All posts by Clay Nelson

New Beginnings: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

September 13, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsatonement, Book of Life, Days of Awe, kaparot, new year, nol kidre, repentance, Rosh Hashanah, shofar, Yom KippurClay Nelson

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By Rev. Clay Nelson.

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Clay Nelson © 13 September 2015

Tonight at sundown the shofar will sound wherever Jews gather to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of a new year. The shofar, a ram’s horn, makes a sharp sound, not like any other, that is intended to pierce the armour around our heart. Where it is heard in the heart, it calls a quiet moment out from our busy day. Where it is heard in the mind, it calls us to pay attention. Where it is heard in the spirit, it beseeches us to return to ourselves: slow down and turn inward, become at one with ourselves. Continue reading New Beginnings: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur →

Who is Krishna and Why Should We Care?

September 6, 2015Sunday Talks / Random MusingsAxial Age, Bharata, caste, Hindu, Hinduism, India, Jamashtami, John Shelby Spong, Karma, Krishna, pluralism, Reincarnation, Religion, Seven Principles, Upanishads, VedasClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 6 September 2015

When John Shelby Spong was my bishop, he visited Japan. When he returned he met with clergy in his diocese to discuss what he learned about Shintoism and Taoism. I remember him saying that the best way to understand one’s own beliefs is to look at them through the lens of someone else’s.

Yesterday, many Hindus around the world celebrated one of their major feasts, Janmashtami, sometimes referred to as the Birth of Krishna. Continue reading Who is Krishna and Why Should We Care? →

A “Brand New” Testament: What if Jesus got a Do-over?

August 30, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsfreedom, Grand Inquisitor, Jesus, justice, Life of Brian, The Brand New Testament, The Brothers Karamazov, UnitarianClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 30 August 2015

Did you know God is real and is a domineering white-trash bastard in a wife-beater T-shirt and ratty bathrobe who never gets off his computer? You already know about his son, but did you know about his daughter Ea? Neither did we until Rachel and I on a whim attended The Brand New Testament at the Auckland International Film Festival. This film by Belgian director Jaco van Dormael was made for Unitarians who like their Bible stories with a thick coat of satire. Continue reading A “Brand New” Testament: What if Jesus got a Do-over? →

Why Who and What We Love Matters

August 23, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingscommon good, Jimmy Carter, John Lennon, love, Martha C Nussbaum, Martin Luther King Jr, Political Emotion, Seven Principles, transformation, Work and IncomeClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 23 August 2015

One of the problems with publicising a sermon topic a month before writing it is life does not stand still until you compose it. My published title, “Why what and whom we love is important,” was challenged almost immediately by my remembering John Lennon’s observation, “It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love.” He’s right…mostly and I’m wrong…mostly. What he doesn’t mention is we can love badly. But I get ahead of myself. Continue reading Why Who and What We Love Matters →

The Empathy Paradox

August 9, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsaltruism, Baby Jessica, bullying, Cecil, climate change, dentists, Empathy, moral choices, paradox, Pike River, reason, Seven Principles, Unitarian, Willie HortonClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 9 August 2015

When I was about 13, my father and I were walking home together. We would have made quite a sight. Because of his polio he walked rather slowly with a pronounced gimp. To keep his pace I unconsciously would walk along side him with the same gait. I can’t remember what prompted his comment, but he said to me, “Clay, I don’t think you should ever become a dentist.” Surprised by this seeming non sequitur, I asked why. “Because you are extremely empathetic.” Having no clue, I asked what that meant. Continue reading The Empathy Paradox →

Progressive Christianity: Oxymoron or Unitarian?

July 26, 2015Sunday Talks / Random MusingsAlbert Schweitzer, David Hume, Essex Street Chapel, existentialism, historical Jesus, Jesus Seminar, John Biddle, John Calvin, John Dominic Crossan, John Locke, Joseph Priestly, Karl Barth, Michael Servetus, neo-orthodoxy, Paul Tillich, Progressive Christianity, religious right, Robert Funk, Theophilus Lindsey, Thomas Jefferson, Unitarian UniversalismClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 26 July 2015

Many present day Unitarians have a negative view of Christianity, some for good reasons. They have experienced or were a victim of one of its toxic versions. Others formed their opinions from the side-lines. Media accounts that lumped all Christians together, reported on Christian adherence to patriarchy, opposition to a woman’s right to choose, intolerance of other religious faiths, condemnation of the LGBTQ community, belief in creationism, and reliance on the Bible as the literal word of God, to mention but a few. Continue reading Progressive Christianity: Oxymoron or Unitarian? →

