St Christopher's Avonhead
Christchurch Canterbury
8042
Who we are
We’re an authentic community, far from perfect, but sincere. We’re an Anglican Church with a variety of congregations and ministries and we aim to love our community, our church and our world by sharing and living the good news of Jesus.
In our present society faith has fallen to an all time low. With this is a lack of understanding who God is, what a Christian is, and what the church is. Many people are actually reticent to enter church, any church, not knowing what to expect. They sometimes come with presuppositions that are not true, and yes, even some we’ve earned the wrong way. We get it.
So, what you need to know about us begins with welcome. We often say, “There is room at the table for you!” We mean it. You are welcome, just as you are. You do not have to change a thing, believe a thing. You can come, listen, “kick the proverbial tyres” and see what we’re on about, get to know a few people and yes, even doubt and wrestle and ask hard questions. No one will judge you or reject you. We are confident of this fact of who we are! For us, belonging precedes believing and behaving in some expected way.
Do we want you to come to know and love God with us? Uhm, yes. Of course. The hope, truth, love and purpose from God through the salvation Jesus brings, is why we love – because He loves us first! BUT, but, what we do not want is coercion or a bait and switch of what you taste at first and what you experience later. We will not bully or coerce you. We will not make your welcome conditional. You are always welcome.
Come get to know God a bit. He knows you, but knowing facts isn’t relationship. Relationship is a knowing that happens in the experiencing of it, a shared journey. We hope, though as people with our own shortcomings, that you can get a glimpse of Him through us.
What you’ll find is a people who are honest, not up on a pedestal, leaders who serve and care, members who move over and give room for everyone to make their own contributions, using their own gifts. We are certainly not perfect, but we’re real.
A lot of what we do is outward facing. People need to journey towards God and often this takes several years. So, we work to provide space for people to take one step at a time. The best way though is getting into a life group, a group of people sharing this journey, and sharing “being Christians,” sharing doing what it is we strive to do to actually bless and care for others outside our church, naturally.
So what do we believe? Well, it’s a long and complex story, like yours. But we hold to the historic and tested Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds. We hold to the ancient texts proven reliable over and over historically, archeologically and prophetically. We hold to who Christ is (God’s one way to life) and that He loves us so much right now. We hold that we, the church, are the tangible collection composing His body here. We honour the other orthodox traditions of faith (different denominations) and we are part of the global Anglican Communion. We’re an old tradition, that sits in the middle between our Catholic and our Anabaptist Protestant traditions. We like the healthy tension between the two in many aspects.
Mostly we want you to know on this web site – that God did everything to make you being His daughter or son possible. He wants you to enter His family for here and eternity. So, there’s room at the table. We hope you can find a home for this journey with us.
In our present society faith has fallen to an all time low. With this is a lack of understanding who God is, what a Christian is, and what the church is. Many people are actually reticent to enter church, any church, not knowing what to expect. They sometimes come with presuppositions that are not true, and yes, even some we’ve earned the wrong way. We get it.
So, what you need to know about us begins with welcome. We often say, “There is room at the table for you!” We mean it. You are welcome, just as you are. You do not have to change a thing, believe a thing. You can come, listen, “kick the proverbial tyres” and see what we’re on about, get to know a few people and yes, even doubt and wrestle and ask hard questions. No one will judge you or reject you. We are confident of this fact of who we are! For us, belonging precedes believing and behaving in some expected way.
Come get to know God a bit. He knows you, but knowing facts isn’t relationship. Relationship is a knowing that happens in the experiencing of it, a shared journey. We hope, though as people with our own shortcomings, that you can get a glimpse of Him through us.
What you’ll find is a people who are honest, not up on a pedestal, leaders who serve and care, members who move over and give room for everyone to make their own contributions, using their own gifts. We are certainly not perfect, but we’re real.
So what do we believe? Well, it’s a long and complex story, like yours. But we hold to the historic and tested Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds. We hold to the ancient texts proven reliable over and over historically, archeologically and prophetically. We hold to who Christ is (God’s one way to life) and that He loves us so much right now. We hold that we, the church, are the tangible collection composing His body here. We honour the other orthodox traditions of faith (different denominations) and we are part of the global Anglican Communion. We’re an old tradition, that sits in the middle between our Catholic and our Anabaptist Protestant traditions. We like the healthy tension between the two in many aspects.
Church Website
St Christopher's Avonhead on Social Media
St Christopher's Avonhead YouTube Video
Leadership
Leader Name:
Rev Michael Brantley
Leader Position:
Vicar
Phone:
Leader Email:
Click here to contact Rev Michael Brantley
Leader Bio:
Our vicar, Michael, arrived in 2019 from Wellington, having served 3 parishes, the Cathedral & Diocesan roles. His experience with large teams, starting young fresh expressions, change transformation & preaching are some of his primary contributions.
Administration
Admin Name:
Robyn Campbell
Admin Position:
People’s Warden
Phone:
Admin Email:
Click here to contact Robyn Campbell
St Christopher's Avonhead Service Times
Sunday 9am
A larger service where traditional worship is expressed. This service follows the New Zealand Anglican Prayer Book and liturgy versions for different seasons. It includes teaching
Sunday 10:30am
A larger service where contemporary worship is expressed. This service targets families , but has people of all ages in attendance. It follows the same format as
Wednesday 10am
Our healthy traditional service, using our Anglican British Book of Common Prayer. Our Wednesday 10am congregation is a strong group of mostly retired, but not all,
It's been more than 3 years since the last service times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm service times.
Please contact the church to confirm Service Times or SUBSCRIBE to updates below
A larger service where traditional worship is expressed. This service follows the New Zealand Anglican Prayer Book and liturgy versions for different seasons. It includes teaching
Sunday 10:30am
A larger service where contemporary worship is expressed. This service targets families , but has people of all ages in attendance. It follows the same format as
Wednesday 10am
Our healthy traditional service, using our Anglican British Book of Common Prayer. Our Wednesday 10am congregation is a strong group of mostly retired, but not all,
It's been more than 3 years since the last service times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm service times.
Please contact the church to confirm Service Times or SUBSCRIBE to updates below
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St Christopher's Avonhead History
"Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure."D. L. Moody
St Christopher's Avonhead listing was last updated on the 31st of August, 2020
