Ashburton Courier: November 18, 2021

NEWS
26 Ashburton Courier, November 18, 2021
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
CHRISTIAN COMMENT
Christmas
expectations
The Mid Canterbury Children’s Theatre production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jnr was recently
on stage at the event centre.
PHOTO SUPPLIED
Grant helps theatre group
The benefit of theAshburton
Trust Event Centre’s (ATEC)
business partnership was
recognisedrecently when a
grant of $1000 was given to the
MidCanterbury Children’s
Theatre in supportofits
recent productionDisney’s
The Little Mermaid Jnr.
The accumulated funds
comefrom financialsupport
offeredbyHeartlandBank,EA
Networksand Gary
McCormickTransport, which
have donated to ATEC’s Raise
the Bargrant fundfor thelast
six years.
‘‘I can’t thank ourbusiness
partners enough for their
tremendous support,’’ ATEC
general manager Roger Farr
said.
The fund’s aim was to assist
local, not forprofit,
performanceorganisationsto
have access to the very best
technical support ATEC could
offer, which in turn lifted the
standard of the production to a
higherlevel.
‘‘This supportiseven more
important now in these
difficult times whereaudience
numbershave to be reduced,
whichmeans less revenue to
supportthe production.
‘‘It canbethe difference
betweenthe production
proceedingorbeing
cancelled.’’ Mr Farr said.
Mid Canterbury Children’s
Theatrecommittee
spokesperson Nicola Walker
said the grant givenhad
lessened the financial burden
andhad enabled 52 children
andaproduction team of 84
parents to enjoy beingapartof
astunning production.
Anybusinesses wanting to
support the local performing
arts scenecan contact Mr Farr
aboutthe ATECbusiness
partnership.
What is yourexpectationof
Christmas this year?
Theexpectations society can
place on theChristmas season
are so incredibly powerful
because they capture the
deepest hopesandlongingsof
ourhearts. We want to feel joy;
we crave the comfort of
meaningful human
connection; weneedhopeto
sustain us; we long for faith to
act as theantidote toour
deepest fears; we want our
hearts to be at peace.
Thisyear let’sputaside
unrealisticChristmas
expectations.Instead,let’s
join Jesus. Ican’t promisethe
encounterwillchangeour
circumstances. However,Ican
promise that as we sit quietly
with the Christchild, our
hearts will be changed.
Because graspingthe reality
of God With Us brings comfort.
Graspingthe reality of God
With Us helps usadjust our
expectations. Andgrasping
thereality of GodWith Us
brings serenity, especially
when reality doesn’t meet our
expectations at Christmas.
Peace and goodwill
Ven. Joan Clark, vicar
Anglican Parish of Ashburton,
Archdeacon of Mid Canterbury
House prices hit record
AshburtonDistrict recorded a
record high median house
price in October of $500,000.
Twelve months ago the
median price was $389,000.
Thedata from the Real
Estate Institute of New
Zealand (REINZ) shows some
69 houses sold here in October,
compared to 38 in the previous
month.
The Canterbury region
reached anew record median
house price in October of
$668,000, a31% increase yearon­year.
Three other areas,
Christchurch City ($685,000),
SelwynDistrict ($815,000), and
Waimakariri District
($685,000), all recordednew
recordhighs. TheCanterbury
regionsaw asignificant growth
in auctionsinOctober.
Spend$40 or
more in November
andget $5 off *
your next in-store
purchase at
Postie Ashburton!
postie.co.nz
*Earnvouchers between4th November and30th November 2021.Qualifying purchase must
be made in asingle transactionand limitedtoone voucherper transaction. Vouchers canbe
redeemed between4th November and15thDecember 2021 withaminimum spendof$20.
Original vouchermustbepresented duringredemption. Offer only available at Postie Ashburton.