoken at the General Synod on the issue of ministry standards [iv] as the wider Anglican Church works to reform how complaints are dealt with.  She is also a Board member for SNAP Aotearoa a support group for survivors.  The Church is deeply in her debt.
 
Throughout all this year of hardships and challenges let us press on to acknowledge God and grow in every aspect of Christian character.  We have the immense joy of each other, of the love of our Saviour and the living Hope He has led us into.  Moving together as one body, where if one part rejoices or is hurt all do, we will become more fully the true church God is calling us to be.  Joe & I are so proud of belonging to a church that is willing to wrestle with important issues.[v]
 
So shine church! Shine! We look forward to seeing you at the Christmas services.
Rich Blessings from Sue and Joe.
 


[i] www.snapnetwork.org ; https://www.facebook.com/groups/519994202127538
 
[ii] http://anglicandownunder.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-royal-commission-on-abuse.html

[iii] https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/library/v/177/statement-of-jacinda-thompson-for-the-faith-based-redress-hearing

[iv] : https://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/general_synod/titled

[v] https://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/common_life/advise_rci

Dear church community
​
We want to encourage you that we will STILL BE MEETING THIS SUNDAY at all services and will be strictly adhering to Ministry of Health guidelines as well as the Diocesan Coronavirus Policy.

Protocols will include:

• Following hand washing and hand sanitising procedures
• Ensuring no sick people attend the service
• Taking a register of attendees (including contact details) to assist with contact tracing
• Maintaining physical distance measures (attendees sitting with one metre apart)
• Following strict communion procedures (no intinction or common cup)

Also, due to the size of our regular 10am service, we will be asking that children be signed into their programmes by 10am, prior to the church service commencing, as this will be considered a separate gathering.

We will also not be meeting together for morning tea following the 8am and 10am services, however, children will have morning tea provided during their activities. Canvas will also not be sharing food this week.

We understand that not all parishioners will feel comfortable meeting together during this time and we want to release you to make the decision as to what works best for both you and your family.
Our team are working on procedures that will ensure that our life as a church has a good sense of continuity and community, should regular services be prohibited.
We are continually monitoring the situation and will keep you fully informed along the way.

Go well and blessings,
The Ministry Team