Our Church, Our Place, Our Community
Kia ora, welcome to St Paul’s in the Park Anglican Church.
Kia ora, welcome to St Paul’s in the Park Anglican Church.
Find out more about these services here.
Every week we also upload our services to Youtube. Click below to view our Youtube channel.
Our present day church, although placed on the edge of Barry Curtis Park, is surrounded by a mushrooming community. This growing community is a melting pot of culture, ethnicity and faith.
A few years ago it was decided that a new building was needed to meet the demands of this growing community. A design is now completed and our initial estimates indicate that we are challenged with raising 7.5 million dollars to build our new church.
Update on Building Project
As you can see, construction is well underway. Projected completion date is end of March 2025. It would be so good and so very appropriate to celebrate Easter 2025 in our new premises!
This project will be of great benefit to our Anglican community, but just as importantly, is much-needed by the wider Flat Bush community. The facilities will enable us to host a wide range of programmes which will be of significant benefit to the growing and diverse local community. It is an opportunity for our church to reach out to our community and hopefully make a difference.
Promotional video
For vision and plans, click on FIND OUT MORE below.
God bless you.
Rev Warner Wilder
25 July 2024
Selwyn Seniors is a group for over 65’s. A morning of gentle exercise, fun and friendship with a varied programme.
SPACE for you and your baby is a parenting programme aimed at mainly first-time parents of newborn babies. Sessions are held over 3 terms in a relaxed, baby-friendly atmosphere.
Our vision for SPACE is “empowering and encouraging parents to support the development of the whole child in their first year of life”.
During our 9.30 am service, our Sunday School runs during the school term. Children can share special items of news they may have, and say a prayer/sing a song together. Bible lessons are presented through varied activities such as stories, video clips, pictures, crafts or a game.
There is a true story of a 13-year-old boy who read about Dr Schweitzer’s work in Africa. He wanted to help. He had enough money to buy one bottle of aspirin. He wrote to the Air Force and asked if they could fly over Dr Schweitzer’s hospital and drop the bottle down to him. A radio station broadcasted the story about this boy’s concern for helping others. The story spread. Others responded as well. Eventually, he was flown by the Air Force to Schweitzer’s hospital, along with over four tonnes of medical supplies worth half a million dollars freely given by thousands of people. This, of course, would be the equivalent of millions of dollars today.
If we all do our little bit, together we will make a difference.
‘Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more.’ Luke 6:38.
A man walked into a grocery store and asked, ‘Do you sell salt?’ ‘Ha,’ said the storekeeper, ‘Do we sell salt! Just look!’ He showed the customer one entire wall of shelves stocked with nothing but salt – rock salt, sea salt, garlic salt, iodized salt – every kind of salt imaginable.
‘Wow,’ said the customer. ‘You think that’s something,’ said the storekeeper, ‘Come with me.’ He led the customer to a back room filled with shelves and bins and cartons of salt. ‘Do we sell salt!’
‘Incredible,’ said the customer, ‘You really do sell salt.’ ‘No,’ said the storekeeper, ‘That’s just the problem. We don’t sell salt, but that salt salesman, oh boy, does he sell salt!’
The most obvious quality of salt is that it lends flavour to food. As Christians, we should be adding flavour to life. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and all too often people associate Christianity with negative attributes such as judgmental, exclusive and boring. If we really want to promote Christianity, it is important that we are seen to be full of the joys of life and embracing all and sundry with love.
‘Always be full of joy in the Lord. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.’ Philippians 4:4-5
There is the story of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, who was sailing to America when he witnessed the keel-hauling of a member of the crew for an offence aboard the ship. This was a particular cruel form of punishment as it meant being tied to a rope, thrown overboard, drawn under the vessel and out the other side. There was always the chance that you would drown.
The captain said to John Wesley as they watched, ‘You see, Mr Wesley, I never forgive.’ It was not for John Wesley to question the captain’s power of command but he could and did question that statement. He replied, ‘Then, sir, I hope you never sin.’
How can we ever expect forgiveness if we are not prepared to extend forgiveness.
‘If you forgive others, you will be forgiven.’ Luke 6:37
A man who operated an icehouse lost a good watch in the sawdust. He offered a reward, and men went through the sawdust with rakes, but they were unable to find the watch. When they left the building for lunch, a small boy went into the icehouse. A few minutes later he came out with the watch. They asked him how he had found it, and he replied, ‘I just lay down in the sawdust and listened. Finally, I heard the watch ticking.’
