Church of St Philip and All Saints

Location: Luxmore Road, Marchwiel, Timaru
Denomination: Anglican
Website: www.stphilipallsaints.org.nz
Church Services: 8.00 am, 9.30 am Sundays, 7pm on 2nd and 4th Sunday of month
Groups: Home group, Bible Study, Youth Group

My own visit

Date: 17 October 2004

Service: 9.30 am Worship Service

The building: Simple white wooden church, with supporting beams on side. Side buildings include the church hall.

The décor: The light wooden floor blends in with the wooden pews. The sides are panelled with a slightly darker wood up to about waste-high. Otherwise the walls are white, as is the ceiling. The windows are quite large and have blinds. The sanctuary at the front is on an elevated platform, even though the ceiling is slightly lower there. Wood panels form the backdrop of the sanctuary while the altar stands in its middle. Candles burn on the altar and a cross is prominently displayed on its front. Nevertheless it is partly obscured by the large screen for the data projector.

Smiling face at the door: In the porch I met the person who distributes the name tags. Since I was not part of the congregation she looked at me a bit confused. In the church I was handed the newsletter and order of service with a smile.

Start of service: After the cross was carried to the front one of the service leaders came in on a BMX bike, sat down at a playstation and acted like the typical teenager, to introduce the theme of Youth Sunday. After a call to worship we got into singing a few songs.

Congregation (approx) 0-12: 2; 13-20: 1; 20-40: 2; 40-60: 12; 60+: 14

Liturgy: Liturgy was used throughout the service. In parts it was very close to the standard Anglican New Zealand prayer book liturgy, but it had a slightly more modern slant to it. The Apostolic creed was said after the message.

Music: Only choruses were sung, usually with a few verses – not just the two-liners. Since no organist was available that Sunday, the music came from sound tracks. The words were projected onto the screen by a data projector in appropriate blocks. They even followed the artist’s particular ending to a song. Inspiring pictures provided the background of the powerpoint slides. Some were even clever, such as the eagle moving along the mountain-tops with each successive slide.

Instruments: recordings used. These included the singing as well the instrumental parts. There is a good electric piano/organ at the church.

Children’s Talk: None. Not very many children there.

Sermon:
-Length: 14min.
-Method: In this case it was just story-telling. The “preacher” read from Enid Blyton’s book and added some comments at the end.

-Bible reading: The message centred on the theme of the Sunday: “Youth”.

-Content: First Enid Blyton story: Mary.
As a girl she gets told by her parents about the Roman occupation and the hope of a Saviour. Joseph, a carpenter a few years older than Mary, also knew about the king. (All this in the very elaborative narrative style of Enid Blyton).

Second Enid Blyton story: Jesus.
Jesus lived in a little house made of dried-mud bricks which Joseph white-washed each year. Sometimes Mary took Jesus on a walk up the hill or went with him together to the well. The little boy noticed everything. Jesus saw and remembered all his surroundings and put them into stories when he had grown up.

Jesus liked the flickering shadows as Mary told him the old stories at night. Mary and Joseph taught Jesus about God and all the prayers. For all the Jewish boys learnt their prayers. . (All this in the very elaborative narrative style of Enid Blyton).

Reflection: Jesus, the child, showed us humility, dependency and trust. Mature faith demands a like humility, dependency and trust. If we approach God like children we will find great things.

Other Highlights: The prayer of intercession focused both on individual members of the congregation as well as on the wider church and world situation.

Wrap-up: After a few songs and more liturgy, the cross was carried out, followed by the bike-rider.

After the service: I was invited to morning tea and spoke with a few people, especially one of the priests there. (The only person that is paid is the cleaner in this church). Most of the congregation seemed to wander over to the hall for morning tea.

Quality of morning tea: Very good. A variety of cakes and muffins was served, and sufficient quantities of them as well. The tea was good, too. I was told that it is worth going to the service only for the morning tea. It got close to that.

Reflection: It seems this is very much a community church, focusing on people and what they can contribute to the congregation and its outreach. Community dynamic rather than worship style or beliefs are at its centre. The church as a whole is called to be that community of caring people. For it is in the forming of community that the world can see that we are Christ’s disciples. It is one of the hardest things for Christians to get right. Of course the church always needs to be open to others and the world. It cannot be a closed club, only concerned with itself. Nor can it be just a group of do-gooders. The preaching, hearing and doing of the Word of God has to be at its centre. And this does require some clear teaching, some question of beliefs and doctrine. Equally worship should enable us to focus on God, to feel something of his love, and to praise him in thanksgiving.

4 questions:

1. How, would you say, is Jesus’ death relevant to our salvation?
   1. Jesus’ death was a ransom to the devil, thus freeing us sinful humans from the devil’s rule.
   2. God is offended by sin. Jesus offered himself on the cross as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. His blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all people.
   3. God judges sin. He took the consequences of sin upon himself in Jesus’ death and reconciled us to himself, showing his justice and love.
   4. In his death Jesus showed solidarity with the oppressed and persecuted of the world, exposing human cruelty and showing another way.
   5. Jesus’ death was just a consequence of his ideas of love and acceptance clashing with rigid Jewish legalism. It inspires us to lead a liberated life, even in the face of opposition.
   
   c) is probably the closest. (Wow! The first one who just answered it).
2. Should the ten commandments be an authoritative guide for Christian living today?
   Yes.

3. How are leadership positions/positions of responsibility allocated in this congregation?
   In this congregation tasks are allocated according to one’s ability and interests. Everyone has a part to play from preaching to making tea after the service. Also the church is not just a Sunday club, but has a variety of activities throughout the week and year. The priests also are honorary and just are that: priests and members of the congregation, but do not try to run the whole church.

   This model also fits the New Testament church far more closely. It makes it a lot easier for all involved to do God’s work. Working for God does not need to be hard, if we do what we are good at and enjoy.

4. Would this congregation be happy to bless the union of a gay couple?
   No. There would be some difference of opinion within the congregation, but he himself would not have anything against a homosexual couple coming to some arrangement between themselves. Just this is not marriage, as ordained by God. Marriage between a man and a woman is a sacrament.