All Saints' Taradale celebrates 150 years

On Sunday, 29 June the Church of All Saints in the Parish of Taradale celebrate 150 years since its consecration on St Peter's Day, 1875. The Church was consecrated by the Right Reverend William Williams.

While a more congregational celebration is being planned for All Saints' Day later in the year, the church took the opportunity to celebrate on the 29th with a civic service, inviting local leaders including the Mayor of Napier to participate and speak into the way in which All Saints' has blessed the city through many generations. The primary celebration was at 10am in the morning, but the church also hosted a service of Holy Communion according to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in the afternoon to remind them of the way and style of the very first people of the church in that place.

The service was centred around reflecting on the history and achievements of the church, but not for the sake of nostalgia. Instead, the history frames the passion, dedication, generosity, spirit and tenaciousness that is needed to hand the baton of the church's life to another generation so that those who gather in 150 years time have more stories of faithfulness to celebrate. To help frame this, the Vicar, Alan Burnett, reframed the consecratory prayer offered by Bishop William Williams into a recommitment:

Beloved in Christ, 150 years ago this house was consecrated to the glory of his God’s Name and the service of God’s Church.Let us now, as the people of God in this generation, renew our commitment to the purposes for which this place was set apart:

We do dedicate ourselves afresh

to the worship of Almighty God, the ministry of Word and Sacrament,

the proclamation of the Gospel, and the service of Christ in this community.

May this house ever be a place of truth and grace,

of prayer and praise, of reconciliation and hope.

O Lord Jesus Christ, you are the chief cornerstone of your Church. Uphold, guide, and strengthen this congregation of All Saints’ as we build upon the foundation laid by those who came before us.Send your Holy Spirit upon us now, that we may live as your holy people, to the glory of your Name and the coming of your Kingdom. Amen

Following the morning service, those gathered were invited to a cooked brunch provided by the hospitality team at All Saints. As the archives were scoured, the church discovered this was exactly how the church had celebrated together 50 years prior at the centenary. A marker that in its DNA, hospitality and eating together have always been a part of life at All Saints' Church.

The parish is grateful to the Cathedral Strings and the Cathedral Choir for supporting the services on the day, to the many people who contributed in big and small ways to pulling it all off and to the countless souls that have graced All Saints' church through the generations that have built upon the firm foundation of apostolic teaching and shaped a community that continues to proclaim the gospel, share in the sacraments, pray for the church and the world and enjoy the fellowship that comes from our place as brothers and sisters in God's kingdom.

Images from the service are below, and a highlights video of the time together is also available below the photos. If you would like to watch the full video of the service, it is available on the parish's YouTube page. You can watch the video by clicking here.