Speaker & Worship Leader:- Alix Geard

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Alix Geard © 31 December 2023

Good morning, community of Auckland Unitarians. Kia ora koutou! As we gather on this last Sunday of the year, New Year’s Eve, we find ourselves between times, standing on the bridge that connects the past and the future. Today, our theme is “Reflections and Resolutions” – a time to look back at the footprints we’ve left on the path of the past year and to gaze forward with hope and intention into the uncharted territory of the coming year.

There are cliches at this time of year. We might at well make use of them. Janus, the 2-headed god of doorways, transitions and January looks both back and forward.

I encourage us all to take some time to think, to feel, to breathe, to examine… and to gather ourselves together as we move into the new year.

Speaker:- Jonathan Mason
Worship Leader:- Phebe Mason

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Jonathan Mason © 17 December 2023

Each year, as we celebrate Christmas, I have wondered what really happened in Bethlehem. The Nativity Scene is embedded in our seasonable culture. In our Unitarian hymn book, we have about 25 hymns that refer to Bethlehem, the Star, and the manger scene. So this year, with the request for sermons, I thought I would review the historical evidence for the Nativity before Christmas. Now the good news is that for events that occurred 2000 years ago, you can believe whatever you wish. And I’ll skip over the Immaculate Conception, which Unitarians and even many Christians don’t believe.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Betsy Marshall

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Betsy Marshall © 3 December 2023

Today we gather to celebrate the opening of this building on 4 December 1901 – exactly 122 years ago tomorrow.

As Clay Nelson said in his service for new members in 2015, the anniversary of the building is a time to be reminded that “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”.

The focus of today is not just on the past but also on our aspirations for the future – hopefully a future in which Auckland Unitarians continue as a vibrant faith community as well as a force for social and political good.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Kate Lewis

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Kate Lewis © 19 November 2023

I’m very aware that this is the first service since Clay died that we’re not using one of his talks. I’ve been on the calendar for months, and Ted and I decided that this would be an alright topic for today since we’re hurting and I hope that some of these words may be useful for all of us in dealing with grief.

I also feel the need to give a disclaimer because I’m an academic, and this isn’t my field. I am talking about self-compassion because becoming more compassionate towards myself and others is a path that I am on and something I’m striving for. I have become interested in the psychology behind it and have done some reading, and I’m convinced that most of us can benefit from an increased dose of self-kindness.

Viv Allen led a service centred around a reading of a Clay Nelson sermon from February 2020

Speaker & Worship Leader:-
Viv Allen

Meditation / Conversation starter

• What piques your curiosity?

Speaker:- Rachel Mackintosh
Worship Leaders:- Ted Zorn, Kate Lewis

Our recently retired minister, Clay Nelson, died on Thursday (2 November 2023). Those of us who have known Clay are grieving.

So, we’ve changed this service to reflect on coming together in grief and the wonder of life.

Rachel MacIntosh, Clay’s wife, will present a talk that Clay wrote and presented to us a couple years back called “Welcome to Limbo. Please leave your certainties at the door.” Appropriately, it’s about how we respond to chaos, uncertainty, and the unexpected.

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Clay Nelson © 5 December 2021

Buddha told a parable: A man was travelling across a field when he encountered a tiger. He began to run, and the tiger chased after him. Coming to a precipice, he slipped and was able to catch hold of the root of a wild strawberry bush, hanging in the air. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down only to find that another tiger was waiting to eat him. He thought the bush could sustain him for a while, until he saw two mice gnawing away the vine. A tiger above, a tiger below. The man saw a ripe strawberry near him. Grabbing the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other, and ate it. How sweet and delicious.

Speaker:- Mary Ellen Warren
Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson

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No text this week

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Opening Words:- “Determined Seed” by Laura Wallace

Chalice Lighting:- “Sacred Unknowing” By Amy Carol Webb

Reading:- “A Recipe for Resilience” by Margaret Weis

Closing Words:- are from “The Pathway to Healing” by roddy bell-shelton biggs

Speaker:- Grant Williams,
Maritime Union of New Zealand
Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh

No text this week

Links

Chalice Lighting:- “Honoring Our Labors” by Florence Caplow

Closing Words:- “We Are” by K E Cummins