St. Mary's Glen Innes

St Mary’s Church is the home-base for a small but thriving Christian community which sits right in the heart of Glen Innes, on the corner of Elstree Ave and Taniwha Street. We’re also right across the road from Tāmaki College. A church is not a building, it is a group of people who have answered a call to follow Jesus and live a life of aroha and service to their whānau, neighbourhoods and the wider community. At times this mission means making hard decisions and choosing to put your own needs aside for those who need awhi and support. The People of St Mary’s live all over Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure. When we get together on Sunday’s we love to party, sing, share kai together and live life to the full. 

St Mary’s Church has a long whakapapa in Glen Innes, and we are constantly meeting local kuia and kaumatua who were married in our building or baptised here, or who have some family connection to this church. 

We are a co-operating parish, which means we are connected with two different denominations in Aotearoa: Anglican (Te Haahi Mihinare), and Methodist (Te Hāhi Weteriana). We also have a strong connection with the Anglican Trust for Women and Children and mutually support each other's' work in our communities.

Rev. Hinemoa Carpenter and Rev. Joel Carpenter have been co-ministering together since they moved to Glen Innes with their three tamariki in December 2020. As a parish, we have all worked together to help each other through the challenges and pressures of the lockdowns.

Recently St Mary’s has been going through a re-development phase and we are looking to open up our facility to the wider community. We are really excited to be hosting some HEART workshops in our whare karakia in 2022 as well as Mana Wāhine week.

Rev. Hinemoa, Rev. Joel, and a number of other St Mary’s whānau are change agents for the HEART Movement. We also participate regularly in HEART networks like Men’s and Women’s Koru. 

There are so many things we love about the HEART movement! It is by the community and for the community, so there’s a huge sense of ownership and responsibility for it. HEART is also really nimble and responsive to the needs of the people who live and work here, we love that. The best thing about HEART is all the amazing people who are involved, and all the positive change that is happening in the community because of HEART’s mahi.

A fun fact about us? We incorporate a lot of Te Reo Māori into our worship which goes all the way back to the early Māori Evangelists and Missionaries in Aotearoa. So if you want a taste of traditional Aotearoa Christian worship, then come along to a Sunday service. 9.30AM.

There’s a lot of trouble in our world and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless at times. Here’s a word of advice from Mother Teresa: “If you want to bring peace to the whole world, go home and love your family.” Bringing peace starts in your own life and in your own home.

Arohanui ki a koutou nā te whānau o Meri Tapu.

Click here to learn more about St. Mary’s Glen Innes and the amazing mahi they do.