Give Hope Project...Celebrating Emmanuel, God with us!

God took our 5 loaves and 2 fish to bless the multitudes, well, 20 families with 80 children to be exact. ;-)

 

through the generosity of our friends and the Sunday mass congregation, we were able to put together gift hampers to bless 20 families in NaeNae. We also invited people to 'adopt a child' to pray and buy a Christmas present for. it was heartening to witness the warm and enthusiastic response of so many people, especially children who wanted to buy gifts for other kids!   

 We were so glad to be able to bless these 80 children with something special for Christmas. it was priceless to see their faces light up with delight as they received their presents. Thank you "big brothers and sisters" for your thoughtful gifts. 

 

what we appreciated most was that we could visit these families and spend some time with them, singing carols, talking and praying with them.....

together with this family, we praised God for providing safe passage for 2 of their family members to come to New Zealand to start a new life! listening to the unshakeable faith of a mother, one could not help but be encouraged to keep trusting in God! \o/

 

we were treated to superb Ugandan hospitality by our gracious hosts. unfamiliar with this ritual, we were at first taken aback (we were like Peter when first faced with Jesus wanting to wash his feet!) but as we let ourselves be served, we allowed our hosts to extend to us a simple but dignified form of hospitality. it was such an honour for us.

A Day of Prayer at St Gerard's

12 hours of prayer offered for New Zealand to come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Before the Blessed Sacrament, we took turns to pray, listen, contemplate, sing, praise, intercede...

 

St Gerard's chapel was soaked in the prayers of the saints...prophetic words were received and proclaimed.  

 

Father Kevin celebrated the Eucharist and reminded us that God in Christ brought heaven down to us...

 

Meesh, Charlene and the ukelele made music for the Lord

 

O Jesus we adore You, O Jesus we adore You, O Jesus we adore You, Christ our Lord!

 those 12 hours were very special to all who participated in the Day of Prayer at St Gerard's.

We are looking forward to having more of these Days.

We hope you will join us next time! \o/

Merry Christmas!

18 December, 12-hour prayer & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Grow Faith +  Give Hope + + Share Love… 

this Christmas

 

Join us this Saturday 18 December for our 12-hour prayer & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This day of prayer is offered for New Zealand to come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

We will begin the 12 hours with Eucharist celebrated by Father Kevin at 10am. Father Kev will also be available for confession in the evening. The mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be in St Gerard’s Monastery’s chapel.

You are welcome to sign up for an hour of prayer. Or drop in on Saturday to pray for a while anytime between 10am to 10pm. Just ring our door bell.

Let’s take this wonderful opportunity to pray together for this nation and for our loved ones.

Blessings,

ICPE New Zealand

Christmas Eve at St Gerard's Monastery

Invite family and friends to St Gerard's Monastery on 24 December, Friday, for Christmas carols and mass.

Carols begin at 8.30pm. Come early to get good seats! 

Worship Nights 2010 Poster Gallery

We have been very blessed to have Jem Aloysius design our Worship Night posters. They have definitely captured the zeitgeist of who we are as ICPE New Zealand and the themes of the worship nights at St Gerard's Monastery. Here's a gallery of the posters for 2010 and we look forward to what's in store for all of us in 2011! Glory to You King Jesus! \o/

Grow FAITH + Give Hope + Share Love...this Christmas

Read on and find out how! :-)

Our God Is Greater! Final Worship Night of 2010

26 November, Friday, 7.30pm

Choose to follow Jesus!

Last night we were at St Joseph's Church, Upper Hutt, to run a prayer meeting for the youth. It was really good to see them again, after our parish mission there in June.  It was also the first outreach for those who have returned for their Community Experience with us, namely, Albert, Valerie and Helena.

Val shared her journey of becoming a disciple of Jesus. "Slowly but surely through these little decisions to turn my life around and my commitment to spend time with God in prayer and reading the scriptures, God was changing me.  I began to understand more the heart of Jesus and His call for me to be His disciple."

Following Jesus requires a daily commitment. To choose to spend time with Him. To trust Him.

 Petrus bringing home the message of choosing to follow Jesus, in whom there is everlasting joy and fulfillment.

James Bond, watermelon and elephant. What do these have in common? 

 

The answer from us: A great time for ICPE and our friends from Upper Hutt!

