New minister at St Anselm’s

St Anselm’s Union Church in Karori has a new minister.

Rev Jannet Mudavanhu has been appointed as minister of St Anselm’s Union Church in Karori and Trinity Union Parish in Newtown.

This shared-ministry with two separate parishes is a new venture for not just Jannet but also for St Anselm’s and Trinity, and their relevant partner churches – these include the Methodist Church of New Zealand, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Congregational Union of New Zealand. Jannet was ordained as a minister with the Methodist Church of Zimbabwe in 1996.

After serving in a couple of parishes she moved to England in 2002 to undertake further studies at Birmingham University, majoring in Pastoral Theology for both MA and PhD.

In 2016 Jannet moved to New Zealand to serve as a minister with Hutt City Uniting Congregations under The Methodist Church of New Zealand and in 2020 was appointed minister at Beckenham Methodist Church in Christchurch.

As Jannet serves under the shared-ministry arrangement, she apportions 60% of her time with St Anselm’s and 40% with Trinity.

This means she takes the service at St Anselm’s on the first two Sundays in the month and the 4th Sunday on alternate months.

As Jannet settles into her new ministry role with St Anselm’s, she would love to connect with the wider community and ecumenical network, especially in advocating for social inclusion, peace, unity and love in the community.

“We are pilgrims whose lives are so woven together and where love is known and shared – that is where God is,’ Jannet says.

“Love too often gets buried in a world of hurt and fear and we each have to work to dig it out so we can share it with our kith, kin and neighbours.”

As an ‘avid’ tramper, who enjoys the serenity and fresh air especially in wooded walkways, Jannet has already started scouting some of Wellington’s great tracks, starting off with the City to Sea Walkway from Newtown to Island Bay taking photos to send to her wh nau in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

St Anselm’s is a very self-reliant group with a history of part time ministers. On the Sundays Jannet is not there, the service will be taken either by a guest preacher or by a member of the congregation.

St Anselm’s is an inclusive progressive Christian community worshipping at 30 Makara Road, Karori West. Sunday services are at 10am. More information is on their website www.stanselms.org.nz.

It supports activities that encourage rere te pai (change for the better) and te kotahitanga i roto i te kanorautanga (unity in diversity).

This is a project that creates a culture of supporting all women and their families. It educates communities and normalises the topic of PND.

The stories are from Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington along with pop-art style portraits created by artist Karolina Gorton. Karolina went through perinatal depression during the pregnancy of her second child.

“I went through therapy, and I recovered,” she says.

“Actually, I found unknown strengths in my PND experience. It gave me an idea to create the Blue Stories Project: sharing journeys out of perinatal depression.

“I approached Perinatal Support Nelson with the idea of the Blue Stories Project in 2020.”

Perinatal Support Nelson collaborated and the project was born.

“I have a big passion to be one of the ‘supporting women’ culture makers,” Karolina says.

“I know that it’s only possible if you create it with other people and engage with your whole community.”

The kaupapa of the Blue Stories Project is to create a culture of supporting women and their families throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

The exhibition at Waitohi is being presented in collaboration with Greenstone Doors and The Ruth Project.