with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 20^th September 2020

I have to confess to envy. I am in awe of anyone able to converse in more than their first language. I have studied six languages but I can’t order fish and chips in any of them, granted two of them are dead biblical languages, ancient Hebrew and Greek, now replaced by modern versions. While I do have a passing ability to read and write in several of them, it might be reasonable to ask why I have bothered.

The most satisfying reason is they reveal a world view and culture that would be closed off to me otherwise.

with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the Welcome, Opening Hymn, Chalice Lighting, Spirit of Life, Time for All Ages, Reading, Hymn, Closing Words, Postlude, Shared Links

Clay Nelson © 13^th September 2020

Living on an archipelago at the bottom of the South Pacific, the human incarnation of the kiwi, a flightless bird, has evolved into an intrepid traveller eager to fly everywhere and anywhere around the globe. To be suddenly grounded by a virus and having to spend all our time in what Trump labelled a hellhole has inspired our sense of humour to cope with our harsh conditions of incarceration. Checkout #NZhellhole on Twitter to take solace in the many ways to mock Trump with tongue-firmly-implanted-in-cheek examples of how awful it is to be so confined. We laugh but it goes against our basic nature not to travel, explore, learn, and expand our understanding of being human on a fragile planet. It explains our resorting to black humour. One of my favourites is a listing of airport codes we can travel to during the pandemic on Facebook. Instead of CDG for Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, we have DNG for the dining room. Instead of LHR for London’s Heathrow, we have BKY for the backyard. My personal favourite is MNC for mancave.

with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the Welcome, Opening Hymn, Chalice Lighting, Spirit of Life, Time for All Ages, Reading, Hymn, Closing Words, Postlude, Shared Links

Clay Nelson © 6^th September 2020

Unitarians have a class problem. We don’t talk about it.

While the problem requires an extended conversation, my musing today is only intended to put a crack in the wall of silence. You might ask, “Why can’t I leave well enough alone? Don’t we have enough on our plate supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, welcoming the LGBTQI community, promoting Women’s Rights, challenging neoliberalism, demanding a Living Wage, protecting the environment, protesting the treatment of immigrants of colour and migrant labourers, nurturing progressive religious thought, safeguarding democracy, imagining a peaceful world, and building a Beloved Community?”

with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the Welcome, Opening Hymn, Chalice Lighting, Spirit of Life, Time for All Ages, Reading, Hymn, Closing Words, Postlude, Shared Links

Clay Nelson © 30^th August 2020

We all have buttons that can be pushed. When my mother’s Alzheimer’s had reached the stage where she no longer knew who I was, I teased her, “Why haven’t you forgotten how to push my buttons?” I’m not sure what happened but she had a moment when all her synapses were functioning normally. She smiled as she explained, “Because I installed them.”