We welcome new members into our community

World Mission Sunday, 24 October, marked the beginning of a year of Community Experience for Christine, Albert and Valerie who are exploring the missionary calling with the Mission. 

We look forward to having Susan, Susilo, Helena and Maizy join us as well. All of them are fellow participants of this year’s School of Mission which ended in July.

Here are their personal testimonies....read on and be encouraged and inspired in your own walk with the Lord!

I am joining Community Experience because I believed it is God’s will. As I prayed, God showed me an image of Him trimming a tree. The tree is me. He wants to trim me to use me. And I got a scripture from Genesis 12:1: “ Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s home, and go to a land that I am going to show you.” This took away my fear about living overseas. Through this time of discernment, I experienced God’s love and grace and understood His strong will. I’m truly sure that there are many blessings and teachings and love and joy in store for me. Please pray for me. I really want to be God’s humble servant.- Helena, Korea

 Val, Albert, Christine

Throughout my discernment, I have been very fixed on choosing to be where I can bring greater glory to God with my gifts and talents.  One day, as I reflected on the parable of stewardship, Luke 16:2 "Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward" struck a chord. As Job (1:21) lamented, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away", I started to ponder - what is my role in the Kingdom of God if He decides to take back everything I have, my possessions, family, my community, my gifts and talents, and I am no longer His steward? I received the revelation that on top of glorifying God, any decision I make has to lead me to be more in union with Him.

In this new light, I chose to return to the ICPE community for another year to grow deeper in love with Jesus of whom I am a disciple, so “that (I) might be with him” (Mark 3:14). I want to be able to say, like Job, "Blessed be His Name!" when He chooses to take my stewardship away. - Valerie, Singapore

 

During my college years, the Lord placed on my heart this great desire to serve Him. I knew that whatever I did with my life, I wanted to devote it all to building His kingdom. In the School of Mission, I experienced the blessing of living in community, the grace to overcome hardships, and the great joy of reaching out to others. As a result of the school, I can truly say that God has placed in me a great passion to spread the Good News. In discerning about Community Experience, I had never heard God's voice speaking stronger into my life. He especially spoke to me through a quote by St John Vianney, “vocation is: when a need in the world meets a deep joy in me.” Serving in the Mission and with a mission, I had never felt so fulfilled in my life, I knew this joy was from the Lord, and the joy that I had experienced in the 5 months of the school was proof, to me, that with the ICPE Mission was where God intended me to be during this next year. I see the year ahead as a great opportunity to discern what area of mission the Lord calls me to, while at the same time, exploring and growing in this passion that He has given me.  - Christine, New Zealand

I was searching for direction and purpose in life when I attended the School of Mission. After the School, I had to decide between the working world and coming back for Community Experience. I wasn't sure and couldn't make up my mind. I still remember very clearly going to the chapel and debating with God, wishing that things were more straight forward. I was prompted to pray the divine office and the scripture reading for that day was Jeremiah 6:16 – “stand at the crossroads and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies and walk in it and find rest for your souls.” God spoke to me very clearly through this scripture. I realized the one thing that always made me joyful and gave me meaning and purpose was serving Him. I knew instantly that this was the answer to my prayer and my response was “YES, I am coming back for CE.” God doesn't hold back. How can I refuse such boundless love? How can I hold back from such divine eagerness?  - Albert, Malaysia

 When I decided to join CE, God promised to me that He will open all the doors and He will provide all my needs. I am seeing how faithful He is even when I am not faithful. I really thank God I can experienced this kind of life style. It is really making me grow in faith and surrender to God. - Susan, Indonesia

Susilo, Indonesia

We thank God for Jess, Jo and Marilyn...

On World Mission Sunday, we celebrated the conclusion of a year of Community Experience for Jess, Jolene and Marilyn. Here are their testimonies. We join them to give thanks to God for His faithfulness and for blessing their Yes with His fruitfulness.

