Blog

John 20:24-29 Do you have a favourite amongst the disciples? I think for me, it would be Thomas. As I watch Thomas in the gospels, I see a person who is exploring what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Thomas longs to be with Jesus, no matter what. As I watch him, I see his inner struggle as he tries to understand what such a journey would mean. What do we know about Thomas? He was one of the... read more

Isaiah 65.1-9; Galatians 3.23-29; Luke 8.26-39 It’s only a couple of months to the Rio Olympics and I expect many of us will be watching our team and hoping that individuals can harness all the years of training and produce personal bests on the day, even if that doesn’t always mean winning a medal. But how many of us will be watching the Paralympics which follow? With 180 hours of coverage free to air, in a world first, the programme editor,... read more

Sixteen youth from the Cathedral family took part in the World Vision 40-hour famine, facing the challenge of living out of a backpack. Here is the Taranaki Daily News coverage of the weekend. The famine ended with the Cathedral holding a Refugee Sunday service for the first time. read more

A concept design for the seismic strengthening of Taranaki Cathedral has been received from Holmes Consulting. Architect Jenny Goddard has summarised the detailed report for us: read more

Luke 7:11-17 If you are like me and have been at your son or your daughter’s funeral, there may be a sense of wanting to skip over this story. To not give it too much attention. For it doesn’t sit easily with our own anguish of when our child died. We did not see the compassion of Jesus bring our son or our daughter back to us. The story makes us feel uncomfortable. What do we do with the sense of... read more

Te Pouhere Sunday 2016 Being English, as a child, our summer holidays meant going to a sea side resort like Blackpool. Actually ours was called Skegness on the North Sea coast! Lots of people, not too clean sea, candy floss, and donkey rides, rows and rows of deck chairs with elderly gentlemen wearing on their bald pates, handkerchiefs tied in a knot at each corner to keep off the sun, a bit like this. We while we liked to make sand... read more

The Taranaki Daily News published an interview with new Dean Peter Beck. Read it online read more

John 6:25-35 Fresh Bread: what does the phrase conjure up? The aroma , the taste? Perhaps homemade bread: the smell of yeast, the whirl of flour being sifted to make dough, then kneading – the rhythm of fold and roll, fold and roll, watching the dough rise, and then kneading it again. The final rising and then popping the loaf into the oven to bake, the smell from the oven filling the house as the bread bakes. Perhaps that whiff as... read more

We have moved - at least for a temporary period - but we're open for business just like we have been for years. The Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary began worshipping in an interim space in February 2016. That is because our beloved historic building needs to be earthquake strengthened. Detailed assessments have determined that the stone church requires key structural work and the last service was held there on 31 January 2016. While we establish the scope and cost... read more

John 20.1-18. Easter 6 2016 Not the gospel set for today. I hope you don’t mind indulging me as at the beginning of my ministry here, as I have done in the various jobs I have had, I begin by focussing on the very essence of our Christian faith which is of course Easter. Hence this lovely passage from John’s gospel this morning. John, the beloved disciple ‘saw and believed’! In this Gospel record there are no angels at the tomb... read more