Privilege: A Roadblock to Wholeness

July 19, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsgender, identity privilege, justice, listen, male privilege, oppression, privilege walk, sexual orientation, subversive, systemic injustice, Unitarian, white privilegeClay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 19 July 2015

Talking about privilege is a tricky business anyway, but particularly so when you are an able-bodied, reasonably bright, right-handed, heterosexual, white American whose gender identity is congruent with the outward physical signs of his maleness; who grew up in a home surrounded by books and had two loving, well-educated, professional, middle class, Christian parents, neither of whom ever experienced divorce. I never missed a meal involuntarily. I never experienced or witnessed violence in my warm and secure home. Not going to university was never an option. Annual family vacations were the norm. I was never told I’d have to choose between having a career or a family. And that is by no means a complete list. I am a poster child for privilege. I am reminded of my status every time I stop at a pre-pay petrol pump in Papakura and it comes on without me going inside first. Continue reading Privilege: A Roadblock to Wholeness →

Euthanasia: Is Life Sacred?

July 12, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsdeath, dignity, dying, euthanasia, George Carlin, Lecretia Seales, life, physcian assisted death, right to die, sacred, sacrosanct, sanctity of life, Unitarian Universalist AssociationClay Nelson

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Thanks to Lecretia Seales the issue of euthanasia has once again been raised to public consciousness. You will remember that Lecretia suffered from a very aggressive form of brain cancer that depending on how it progressed could deprive her of dignity prior to death. She sought from the high court a ruling that would allow her physician to assist her to die should her suffering become unbearable. On June 5th, the day she died, she got the ruling that in New Zealand it is against the law for a physician to assist someone to die. Continue reading Euthanasia: Is Life Sacred? →

The Past, Present and Future of Progressive Religion in Aotearoa New Zealand

June 21, 2015Sunday Talks / Random MusingsDavid Keighley, education, Lloyd Geering, Progressive Christianity, Samuel Marsden, Sea of Faith, Sir Robert Stout, William JellieClay Nelson

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Address given to the Auckland Sea of Faith
By Clay Nelson
21 June 2015

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I want to thank Marion for inviting me to share this time with you. While I have looked forward to being with you, I wish I had reflected longer before offering the topic: The Past, Present and Future of Progressive Religion in Aotearoa New Zealand. You invited me for one 30 to 40 minute talk, not a six-part series of lectures. So I have struggled with how to slice this topic so it is thin enough to permit light to shine through it.

The aim of the Sea of Faith has offered me a way forward. Continue reading The Past, Present and Future of Progressive Religion in Aotearoa New Zealand →

The Spirituality Gap

June 14, 2015Sunday Talks / Random Musingsawareness, humanism, John Dietrich, Mark Twain, mystery, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Spirituality, Transcendentalism, Unitarian, William Ellery Channing, wonderClay Nelson

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What is Spirituality? And do I want some of that?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

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Some of you who only see me on Sunday may think I wear this collar all the time. No, it is not tattooed on me. While on occasion I wear it on a hospital visit or when participating in some public event like the gay pride parade, the only time I regularly wear it during the week is on Sunday mornings. The rest of the time you will find me more informally attired. My reason for wearing it is to remind myself of my role, like an actor putting on make-up and her costume. It is a spiritual discipline. Continue reading The Spirituality Gap →

Auckland Unitarian Church

Love beyond belief

All posts by Clay Nelson

New Beginnings: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Who is Krishna and Why Should We Care?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

A “Brand New” Testament: What if Jesus got a Do-over?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Why Who and What We Love Matters

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

The Empathy Paradox

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Progressive Christianity: Oxymoron or Unitarian?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Privilege: A Roadblock to Wholeness

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Euthanasia: Is Life Sacred?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

The Past, Present and Future of Progressive Religion in Aotearoa New Zealand

Address given to the Auckland Sea of Faith
By Clay Nelson
21 June 2015

The Spirituality Gap

What is Spirituality? And do I want some of that?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Address given to the Auckland Sea of Faith By Clay Nelson 21 June 2015

What is Spirituality? And do I want some of that?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

Address given to the Auckland Sea of Faith
By Clay Nelson
21 June 2015