Destiny Church through its Man Up programme aims to raise better fathers, brothers and sons. The programme has had some success helping hard men to turn their lives around. Here are two examples that have recently received publicity. Paris Winiata was a drug dealer but, after joining Destiny, he stopped taking drugs and has been Read more
About 700 people gathered In Ohakune for this year’s Hui Aranga. Three-quarters of them were youth. The Hui Aranga, or Maori Easter Gathering, is a Maori Catholic celebration of Holy Week and Easter. Groups come to it from all over the North Island. This year they included Clubs from Tauranga (Tauranga Moana), Wairoa (Tawhiti a Read more
Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar is not resiling from his praise of police after a fatal shooting of an Auckland man last week. “One less to clog the prisons! Congratulations to the New Zealand Police, our thoughts are with the officer who was forced to take this action to protect the public,” his post Read more
Vainemoeroa Titaenua from Mangere died after being hit by a car last week. Titaenua was hit about 7 am on Idlewild Ave, Mangere, last Thursday. She died in hospital at 8.30pm on Friday. Titaenua went to her Catholic church every day. Read more “
An “iconic” cross has been removed from Auckland’s Mount Roskill/Puketāpapa after lighting up every Easter for nearly 60 years. The borough’s former mayor David Hay has slammed the decision, saying the structure was part of the area’s local identity. “It is disappointing that our elected representatives have voted to stop what has been part of Read more
Easter trading hours have become very confusing. It has always depended on what kind of a service is being offered. Now it has become more complicated because, in 2016, the then-National government passed the responsibility of Easter trading hours to councils. To date, 39 of the 67 councils have created bylaws allowing about 9500 retailers Read more
Dr Jennifer Te Paa-Daniel believes the Christian churches are in danger of becoming exclusive. She says they are just serving the needs of their own congregations rather than reaching out to the community and taking risks. “Jesus didn’t hang out with those who had it all together,” she says. Te Paa Daniel, who is an Read more
The Anglican and Catholic churches want the Royal Commission into abuse to include their churches. The Royal Commission’s draft terms confine the inquiry to state institutions. The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and representation from religious orders have written a letter to the prime minister Jacinda Ardern, the Minister for Children Tracey Martin and Sir Anand Read more
The olive leaf is a symbol of reconciliation, but a planned building inspired by its shape has divided opinion in the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown. Queenstown architect Fred van Brandenburg first mooted the Olive Leaf – a multi-use parish centre situated beside the heritage-listed St Patrick’s Catholic Church – in 2015. It has the Read more
A refugee-themed mufti day for students to “experience a little of what it feels like to be poor” has disappointed some, who called the idea “insensitive” and in “bad taste”. Christchurch’s Middleton Grange School, in Upper Riccarton, asked children to wear “old ragged clothes” to a mufti day on Thursday to raise money for World Vision. Read more