I am delighted to be invited to speak to you again today in this beautiful building and in this beautiful fellowship. Tēnā koe Shirin, Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
Introduction:
The development of Science, Technology and Military Intelligence has not been balanced by collective development of Spiritual Intelligence. This is essential for Evolution of Human Consciousness, in order to save Humanity from Nuclear War Apocalypse and Ecological Destruction of Earth.
Guest speaker Catherine Delahunty has had a lifetime of working for justice. She is an ally and champion of the people of West Papua, who live under occupation.
What if fear is not a flaw to be fixed, but an invitation to be answered? This sermon explores stories of courage – what it means to take trembling steps into the unknown and what holds us when we do. If you have ever stood at a threshold you did not choose, wondering whether you had what it takes to cross it, this one is for you.
Jesus is passing through Jericho, and the whole city has come out to see him. It is loud and pressing and alive with anticipation. And somewhere at the edge of that crowd is a man named Zacchaeus — a tax collector, a collaborator, a man who has made himself comfortable by extracting money from his own people. Everyone knows who he is. Everyone knows what he’s done.
And this man wants to see Jesus. But he cannot get through. He is short, and the crowd — the very people he has harmed — are standing between him and what he is reaching for. So he does something that must have looked absurd: he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree.
I want you to hold that image. One of the most compromised men in town, up in a tree, alone above the crowd that has every reason to keep him out. Straining toward something he is not sure he deserves to see. Not knowing whether the door is open. Not knowing whether, if he came down, anyone would make room for him.
Speaker:- Dr. Tof Eklund Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh
If you find nonbinary gender(s) confusing, want to understand what it means to be nonbinary, or are nonbinary, this one’s for you. Dr. Tof Eklund (they/them) speaks about being nonbinary, the challenges and prejudices nonbinary folks face, and the profound implications of nonbinary thought and spirituality.
Kia ora koutou katoa. I am going to read a personal reflection on this month’s Pride theme, and then I’ll introduce our guest speaker, Dr Tof Eklund.
I thought I’d talk about flags.
I had intended to open the Pride month services with brief explanation of the rainbow flags we’ve been displaying, but I didn’t manage to get around to it. Then, with the occasion of Tof speaking today, I wondered if there was a non-binary flag – and there is, so I’ll talk about that soon, but this gives me an opportunity to also talk about the rainbow flag in general.
Instead of preaching about queer folks as people who need support, I’m inverting it to what can queer and trans people teach the rest of us about being fully human? Especially now, when authoritarianism and even AI are trying to flatten us all into simple categories. I’ll be weaving in the story of the Kapaemahu stones in Waikiki – four healing stones connected to mahu (Hawaiian gender-diverse) practitioners that were literally buried under concrete for decades and then uncovered in the 90s.
The Stones That TestifyListen, or download the MP3
Feeling a bit Grinchy this year? You’re not alone. This sermon is for everyone who has ever wanted to skip Christmas, escape the forced cheer, or hide from a holiday that asks too much. It’s also about what happens when love finds us anyway, in forms we didn’t expect, and in places we didn’t think to look.
The Grinch and Scrooge are my favorite Christmas characters. Not in spite of their cynicism, but because of it. They’re the only honest ones in their stories. Everyone else is performing joy, pretending Christmas magic just happens naturally. But the Grinch and Scrooge?
They’ve done the math. They’ve weighed Christmas against their pain and built excellent walls to protect themselves from a holiday that demands vulnerability they can’t afford.
And here’s what I love most: they’re not wrong. They’re not villains. They’re survivors. And they do what survivors do.
Speaker:- Marieke Jasperse Worship Leader:- Maria Hayward
Dr Jasperse is a consultant cross-cultural psychologist, and survivor of modern slavery, dedicated to destigmatising distress and strengthening responses that restore dignity and determination. She has consulted for the United Nations, the NZ and Australian governments, and anti-trafficking NGOs, and looks forward to sharing her personal and professional insights on trafficking in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Saunoama’ali Dr Karanina Sumeo is the immediate past Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner and will speak about her experience leading the Pacific Pay Gap Enquiry.
Pacific Pay Gap Enquiry and Human RightsListen, or download the MP3
Speaker:- Margaret Lewis Worship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell
Merge Café – Making a community-minded third spaceListen, or download the MP3
A third space is neither home, school nor work but a space where people can be themselves, be with friends. A café, a bar, a museum, even a park. may be places where many of our most vulnerable communities do not feel welcome or feel they need to be out of sight. Similar to a church, Merge Community and Café is a space where all communities are welcome. Find out our Kaupapa, how it works and some of the impacts. Meet Margaret Lewis from Lifewise/Merge whose role is to help build capability and capacity within the many communities Merge works with. Also see below for how you could contribute.
The management committee has approved a new project with two parts:
Providing $25 meal cards for local people experiencing homelessness Each card provides 5 free lunches. We are inviting the congregation to contribute towards the cost of these cards, with the PSJ offering matched funding of up to $250. If you would like to contribute towards a meal card, please make your payment to the Auckland Unitarian Congregation Incorporated account: 02-0200-0156552-00, Particulars: Your Name Reference: Merge Café
Collecting food items for Merge Café We are seeking donations of food items that can be used in the café, such as flour, oil, pasta, rice, lentils, tinned food, and any surplus fruit or vegetables you may have. Other suitable food items will be used to create small food parcels for their clients. Please place items in the plastic box on the left as you enter the church.
Neurodivergence. What does it mean – what are the challenges faced, and how can neurotypical individuals assist in mitigating these challenges and ensuring neurodivergent people are included, respected and accommodated?
Speakers:- Nikki Smith-Eklund (she/they) M Hum Rts & Dr. Tof Eklund (they/them) Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh
Navigating Neurodivergence and the Neurodiversity Paradigm
