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St Paul's on Symonds Street in Auckland, New Zealand, is an historic Anglican church near The University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology, with a creative, vibrant and spirit-filled community.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=St Paul's Parish Profile )〕 St Paul's is Auckland's oldest church. Occupying its third building, it is known as the "Mother Church" of Auckland as the original St Paul's was the first church to be built in the city, in the same year that the original town was established. The St Paul's foundation stone was laid by Governor William Hobson on 28 July 1841 and the first service was held on 7 May 1843. St Paul's also served as Auckland's Cathedral for over 40 years. The current building was formally consecrated by Bishop William Cowie on 1 November 1895, and is now registered as a Category 1 Historic Place.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History of the Diocese of Auckland )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=St Paul's Church (Anglican) )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Churton Memorial )〕 Since new services were set up in 2004, with a core group of about 80 people, St Paul’s has grown and strengthened to a current congregation of around 1,500. There are four services held on a Sunday: 9am and 11am family services, a 3:30pm liturgical service and an informal 6:30pm evening service. An average of 750 attend each week across all the services. Around 30% of the church community is actively involved in a cluster, small group or home group. A strong children’s church operates during the Sunday morning services, with seven different age groups from 0–18 years catered for. St Paul’s has a staff of over 20 which includes a Vicar, two Priest Assistants, a Worship Leader, a Head of Connections, eight Children’s Church workers headed up by a Families Leader, three in Pastoral Care, five Administrators, a Facilities Manager and a Prison Ministry leader. Members of the staff manage the many volunteers who serve in all areas of church life, giving their time and talents in a variety of ways. The breadth of the skill base in the community is reflected in the creative and loving ways that St Paul’s expresses itself through church courses, groups & events; worship, song writing & production; film production; online social channels; overseas & local mission; city wide care, evangelism and events; and theological learning. The vision of St Paul's is "Creating, relating & restoring by loving God, each other & our world".〔 ==Seed== Now in its third manifestation, St Paul’s is the oldest church in Auckland, having been a light in the city since 1841. The first St Paul’s was built in Emily Place, just off Princes St, where a plaque still marks the site of the beginning of God’s church in the city of Auckland. Old St Paul’s was located in the heart of the colonial city. It occupied a prominent ridge-top site in a prestigious part of the settlement, close to the main administrative buildings, the imperial garrison stationed at Britomart, and alongside the remnants of the old pā, Rangipuke in Albert Park, where Ngāti Whātua had defended their rohe during the Musket Wars of the 1820s. At that time, St Paul’s was the seat of the Bishop of New Zealand, the Reverend George Selwyn, and was the locus of ecclesiastical power, and worldly prestige, as the wealthiest settlers worshipped there. As the formal religion of British royalty, the Anglican faith was closely linked to the exercise of colonial power. Many of St Paul’s artefacts, such as Selwyn’s Throne, date from this time of connection to power and political importance.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Where we've come from )〕 Reverend John Churton was the first minister of St Paul's, occupying that role for 12 years. The (Churton Memorial ) was built to his memory, close to the site of the original church building.〔 St Paul’s prominence in colonial society shifted as the geography of Auckland developed over time. During the height of the New Zealand Wars in the 1860s, the church was used as a safe haven for women, children and the elderly – its location in the midst of the city, near the garrison, made St Paul’s ideal for this traditional church role of providing sanctuary in times of strife. After the war moved south, however, the congregation dwindled as wealthier attendees moved to the new suburbs of Epsom and Remuera, and St Matthew’s in the City, located further west, served the working suburbs of Freeman’s Bay and Ponsonby.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Paul's Church, Auckland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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