A thief has taken cash donations, computer hardware and chalices from Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell. Footage from the cathedral’s security system shows a man enter the building and wrench open a secure donation box to remove money after a service, the cathedral’s dean Reverend Jo Kelly-Moore said. Computer hardware and chalices used for Read more
New Zealand
No investigation into Gloriavale school
Friday, August 21st, 2015Segregated education at the secretive Gloriavale sect will not be investigated despite concerns for children’s rights, a select committee has decided. The Education Review Office was called before the Education and Science Select Committee today to explain why the extreme fundamentalist school was allowed to teach separate subjects for girls and boys, and stop education Read more
Gloriavale school could lose funding worth millions
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015
Gloriavale’s leaders have been told government funding for its three early childhood centres – which topped $2.4 million over a year – is likely to be at risk. Gloriavale could lose its funding because it is opposed to identification numbers for preschoolers. “Gloriavale … disagree with the use of a student number for their children,” said Read more
Making God relevant for Kiwis
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015
Ron Hay, a retired Anglican minister, has written a book, Finding the Forgotten God, subtitled Credible faith for a secular age. He said he was conscious that New Zealand is a very secular country and often a Christian voice doesn’t get much of a hearing in the media. “People have a stereotypical picture that to have Read more
Vinnies and gangs dish out sandwiches to needy children
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015
You may not be surprised to know that the St Vincent de Paul Society in Hamilton has the Loaves & Fishes programme, which takes school lunches to children in 24 Hamilton schools. What may be more of an eye opener is that a local gang is doing the same thing. The Tribal Huks is a Read more
Lay leadership core theme at Anglican Maori General Synod
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015Amongst calls being made for the New Zealand flag to remain and a motion for a Bishop’s age of retirement overturned, a profound theme threading its way through this year’s Te Runanganui o Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa – Maori General Synod of Aotearoa/New Zealand [Anglican Maori Synod ] that the lay leadership be heard in Read more
New Plymouth teacher censured for serious misconduct
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015A New Plymouth teacher who called a student “cowardly” and “depressed” and shouldered him through a classroom door has been censured. Francis Douglas Memorial College department head Johannes Stefanus Meyer has kept his teaching registration but not his job after being found guilty of serious misconduct by the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal. Meyer was on leave Read more
McAuley students take a vow of silence
Friday, August 14th, 2015
McAuley High students have been taking part in a “Pledge of Silence” as part of Amnesty International’s Freedom Challenge campaign with the theme “If I were a refugee, I’d want it for me: Double the Quota!” Students wore signs and collected donations while remaining silent for three hours during the first part of the day. Read more
Challenges facing churches in NZ and USA similar
Friday, August 14th, 2015
The challenges facing churches in New Zealand and the United States are similar says a visiting American professor of Christian ethics Reverend Doctor David Gushee. “That is pretty much what I found during two weeks of lectures and sermons across New Zealand.” Gushee identified 4 overlapping challenges to religion which he believes are common to both Read more