From Rev. Heather Kennedy, Assistant Minister

During April I was very involved in the period of lunchtime services for Holy Week, services over Easter weekend and then covering the three weeks while Richard was on leave. Leading worship at First Church has given me a chance to be more visible and available to the congregation. I have also continued as best as possible to carry out all my usual activities as well as helping at the Garage Sale, assisting Central Southland Parish with the appointment of Rev. Cherry Thompson for six months supply, attending the Synod of Otago and Southland in Cromwell (staying with Rev. Libby Smith) and helped with Meals on Wheels.

Girls' Club has seen regular attendance by at least ten girls each week. We have undertaken a variety of craft and Bible story based activities. We have finished decorating flower pots and planted pansies, for each girl to take home and look after. Barbara Cocker and I attending the Scripture Union Way2Go training day recently and picked up some interesting ideas to help us with Girls' Club and Sunday School.

Interest Group has fully participated in the PCANZ guided study material 'Coming of Age: Bring on the Baby Boomers' and have really enjoyed the opportunity to have a good honest discussion about issues many are grappling with. Many have voiced an interest in having further guided discussion on a variety of topics.

Social Evenings have been held every second Friday night, with a shared Pot Luck Tea at 6pm, followed by a selection of movies, old TV episodes, card games and learning new board games. For those that attend this is a very supportive and friendly outing for members of our parish, a good opportunity to get to know each other in a relaxed setting.

Cultural Connections at lunchtimes on Wednesdays have been attended by the Ministry Team (including the Tertiary Chaplain) and one or two students. A group of Chinese students learning English have been keen to try out their conversation and learn more about the church.

I have been encouraged by the participation of the Bluff/Greenhills Co-operating Parish in attending a workshop discussion day with Bruce Fraser, Synod Mission Advisor. Hopefully this will lead onto some positive mission outreach into the Bluff community.

I am aware that many people are feeling the effects of the season and some are suffering serious illness, as well as others who are recovering from surgery or short stays in hospital. May we all feel that we are able to support and assist where we are able and prayerfully keep each other in our thoughts.

Annual Leave
I plan to be away from Monday 8 June till Thursday 1 July. During this time I will also be attending Girls' Brigade National Executive meeting and National Conference in Hamilton.

Study Leave
I recently expressed an interest in a refresher course for the School Chaplaincy, which I continue to provide at Invercargill Middle School. Since enquiring about doing this I have been invited to be on the staff for the course. The course is to be held in Wellington during the last week of July, after which I will attend GB National Executive meetings in Auckland.