The Church has never closed
WE are the Church
You are welcome to join us

We worship, we pray, we unpack and consider Scripture together, we laugh and be together as a church family.

We look forward to you joining us when we gather.

Sunday: 9 am – St Michael and All Angles, Greenhithe and
10.30 am – Holy Cross, Albany

Easter Services @ Albany Greenhithe Anglican Church

Palm Sunday:   24 March

9 am at St. Michael’s and All Angels – Greenhithe

10:30 am at Holy Cross – Albany

Maundy Thursday:  28 March at Holy Cross

6:30 pm Soup and Bread meal

7.30pm Maundy Thursday service

Good Friday: 29 March at Holy Cross

9:30am Combined denominational Easter walk, begins from the  Holy Cross and finishes at Presbyterian Church

Easter Celebration with Holy Communion: 31 March

9 am  at St. Michael’s and All Angels – Greenhithe

10:30 am at Holy Cross – Albany

From our Priest in Charge

Holy Week

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This Sunday we embark our journey into the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Holy Week provides a unique opportunity for us to walk with Jesus toward the cross. Take a look below for more details about each of the services.

Palm Sunday (St. Michael at 9am, at Holy Cross at 10:30) 

At Holy Cross, the service begins with the waving of palm branches and the singing of praise. And then, turns to the scandal of the cross.

 Our Palm Sunday reading of the Passion narrative (at Holy Cross) is not just ‘telling the story’ of what happened to Jesus in history. We all voice the part of Jesus! The story asks us to engage deeply with the truth that within each of us is the capacity to deny, betray, abandon, and destroy that which we love the most and those who love us the most. In the right circumstances, we are all Peter, Judas, Pilate, and the mocking crowd. We are all also the women at the foot of the cross, the centurion who recognised Jesus, and, to the extent that we experience suffering and abandonment in our lives, we share in Jesus’ torment too, and can trust that he knows our pain and experiences of forsakenness.

Holy Wednesday (Lenten Study @ Holy Cross at 10 am)

We will finish our Lenten Study with Lenten candle liturgy (the last word (out of 7) of Jesus on the cross as we have been observing at Holy Cross on Sundays during Lent). A light lunch will be provided.

Maundy Thursday (@ Holy Cross 6:30 pm meal, 7:30pm service)

This service recalls Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. We will gather for a simple meal of soup and bread prior to this service recollecting the significance of food and meals in Jesus’ ministry, and to help us gather as the beloved community before joining in this special act of worship together.

Traditionally, this service includes washing of each other’s feet. However, for some of us this may not be convenient. So, instead, we will wash one another’s hands. I believe there’s powerful symbolism in this that is worth reflecting on. If you prefer not to participate in handwashing, you are still invited to join in by watching prayerfully. The service ends with stripping the altar of all adornment.

Good Friday (Starting @ Holy Cross at 9:30am)

Carrying the cross: We are sharing this day with the Presbyterians and the Baptists. We will assemble at the Holy Cross at 9.30 for a service with contributions from the Baptist Church. And then carry the cross through the streets and arrive at the Presbyterian Church where we will have the next part of the service. Even if you are not able to join the carrying the cross walk, you are invited to join the service at Holy Cross where a quiet contemplative space for prayer will be provided.

Catholic Good Friday service will be held from 3 to 5. All are welcome.

Easter Saturday Vigil @ Holy Cross 7:30-9 pm

John Paul II Catholic Community will hold this service. This night’s vigil is the greatest and most holy of all solemnities in the Catholic Church.

Easter Sunday (@ St Michael’s 9 am, @ Holy Cross 10:30)

These services offer a path deep into the meaning of Easter so please try to attend as many as you can.

Yukiko

As we journey together during this Holy Week, let us pray that the journey will lead us all to the peace and joy of Easter.

SPACE for you and your baby

Space for you and your baby is a parenting programme mainly for first-time parents of newborn babies. Parents and babies attend the sessions together and extended whānau are always welcome. Participants usually join Space when their baby is between two and four months old. Parents of older babies are welcome to enquire if a suitable group has a place available for them to attend.

Our vision is “empowering and encouraging parents to support the development of the whole child in their first year of life.”

Space provides a safe place for parents to bond well with their babies, meet other new parents in their community and receive information and support from trained facilitators and each other. It allows parents and infants to learn and grow in a supportive, teaching-based, community environment.

A new group will be starting at Holy Cross Albany on Wednesday 1 May: 11am – 1pm for anyone who has a new baby born January to April 2024

The programme runs for two hours a week over the course of 30 weeks (excluding school holidays).

Each week there is the opportunity to:

  • participate in group discussions on child development topics
  • explore play, music, movement, books and stories with parent and baby
  • chat to other new parents over refreshments.

For enquiries please contact Yukiko: priest-in-charge@agac.org.nz  or phone 021-0474753.

The Albany Greenhithe Anglican Church (AGAC) is situated on Auckland’s North Shore. We have two locations for services, St Michael & All Angels Church in Greenhithe and Holy Cross Church in Albany.

We look forward to welcoming you to our churches and community.