ST ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 2 DEVON STREET GORE

SPRING CLARION 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 3 MINISTER’S GREETINGS REV HELEN MARTIN

PAGE 4 SESSION CLERK’S REPORT DOUGLAS DIXEY

PAGE 5 TREASURER’S REPORT JOY CREIGHTON

PAGE 6 RECIPE

PAGE 7 AGM and PARISH REGISTER

PAGE 8 & 9 THE WILLETTS FAMILY

PAGE 10 THE MILLENIUM PRAYER

PAGE 11 MINISTRY SETTLEMENT BOARD

PAGE 12 OUR NEW EDITOR

PAGE 13 CAPTURING LIGHT

PAGE 14 MANSE RENOVATIONS

PAGE 15 &16 SPRING CLEANING

PAGE 17 &18 BOOK REVIEW

PAGE 19 COMING EVENTS

PAGE 20 DIRECTORY 2 MINISTER’S GREETING

I’ve been thinking about my ‘bucket list.’ Not the list if things I want to do or need to do before I die, but what I need to do before I leave St Andrew’s. There’s no date set, but with the Ministry Settlement Board at work and with my health giving a little concern, it’s safe to say that I will finish up here sooner rather than later. I’ll hate to leave you all, but . . . best get on with the bucket list.

We continue to work on our commitments and policies with regard the Missions we support. I have still to arrange a couple of Sunday services dedicated to The Leprosy Mission and to Te Aka Puaho, our Maori Synod as we hand over the bequest money as agreed.

There’s still some ‘spring cleaning’ to do. My dream is that every room and every cupboard will be as clean and as well organised as the kitchen is. Ladies, you are an inspiration! I don’t want a new minister coming here while we have unused items lying around gathering dust – it might make them think we have been lying round gathering dust over the last couple of years, whereas we all know we’ve been working jolly hard together. Another burst is about to break forth. Hold onto your hats!

Maybe we should all to get on with our personal ‘bucket lists’? A few months ago my father said that if he didn’t have much more time he would really like to go out for a meal with the family one more time. We did that and may do it again since he is still with us. In the end it is not spring cleaning but relationships that matter the most. Let’s put them at the top of the bucket list as we love our neighbours as ourselves. Helen Martin 3

SPRING

Spring is coming or has it arrived?

I remember those old school days when were able to make a fuss of the seasons and special events like Christmas and Easter. Today there seems to be constraints and restrictions on what can be presented and what can be covered.

Spring was celebrated in August. We made cutouts and designs with daffodils and lambs and each child produced leaves and various coloured daffodils. These were combined into a mural for around the walls. Now September seems to be the month to celebrate spring and the coming of new life. Winter is passing and after snow the daffodils and tulips bring colour into our gardens and fields of daffodils are a common sight. Our temperate climate gives us plenty of colour especially in our parks and reserves.

We give thanks for the seasonal changes but how often we complain about the cold. Without the snow and cold the bulbs will not produce healthy flowers. Bulbs need that dormant time to prepare, and warming temperatures to produce their beauty. Easter is one of our important Christian events where new life is celebrated in the northern hemisphere but we have to wait for August/September. Easter eggs do not coincide with the blossom, new growth and the coming of summer days.

We celebrate Easter with chocolate eggs and in our schools and shops. The true message of Easter, the sacrifice on the cross and the risen Lord who surrounds us with love is not included. In previous times we talked about the Easter events in our lessons. Time is now spent on arty eggs, hot cross buns and egg hunts. Even symbolism of hot cross buns and eggs that bring new life is ignored.

Our children are missing out. Let us come alive this spring. Help us to grow and blossom in our faith and give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us.

Douglas Dixey (Session Clerk) 4 TREASURERS REPORT

Our draft Annual Accounts, for the year ended 30 June 2019, have now gone to One2One Management (Tracy McGuigan) to be Reviewed ready for our AGM. They show a surplus for the year of $2,468. There was also Capital Expenditure of $6,548 for the underfloor heating in the church and $17,084 for updating the bedrooms and hall in the Manse. Our bank accounts totalled $92,189, at 30 June, compared with $126,223 last year. These figures include our ‘tagged’ bequests of $13,954.

Murray Fortune advised that Land Information NZ (LINZ) granted approval to issue a separate title for 6 Devon Street on 23 July 2019.

John Falconer has been working with the Gore District Council over the compliance issues concerning the assisted listening device in the church. The compliance schedule said we had a ‘loop system’ when in fact we had an FM system. This now seems to have been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and Fire Protection Ltd have been contracted to attend to our compliance issues from now on. Thank you, John for your hard work in resolving this thorny issue.

Thank you, everyone, for continuing to financially support the work of our parish.

