2008
January
A barbeque celebrates the beginning of the new year. Barbeques continue to be the theme for the month, with many visitors joining the community for outdoor meals and a couple of beers. A new calendar designed by Kev, Water from the Rock, celebrates the Year of Marist Spirituality. It is distributed throughout the Province, and is especially designed for schools and colleges.
February
The community goes on a retreat at the Marist Brothers' house in Otaki. The community is also involved in a retreat for World Youth Day pilgrims at St Anne's in Newtown. Waitangi Day and Ash Wednesday coincide, and the community attends Mass at Karori for the blessing and distribution of ashes. Chris leaves for Rome, where he will spend five months on a course about the special patrimony of the Institute. He is farewelled with a barbeque. Kev, Michael and Mike go to hear Kev's brother Dave and Hayley Westenra sing at the Alana Estate Vineyard in Martinborough. The Provincial, Br Carl Tapp, visits overnight.
March
March hosts an early Easter. On Holy Saturday, the community, along with Sr Clare, leads a reflection on the emptiness of the cross. The day also allows for reflection time at the cemetery, and the stations of the cross. On Easter Sunday, the two Marist communities from Lower Hutt, as well as Fr Seph Pijfers, join the community for a special midday dinner. Kev departs for Barcelona.
April
April begins with Andrew's stag do, closely followed by his wedding to Nuala McKeever, at St Peter and Paul's Church in Lower Hutt. Andrew also moves out of the FM Connection after his honeymoon. Mike leads a World Youth Day meeting, and spends the weekend at St Gerard's monastery in preparation for the big event. Kev returns from Spain at the end of the month.
May
A new member of the community moves in: Luo Lei, originally from Beijing, but a recent graduate from Victoria and a previous resident at Kohanga. A big move happenes within the building, as the kitchen was moved from the north end of the house to the south end (as the house had been three separate flats for some time, there are three kitchens to choose from!).
June
This month the whole community attend Champagnat celebrations at the Grove. Unfortunately, both Luo Lei and Mike, who are very careful cyclists, are knocked off their bikes, and Mike needs some time to rest and recover. Chris arrives back from Rome at the end of the month. In celebration of this, the community makes a trip to Soames Island.
July
Most of the community make the journey to Palmerston North for the wedding of Tom Fanning and Naomi Bennett, local parishioners and former a Grove member. World Youth Day makes a busy week with pilgrims in Wellington, and then means that the FM Connection is emptied out as nearly everybody heads off to Sydney for a week of walking, sleeping on the floor, but luckily not too much rain.
August
Luo Lei has a birthday dinner at the beginning of the month. Kev and Chris came and went between a number of meetings. Plans to take boys from Holy Cross School tramping have to be delayed because of bad weather. Follow up activities and a Mass for World Youth Day are held throughout the month.
September
The community goes for a small tramp in the Orongorongo Valley. Chris celebrates his birthday. Michael is farewelled from the community towards the end of the month.
October
A World Youth Day Legacy Workshop is held at Connolly Hall. The Galilee Experience is held.
November
The newly renovated Catholic Tertiary Chaplaincy, Kohanga, is opened at Victoria University. Luo Lei and a 2007 Grovite, Ali Lunnon, put the roof on the new garden shed. The community goes for a tramp, and has a barbeque to celebrate the beginning of summer.
December
December is a month of rest with few formal events. Most community members join their families for Christmas, although Kev and Chris stay at Wilton and are joined by Naomi and Tom for a Christmas breakfast.