St Paul's Waiwhetū

05/06/2026

03/05/2026

2,953. That's how many days it has been since we gathered in our church for a service. 2,953 days!

Today, on day 2,953, it was my privilege to announce that we will having a thanksgiving and celebration service in the church building on July 26th.

That's right! We will be commencing services in our newly strengthened whare- as evidenced in the picture- by gathering at 10am on July 26th,

Bishop Ana will be joining us as we give thanks for The Lord’s provision and presence throughout our 8-year journey to this point. Importantly, we will also be thanking all those who have been involved in the project- be they church member, engineer, electrician, construction worker, or council officer.

While it has been 2,953 days, that is a whole lot better than 40 years in the wilderness!

Rev Karl

23/04/2026

Gutting news for such an amazing bunch of people, doing incredibly vital work for so many. It is also incredibly frustrating that, once again, grassroots workers suffer while politicians simply keep on politicking.

Whether you vote left, right, or somewhere in between, contact your local MP (esp if they are a member of the coalition and ask for a please explain.

If your local MP is in opposition, ask them what they intend to do.

Lastly, if you are local consider dropping off some practical love (kai, hot drinks, koha) to the Birthright Team- they are true salt and light in our community.

21/04/2026

What better way to for a Rev to be waiting for a tradie, than with a flatie from The Coffee Guy Petone. You can find him, most mornings, on the St Paul’s driveway. Top coffee from a top bloke- all be it a slightly soggier bloke today.

13/04/2026

Waiwhetū Fruit and Vege Co op, just to be clear, l am stealing a couple of Easter Eggs!!

13/04/2026

The latest addition to the Vicarage office- Rocky from Project Hail Mary. He joins the collection of Lego that fills the bookshelves.

10/04/2026

When you have Uke Church prep to do, but you are also a giant space nerd. Counting down to splashdown!

07/04/2026

A slighty longer post about our worn out, faded and drippy candle.

Each year, churches like us will buy brand new paschal candles; to replace the dripped, tired looking candle from the year before. Now, there is nothing wrong that, but here at Hato Pāora/ St Paul’s, we are taking a different approach.

This year, our Paschal Candle is into its 4th year of use- in all its worn out, faded and drippy glory.
We also know that the light of Christ shines every single day; be it in times of peace, or times of war, or in times of joy or pain.

As followers of Jesus, we must constantly ensure that Christ’s light is not dimmed by our words, actions, or culture. We must not let our own “cultural light” dim the light of Christ; as it is Christ’s light that must shine most brightest, not our own.

Which is why we are using our candle for the 4th year in a row; as we need to remind ourselves that God’s call, to be Christ’s light to the world, is not dependent on how tired and wonky we feel.
If we don’t believe that the light of Christ can shine through us when we are tired, wonky, and slightly worn-out; then we should not light any candle.

Yet, if we truly believe the message of Easter; if we truly believe that Christs light can indeed shine forth from us- just as we are; if we truly believe that Christs light can shine forth in war zones and the ugliest of places and situations, then we must light the tired, drippy candle before us.

We light this candle because it is the light of the flame that symbolises the light of Christ, and not the candle itself.

As it should be with us.

30/12/2025

Like the natural rhythm’s of Aotearoa, I am shaping my celebrating of the “New Year” at Matariki. Yet, as I grab a sneaky coffee in the midst of my mahi today, I am thankful for the amazing whanau of St Paul’s who have loved others in the past year. I am thankful for the whanau of St Paul’s, who have spent another year out of our church, yet still gathering as church in our wee chapel. I am thankful for the whanau of St Paul’s who have supported the new mahi around UkeChurch, and have continued to be proud supporters of our Waiwhetū Fruit and Vege Co op and weekly Strum and Sing Waiwhetū. I am thankful for the last 365 days and for the 365 to come. Rev Karl

27/12/2025

Just a wee reminder. Enjoy Sleep in Sunday!