Joy Creighton (Treasurer)

My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked, "No, how are we alike?" “ You're both old," he replied 5 EASY PEASY PROTEIN LUNCH

Ingredients: 1 x tin flavoured tuna (Tomato & Basil) 1 x Tomato flavoured Cuppa Soup sachet Method: In a large mug make the cuppa soup with boiling water, but only fill mug ¾ full. Next stir in the whole tin of tuna. If room top up with hot water. Enjoy with a slice of toast or a cheese roll.

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the Doctor and the Doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the Doctor and the Doctor said ‘Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again’ The gentleman replied, ‘Oh I haven’t told them yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will three times already’

6 PARISH REGISTER

St Andrew’s mourn the loss of Gus Hogg

Mary Smith

Alice Wright

DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE AN ANNUAL GENERAL REPORT?

We hope that most of you will collect your copy from church on Sunday morning one or two weeks before the meeting on 15 September. If you are not able to attend church and collect the report there are two options: Ask a friend to get one for you OR Phone the office and leave a message requesting a report be posted. We will gladly do that although it is likely you will receive the report after the meeting has taken place.

Please Note: Because the Spring edition of The Clarion has just been delivered to you, visiting elders will not be able to call again so soon with the AGM report. Apologies ! 7

CATCHING UP WITH THE WILLETTS FAMILY

1 John 4:7-8: “Dear friends, let us love one an- other, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.

It is with love that we write this update, as each of you are very important to us. We are so thankful that you are a part of our lives and we have this opportunity to say “Hi”.

Grace is nearly 18 and is at Gore High School. She is a happy chatty young lady who loves her ‘baby doll’ and playing the piano. Unfortunately she had an accident at the start of the year which resulted in 15 stitches in her forehead and the loss of her 2 top front teeth, but in true Grace form she has bounced back and is doing well again.

Eli is 11, attends Longford Intermediate, and is loving it! Many of you will have seen him in The Gore Chamber Ensemble playing the cello, an instrument he enjoys immensely. And this year he has a part in the Gore Musical theatre's production of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’, playing a munchkin. 8 Luke is 7 and is at East Gore School. He enjoys school but loves being out in the sandpit more. He loves playing soccer and hockey and still keeps us on our toes with his creativeness and business.

Ken is in his 3rd year with GWD in the used and new Holden divisions. He is chairman of the East Gore School BOT and combined with home life he is kept reasonably busy’

Nicola’s time is taken up with making sure everyone is where they should be, have what they need, and supporting Grace. Also doing some hours each day teacher aiding at East Gore School.

At the moment we are worshipping at Calvin Church and have found that God in His wisdom knows that this is our time for growth in our faith. We have found ourselves challenged to focus on Him and His will for us. Both Ken and I are in study groups, Eli in the youth group and Luke a part of children's church. Please don’t be a stranger. If you see us come say ‘Hi’, as we would love to catch up on how things are for you.

With much love and Blessings Ken, Nicola, Grace, Eli and Luke 9 A NEW SONG TO LEARN

At St Andrew’s we love to sing The Lord’s Prayer, and over the next weeks we will add another version of it to our repertoire. “The Millenium Prayer” is a song recorded by singer , in which the words of the Lord’s Prayer are set to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne". It was released in November 1999 as a charity single in the lead-up to the end of the 1900s. The single became a surprise hit reaching number one in the U K singles chart, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number three in Ireland, and the top 20 in a number of European countries. So it’s very likely we’ve all heard it and will find it easy and enjoyable to sing.

The original adaption of "The Lord's Prayer" to "Auld Lang Syne" was created by composer Paul Field and writer Stephen Deal as the finale to the Christian musical Hopes & Dreams, and that theme is picked up in some additional words to The Lord’s Prayer in this version. These additional words are prompted by the fact that our Christian hope is that God’s kingdom will come here on earth. Richard's , EMI, declined to release it as a Christmas single because of concerns for its commercial potential, so Richard approached the independent record label Papillon Records for the release, with the proceeds going to the charity Children's Promise. It became Richard's 14th UK No. 1 hit, his 112th hit overall, the third highest-selling single of his career. The version Richard released as a single was not taken from any , however the following year the song was included in Richard's compilation album : His Greatest Hits and in 2003 on his album Cliff at Christmas. You can listen to it on Youtube.

Most of these details are from Wikipedia with slight adaptation.10 UPDATE FROM ST ANDREW’S MSB (Ministry Settlement Board)

I want to take this opportunity to thank all who attended the congregation meeting held back in May and contributed to our discussions. At this meeting it was agreed to look for a Nationally Ordained Minister up to full time.

Since then Southern Presbytery has approved the congregation decision. They were very supportive of the journey you as a parish have undertaken to get to this point. This support signalled a green light for us to advertise that St Andrews, Gore is vacant and actively looking.

