Sunday, December 27, 2009 Auckland, New Zealand
We attended worship services at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which is on the edge of the University of Auckland campus. The beautiful old stone building was one of the first permanent buildings in Auckland, founded in 1847. To get there we hiked about a mile from our hotel in central Auckland, including a vigorous climb up and through Albert Park. Of course, there was an impressive statue of Queen Victoria in the center of the park, and some beautiful trees in full bloom with blue flowers. Paula identifies it as jacaranda.
The church reminded us a lot of University Baptist Church in Champaign, Illinois, where we attended for four years while Tyler was in graduate school. When the university is in session the congregation includes many students from many countries - - many from southeast asia and pacific islands. But it is summer now, and the students are gone, so there were only perhaps 40-50 people - -- a couple of families with children, a few middle-aged couples, and several senior people in various stages of elderliness, like us. The long-time pastor was the Reverend Harry Morgan (not the Colonel Potter from MASH) with a curious mixed accent of New Zealand, Scotland, and, believe it or not, American. Some 30 years ago he and his wife spent a full year in Arizona.
After church we hiked another mile or so to the Auckland Museum for another look around. Enough hiking for one day - - we took the bus back to the hotel.
Note the X on the pulpit, and also in the windows in the second picture - - the cross of St. Andrew, of course!
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