We are a small size church but we have a giant heart towards our community in fact we have a dream to make a big difference to Otaki, Te Horo, Manakau and beyond.
Our big dream is to be……
“ To be a Christ-like community, known for generous hospitality, who journey together through joy and sorrow, impacting and changing lives through love and service in Jesus name”.
Our Values
You need to know some things that are really important to us that define us. That we are different to other churches in that these values are important to us. They are not the only biblical values out there but they are ours:
We are founded on the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ
We are passionate about making a difference in our community
We aim to be a welcoming and supportive community; welcoming everyone of all ages, lovingly seeking to bring out the best in everyone who worships with us.
We enjoy and value the place children have among us.
Fellowship, worship, communion and prayer (as we are led by the Holy Spirit) are important to us as we work out what it means to be a disciple in our society.
Our history goes way back, more than a hundred years. The first Anglican minister here was Rev Octavius Hadfield who came here in 1839 to encourage an existing church started by the slave Ripahu. He was called to encourage a church among the Maori at Waikanae and Otaki. When Rangiatea church was built in 1851 the pakehas would worship there in English in the afternoon. In 1895 Otaki was constituted as a parochial district and the Maori missioner Rev J.T. McWilliam took services for the growing European population until the arrival in 1900 of Rev C.T Pargiter who looked after All Saints Otaki ( Current building built in 1932), St Margarets Te Horo ( current building built in 1956) and St Andrews Manukau (Built-in 1895). In the 1950’s there were nearly 600 church families attached to our churches. We still are great friends with Rangiatea Church which is only a few hundred meters from us and seek to work together as much as we can.
Our beliefs
The Anglican and Methodist Parish of Otaki is a community made up of people of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences. We celebrate the wide range of stories that we each bring.
This is Ōtaki’s church and everyone who is wanting to explore faith issues is welcome to drop by and check us out.
We love because God first loved us. God calls us to be in a relationship with one another. As we share in one another’s lives and seek to support those in need we respond to God’s call.
We are an Anglican Church that believes in the Trinity and the over-arching love of God.
We uphold the Bible as sacred Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit and interpreted by the Church. We affirm the Creeds and the Apostolic succession.
We believe that everyone was made in the image of God and that all are equal. The church is the Body of Christ and all the baptised have an important part to play in God’s kingdom. Each of us has different gifts and so are called to different areas. It is our intention to discern these gifts and provide opportunities to share them with others.
We are a sacramental church. That means that we practise Baptism and celebrate the Eucharist. We worship God with prayers of thanksgiving, songs of praise, and words of affirmation.
We acknowledge our need for forgiveness as well as our need to reconcile and forgive others. We give thanks for God’s awe-inspiring love and mercy, and we seek to share that with others.
We are here to tell the story of the love and liberation we find in Jesus; as whanau and as disciples. We share the call to serve the last, the lost and the least, alongside our wider Anglican Whanau.
The Gospel Story is one of love, grace, hope, peace and community. It is a story of liberation, inclusion and the last being first. It is a story that is timeless and yet new every day.
As believers, we celebrate the intertwining of this endless story, with our own. We acknowledge that the coming together of the divine and human is both beautiful and confusing at times. Yet, we also know that love remains.