Kurt Payne
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Kurt Payne © 29 January 2017
Sunday Talks / Random Musings
Only through love can hatred come to an end
Viv Allen
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Viv Allen © 22 January 2017
Only through love can hatred come to an end – Buddha
The reason I chose the topic of ‘conflict’ for my talk was because I read a story in the UU magazine that interested me. It was written by a gay woman Gail Geisenhainer about when she was a new member of a Unitarian congregation and long before being ordained as a Unitarian minister. She was apprehensive about whether the congregation would accept her. These are her words. Continue reading Only through love can hatred come to an end
Dances of Universal Peace
Roy Harvey & Sally Mabelle
Roy Harvey © 15 January 2017
No text this week.
The Dances of Universal Peace are simple meditative community-building circle dances. They use sacred phrases, chants, movements and music from the world’s wisdom traditions. There are no performers, no audience members, and no experience necessary.
Find out more about Dances of Universal Peace.
The Eleventh Commandment
Sharon Robinson
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Sharon Robinson © 8 January 2017
I am going to start with a little background information about myself… “my journey” …and my motivation for choosing my topic today:
The 11th Commandment
My father, as my mother explained to me years later, “lost his faith” when I was 7. From then on I was raised in a household where the only thing worse than organised crime was organised religion. Continue reading The Eleventh Commandment
2016 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Celebrating the summer solstice
How Unitarians Saved Christmas
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. Clay Nelson © 11 December 2016
This week it was reported that one of Donald Trump’s surrogates, his first campaign manager, told Fox News that President-elect Trump had saved Christmas from Obama. Apparently he had won the war on Christmas, declaring it is now safe to say “Merry Christmas” again. In a world of fake news stories where pizza joints can be shot up because of outrageous lies generated by fake news sites, it isn’t surprising President Obama was plagued by such stories. One in particular was that being a “Muslim,” he never said, “Merry Christmas” or called a Christmas tree a “Christmas tree,” in spite of hours of videotape recording him doing just that. Continue reading How Unitarians Saved Christmas
Celebrating Human Rights: Freedom from Religion
David Hines
David is a member of Auckland Unitarian Church, and also Public relations officer for the Secular Education Network.
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David Hines © 4 December 2016
Secular education – the battle behind the scenes
Good morning. I’d like to thank you all and Clay Nelson especially for inviting me to speak about human rights, and how it affects our state schools. Continue reading Celebrating Human Rights: Freedom from Religion
What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean for ourselves and our church?
Christine Herzog
Treaty Educator, Treaty Resource Centre – He Puna Mātauranga o Te Tiriti
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Opening Words are Race relations by Glenn Colquhoun.
Christine Herzog © 27 November 2016
A Brave and Startling Truth: Solidarity after Helen Kelly
Rachel Mackintosh
Vice-president, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions – Te Kauae Kaimahi,
National Director of Organising Etū, New Zealand’s largest private sector union.
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Opening Words are Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Peace and Social Justice Group, Article in Quest (scroll to P4) re Samoan Dyslexia Aid Project.
Rachel Mackintosh © 20 November 2016
“Nothing wondrous can come in this world unless it rests on the shoulders of kindness.”
This is a quote from the Barbara Kingsolver novel, The Lacuna. The context is Leon Trotsky’s last day, in Mexico City, where he was living in exile, studying, writing and being part of a local community. Continue reading A Brave and Startling Truth: Solidarity after Helen Kelly