Speaker & Worship Leader:- Viv Allen

I’m reading a talk written by Erika Hewitt entitled; The Answer I Wish I’d Given (winner of the 2009 Stewardship Sermon Award). Erika wrote a personal, heartwarming story about ‘giving’ which for her is both a statement and an expression of her faith. This story is very relevant to the old 19th century concept of ‘deserving poor’ where government employees make value judgements about who can receive help and who should be punished by withholding this help. This is very topical as now our government has announced plans for social welfare reform in NZ.

Meditation / Conversation starter

• How do you handle homeless beggars and car beggars?

Links

Chalice Lighting:- “In the Mystery of Life About Us There is Light” by George Kimmich Beach

Reading / Meditation:- words from Kahil Gilbran

Main talk:- “The Answer I Wish I’d Given” by Erika Hewitt

Extinguishing the Chalice:- “Daring Vision” by Maureen Killoran

Closing Words:- “Thank you for the stories” by Lizzie Kingston Harrison

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Alix Geard

Read below, or download the PDF

Alix Geard © 18 August 2024

Why do we light a chalice in our services? It’s a strange concept, when you think about it. If it’s a cup, then ceremonial cups are usually for water or wine, not flame. How did it get started?

Today I’m splitting my musing into 2 parts. One, now, is about what we know of the history of the flaming chalice. Later, I’ll talk through an interpretation of the lit chalice, using some of the imagery associated with it. I invite you to explore with me and find what resonates for you. This is a little long, so settle in.

Speaker:- Mary Panko
Worship Leader:- Barbara Thomborson

Mary Panko, immediate past president of New Zealand’s End-of-Life Choice Society, is guest speaker on the End-of-Life Choice Act and its upcoming Parliamentary review.

Barbara Thomborson, service leader, will share Unitarian Universalist background on this controversial topic. This service is a call to action.

Follow this link to download information on how to make a submission to the End-of-Life Choice Act review, closing date 26 September 2024.

Mary’s slides to accompany this talk.

Speakers:- The Macky family
Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh

Meditation / Conversation starter

• What do you make of the whakatauki, “We walk backwards into the future with our eyes fixed on the past”?
• How do you conceive our past and our future?

Links

Chalice Lighting:- “We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle” by Audette Fulbright Fulson

Reading:- “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Kurt Payne

Read below, or download the PDF

Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

Kurt Payne © 28 July 2024

“..you cannot attain spiritual intelligence through numbers..” was mentioned more than once during Barbara Thomborson’s service in May. This week Kurt looks more into this tiny facet while exploring a model of a whole person – no calculators required!

Looking at a painting of a tree

Drawing a picture of a tree we would draw a trunk, add some branches and pop some leaves on.

For an artist the gaps and space between the leaves is more important and can be bigger than the tree itself. The shadow and length of the shadow help give size and weight. Feel the shade and the coolness along the path. Imagine the birds, animals and insects living in it. Hear the sound of rustling, the smell of the sap, of the composting leaves. Source of food, provider of oxygen, of shelter and warmth as wood. A concept for family lineage, unitarians may have even had a phone tree.

This type of lateral thinking is needed when we start to look at the model of a human.

Speaker:- Mal Green
Worship Leader:- Ted Zorn

Read below, or download the PDF

Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

Mal Green © 21 July 2024

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko Kōtirana, ko Aerana, ko Ingarangi te whakapaparanga mai

Ko Owairaka to maunga

Engari, ko Titirangi te whenua tupu

I nāianei, ko Te Onewa te kāinga

Nō Tāmaki Makaurau ahau

He Kaiako au i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa

Ko Penman-Cooney te hapu

Ko Green-Clark te whānau

Ko Mal Green toku ingoa

I am a fifth generation descendant of Scottish, Irish, English immigrants to Aoteroa. I was born in Mt Albert, grew up in Titirangi, live now in Northcote. I teach at Massey University. I come from the Penman-Cooney extended family. My immediate family is Green-Clark. I am Mal Green.

Today I will share a bit of my spiritual whakapapa.

I was born into an evangelical Christian family – a missionary evangelical family that has produced countless missionaries and pastors. The main motif in this spiritual orientation was vindictive – if you did the right things and pleased God, you were blessed; if you did the wrong things and offended God, you were damned. So, God was judgemental; the world is evil; humans are depraved; Jesus is divine. I got involved in youth clubs, performed at and produced concerts, toured with performing arts groups, ended up in church leadership, wrote pamphlets – all to spread the message.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ted Zorn

Read below, or download the PDF

Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

Ted Zorn © 14 July 2024

I’ve entitled my talk today, “A More Beautiful Question”.

I borrowed the title from a book by the same name, written by former Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Warren Berger. More about him later.

Remember the scene from Alice in Wonderland where Alice asks the Cheshire Cat: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

The Cheshire Cat answers: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

Alice: “I don’t much care where—”.

And Cheshire Cat replies: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

You could argue that Alice’s was an imperfect question, not a beautiful one. She asked a question without knowing what sort of answer she wanted, or what would in fact be a useful answer. It was a question lacking purpose.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- John DiLeo

Read below, or download the PDF

Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

John DiLeo © 7 July 2024

The Thursday just past was US Independence Day – the annual celebration of that country’s declaration, and eventual winning, of independence from English colonial rule.

That occasion got me thinking about freedom, in the patriotic, “land of the free and home of the brave” sense. This eventually brought me to a few questions: What freedoms do I really have? Which ones matter most to me? What would I be willing to do to preserve them?

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh

No text this week.

Meditation / Conversation starter

• What have you learned about Matariki and how does it resonate with you?