One of the most effective ways of communicating with God is to just be quiet and listen for his presence. In the hustle and bustle of life, this is not easy to do, but do try it. You might be surprised.
‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Psalm 46:10
The story is told of a small boy who was chosen to play the innkeeper in the Christmas nativity, telling Joseph and Mary that there was no room for them at the inn. But on the night of the big event, he stood on stage, looked into the faces of the audience, froze in fear, then smiled and announced, ‘I’m not supposed to do this, but come on in anyway!’ The audience broke into thunderous applause.
That boy got it right. He reflected the real spirit of Christmas. Put it this way, if Jesus himself had been in that position, what would he have done? I don’t need to tell you the answer.
If we really want Christmas to mean something, then we need to pause and reflect that Christmas heralds the beginning of a life that changed the world; the beginning of a life that has impacted on millions of lives in a myriad of ways over two thousand years, and continues to do so today.
A Russian teenager, living in Paris around 1930, was aggressively anti-Christian and hated everything to do with God. After listening unwillingly to a talk by a priest, he decided to read a Gospel to check whether the priest’s picture of Christianity, which the young man found repulsive, was supported by the gospel account.
Not to waste time unnecessarily, he chose Mark, the shortest Gospel. Before he reached the third chapter, he suddenly became aware that on the other side of the desk stood the figure of Jesus. His hostility crumbled and he became a disciple of Christ. He became the Metropolitan Anthony, the Russian Orthodox Archbishop of London.
We may not have such a dramatic experience when reading the Bible, but it is good practice to ask God to speak to us before we read the Bible. It is surprising how often he does speak to us if we are open to his word and his presence.
A motorist drove into a ‘full service’ station. Three attendants charged out to meet him. The first washed the windows, the second checked under the bonnet, the third checked the tires. When they had finished, the motorist paid for the 30 litres of petrol he had ordered and drove off.
Three minutes later he returned. Once more, the attendants charged out. ‘I’m embarrassed to ask you this,’ said the motorist, ‘but did anyone put petrol in my car?’ The attendants looked at one another rather sheepishly. In their rush to serve, they had forgotten the rather important petrol.
As we rush through life, it is important not to forget what our priorities should be – to serve where the need is greatest.
‘Dear friends, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.’ 1 John 3:18
As the story goes, Queen Victoria was out walking one summer afternoon near Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She wanted a rest and a drink of water. She passed a couple of houses and knocked on the door of one of them. There was no answer. The woman inside was busy and could not be bothered answering the door. The Queen walked on home.
The neighbour across the road saw all this through her window. In the evening, the two women chatted as they pottered in their gardens. With more than a hunt of jealousy, the neighbour said, ‘I see that the Queen called at your place today.’
The other woman had no idea and was bitterly disappointed at missing this opportunity of having the Queen in to her home. So for the rest of her life she waited for the Queen to return. She never came.
On Palm Sunday the crowds welcomed their King. At any time of the year we need to ensure that we are not too busy, too preoccupied with day to day distractions, and so neglect to let God into our lives. You will not be disappointed.
‘As the scripture tells us, “Anyone who believes in him, will not be disappointed.”’ Romans 10:11
In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric, invading hordes to the north. To get this protection, they built the Great Wall of China. It’s 9 metres high, 5 metres wide and 2,400 kilometres long!
The Chinese goal was to build an absolutely impenetrable defence. But during the first one hundred years of the wall’s existence China was invaded three times.
It wasn’t the wall’s fault. During all three invasions, the barbaric hordes never climbed over the wall, broke it down, or went around it; they simply bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right in through an open gate.
The purpose of the wall failed because of a breakdown in values. Any society or community can be ostensibly rich in materialistic terms but if the values of righteousness, honesty and charity are not adhered to, then that community will fall apart. The Roman Empire is an example, albeit on a rather grand scale. We have seen religious organisations/communities falter and fail because the very values they promote have not been abided by. We are human!
On a personal level, integrity, compassion and humility are invariably the hallmarks of a person who has mana and is held in high regard, not the size of their bank balance or any power they might wield.
‘Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body of armour of God’s righteousness.’ Ephesians 6:14