Some of us have responded to God’s call to live in this Kelburn/Aro neighbourhood for a long time, to sustain a Christian witness here. We’re like the tōtara or the hīnau, growing from small saplings into mature trees, providing shelter for new saplings and bird life.

Others of us are here for a shorter time period, like the birds that find a home among the mature trees. 

Our kids are the kākā – they bring a lot of noisy fun to the parish! Our students and young professionals are like kererū – they join for a time, before God calls them on to seed the forest elsewhere. In the time kererū are here, they receive input they might not get at a suburban church. And they also get challenged to think prayerfully about their next move, and how it will help extend God’s Kingdom. 

The forest at St Michael’s is grown in various ways, some informal and some formal. Our informal gatherings include monthly lunch together and visits to the pub after services. You can find out more about these on our Facebook page. In addition, check out the community building activities below…

Life groups blend prayer, community and Bible study. They also undergird St Michael’s mission activity. There’s a group at St Michael’s for everyone. There’s a daytime group, a women’s group, and a variety of allcomers’ groups. We encourage our groups to follow a monthly rhythm, involving two weeks of bible study, one week of joining the Transform nights, and one potluck week. On potluck weeks, we might socialise across groups, or with our friends outside church, hold a book group, or do a mission adventure together.

Transform Nights are monthly gatherings for every adult in the parish. Small groups take a week off, and instead, we converge on the church for a night of spiritual and academic sustenance. This includes occasional series of public interest, and (during ordinary time) monthly gatherings of St Michael’s people for stimulus, prayer and conviviality. Transform has a special eye on forming Christians for public service.