Amnesty International – Urgent Action Network
A group in our congregation is working with Amnesty International’s (AI) “Urgent action campaign”.
An “Urgent action” is initiated when an individual is in immediate danger of human rights violations. A I then mobilises a dedicated group of letter writers to take action in the form of letters, email or fax. The letters ask that officials improve human rights of the situation of the individual.
Amnesty International New Zealand is a part of the Amnesty International network, an international nonprofit organisation working to end human rights abuses. It is one of more than 80 nationally organised sections of the global Amnesty movement.
Four reasons not to give up on Politics
David Hines
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David Hines © 16 July 2017
Intro:
About once a year I find myself writing a sermon on why you shouldn’t give up on politics. Every time it’s because of some current news item. Last year it was many Americans who were despairing of politics because Donald Trump had been voted president of the United States by a very small margin. Earlier the same year, many people in Britain were despairing of politics because of the decision to get out of the European community, again by a very small margin. And to cap it off, this year there’s just been an early election in Britain, called by Teresa May hoping to get a bigger margin of support, only to find her margin is almost down to zero. We get similar reactions to politics here. And as a result, the number of people who turn out to vote is often very low. Continue reading Four reasons not to give up on Politics
Little Food Pantry
Little Food Pantry
On Sunday 9th July 2017 we launched our no-questions Little Food Pantry – “Give what you can; take what you need”. Please bring items of non-perishable food or sanitary items for the pantry. You can bring them on Sunday or drop them off any time during the week; just pop them into the cheerfully painted custom-made cabinet outside the front of the church.
Big Data and the end of Free Will
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. clay Nelson © 9 July 2017
In the mid-’90s I had oversight of fifty congregations spread over the bottom quarter of California. Amongst other duties I was charged with helping them grow and better meet their missions in their particular contexts. To do that I engaged a company that would help provide up-to-date information about the communities they served. To begin, I had to drive to each church and put three antennae on the roof of my car and wait for a black box to tell me it had found three satellites above the horizon. Then I pressed a button that would record the position of that church on the globe. This was GPS in 1995. Today, I would just go to Google maps which could give me the exact latitude and longitude of each. Then I sent the box back to the company who downloaded the information. In return, they sent me dozens of maps for each church showing the demographics of the neighbourhoods that surrounded them. I remember being fascinated that so much data could be provided, but that was nothing compared with what is available today. Now those maps would tell me the demographics of each residence on the street not just the neighbourhood. This is the world of Big Data we now live in. Like it or not it is here. Silicon Valley calls it Dataism. Continue reading Big Data and the end of Free Will
Scientists discover atheists may not exist
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Opening words are THE ETERNAL By Stephen M Shick.
Rev. clay Nelson © 2 July 2017
It sounds like an oxymoron that in this world there are religious atheists. If you doubt it, you are looking at one. If you still doubt it, look around you. They are sprinkled liberally throughout the congregation. Now there are all kinds of atheists out there. There are the Richard Dawkins variety who narrowly define what others may believe about God and then decimates it. What I know is that many who do believe in a personal god don’t believe in the god Dawkins believes in either. Continue reading Scientists discover atheists may not exist
Heresy: A Spiritual Value
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. clay Nelson © 25 June 2017
I have had many highlights in my ministry, the greatest being our giving sanctuary to the Indian students, but that is closely followed by two instances of delegations approaching the Anglican bishop to demand that I be tried for heresy. Continue reading Heresy: A Spiritual Value
General Assembly [Presidential Elections]
General Assembly [Day 4]
Hey y’all!
One hour until voting closes! I FINALLY found a link on the international stances of the candidates! Any last minute input is welcome! I’ll vote as close to 5 as possible.
Edited to add this picture from the booth for Rev. Jeanne Pupke 
General Assembly [Day 3…I think]
Hello Auckland!
I’ve been looking at the various booths with an international aspect the last couple of days and wanted to share some of it with y’all!
The UU Partner Church Council:
(Sorry of the quality isn’t good enough to read, I’ll scan it when I get home)
Love Resists, which y’all should absolutely connect with, as you already have a experience with being a sanctuary congregation!!
The presidents panel is going on now, in case you want to get a feel for who’s who! I have to vote before 5 pm Saturday (10 am Sunday, Auckland time, I believe). So if you have any questions, opinions, or clarifications, please message me asap!
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