Discerning Our Vision…
Where we are and where we’re going…
As part of our Lent discussions at St Paul’s following the ravages of Covid and the fire from which we are still recovering, we found an image of the Cathedral being a “safe harbour” where everyone feels able to approach Christ our mooring post, Te Karaiti Te Pou Herenga Waka in the language of our Prayerbook. We’ve been working on being more inclusive and welcoming ever since, and while that work continues, we now want to look at where God is calling us in the next decade as we seek to build a community of hope, love and action for the years to come.
Be part of our vision!
We’ve just celebrated the feast of Pentecost, and heard again the words of the prophet Joel, recounted in the speech of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, and telling of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when the young will see visions, and the old will dream dreams. That’s what we want to do now at St Paul’s – we’re already rebuilding physically following the fire in 2020, and we need to dream dreams and share our visions of what this place can become as it rises from the ashes.
We’d like to invite everyone who is part of our wider whānau to help us with this discernment process, so we’re asking you to tell us what you’d like to see more of at the Cathedral, how we can serve God’s people and our wonderful City better, how we can expand our ministry to help our whole community grow in faith and love.
Our Chapter, elected from the Cathedral congregation, will be meeting during June to look at our plans for the next decade: for the building, for our worship, for the musical, social and spiritual life of the place, our service to the City and Diocese, and our ministry to all God’s people, young and old. Our governing body, Greater Chapter, will then be meeting in July to look at how we can put these plans into action, so let us know what you think, and help us to hear God’s call for the future of this special place of faith at the heart of Ōtepoti Dunedin!
How to get in touch:
You can send your views and suggestions to me at Dean@StPauls.net.nz or speak directly to any of our friendly Greater Chapter members over the coming weeks.