with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Opening Words are excerpts from The Evolution of Simplicity” by David Brooks in the New York Times 3/11/15.

The meditation is “Hopping over the surface of life by Doug Kraft.

Closing Words / Karakia Whakamutunga are “Go Forth in Simplicity” by Samuel A Trumbore.

Clay Nelson © 2^nd December 2018

Sometimes when I publish the title of a future sermon, I wish I’d spend more time thinking it through first and not when I’m trying to write it. This is definitely one of those occasions. The more I thought about simplicity, the more I realised living simply isn’t simple. It may not be possible or always that desirable.

I went blindly down this path because of my attachment to the song we just sang, Tis a gift to be simple. It was one of my mother’s favourites and I chose it for her funeral service. She thought of herself as simple, but that should have been a red flag. In truth, she was a very complex person. Like her, simplicity may be a gift but if viewed at face value we will not fully appreciate it until we unwrap it.

with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Opening Words are Part as Parcel By Mark L. Belletini.

Clay Nelson © 25^th November 2018

As a frogophile, a lover of frogs, ecologically, biologically, evolutionarily, artistically, theologically and gastronomically I can empathise with Kermit that it is not easy being green. Frogs are incredibly diverse, for as Kermit surely knows, they aren’t even always green. Some live in ponds, and others in deserts. Some live in trees and fly and some live at the bottom of Lake Titicaca, one of the world’s deepest lakes. The Lake Titicaca frog has gills so they never come up for air. Most are born from eggs but then there is the fanged frog in Indonesia that gives birth to live tadpoles. And this only scratches the surface of their diversity. So philosophically, what is a frog? How does a frog know it is a frog? It can’t trust the stereotype of being a wet, slimy, bug-eater that croaks on its lily pad throne dreaming of being an enchanted prince after being kissed by a lovely princess. Certainly, there is more to it than that? Continue reading What defines a Unitarian? →

with Rev. Clay Nelson

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Clay used a recording of Maya Angelou reading her poem ‘Still I rise’ for opening words today, you can hear that below.

Clay Nelson © 18^th November 2018

Sometimes a sermon topic comes along like an interruption while I am going blithely about my life. This one came during my most recent session with my supervisor, who I check in with every couple of months to reflect on my spiritual and emotional state.

The question of hope came up after her asking my view of having an afterlife. I answered I wasn’t expecting one. Continue reading When hope is hard to find →

with David Hines

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David Hines © 11^th November 2018

with David Hines

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David Hines © 11^th November 2018

Intro

I started thinking about this two years ago, when I was collecting evidence from people from different religions about religion in school. And quite a few of them said children should not be learning about religion in school at all until they are at high school. But other people said children should be learning about religion as soon as they start primary school. Continue reading You can have too much religion; but you can also have too little →

Service Leader: Rev. Clay Nelson
Music choices: Corinne Henrickson

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Singing is an act of creation, of bringing into the world something that wasn’t there before.
Singing is a natural expression of our spirit—at the same time it can be soothing, energising, crying, laughing, angelic or down in the dirt blues…it’s all good!
Singing is energy going out into the world to create even more sympathetic energy. It can change the world.
I’ll bet it was someone listening to music that first created the concept of heaven!

Desmond Tutu once said “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

Protest songs reject neutrality. They choose a side in opposition to all that dehumanises us. Through the power of song they call for resistance. Continue reading Jukebox Sunday 2018 →

with Rachel Mackintosh

Service Leader: Clay Nelson

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The Eight Hour Day is by Australian singer, songwriter, poet, John Warner, and is sung here with Margaret Walters.

Bread and Roses originated from a speech given by U.S. laabour union leader Rose Schneiderman; a line in that speech “The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.” (appealing for both fair wages and dignified conditions) inspired the title of the poem Bread and Roses by James Oppenheim. It is now most often sung to the tune by Mimi Fariña popularised by her sister Joan Baez.

Rachel Mackintosh © 21^st October 2018

I mostly avoided history at school. Too much reading. I like reading. Modern poetry. Shortish novels. Brevity is the soul of wit. History had great heavy tomes. So when Clay asked me to speak on Labour Weekend, I thought, “Labour Day. Hmmmm. Samuel Parnell. What exactly?” I do believe in considering how the past has got us to here, but I’m often hazy on the details. Thank goodness for the New Zealand Dictionary of Biography. And Google. And before Google, thank goodness for the index. So I invite you to join me on a journey out of the haze. Continue reading From Samuel Parnell to the future: working  in union →