Welcome to St Michael’s
Everyone is welcome at St Michael’s. A variety of services and programmes reflect the diversity of our parish community.
Sunday 8am: A smaller congregation gathers for a prayer book service with communion, hymns and a gospel talk.
Sunday 10am: A good time for the family to worship together at our main communion service. There is a Sunday School and youth gathering every week at this time (see below for more on our youth group The Minor Prophets), with a family service every month. Services may be more or less formal depending on the Sunday. Details are posted regularly on the outside notice board as well as on the website. Catch up with others over a coffee after the service.
Sunday 7pm: Substance is a university orientated communion service. Committed to formational worship among the future generation leadership of our society, Substance seeks to merge tradition with innovation. Services include weightier sermons, more interaction and open prayer. Though geared to university students and staff, all are welcome.
In addition to regular services, special services are held at Easter, Christmas, feast days, baptisms and other special occasions.
children’s & young people’s ministry
As part of its commitment to both our faith community and the wider community of Kelburn, St Michael’s has appointed two part-time youth workers and a Sunday School supervisor.
St Michael’s has made developing this ministry, along with supporting the Victoria University Chaplaincy, a major priority for the parish.
The Minor Prophets youth group meets on Thursdays in the hall for a variety of activities, as well as ‘away nights’ for bowling, movies etc.
Sunday School and the Sunday morning youth gathering are designed to provide younger children and young people with formational input from the scriptures. Lessons, music and activities follow the church year and parallel the Gospel talks in the weekly services.
belonging at st michael’s
St Michael’s encourages parishioners to think about whether they would like to be involved in the church’s ministry. Whether in community outreach, the running of the church or assisting in the services, there is something for everyone to contribute to the life of our parish. We also know that many people come to church simply for their own needs and to worship, and we respect this.
Everyone is welcome, though if you want formalise your involvement in St Michael’s, it’s a good idea to get on the Parish Roll. There are two rolls kept – a pastoral roll and an electoral roll. These attempt to reflect different needs and levels of involvement among parishioners.
Make contact with either of the Church Wardens or the Vicar if you want to find out more about belonging at St Michael’s.
our vicar
Rev. David Newton took up the position of Vicar of St Michael’s late in 2005. David is also Supervising Chaplain at the VUW Anglican Chaplaincy. This reflects the close working relationship between the two ministries.
David comes to St Michael’s with a media background (film, video, writing and PR), both within New Zealand and abroad. You can find out more about David on our website (see the back panel).
Pastoral support: In his work as Vicar, David has committed himself to being as available as possible to all in our community, though especially to parishioners. Feel free to contact him for a pastoral appointment or to find out more about St Michael’s and how you can find your place in it.
David is supported by a growing ministry team and an active cadre of parishioners.
st michael’s hall
The church hall is a great community resource. Presently it has a wide variety of uses, including Scottish and line dancing, youth group, ballet school, succulent society meetings, health professional clinics, music evenings and a number of occasional community events. It can also be hired for family gatherings (birthdays, anniversaries etc), small group meetings and one-off events. Contact the church office to arrange an inspection or for bookings.
parish directory
vicar ~ Rev. David Newton: 021 611 005
vicar’rsquo;s warden ~ Paul Frater: 021 808 091
people’rsquo;s warden ~ Warick Dunn: 021 446 1767
music director ~ James Mist: 021 936 810
sunday school ~ Barbara Stet: 027 672 6599
youth worker ~ Richard Deeble: 027 342 2574
parish & community Worker ~ Loren Hockly: 021 116 5551
parish office: 04 934 9338 ~ admin@stmichaels.org.nz
