Blog

St Mary's parishioner Rosemary Bent has inspired members of the Association of Anglican Women and Mothers' Union in Aotearoa and Pasifika with her work in Overseas and Outreach. This year she received a certificate of recognition from the AAW executive. Born in England, Rosemary came to New Zealand in 1962, and met her husband Michael when she was working for the Christian Mission Service. The couple lived in New Plymouth during Michael's term as Vicar of St Mary's (1976-85), and later... read more

The Ellmoos family, 'first timers ' at our Taranaki Cathedral cafe enjoying a hearty breakfast. Over the last three years we have raised over $61,000 for projects in NZ and overseas which support the most marginalised people. Now we are supporting Rahingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh. Thank you everyone! Every Tuesday from 7.30 am to 10 AM in the Hatherly Hall of the cathedral. read more

The Hui held in the Interim Cathedral on September 10 marked a significant milestone for The Cathedral Project. In a formal ceremony, the Reeves family gave its blessing to the association of Sir Paul Reeves’ name with the proposed Atrium at the south of The Cathedral. Preliminary designs for the Atrium show it as a light filled space looking out to Pukaka Pā and the churchyard. Designed to complement the expanded range of activities to be hosted in the Cathedral, this... read more

Matthew 15: 21-28 I invite you to imagine a circle, although the size of each of our circles will be different. You will be able to work out just how big your circle will be as you think of who will be in it. You see, inside your circle will be all the people you find you can relate with easily. That may include friends, family, perhaps neighbours, acquaintances, and colleagues, perhaps those you befriend on Facebook, those you encounter in... read more

A bid to get more people eating fruit and veg – at discount prices – is building communities and Christian interdenominational networks throughout NZ. Now the Food Together programme is spreading to Taranaki with the cathedral pivotal to its local distribution. It started as a three-week pilot in June, and has now become a permanent social enterprise in the region. It works like this: People view the fruit and veg menu each Friday on the Food Together Facebook page, place their... read more

Taranaki videographer Keith Finnerty has filmed this video of the cathedral’s interior. Watch it above or here. The short visual walk-around reminds us of the beauty and serenity of the historic building – one of the top 50 sites to visit in New Zealand. It also helps to see parts of the church you would not normally view such as the very tops of the organ pipes and the soaring roof. Note that the video was filmed after the removal... read more

Two vigorous churchmen who walked immense distances during their ministries were key figures in the history of St Mary's: Bishop Selwyn, the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, and William Bolland, the first Vicar of St Mary's. In 1842 Bishop Selwyn reached the tiny settlement of New Plymouth after a walk from Thames during which he was delayed by floods and nearly starved. Only 31, he was an athlete who made extraordinary physical demands on himself and expected much from others.... read more

A sense of community was the drawcard to Taranaki Cathedral when Nancy and Doug Getson looked around for a place to worship. New Plymouth has been their home for just over two years; sadly a change in Doug’s work means they’re leaving in the next few months. Churchgoing is something they have always done. She was brought up a Baptist, he a Catholic but when they got together neither of those denominations suited. Instead they ended up (initially) in an Anglican... read more

Mele Prescott boasts a Tongan background but it’s the Pakeha branch of the Anglican Church she’s starting her ‘apprenticeship’ in. She began as curate and Youth Enabler at the end of November this year, the first time Taranaki Cathedral has had a person in such a position, in recent history. Mele comes to Taranaki from St John’s Theological College in Auckland where she completed her three-year study. Born to Tongan parents who migrated to NZ in the 1970s, she grew up... read more

As a teenager kicked out of home, Ugandan woman Lillian Nakabiri wanted to poison herself. Her family didn’t want her, life was characterised by loneliness and poverty and killing herself seemed the only answer. In despair, she started reading letters she’d received over the years as a sponsored child. “I wanted to die happy, reading them. They gave me joy,” she told hundreds of school students in a moving talk about her early years. The written words from her Australian sponsor... read more