St Johns parish celebrate Harvest Festival at St Lukes church 29 April 2018

Today we welcomed Tomasi into our Christian family
with his baptism - an exciting time for us all.



Jesus said:"Let the children come to me and
do not stop them." Then he took the children in his arms,
placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:14-16

Our Priest Assistant -

My name is James McGrath and I was born in Timaru on the 22 September 1953. I was baptised four days later as I was not expected to live much longer.

Two and a half months later I was received into the congregation of St Peter’s Kensington/Otipua where I was to remain for the next sixteen years going through the motions as a choir boy and then as a server at the altar and even going through confirmation.

Through all this time I never established a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and because of this I eventually drifted away as the world of excitement beckoned.

During this time I became an engineer working for Timaru City Council and experiencing a stint as an army territorial soldier. While working in Timaru I met I’va (Eva) and we were married in Auckland in 1977.

In 1979 we moved to Invercargill where I had a job with Southland County Council where our Son Philip was born. Through this time I had no connection with church of any kind although I had let my wife believe I had.

In 1984 in a dilapidated old timber church in Clifton at a funeral God finally caught up with me and I experienced the risen Christ within a small elderly congregation. The following year our curate approached me and “suggested” that I should train as a lay minister as the new vicar was keen on developing a lay-ministry team.

Since that time I have experienced a child leaving home and the death of my wife in 2008. To everyone’s surprise, including my own, I proposed to and was accepted by Barbara Harris and we were married in 2013 and together we embarked on this new journey as a priest assistant at St John’s.

So through many trials, sadness and joys God has been shaping me into the person I am today.

Our Churchwardens -

The Parish has three Church Wardens who are appointed each year by the parishioners at the Annual General Meeting.
Our combined Parish has the following  Wardens:

Warden from St Johns     Mrs Dot Muir                           (03) 213 0474
Warden from St Lukes     Ms Lynda Turner-Heaton (03) 213 0757
Warden from St Johns     Mr. Rod Jordan                        (03) 216 8454

Administration -

The Parish administrator is located at the St John's Church Office and is available between the hours of  8.00am - noon on Thursday. For information about Parish events, to get items published in The Eagle or to enquire about church bookings for weddings or other services please contact:

Karen Jones                                                                 (03) 214 3135


Please leave a message after hours and we will get back to you as soon as we are able, alternatively feel free to use the contact form for a more prompt response.