Lenten Services begin at 7pm each Wednesday and are followed by a light supper:

29th February Trinity Methodist ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’
7th March Knox Church Ahuriri ‘Blessed are the merciful’
14th March St. Patrick’s ‘Blessed are the meek’
21st March St. Paul’s ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness’
28th March St.Thomas More ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’

Evening Bible Study – Our next gathering is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 10th, in the Church Lounge, when we will begin studying Paul’s letter to the Romans. All are welcome. Isabel Morgan

Session has approved a project in which we are going to try and have the church open for several hours a day during the week. We want to provide a place of hospitality and interest to our city and those who visit. In the foyer, there are sheets which you can use to tell us how often you would be available and how long you would be able to stay each time. If you are not sure when you can come, put your name of the sheet anyway! We will use this information to draw up a roster. We will always have more than one person rostered on and you will receive some ‘training’ in showing people around the building. I hope as many of us as possible will share in this way of connecting with our community. Thank you. Sally

Introduction
We’ve been through a process to gather ideas and the following ideas are what are generally suggested as the key points we want the person undertaking the landscaping design to consider. Once we’ve discussed this it will go to Board of Managers for their final approval.

General
We want the church and grounds to be part of the city as currently there is poor connection between the church and our city.

We want
• the church and grounds to be welcoming, user friendly and spiritual with few barriers for people,
• people to be able use the area for congregating and gathering (this may happen before or after events in the church, or it may happen for people coming off the street),
• the entry to the grounds to be clear and easy for pedestrians,
• the layout of entrances and pathways to help people know where the entrances to the buildings are, and
• grounds designed so that minimal maintenance is required.

We acknowledge that
• there is a need to separate the grounds from the street in an aesthetically pleasing way and in this regard the existing wall is poorly constructed, has little historical value and is in disrepair,
• the layout of the adjacent Municipal Theatre is an interesting model but we don’t necessarily want to copy that, and
• money and space are constraints on any design.

Trees
We acknowledge the value of the trees in this city environment for their shade, greenness and the fact that they are the only large group of trees in the CBD, but we recognise that they:
• have been poorly maintained and if they are retained will need to be repaired and that we will have to keep them professionally maintained in the future, and
• can cause problems with drainage systems.

It is recommended that the gum tree be removed because of its condition and that it crowds out the site and adjacent trees.

Protecting the roots of the trees through appropriate landscaping is suggested and this may include the provision of seating around the trees.

Vehicles
Access for vehicles like hearses is essential and there should be provision for up to four car parks for the disabled.

Draft July 2011

I have collated and sifted all the good ideas and thinking that went into our recent workshop and have developed a draft brief for the landscaping project. So that you can talk this through, I will be at the church during the week at the following times: Tuesday 19th 2-3pm, Wednesday 20th 7-8pm and Thursday 21st 10-11am. You are invited to come along at one of these times and I will take you through the ideas that make up the draft brief. There will also be a copy on the Parish website and on the notice board next Sunday. I look forward to discussing this further with you. Kerry