This has enabled us as an MSB to discuss some names of people that might be suitable for us to approach and so this is the stage we are at. Enquiring as to whether names suggested would be suitable, are they open to conversations or are they happy where they currently minister, and having initial tenta- tive conversations.

Thank you for those who have given names for us to consider - these names are a helpful resource.

We continue to meet monthly as an MSB in order to keep everyone informed on progress of inquiry and conversations. Our hope is some of this initial work will give us a confidence to initiate more formal talks with someone in the near future.

In Christ Rev Erin Pendreigh MSB Convenor 11 GETTING TO KNOW OUR NEW EDITOR

It is with pleasure that Helen has handed over the editorial reigns of The Clarion to Jenny Paisley who is a Session Member and also a Sunday morning Music Team member. Jenny has recently taken early retirement from employment at The Gore Public Library and is managing to fill her days very productively and creatively. Aqua-jogging at the pool is improving her health, baking is improving her husband’s waistline (not!), and story-telling is improving many junior classes enjoyment of literature! Jenny is especially enjoying this aspect of her new ‘leisure’ time as she visits several Junior school classes, kindergarten and Play Centres. Added into that mix is a new role at The Gore Parents’ Centre with not only story-telling but also leading ‘Wiggles and Jiggles’ a la music and movement. Jenny and Lester met in 2005 and married in 2016. They have two daughters between them with Lester having two grandsons. Because they are boys it falls mostly to Grandad to do boy things with them. Their section keeps the Paisleys busy: Five acres, three harness horses and one cow every alternate year along with a very ‘active’ vegie garden which thrives on stable manure means that there is never a shortage of jobs to be done.

We welcome Jenny to this new role, and wish her all the best. She will be looking for your contributions for the summer edition of The Clarion no later than Tuesday 12 November. Email: [email protected] 12 CAPTURING LIGHT: A BOOK TO BORROW

One of St Andrew’s stained glass windows feature in a new book by Brian Miller who has written and illustrated the work of his uncle Roy Miller, once an elder at Knox Church, Dunedin.

During Roy’s career Miller Studios became the leading studio in New Zealand for stained glass and you can appreciate why that was as you peruse this beautiful production.

St Andrew’s, Gore is featured on page 91 with a copy of our memorial window with the motto: “Be thou faithful unto death.”

This is a book for slow viewing and enjoying as we visit the visual displays of yesteryear, and appreciate their continuing beauty and ability to capture the depth of the symbolism of our Christian faith.

The book is on the library table at the back of the church – please borrow for one week at a time and return it to the table for others to also enjoy.

13 DID WE REALLY NEED TO?

Absolutely! The bedrooms in the manse were shockers and were desperately in need of renovation after years of hard family living. When Helen went into the Manse over two years ago only one bedroom was of acceptable standard. Now they have all been spruced up and are looking good – ready for a new minister sometime in the new year or not long after – we hope!

Three bedrooms were painted, wardrobes re-varnished and their doors made functional once more. All three rooms needed new curtains of the ‘ready-made’ variety to save the $s. Two bedrooms have new wallpaper and light fittings, and the bedroom on the south side had its walls insulated. The hallway was also painted and varnished. You can now feel proud of the manse as a family home. Without volunteers able to do this work we needed, of course, to pay professionals and if you’ve done that recently you know how much that entails. However, we do now have some people who are willing to do a little voluntary work for us which is fantastic! When a new kitchen was put in we ran out of money and only now have we been able to finish tiling the splash-back around the sink area to match behind the stove. This is thanks to voluntary work by Trevor Woodrow – we still owe him an apple pie or two!

The final thing remaining to be done, if you can ever be finished when it comes to repairs and maintenance, is the bathroom. It is functional and reasonably tidy, but could certainly do with being updated. The shower keeps falling apart, grouting could do with being replaced, the elderly and very ‘comfortable’ bath needs to be resurfaced and so on. We are thinking that it might make sense to make better use of the large utility area which includes the laundry and a second toilet. We may well make better use of this space by converting it into a second bathroom. Watch this space!

14 SPRING CLEANING By Joy Cowley

Hey, Jesus, did you say something about possessions? Well, it just so happens that I’d be very pleased if you’d take some of this stuff which keeps getting in the way.

For example, that old trunk filled with ideas which no longer fit. In the past they’ve served him well but now they’re tight. They chafe and are splitting at the seams. You’ve given me new garments to grow into.

Over here, I’ve got stacks of answers dating back to the days when life was filled with questions. You took the questions last collection. I don’t know why I’m hanging on to these.

Down by your feet, are some masks. I keep accumulating those in spite of the fact that I promised myself I’d never wear masks again. They’re so heavy.

15

These bundles are heavy too, Judgemental attitudes wrapped in fear. Can you help me to move them?

