Kia ora tātou
This Sunday’s Service will mark an important event in the history of St Andrew’s and that of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. 182 years ago on Sunday 23 February 1840 the Reverend John Macfarlane conducted New Zealand’s first Presbyterian service at Petone, which marked the establishment of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. He had the post of Ship’s Chaplain on board the ship the Bengal Merchant which had sailed from Glasgow and arrived in New Zealand waters two days before the service. The ships passengers were St Andrew’s first parishioners,
In 1940 the day was named Founders Day and has since then been celebrated at St Andrew’s, often on Petone beach near the Iona Cross. One of the first things John Macfarlane did was to establish a Fundraising Committee to raise money to build a new church. The first church building in the parish then known as “Scots Kirk, ” had walls of clay and a thatched roof and its Constitution stated it was “inalienably in connection with the Church of Scotland. “
In researching material for the service ( thanks to Lois Robertson for the wonderful compendium of information gathered for the 180th Celebrations 1840 – 2020, held at St Andrews, and loaned to me ), I have become interested in the Rev. John Macfarlane his beliefs and actions. I have pondered on how fortunate St Andrews’s people have been over the years to have had ministers ( teaching elders – scholars) who have interpreted the scriptures in new ways, grown parishioners’ understandings of the Jesus way, challenged and inspired, lived their faith, been advocates for social justice, spoken truth to power, created a welcoming community, been visionary in planning for St Andrews in the city..the list goes on.
All the hymns we will be singing (except the last one) could have been sung at the first service and certainly in many years following it. We will be reminded of the faith held by early journey makers and perhaps reflect on the course of our own faith journey.
You will be greeted by the music of the pipes maybe see some hats and flashes of tartan and reminders of the past. Cameron Smart has put together a great Children’s Time around the theme of Founders Day which with slides and pictures will appeal to all present I am sure. See you Sunday,
Rosemary Lawrence
To view the full e-news click here: https://mailchi.mp/f41683bc1801/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-8849585
