Rotorvegas Blues...

I dont know whether you have ever been before or not but for the first time on Friday I set foot in Rotorua as we headed down for the Life Course weekend. What a brilliant place. I drove down with Paul and Laura which was fun (Paul didn't stop eating) especially Wirau (I think that is the right name of the place?). Anyway it is the place with cafe's and shops shaped like various animals (e.g. the sheep and dog tourist centre - it was like being in a strange film - a cross between Twin Peaks (I am showing my age) and Lost). I wonder who started the craze? Do you think it will spread to Auckland?
Anyway, the weekend was great and we had a real laugh. The Luge is well worth a trip if you have not done that before.
I dont know about you but I really enjoyed the service on Sunday night. There was alot of freedom there which is always a good thing. I think God is doing new things amongst us which is exciting! I hear that mad Irish Rob was on good form on Sunday morning. I need to download what he said.

The Ball Rocked...!

Man what a night that was! Some serious partying went down on Saturday night. I dont know about you but I was absolutely blown away by the whole evening. Anya in true style had utterly transformed the crypt aided by her incredible team of Melissa, Liv, Kate Emma, Pearl - beautiful tables lights, chandeliers, food...A big thank you to all of you! Tom you were a legend as well.
Late Eighties Mercedes were absolutely incredible... The boys from Hamilton did us proud. I have never seen so many people going for it on a dancefloor... Some of the moves that emerged I suspect have never been attempted before and in some cases I hope they will never be again!
The booze flowed and nothing could stop the beat...! I cant wait until the next one...
Jo took some great photos which, if you are reading this you probably have already seen on the website.
I think as well some serious partying paved the way for some fantastic services on Sunday. In both of them the Spirit ministered very powerfully which was very exciting (maybe we should rave hard every Saturday night?). I dont know about you but I also loved Petra's talk on Sunday night. Alot of very encouraging and challenging food for thought there.
Keep warm this week and look forward to see you on Sunday

More Power!

Well I hope you are all coping having no electricity. What a nightmare! The office was down for most of the morning although we are now back up and so if we have not been answering your calls that is why.

I hope you had a good weekend. We had the first cluster leader's brunch which was great. The aim of the morning was to get everyone together and think more about leadership in the church and how the clusters are going to work in future. It was a great morning and Pearl did an amazing brunch. Over the next few months we will be speaking more and more about them in the church.

I really enjoyed watching the All Blacks play in Hamilton with Rob who is over on placement from Ireland. The haka is far more intimidating "live" than on the television. Poor Rob thought that his team were in but it was not going to be.

I am looking forward to the ball on Saturday night. I think it' s going to be a real laugh. It's always amusing watching people from church partying and then seeing them on Sunday crammed in pews...Bring it on!

I hope you have a great week.

Welcome home Rich and Kath

Well, the good news is that Rich and Kath are back. Apparently England was freezing despite the fact that it is summer! They had a great time and are pleased to be back home. It is lovely to have them back.

My weekend was good despite having to spend most of Saturday with Paul and Laura! I wasn't feeling great last week and so I hibernated whilst Bex and Jack went out partying. I ended up watching masses of films e.g."King Kong", "Walk The Line". (Our local blockbuster has relocated and they have given us four free films a week for the whole of June and for some reason I have this driven compulsion to watch all of them!)

We also have a couple from Ireland with us at St Paul's who landed on Monday morning. Rob, Dylis and one year old Ethan are on placement from a church in Dublin (Core Church led by Jon Kissell (Barry's son)). They are keen to plant a church themselves within the Anglican Church of Ireland and so are with us to try and pick up some tips and so do pass on any wisdom or anything that you think will help them. I am going with Rob to watch the AB's play Ireland down in Hamilton on Saturday night. I am looking forward to it although am going to be with Irish fans which is slightly traumatic!

Have a great long weekend

I hope you all have had a good week. Life is good in the Norris household. Actually I lie, I have had a migraine for about three days although it is not too bad. It was awful, I was speaking to someone earlier in the week and was seeing double!
Isn’t this weather amazing! I took some time out yesterday "to pray for the church" (yeah right) in view of the fact that looking at a computer screen was making me feel ill and so headed for Karekare Beach which was beautiful. It is lovely there. I particularly like the Pohutukawa (I suspect I have spelt that wrong) glade if you know that. I also have a secret place I go to under a tree but it was filled with tourists when I got there (and so not that secret after all). I love it when it’s freezing and sunny at the same time. It’s like when you are in bed feeling really warm but it is freezing outside.
Rich and Kath get back tomorrow which is good. I have missed them and hope that their flight was ok. Poor Rich is speaking on Sunday morning – bad planning on my part if ever there was some. Bex is speaking on dating in the evening which I am looking forward to.
Rave hard to celebrate the Queen’s birthday! Maybe see some of you on Sunday if you are not away