Hey Jesus, why don’t I just hand it all to you and let you deal with it? Why don’t I just stand here and admire the results of our spring cleaning? You know, this house is surprisingly big. I didn’t know I had so much space. Hey Jesus, Would you like to move in?

An eighty-year-old man's golf game was hampered by poor eyesight. He could hit the ball well but he couldn't see where it went. So his doctor teamed him up with a ninety-year-old man who had perfect eyesight and was willing to go along to serve as a spotter. The eighty-year-old man hit the first ball and asked his companion if he saw where it landed. "Yep," said the ninety-year-old. "Where did it go?" the eighty-year-old demanded. The ninety-year old replied, "I don't remember." 16 BOOK REVIEW ‘SERVING LIFE’

Author: Margaret Currie Reviewer: Jean McGuigan

Life on a South Otago farm during WWII brought back memories for me of my childhood, as I began reading Margaret’s book, “Serving Life.” But my association with Margaret dates back to 1957 when we completed our maternity training together in Balclutha. Since then, our paths have taken very different routes, but on reading her book, Margaret’s story is one of such dedication and obedience to God’s call. In her early years as a Christian she heard God’s call “to be a missionary to China” and this theme threaded its way throughout her busy, and at times challenging life experiences. But she firmly believed in the Lord and depended completely on His faithfulness in so many places and circumstances.

Margaret’s life was so varied: her nursing training, Bible College, university degrees and teaching English set her in good standing for her life’s journey ahead.

Thirteen years in Malaysia was very challenging at times but she prayerfully persevered with her calling.

There she spent time sharing the gospel with the people and with the nursing staff through the Nurses’ Christian Fellowship. 17

On her return to New Zealand and to Gore she met and married Len Currie and they both served the Lord here at St Andrew’s.

They spent 11 happy years together but sadly Len died and Margaret then had to ponder her future.

She proceeded with more training as she was still hearing God’s “Missionary Call to China” and soon joined her friend, Marjorie, for a period in Mongolia (over the border from China!) There she witnessed such inhumane conditions in the prisons and was able to influence huge changes through her obedience to her calling.

Her two Orders of Merit were so well deserved. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

This is a compelling story – one which, as a non-book reader, I found hard to put down – consequently many midnight sittings.

Margaret Currie’s autobiography, ‘Serving Life’, has been very popular and reprints are being made. Greta Miller is the new contact person Ph 03 2072780 Email [email protected] 23 Main St No 3 RD Gore 9773 Books are $30.00 (including p & p) Online payment available

18 COMING EVENTS 23-24 AUG Pakeke Lions Book Sale Sun 25 AUG 2pm Concert @ St Andrew’s: Royal Dunedin Male Choir $10 Entry fee or $5 for 6 – 12 yr olds No 2pm service today – if you usually attend the 2pm service you are welcome to attend the concert for half price!

1 SEPT 10am COMMUNION (Fathers’ Day) 8 SEPT Services at Resthaven 2.15pm and Parata 3pm

15 SEPT 10AM SPRING FLOWER SUNDAY & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING STARTING AT 10.50AM

20-21 SEPT Presbytery meets 29 SEPT DAYLIGHT SAVING STARTS 10am AND 2pm service which includes Communion

Sat 5 OCT PLANT SALE – Fund Raiser for St Andrew’s Douglas would welcome donations of SMALL plant pots 6 OCT 10am World Communion Sunday FOLLOWED BY CHURCH LUNCHEON Finger food to share please

20 OCT Rhododendron Festival: 10am with Brass Band 27 OCT 10am AND 2pm service Sat 16 NOV: 7.30am Prayer Breakfast: Combined Gore Churches

17 NOV: Visitors please pick up summer edition of The Clarion – Pastoral visits and delivery of Clarions from 18 – 30 November 24 NOV 10am AND 2pm service ST ANDREW’S DAY – a day for tartan and haggis!

1 DECEMBER 10AM COMMUNION FOLLOWED BY A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MORNING TEA IN THE FOYER. 19 OUR MISSION We are called to make the best use of every resource entrusted to us by God, in order to bring as many people as possible into a lasting life-changing relationship with God through Christ Jesus. OUR VISION We want to be a growing Church, spiritually alive to God, actively caring for the community.

MINISTER Rev Helen Martin 4 Devon Street Gore 9710 [email protected] Ph 2086396 SESSION CLERK AND SOUND Douglas Dixey 26 Arawa Street Gore 9710 [email protected] ph 027 4255844 TREASURER Joy Creighton 92 Wentworth Street Gore 9710 [email protected] Ph 2083773 SECRETARY AND VISUALS Fay Graves 27 Anzac Street Gore 9710 [email protected] Ph 2081093 BOOKINGS AND CATERING Jan Prattley 17 Robertson Street Gore 9710 [email protected] Ph 2084311 REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE Rev Helen Martin 4 Devon Street Gore 9710 As above 20