While our Church Building is Repaired we are meeting each Sunday at The Mineral & Lapidary Club 110 Waltham Rd (next to Waltham School) at 10am.

We would love to have the opportunity to welcome you.

Mother’s Day 13^th May 2018

Parish Breakfast Next Sunday (wear something red for Pentecost!)

Yes, it’s breakfast time again at church.  The Men’s Group will be serving a choice of cereals, porridge and cream, and yummy hotcakes with fruit.   Breakfast is served from 8.45am and a gold coin is appreciated to help cover costs.  It’s a great time to get to know someone new and catch up with those you know well.

 Wednesday Walkers: 16^th May. Jean Turvey will lead us on walk around Kaiapoi, with coffee at Rivertown Café. We will carpool from the city – please meet/park at the Wesley Church, cnr Peraki & Fuller Streets. All are welcome. Sonya 027 2533397.

Session meets this Wednesday 16^th May 7.30pm at Merchiston.

 Help… we are replacing the nails in the church roof that have rusted next Saturday.  This is not a job for the faint hearted as we are working at some height.  Talk to Warren Pettigrew or David Hodder if you might be interested in helping.

‘Messenger’ deadline THIS Friday 18^th May. Please email any articles to anneke.howie@gmail.com

“What on earth is God doing about Unity?”
Stories of Justice, Peace & Hope.  A lively panel discussion to kick-start this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
TONIGHT 7.00-8.30pm, Knox Church, 28 Bealey Ave. Free/koha appreciated.(Supper served afterwards)

 Do you ever wish to catch up with a sermon? Sermons are now available on our website www.stmartins.org.nz They may not be exactly what’s said, but you should get the message! Feel free to respond with your thoughts.

The notices are also posted to the website so you can catch up with them even when you lose your hard copy.

 Thank You for your Support: The recent sale of walnuts raised $461 and thank you also to those who have purchased greeting cards – $535.20 raised to date! Joan Macdonald, Treasurer.

Crafty Crafters Thursdays 10am – 12 noon at Beckenham Methodist. $3 per session. Lyndsey McKay 388 1264.

The Fireside Women’s Group meets this month on Tuesday 29^th May (please note change of date) at 7.30pm. All women are very welcome. More details next week!

Building Update….The first of the steel cross bracing structures was installed in the church last week.  New lightweight bricks will be placed on the outside and timber framing and gib on the inside.

Day of Prayer to end famine…The hungry are of special concern to God for it is on their behalf God will ask us: “Did you feed me when I was hungry?” (Matt 25: 35-40)

The World Council of Churches ask us to participate in a global day of prayer to end famine on 10 June this year.

We are asked to unite as faith communities all over the world as a prayerful and spiritual movement to:

• Encourage prayer, reflection and action with information and suggestions.
• Bring awareness regarding famine’s impact on the most vulnerable children and families and to help address its root causes.
• Connect with church-related and other humanitarian organisations that are currently working to bring immediate relief and positive long-term change so children and families can live out God’s aspiration for a dignified, peaceful and violence-free future.
• Help communities and congregations to uphold each other in prayer and support, by sharing experiences, challenge and solutions.

Here are some alarming facts about hunger and famine in 2016:

1. Approximately 842 million people suffer from hunger worldwide. That’s almost 12 percent of the world’s population of 7.1 billion people. 60% of the worlds hungry are women.
2. Ninety-eight percent of those who suffer from hunger live in developing countries. 553 million live in the Asian and Pacific regions, while 227 million live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Latin America and the Caribbean account for 47 million.
3. Approximately nine million people die of hunger each year according to world hunger statistics; more than the death toll for malaria, AIDs and tuberculosis combined in 2012.
4. Because of the prevalence of hunger in women in developing countries, malnutrition is a leading cause of death for children. Approximately 3.1 million (8500 per day!) children die of hunger each year, and in 2011 poor nutrition accounted for 45 percent of deaths for children under five.

The worst thing about this is that the world produces enough food to feed everyone. Food availability per capita has increased from approximately 2220 kcal per person per day in the 1960s to 2790 kcals per person per day in 2006.