The Lamb of God Chronicle December 2011
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The Lamb of God Chronicle December 2011 The Lamb of God Community PO Box 35 054 Christchurch 8640 Phone [03] 383 2631 Fax [03] 383 0609 Mobile 021 817 232 Email: [email protected] Website: www.lambofgodcommunity.net INDEX TO CONTENTS Reflections Page 1-2 Web Sites Page 8 Our People Page 2 Members/Info/Records Page 9 News and Articles Page 2-6 Fr John Rea Ministry 2012 Page 9 House Group Resource Page 7 Birthdays/Anniversaries Page 10-11 Kairos NZ News Page 8 National Prayer Watch Page 11-13 REFLECTIONS… ‘In Homelessness, God’s Love Is Still With Us…’ These words, declared by Bishop Victoria Matthews towards an earthquake shattered cathedral in the centre of devastated Christchurch a few days ago, brought home to me the commanding power and authoritative reality of the spiritual in our everyday lives. Bishop Matthews presided over a short church service of de-consecration of the cathedral and reduced the building to the status of an ‘ordinary ruin.’ Those attending gave respectful thanks for the Christian witness established in the centre of the city by Bishop Henry Harper in 1881. During the service those attending intoned ‘We did not treat this space as we would ordinary space, but as we would treat the very presence of God.’ In her message the Bishop focused on hope, saying: ‘In homelessness, God’s love is still with us and this is not a time to lose hope. We need to move on, knowing that what God has in store for us is more magnificent. We are a work in progress. It is the mission that matters, let us be a pilgrim people, a people of the resurrection.’ And in the formal de- consecration, Bishop Matthews declared: ‘I do remit this building, and all objects remaining in it, for any lawful and reputable use, according to the laws of this land. This building, having now been deconsecrated and secularized, I declare to be no longer subject to my canonical jurisdiction.’ And so the people of this city now move further into changed realities and many uncertainties. But the city of Christchurch is also a place God has chosen to raise up a Christian Community, the Lamb of God. And through eight thousand earthquakes, with nineteen damaged homes of which half are seriously damaged, with our cluster area in a precarious situation, our main school and church demolished, our high school colleges 2 unusable, and with the Lamb of God Centre in part significantly damaged - we are still here, and thus far we have held together and lost no one. We still meet, we still give thanks, we still praise, we still run Healing Meeting with Fr John, we are still running Summer Oasis and EDGE Conferences, and the Single Men’s Household, and we still give generously of what we have, and God is undoubtedly with us. Truly we know the reality that in homelessness, God’s love is still with us… So brothers and sisters of the Lamb of God let us continue to ‘face into the storm’ as God’s people. We cannot say we are through it yet, we cannot say we are nearly there, we cannot say we are over the worst. What we can say is we belong to the Lord and that He is with us, what we can say is ‘I’ll be there for you’, what we can say is ‘we journey this together’, and what we can say is we do have hundreds of Lamb of God members nationwide who are with us and generously there for us, and worldwide we have thousands standing with us in prayer and resource in the Sword of the Spirit. And here on the home front, right in the cluster, God willing you can count that Veronica and I are staying. We are going nowhere, and we are retiring nowhere until we are through these momentous and challenging times with you, our people. Roger Foley: Senior Coordinator OUR PEOPLE… Congratulations! To Neil Menezes [Auckland] who has been selected by The Rotary Science Forum to participate and interact with other students who have excelled in Science (NZ and Australia). Well done Neil and all the very best at the forum with the Science /Engineering guys from the 14th to 28th January 2012. Jo and Anila Collins [Auckland] with the arrival of their son Joshua. [Note to all Branch leaders: Please send your local news/snippets to Roger Foley or Tom Caballes so that we can acknowledge important occasions in the lives of our brothers and sisters and make sure we do not miss any of them.] NEWS AND ARTICLES SOUTH ISLAND LOCATIONS TO BECOME ONE BRANCH REGION The Lamb of God Community has functioned in five Regions for many years, being the Auckland Region [West and East Districts], Central Region [Napier and Wellington Branches], Nelson-Blenheim Region [Nelson and Blenheim], Christchurch Region [Christchurch Branch and Kaikoura and Ashburton Mission Groups] and the Southern Region [Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Balclutha and Invercargill]. In 2012 we will be restructuring to three Regions from five, with all of our South Island works and mission becoming one Branch Region. Senior Coordinator Roger Foley says ‘this restructure has been under consideration for over three years and it makes a lot of sense in managing our resources and maximising opportunities. The devastating earthquakes of the past fourteen months have certainly demonstrated how committed together we are. We have been severely tested and the Lord has brought us through in an amazing display of sacrifice, service of each other, and love. We are ready for this new challenge in taking our relationships and service of each other to a deeper level.’ 3 CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE UPDATE from ROGER In November the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority opened up the Central City Red Zone Cordon for the first time to a limited number of special bus tours for the public to see first-hand, and close up, the magnitude of the damage to our city. I made application immediately and was assigned a seat on the third bus in and departing just twenty minutes after the cordon was opened. It was necessary to observe a required dress code, particularly regarding adequate footwear, and to acknowledge verbally that you understood you were entering an area of potential danger in which should there be another significant earthquake whilst you were inside, you may be trapped, and even die inside the cordon. It was very impacting, and so very sad [refer the photographs] and I came out with a significant headache. When you see it close up it was an absolute miracle that thousands did not die. The damage is almost beyond comprehension and overwhelming to try to take in. I have no argument with the way the restrictions and cordons have impacted our lives this past fourteen months. It was and is necessary in what is like a war-zone in the downtown area. The tour made me aware we live in dramatic times that have shaken the city and nation, and times that will shape the future of Aotearoa. I am glad I live here, grateful we have come through thus far, and blessed to journey these days in a great family, and in a very real and committed Christian Community. This experience strengthened my love for the city and its people and strengthened my resolve that you will not move me from Christchurch. Roger. TOM AND MHEL ON THE MOVE… This month we see an important inter-branch move when Tom and Mhel Caballes and family relocate from Auckland to Wellington. Tom and Mhel are making this important move in order to ‘keep the family together’ as their daughter Clarese commences university study in the New Year. However it is also a significant move for the Lamb of God as Tom and Mhel will add their wealth of experience in community living and building to serve as formation leaders in our fast growing Wellington Branch. They will add their experience in assisting the current leadership team. We thank Tom and Mhel for their contribution these many years in serving and building in Auckland, and we welcome them into the Wellington Branch. The Lord is good. Roger and Veronica 4 SOUTH ISLAND WOMEN’S WEEKEND AT HANMER SPRINGS The recent Women’s Weekend at Hanmer Springs was a wonderful success and well attended with sisters participating from Nelson, Blenheim, Southern, and Christchurch Branches plus our friends from the Light of Christ Community. The theme ‘Daughters Come, be Restored in the Lord’ became a reality as the stress and strain of fourteen months of earthquakes was ‘ministered away’ and as the Lord moved through an excellence of teaching and an anointing of worship. Thank you Lord! Veronica on behalf of the Leadership Team OUR WORK IN FIJI IS EXPANDING… The Lamb of God Christian Community has been working in the Fiji Islands since 1998. Our main work has been of a missionary nature in sending teams of our youth to work under supervision to serve in works of mercy in mainly deprived socio-economic areas and to also serve churches and mission organizations in their work. This has been of benefit not only to the Fijian people in areas where we have assisted in ventures such as building flood retention walls, cleaning up rubbish from streets and drains under police supervision, digging out building foundations, then hand mixing concrete and setting reinforcing rods, and carrying heavy building materials up scaffolding towers on mission station construction sites. Our own youth have also greatly benefited. They have been exposed to a different culture with the richness and challenge that this brings, lived in situations of challenge and been exposed to faith in the face of hardship and extreme poverty.