with Shirin Caldwell
Shirin Caldwell © 15 March 2020
Gender and Economic Equality for Women in New Zealand: Progress and Challenges
Following on from her talk – What are we waiting for? — the pitfalls of respectability – to us on International Women’s day 8th March, Rachel Mackintosh was part of this panel discussion hosted by the Human Rights Commission, held on Tuesday 10th March.
Gender and Economic Equality for Women in New Zealand: Progress and Challenges was chaired by the Right Honourable Helen Clark, former prime Minister of New Zealand, and featured panellists:
- Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner
- Prue Kapua, President of the Māori Women’s Welfare League
- Lisa Lawrence, National President National Council of Women
- Rachel Mackintosh, Council of Trade Unions
- Rebecca Barnes-Clark, Ministry for Women
What are we waiting for? — the pitfalls of respectability
with Rachel Mackintosh
Read below or download the PDF
Rachel Mackintosh © 8 March 2020
The seeds of International Women’s day were sown the year my grandmother was born. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. It was the Socialist Party of America who declared the first (US) national women’s day a year later.
The idea to make the day international came in 1910, at an international socialist conference of working women in Copenhagen. An attendee called Clara Zetkin suggested it and the100 women present from 17 countries unanimously agreed. The first international celebration was in 1911, in Austria, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland.
Continue reading What are we waiting for? — the pitfalls of respectabilityWhat is the appeal of Fascism?
with Rev. Clay Nelson
Read below, or download the PDF
Opening Words are by James Luther Adams
The Meditation is ‘Attic’ by Jill Sobule.
Closing words are by Assata Shakur
Clay Nelson © 1 March 2020
I’m not sure what inspired me to focus on today’s topic. It may have been spending too much time in the dystopian world of Gilead watching The Handmaid’s Tale or reading the news from my birth country just to cheer me up. Or it could be that fascism by any other name is finding new life around the world. We should not be oblivious.
Continue reading What is the appeal of Fascism?Curiosity may be harmful to cats, but how about to Unitarians?
with Rev. Clay Nelson
Read below, or download the PDF
Clay Nelson © 23 February 2020
Being a curious sort, I wondered what the origin of “curiosity killed the cat” was. The reference is from a Ben Johnson play, Every Man in his Humours, only he said, “care’ll kill a cat.” In his use of care, he meant worry will kill the cat. The play is thought to have been performed in 1598 by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a troupe of actors including William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was no slouch when it came to appropriating a memorable line and it crops up the following year in Much Ado About Nothing: “What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.”
Continue reading Curiosity may be harmful to cats, but how about to Unitarians?Discomfort is our teacher
with Rev. Clay Nelson
Read below, or download the PDF
Opening words are from ‘Everybody’s In’, a Prayer By Lori Walke
Closing words are ‘A Protest and a Party’, by Hannah Roberts Villnave
Clay Nelson © 16 February 2020
For as long as I have been giving sermons I’ve been guided by the maxim that it is the preacher’s job “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
I always thought it came from some saint of the distant past; turns out that it was by Finley Peter Dunne, an Irish humourist who wrote a column for a Chicago newspaper. In 1901 he had this to say about newspapers, not preachers, although they seem to have a number of commonalities:
Continue reading Discomfort is our teacherPeace and Social Justice Group – February 2020 update
with Paul Henriques
Read below, or download the PDF
Paul Henriques © 16 February 2020
Duffy Books in Homes
Our Peace and Social Justice (PSJ) sponsorship of the Glen Taylor School, which enables their participation in the Duffy Books in Homes programme, continues to reward us with great satisfaction. The children are thriving with the supplied books. PSJ representatives will attend a role model assembly at the school in March and I’m sure Brenda and Gary will provide more details on that after we’ve been.
Continue reading Peace and Social Justice Group – February 2020 updateWater Communion
with Rev. Clay Nelson
Opening Words are Fault Line by Robert Walsh
Rev. Clay Nelson © 2020
This morning we carry love and hope and courageous faith, and seek to renew our covenantal commitments. We remind ourselves of the home we share, a home that we come back to, whether after a long or short absence, a home we welcome all to make their own: a home of love and hope and faith—come, let us gather together within.
Continue reading Water CommunionHui-Tanguru / Lammas; Celebrating Summer’s Harvest
New Year’s Unresolutions
Opening Words are by Jack Kornfield
Closing Words are by Andrew Pakula – There Are Miles Behind You
Nina Khouri © 19 January 2020