First Worship Night of 2016

The first Worship Night of 2016 is coming up on Friday, 29th Jan at 7.30 pm. Come to be refreshed with our Lord Jesus and receive His message for the evening; one of surrendering to God, that will be given by our resident missionary, Ignatius Susilo.

Hoping to see you on Friday, Jan 29th and do bring along a friend

ICPE Mission 31st Anniversary

Come and join us for our 31 st anniversary celebrations as we thank God for his graces over these years and pledge our selves once again to knowing Christ and making Him known

Date: Jan 17th, 2016

Mass : 10:30 am followed by fellowship.

Venue: St. Gerard's Church,75 Hawker St., Mt. Victoria

Celebrations through December 2015

The final month of 2015 had been packed with various works carried out by the ICPE Mission NZ. Advent, was a time we used reach out to people preparing them to welcome Christ at His birth. We went for a number of outreaches, namely to St. Brendan’s School at Heretaunga (2 – 4 Dec), helping out with Christmas decorations, singing carols and blessing the folks at the Vincentian Rest Home (9 Dec), and we also had the privilege of proclaiming the gospel to the streets of Wellington (19 Dec). The street outreach was done with the presence of some of our congregation from St. Gerard’s.

All this was geared towards the peak of our celebration – Christmas Day. Christmas Eve’s celebration started with carols, a sign language presentation and a dance presentation by the children. This was followed by vigil mass as we welcomed the birth of our Lord. On Christmas Day too, we celebrated mass with fellowship with the congregation afterwards and later the same evening we had a community celebration over varieties of international cuisine and exchange of gifts.

2015 has been a truly blessed year and what better way to close it than in thanksgiving and praise to our Lord which we did by spending an hour adoring Him in the Blessed Sacrament an hour before midnight on then welcomed the New Year with a mass; probably the very first one in 2016 for the whole world. We closed last year with hearts filled with gratitude and we look forward to 2016 with great hope

Outreach to St. Brendan's School, Heretaunga

Junior and Middle Classes

A group of 13 members of the ICPE community experienced a blessed outreach for 80 of St. Brendan's School Junior class students and 153 Middle class students on the 2nd and 3rd of December 2015, with theme of the value of God's love.

The sessions began with action songs that were lively and full of fun. Skits that accompanied the teaching in order to reinforce the themes were presented. Accompanied thus capturing the attention of the children. An activity sheet, then, was given to each child at every session for them to take home to do those activities with their parents and to help them remember the points that they have learnt.

The children were very excited to spend their time with us, and responded with much enthusiasm and enjoyed the sessions very much

Senior Classes

From the 4th to 5th December 2015 a team of 14 members from ICPE Mission New Zealand headed out to St. Brendan’s School to lead a seminar on ‘Leadership & Stewardship’ for Year 7 and 8.

The action songs and games helped the students to warm up and open their hearts to receive all that the Lord wanted to give them through us. One particular skit conveyed a powerful message on the unique gift each one of us is to one another and was followed by a teaching on Leadership and Stewardship. The group discussion that followed evoked a wonderful time of sharing as each of the students in their little sharing groups were able to express their thoughts on the principles of good leadership and stewardship as children of God. On the whole, the students gained deep insight on their leadership qualities and gained an understanding of who they are in the eyes of God.

30 Years Anniversary Celebration - Reunion ICPE Mission New Zealand (28 - 29 November 2015)

The ICPE Mission worldwide kick-started its 30th year with much festivity. However, the Mission Centre in New Zealand master minded a special closure to the year-long string of celebrations by organising a weekend reunion of missionaries, alumni and Companions who met over the last weekend of November at St. Gerard's monastery, home to the ICPE missionaries in Wellington

The sun shone over the monastery and the trees around seemed to stand still as if to welcome our guests who had travelled from different parts of New Zealand to attend the special event. Besides the 6 Companions of the Mission, there were approximately 30 people who responded to our invitation. They had attended our schools and past outreaches dating back to 1988 when the first School of Evangelisation was held in St. Gerard's. The day began with a beautiful time of worship true to the ICPE charism! Following the time of worship were ice breakers that got everyone moving and soon broke into heart warming times of chatter and fellowship that continued right through the weekend.

A moment to remember was the challenging talk delivered by Larry Baldoch who flew in from Tauranga to be with us on Saturday. He had been invited to speak at the first school in New Zealand 30 years ago! The 'snapshot' session took us down memory lane as we recalled the early days of the mission and all the young familiar faces who have now most certainly 'matured' over time! The highlight of the weekend was the launch of the ICPE Alumni - a new platform for all those who have been part of any initiative of the ICPE MIssion over the last 30 years and who wish to remain in close contact with the mission not only in receiving but also contributing in ways that seek to foster the bonds of friendship and unity. A special time allocated for sharing and communication proved to be fruitful as suggestions and ideas came pouring in through various groups discussions, thus enabling us to move forward with Alumni who would not only remain in contact with the mission but would also have possibility of serving the mission,participating in outreaches and several other means to bring the Good News to the world.

The feedback received last weekend of November clearly expressed what was in every body's hearts...that we are God's beloved whom He has chosen and set apart to do His will and as each of the alumni solemnly lit their little candles and then everyone prayed over the map of New Zealand, many words were spoken from the Lord about taking their little light back to their homes, work spot, parishes and cities. The day ended with the Holy Eucharist celebrated by three priests- Fr. Alliston, Fr. Francis and Fr. Carl.

We couldn't have asked for more on the following day- Sunday, the final day of the reunion! The Eucharist invited us to deepen our relationship with the Lord and with one another. People who attended the Mass from around Wellington mingled with all our weekend visitors and the sun smiled all through the day! No one leaves St. Gerard's without a taste of ICPE hospitality but last Sunday was even more special as snacks and goodies were served on the lawn outside the historic building -the sun,sea and the blue sky as a glorious backdrop!

Truly, a glorious way to end the reunion and for our visitors to take home with them memories of their time with ICPE and a new desire to fan the flame. For us who are full-timers in the mission, it was indeed a memorable day as well, as we renewed old friendships, made new ones and were encouraged to persevere in running the race to the very end!! Thanks be to God for His faithful love towards us!