 

I thank God for my wonderful year with ICPE. I’ve enjoyed community life and formed many precious friendships with the missionaries. It is amazing how God has also used me to reach out to others He had put in my path. I have learnt to be more patient, to experience joy in suffering and to have more trust in Him and also learnt to be more generous to myself and to others. When my parents visited me, they were very impressed by the faith and love of the ICPE community. We prayed for them and they experienced healing and felt spiritually recharged. As I return to Singapore, I pray that I will hear God’s voice and follow Him as I continue to discern His will for my life. I thank all the ICPE missionaries who have blessed me with their love and care. May the Lord continue to shower them abundantly with his blessings! Praise the Lord! - Marilyn, Singapore

This past year as a necessary step in my faith journey.  I have received much healing as I experienced the love of Christ through the constant love and affirmation of the community.  Through much guidance and support I am learning to combat the negative self-talk that used to bombard my mind, replacing it with God’s truths. Living in community has helped me in the formation of my character as I become more aware of the things that are not of Christ and let Jesus transform me layer by layer. I am also grateful for my sharing partner who is always calling me forward to step up to new challenges and encouraging me to grow in ways I never imagined possible. One of the greatest blessings I have received was the conversion of my ex boyfriend. Looking back at the fruits of my time here, I have discerned to continue with ICPE. For now, I will return home to re-establish and deepen relationships with my family and friends. I pray to be a positive witness of God’s transforming love at work in my life. We can all impact the world for Christ by loving as He calls us to, in making a gift of ourselves.

- Jess Fowler, New Zealand

 

This has been a year of breaking down walls and learning to reach out to God and the people around me, in faith and humility. Life in community has given me opportunities to grow in faith and as a person. I thank God for the progress that I have made by His grace and love. I especially thank Him for the people of the ICPE – my teachers, my dear friends, my examples of lives lived in Christ. I thank God for the privilege of seeing Him work in the lives of others. So much healing! Most dear to my heart is the healing that has taken place in the heart and life of my Dad. I praise Jesus for how He has touched the lives of my family! …Going forward I plan to re-enter the workforce, bringing Jesus with me :) - the office is full of chances to evangelise. I hope to remain close to the community and all the people I've grown to love, who have helped me deepen my love for Christ. I pray that the Lord will continue to deepen my faith and trust in His unconditional love. May He strengthen, grow and renew the ICPE mission and all its members, blessing them in abundance. What God has given us, let us return it to Him as praise and thanksgiving! Jolene, New Zealand

 

 We bless you Jess, Jo and Marilyn! Go and continue to make Jesus visible!

Join our Archbishop John Dew on 29 October, Friday

Spend an evening in worship with our Archbishop John Dew and listen to him speak on what mission means to all of us.

Let's Celebrate World Mission Sunday!

In his message for World Mission Sunday 2010, our Holy Father points out that the month of October, with the celebration of World Mission Sunday, offers to “diocesan and parish communities, institutes of consecrated life, ecclesial movements and the entire People of God an opportunity to renew the commitment to proclaim the Gospel and to give pastoral activities greater missionary perspective.”

In this spirit, our community is holding an Open Day on World Mission Sunday, 24 October.

We will be celebrating the worldwide ICPE Mission’s 25^th anniversary and also give thanks to God for the years of mission work in New Zealand. During the 10.30am Eucharist, we will celebrate the commitment of young people to explore the missionary calling with the ICPE Mission. Other highlights of the day will include an exhibition of the ICPE Mission’s history and ministries particularly in New Zealand and a presentation by our community. We will also be conducting tours of the Monastery and St Gerard’s Church. Spend the day with us, savour some baking with Mojo coffee, enjoy the Monastery’s beautiful view and of course the great company!

As we plan for this day, we are renewed in our gratitude for the many friends, collaborators, supporters, prayer partners that God has blessed us with, to make our mission centre and our missionary work here in New Zealand possible. 

Our prayer is that through this special celebration of World Mission Sunday, we may encourage one another to renew our commitment to be, in Pope Benedict’s words, “protagonists of the Church's commitment to proclaim the Gospel” so that in whatever mission spaces God has placed each of us, Jesus Christ may be known and loved.

Keep in prayer the ICPE Mission all over the world who are also celebrating this special day in the same spirit! \o/

Experience Community In Action!

We were blessed by the presentations by our Community Experience gals.

We were encouraged by Jess that GOING FORWARD SHRINKS FEAR!

 

 

 

 

Besides giving us good guidelines on time management, Jo reminded us to ask God for His sense of priorities and to rely on the Holy Spirit, the ever-ready Power of God who makes all things possible!

We learnt from Marilyn that our feelings, thoughts and temperaments are gifts from God and we are not to be controlled by them. Rather, they are to be submitted to and governed by God's truth, so that they can bring us to where God wants us to go. Thanks for edifying us and WELL DONE!