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The Cathedral is a place of remembrance and celebration with services that reflect and proclaim our spiritual journey; there are services that mark both life and death. The Cathedral clergy are available to assist families; please refer to the contacts list on this website. Services mark and remember people and occasions that can be ones of either joy or sadness. For information about weddings please refer to the separate section on this website.

Baptism
Services of baptism occur when the church meets for worship. This may be at the Sunday Eucharist or during a morning service arranged for baptisms to take place. Baptism tells of our response to God as a person is made a member of Christ’s Church. Baptism includes images and symbols that express our faith; people, water, font, oil and light. The Cathedral baptizes both children and adults. Those who are baptized are also invited to make a further profession of their baptism through confirmation at a later date. For information about baptism or confirmation please contact the Reverend Sarah Stevens, ph (09) 302 7207.

In Memoriam
A service is held each year to remember those who donate and receive body and tissue organs. Each November a special service remembers those who have died and families who have had funerals at the Cathedral in the past year are invited to attend. 

The Trinity Garden & Columbarium
The Trinity Garden is located in the grounds of Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Parnell. The Garden was designed by Jacky Bowring of Christchurch.

The Garden is a space for memory, contemplation and celebration that provides a place symbolic for people of faith, with relevance for a range of cultures. A consistent design element is that of a circle within a square.

A grass labyrinth on the Parnell Road frontage invites you to take part in the reflective moments offered by the Garden. In the designer’s words, “it provides an interface with the busy street while also allowing for an interaction and conversation that will enhance the life of the neighbourhood”.

A mound provides a further spiritual connection with memory and the passing of loved ones, while providing a link to the volcanic cones and their remnants that are part of the Auckland landscape.

Moving on you come to the grove and columbarium. The grove includes historic oak trees with some additional planting. Three columbarium columns here provide for the placement of ashes. A Gathering Area, with a flowing water source, allows services to be held beside the columns while seating provides places for families to sit.

From there you move to the pool terrace to the east of St Mary’s and behind the High Altar of the Cathedral. At a later stage, a chapel will be built here and, when this is done, a contemplation pool will be placed on the terrace - the final element of the Garden. The terrace looks out directly to Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill - a significant landmark for Richard Toy in his design of the Cathedral. The pool will provide a place of calm and reflection as well as a visual link between the interior of the chapel and the Garden.

Jacky Bowring writes, “The overall impression of the Trinity Garden is one of a simple green space. It seeks to provide a tableau on which all visitors may invent their own memorial rituals and contemplative experiences, rather than to direct and dictate the use of the space. Through appealing to four enduring emblems of landscapes of memory - labyrinths, mounds, groves and pools - the garden resonates with eternal ideas of space and time.”

This first stage of the work has been supported through funds made available-from the Trinity Garden Festival.

The columbarium occupies a central position in The Trinity Garden. Its location provides a peaceful setting where you can come to pay homage to your loved ones.

Three columbarium columns are planned, with forty-eight niches in each column. Each niche will accommodate a cremation urn and will be sealed with a stone plaque recording the name of each of those commemorated.

Services can be held if wished for the depositing of ashes for a loved one. A Gathering Area beside St Mary’s provides a space for such services and Cathedral clergy can assist with these.

A Memorial Book in the Cathedral records the names of all those who are commemorated in the columbarium. Families have the opportunity to provide the words they wish to have entered in this lasting memorial.

If you have a connection with Holy Trinity Cathedral, St Mary’s or St Stephen’s, you may wish to consider the columbarium as a final resting place for your loved ones. Places may also be reserved prior to death.  Each niche is designed to hold the ashes of one person.

Further information can be obtained by emailing the Columbarium Administrator or writing via the Cathedral Office.

Cathedral Flowers
People are able to donate flowers and floral arrangements to celebrate a special day in their lives or to remember a loved friend or family member. There are certain times in the Cathedral’s liturgical calendar when there are no flowers; there are exceptions for special services including weddings and funerals. Please contact the Cathedral Office for more information, (09) 303 9500.