Ruth Irwin is an author and Professor. She teaches courses on globalisation, climate change, philosophy, colonialism, and post-colonialism, education, policy and economics. She has written several books on climate change, philosophy and economics, edited 3 collections on philosophy and climate change, and public policy, and written over 60 peer reviewed book chapters and journal articles.
Isaiah speaks against rulers who write laws that crush the poor and enable injustice. In the 1970s, successive New Zealand Governments used such laws to legally justify the racial profiling and persecution of Pasifika peoples, especially through the Dawn Raids.
“Woe to you who legislate evil— who make laws that make misery for the poor, that rob destitute people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows and taking advantage of homeless children.”
Let me take you to a moment in time a moment in history.
To a family home in the inner-city suburb of Arch Hill, a group of young Pasifika and Maori gathered for a meeting, a meeting that would ignite a revolution in the way mainstream New Zealand treat Pasifika & Maori. A meeting that would give Pasifika communities a megaphone through which to articulate and amplify our stand against the everyday racial prejudice and discrimination we were experiencing at the time. And so the Polynesian Panther Party was born on 16th June 1971.
The rate of economic growth is set at 2-3%. Its a finely calibrated complex system of moving parts. As brand new money gushes out of private banks in the form of ex nihilo credit, it pools in “reservoirs of value.” This results in the rich getting extremely rich, and the poor losing the value of their labour to inflation. The economic growth model is exponential. It systematically produces extremes in wealth and poverty.
“Banks create credit ‛ex nihilo’ which means ‛out of nothing’. This brand new credit is the engine that forces economic growth into the system. Technological efficiencies are all absorbed and exceeded by growth. That means that new technology does not result in a reduction in climate emissions. Instead, there is an exponential increase in resource consumption. Understanding the banking industry is vital to begin to unwind the economic growth model, and its production of climate change.”
Join us this Easter Sunday as Keola Whittaker, currently in his second year of the Starr King School for the Ministry, Oakland, CA, USA, explores the profound metaphor of resurrection through the lens of our Southern Hemisphere autumn. He examines the boundary between life and death, and what might exist beyond. Drawing from Unitarian Universalist theology and personal stories, this sermon contemplates how, like autumn leaves that transform in brilliant colors before falling, love doesn’t end with death but merely changes form. This exploration offers a uniquely UU perspective on Easter, asking not for belief in a literal resurrection but for engagement with a powerful metaphor: What if love truly is stronger than death? What if the greatest certainty about our afterlife is that the love we share continues to ripple outward long after we’re gone?
The autumn air has settled around us now, though I’ve noticed it’s been unseasonably warm. Just yesterday, I walked through Cornwall Park, watching the leaves turning color before drifting down to carpet the paths. I watched as a father and daughter played with the leaves together throwing the leaves in the air, crunching them under their feet, and enjoying the season. It struck me how different our experience is here – while people in the northern hemisphere celebrate Easter as spring bursts forth, we in Aotearoa mark this season amid autumn’s gradual transformation.
In this second talk for us during his sabbatical visit to Aotearoa New Zealand, he will share his views on Unitarian Universalism in India, based on his recent visit to India as part of his sabbatical.
Speaker:- Daniel Kanter Worship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell
Daniel Kanter is senior minister of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, one of the largest UU churches in the USA, and author of the book, Faith for the Unbeliever. He is visiting Aotearoa New Zealand as part of his sabbatical. In this talk, he will share his views on what being a Unitarian Universalist means to him.
Video to come
Audio to come
No text this week
Meditation / Conversation starter
Many of us had our early experiences in different churches; but have chosen to join this church. What influenced your choice to come to the Auckland Unitarian Church either as a member or a visitor?