WelCom October 2018: The annual refugee quota will lift from 1000 to 1500 by 2020, the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern announced at Parliament on 21 September 2018. The announcement fulfils a Labour campaign promise to raise the quota within their first term of Government. The quota increase will take place in July 2020. The previous National […]
WelCom October 2018: A new book of spiritual reflections by Joy Cowley, one of New Zealand’s favourite and most influential spiritual writers, is to be launched at St Joseph’s Church, Mt Victoria, at the end of October. Veil Over The Light – Selected Spiritual Writings by Joy Cowley will be launched on October 27 at 4pm. […]
WelCom October 2018: Remember the Brave, World War I Mary Nash Palmerston North parishioners Forrest Chambers and his daughter have produced a children’s book entitled Remember the Brave, World War 1. They launched it on 2 September in Palmerston North. The book, written by Forrest and illustrated by Lena, is dedicated ‘to those who have resisted […]
WelCom October 2018: Suzanne O’Rourke More than 60 people from Wellington and the Hutt Valley gathered on Sunday 2 September, for the blessing and re-opening of ‘Greenstone Doors’, after a month-long refurbishment and expansion of their premises in Lower Hutt. Fr Patrick Bridgman and Fr Cirilo Barlis from Te Awakairangi Parish led the procession through the […]
WelCom October 2018: Sue Seconi A combined priestly ministry of 220 years was celebrated at St Mary’s Church – Te Parihi Katorika Ki Whanganui, on Tuesday evening, 18 September 2018. Since the Palmerston North Diocese was established in 1980, the annual celebration of ordinations are usually held at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. This year, […]
WelCom October 2018: Fr Ron Bennett The Second Vatican Council stressed the role of all people in the life of the Church. The Worldwide Marriage Encounter Movement grew out of this. It began in the Wellington Archdiocese (now Wellington and Palmerston North dioceses) in June 1978. The programme teaches a way of communication, creating a closeness […]
WelCom October 2018: Mary Fama The chilly May weather gave impetus again this year to our Hastings Parish ‘Needy Children’ project, to distribute thermal clothing to children in our district. Our parish’s Environmental and Social Justice (ESJ) group developed and ran the project. Supported by a diocesan contribution of $3000 and private donations of $6800, the […]
WelCom October 2018: Sarah Richards, NZ Bible Society This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Te Paipera Tapu ‒ The Holy Bible in Māori. Te Paipera Tapu, first published in 1868, has just been digitised. This digitised version will be one of the many tools used to help produce a […]
WelCom October 2018: Last month, WelCom published in full an unprecedented letter from Pope Francis to the people of God, following the release in August of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse by priests and others in the Church and the cover-ups that have enabled this behaviour to continue. In his letter, 20 August […]
WelCom October 2018: Joy Cowley Our awareness of God grows in the context of human experience, and as our understanding of ourselves deepens, so does our spiritual life. We don’t live faith backwards: God always takes us forward to a larger place. We can look back on our lives and see times when we were very […]