All posts by Clay Nelson

This is your life – Noel Blyth

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By Wayne Facer

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Wayne Facer © 21 February 2016

Noel Blyth
Noel Blyth (b. 1916)
  • Noel attended at Kings College between 1930 and 1931 and then went to Ruakura College, Hamilton where he completed a Diploma in Agriculture. He worked on farms for a few years around the Hamilton area.
  • When the pull of the city took hold and he returned to Auckland. He studied accountancy for Auckland University College and he worked and owned some milk bars which he later sold; he then worked at the State Advances Corporation, the government loan agency.
  • By now he had started dancing and began teaching ball room dancing, but found he needed regular income so he got a job at Inland Revenue while continuing to teach dance. In 1947 he completed his diploma for the National Association of Teachers of Dance.

Continue reading This is your life – Noel Blyth

Gender Identity and Transgender Issues 1

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The first of 2 Sundays this month devoted to these issues.

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Speakers

Rev. Clay Nelson.

Adam Rohe.

Briar Collard – giving a talk based on a piece by John Oliver from Last Week Tonight.

Cole Meyers began with a quote from Junot Díaz and followed up with some words of his own.

Lexie Matheson shared some of her story.

Adam closed the session with a reading of Andrew by Andrea Gibson.

Christmas: A Holiday without Borders

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 13 December 2015

I confess I am sometimes subject to flights of fancy. I had an episode a few days ago. I wondered what Jesus would think if he actually came back as some Christians believe he will some day. “Came back from where?” is a question that comes to mind. But never mind. It would be especially intriguing to hear his reactions to what he would find if he came back at this time of year. What would he think? Continue reading Christmas: A Holiday without Borders

Keep Calm and Carry On

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 6 December 2015

Sometimes the beginning of a sermon has an unlikely beginning. At the Living Wage Office where I work three mornings a week, in the break room there is a sign with a familiar look. It is red with a white crown at the top. Underneath it says “Keep Calm. Fill the dishwasher, not the sink.” It made me think about the original sign of which it is a parody, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” We see it everywhere these days affixed to signs, greeting cards, tea towels, coffee mugs, and the like. Over my morning tea I wondered where it came from and why. Continue reading Keep Calm and Carry On

Does the Kingdom of God need God?

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 29 November 2015

Making sense of the world is not easy. Psychologists explain that to do so it is necessary to organise incoming sensations into information that is meaningful. They think we do this by perceiving individual sensory stimuli as a meaningful whole. The brain creates a whole image from individual stimuli.

Optical illusion - duck or rabbit?

Sometimes what we see is really there but we see different things like the optical illusion of a duck that also can be a rabbit. Continue reading Does the Kingdom of God need God?

What Would the Goddess Do?

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 8 November 2015

I have to confess that like many of us I am left daunted by the scope of the problems being created by global climate change. Other than an occasional reference to the fact that there is a problem, I have never devoted an entire sermon to the eco-disaster we face. I can feel myself retreat into uncertainty about how to proceed even as I begin. What can I say that will make a difference? What can any of us do to save the planet? Continue reading What Would the Goddess Do?

The Communion of Unitarian Saints

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 1 November 2015

Today is All Saints Day. There is a phrase in the Apostles Creed,  which is possibly the only phrase I really like – the Communion of Saints – what does the Communion of Saints mean? Well it essentially means that when a Christian receives Communion, they are not just having Communion with people in that congregation, they’re having Communion with everybody else in the world who is having Communion,  and having Communion with everybody who has ever had Communion in the history of the church, and they’re having communion with everybody who will ever come to receive Communion. To me it is a symbol of the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part, It reminds us we didn’t get here out of nothing, we are connected to those who came before, and others in the future will be connected to us, a reminder of our oneness.

So I thought today for our new members it would be good to give them a family tree, so that they know what they are being grafted to. I’m going to give you a whirlwind tour of some of the people who have gone before in this congregation. Continue reading The Communion of Unitarian Saints

“You have Stept Out of Your Place” – Challenging Patriarchy

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 25 October 2015

The title of this sermon comes with a story told by the Revd Dr Stephanie Mayi:

It all began in January of 1637 when Anne Hutchinson went on trial in Boston for her role in creating theological discord within the fledgling Massachusetts colony. Since arriving in the new born Boston a few years earlier, Hutchinson had been holding meetings, leading discussions, and in many other ways expressing her own religious viewpoints—including her opinions about the various clergy in Boston and surrounding towns. Continue reading “You have Stept Out of Your Place” – Challenging Patriarchy

What’s Wrong with the Living Wage?

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 4 October 2015

Before tackling what is wrong with the Living Wage I should make a full disclosure as we often hear journalists do when they have a connection to the story on which they are reporting. In early 2012 I attended the second meeting of unions, churches, and community NGOs exploring the initiation of a Living Wage Movement in Aotearoa New Zealand. I attended its kick-off later that year on May 21st. I became active in a faith network to support the movement and later became its convenor. Continue reading What’s Wrong with the Living Wage?

Why Celebrate Sacrifice?

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The Feast of Eid al-Adha.

By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 27 September 2015

This past Thursday, the day Muslims around the world celebrated one of their two solemn feasts, Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, 769 pilgrims making their Hajj were tragically killed and 863 were injured in a stampede.

I offer this prayer from a Muslim funeral service for them out of compassion for our shared humanity and respect for their faithfulness to their beliefs. It is a way of expressing in the words of Pope Francis “our closeness” with them and their grieving families. I invite you to stand if you are able and face the back doors, the direction to Mecca. Continue reading Why Celebrate Sacrifice?