E NEWS 1 DECEMBER 2023
Tena koutou e hoa ma! Or should I say gidday mate! I had a blast of a time on holiday in Sydney. I attended Tina Turner the musical which was as the song says, “Simply the Best.” It tells of her life story from her growing up as a preacher’s kid to marrying her violent husband Ike Turner and just the trajectory of her life through the ups and downs. I highly recommend it if you go to Sydney soon. Wicked was another musical I went to; it was great but paled in comparison to Tina Turner for me anyway. The little girl next to me enjoyed it very much. I spent Saturday on a Blue Mountain tour bus and we visited Taronga Zoo, 3 sisters at the Blue Mountains and Scenic World with the worlds steepest railway car which everyone gets to ride on. Then on Monday I treated myself to Day Spa in Crow’s Nest and had a relaxing time.
I’ve just spent 90 minutes with the “back to work Occupational Therapist” who works for ACC on assessing my fitness for returning back to full-time work. Together with my GP we have agreed that the next 2 weeks will be part-time doing 4 hours a day to be re-assessed after this time. Please bear with me as I continue to navigate my way through my day and each week. I would like to make preparation for Sunday worship service my priority over this time so will not be doing any pastoral visiting unless absolutely necessary. In saying this, please do not hesitate to contact me if your need is urgent. My brain is slow as well as my body, I get tired very easily and am easily frustrated and slightly impatient. My sleep is all over the place and unless I stand with my head under the shower in the mornings it is very hard to get moving and motivated for the day. The dogs still get their daily walk that is non-negotiable. When I get tired I rest and work around energy deficits and depletion. Fingers crossed we can nip this in the bud sooner rather than later.
There was a Book Launch last Thursday night at the New Samoan High Commission offices. The book is “Shaping Pacific Place in Aotearoa New Zealand” edited by Tagaloatele Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop and Amanda-Lanuola Dunlop. Peggy was my Ph.D. supervisor. I have written a chapter in it called “Reclaiming the Feagaiga”. That is reclaiming the sisterhood and ministry of the word and sacrament for women. It is a story of my growing up in Auckland and my call to ministry. If you are interested in purchasing a copy (I get no royalties) here is the link: https://pekiroadbooks.wixsite.com/order
There will be an Auckland Book Launch next Tuesday evening. Since my family are all there I will be attending that in lieu of my day off on Monday. I will be putting a copy into our church library for anyone who would like to read it.
What can I say about our new Government? Hmmm, I’m not sure how involved I will be with the different Ministerial Departments that I have been privileged to work with in the past on behalf of our SAOTT community outreach. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I have just returned from a flag raising awareness ceremony on the grounds of Parliament in solidarity with the indigenous people of West Papua. Tony Pears has been attending these for years and invited me to join him. Today is the anniversary of “Free West Papua solidarity flag raising of the Morning Star Flag gathering organised by the Peace Movement of Aotearoa NZ.
This Sunday is St. Andrew’s Thanksgiving Day as well as the first Sunday in Advent. We are inviting people to give a special donation to the work of our church separate to your normal weekly offering. Last year we raised an extra $1,000 from our St. Andrew’s appeal. Special envelopes will be provided, just remember to put your offering number on the envelope for tax refund purposes.
I hope you all have plans for Christmas dinner this year. Please me know if you would like SAOTT to put lunch on for those who will be alone this Christmas. Take care and ka kite ano on Sunday. Fei
You can read the full E-news here: https://mailchi.mp/df9fd8a57cd0/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-9415660
