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The State of Divorce... & Marriage - Week of Sunday 8 May Dear everyone,
Thursday’s edition of The Press reported that in 2009, the marriage rate in
NZ was 13.2 per 1000 unmarried adult Kiwis – down from 16 per 1000 in 1999, while in 1974, New Zealanders were tying
the knot at a rate of 39.2 per 1000. The good news was that divorce numbers also fell in 2009, with the divorce rate
of
10.2 the lowest since 1980. There were 8737 divorces in 2009, nearly a 1000 fewer than in 2008! The director of the Petersgate
Counselling Centre in Christchurch, Struan Duthie, said people were less likely to get married as they now had more choice.
"People in the post-modern era are looking for alternatives," Duthie said. "They don't see it as sinful
to live with their partner any more. "More and more people are in de facto relationships and when they break up, they're
not recorded as divorces." I (Andrew) wonder if we are seeing a further collapse in a godly institution. This is the
world we are raising our children in. Romans 12: 2 says do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. God has a better way for relationships than the Kiwi way. To hear more about it parents are invited to meet
with us tomorrow night to discuss Raising Godly Children and on 24 May teens are invited to Godly Relationships (see
details inside). Now, to provide hope and inspiration Ray and
Fiona McMurdo will celebrate 25 years of marriage by renewing
their vows at a brief ceremony to be held at St John’s 11.45 next
Sunday 16 May.
God bless
Andrew
1:27 pm nzst
Week of Sunday 2nd May -New Staff PositionsDear everyone
Today we have pleasure in announcing the creation of two new paid staff positions, Pastoral
Care Coordinator and the Small Groups Director (see inside). From Ephesians 4:12 we see that the task of parish leadership
is to “equip the saints for works of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”. This is a complex
and
ongoing task requiring a multitude of spiritual gifts, starting with the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher
(v11).
These new staff members will be an integral part of this equipping and building up. They will not be doing
the works of ministry rather, alongside the other paid staff and lay leaders, helping you to do the works of ministry. Please
pray that God will provide us with the right people for these tasks, that might even be you!
God bless,
Andrew
8:43 pm nzst
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