Kim Jewel Elliott
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Kim Jewel Elliott © 31 July 2016
And here’s Amy Grant with ‘Better than a Hallelujah’
Little Boxes: Exploring voluntary simplicity.
Steff Werman & Nancy Howie
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Steff Werman & Nancy Howie © 17 July 2016
[Nancy] We have spent the better part the last eight years together in little boxes. Five years ago, we lived in this little box. Continue reading Little Boxes: Exploring voluntary simplicity.New Member Sunday
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. Clay Nelson © 10 July 2016
Every year, countless people choose to leave work, skip school, and possibly come together to form a group to celebrate… The people come in all shapes and sizes, and nationality or religion need not be an issue. What do they celebrate? It doesn’t matter.
July proves it. If we are American, we celebrate the Fourth of July. If French, Bastille Day, but there are plenty of other celebrations for everyone else, Continue reading New Member Sunday
The Rise and Fall of Higher Education
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. Clay Nelson © 3 July 2016
Even if you have been attending worship here only for a short time you know about the Seven Principles that guide Unitarians in our efforts to live life in an ethical, compassionate and just manner. The banner that lists them is hard to miss in our sanctuary. But even life-long Unitarians are often not aware of the six sources that inform our living faith tradition. They are like wells from which we draw the waters of wisdom and spirituality that give life to our tradition. They include our direct experience of mystery, wisdom from world religions, our Jewish and Christian heritage, reason and science, Earth-centred traditions, and the one that inspires my thoughts on higher education today: “Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.” Continue reading The Rise and Fall of Higher Education
Jammies In June
The “Jammies in June” programme is run by the Middlemore Foundation through which individuals and organisations such as Auckland Unitarians can donate pyjamas for children in South Auckland.
The Foundation started this programme because too many kids in the Counties Manukau were getting sick in winter with preventable illnesses such as Acute Rheumatic Fever.
In 2015 & 2016, our church got in behind this call. It was a fun project, and each year, the congregation donated around 50 pairs of warm night wear, including pyjamas, onesies, socks and robes.
The Paradox of Creating a Community of Individuals
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Openning words – from John Donne – Devotions upon Emergent Occasions – Meditation XVII – No Man is an Island…..
Rev. Clay Nelson © 26 June 2016
My career choices have required my studying human development, a subject that intrigues me. We all go through similar developmental stages as we make the journey from being joined physically and emotionally to our mothers to becoming separate individuals in our own right. While the stages are universal, they obviously do not create carbon copies. We are not all the same. We are each unique, even if we are an identical twin sharing the same genes, family, and history with another. Continue reading The Paradox of Creating a Community of Individuals
Making Peace With The War On Drugs
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Rev. Clay Nelson © 19 June 2016
War has defined my generation. In fact, as an American I’m highly qualified to discuss war. I was born in the shadow of World War II in which my father served. The Korean Conflict conscripted him back into service and moved us from one side of the country to the other. The Cold War had us scurrying under our primary school desks in the event of an atomic attack and holding our breath for six days in May during the Cuban missile crisis. Vietnam, which I narrowly escaped by luck of the draw, maimed and killed many in my generation and scarred the psyche of the nation. In my first year of ministry, Reagan invaded the tiny island of Grenada in part to divert us from the humiliation of a Marine barracks being bombed in Beirut two days earlier. It was a swift victory leaving plenty of resources for the war in El Salvador, which diverted arms to Saddam Hussein. Bush One, who claimed to dislike taking America to war (at least alone) invaded Panama, and then convinced the “coalition of the willing” to join him in the first Gulf War to repel Iraq’s forces from Kuwait. Flushed with success he then intervened in Somalia with less success, giving us the movie Blackhawk Down. The Bosnian War gave us a break from impeachment hearings during the Clinton years. For the last fifteen years we have been at war in the Middle East without let-up, first with Iraq, then Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and now Syria. That Iran is not on the list is a disappointment to Republicans. Continue reading Making Peace With The War On Drugs
Perfectionism from a Religious Perspective
Loneliness The Silent Killer
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Opening words are Alone by Maya Angelou
Rev. Clay Nelson © 5 June 2016
I once had the opportunity to go to Liverpool on business. As luck would have it, it was Beatles Week. The business didn’t take as long as expected, so I got to spend a week exploring the city and immersing myself in my beloved Beatles and their music. I have lots of memories of the city, but one in particular has haunted me. It was a sculpture of a woman sitting alone on a park bench. I saw it from across the square, but immediately recognised her. I was moved to sit next to her on the bench, remembering her song: Continue reading Loneliness The Silent Killer
Do Unitarians go to Heaven?
Rev. Clay Nelson
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Opening Words: For Five Thousand Years, Or More – Matthew Johnson
Rev. Clay Nelson © 29 May 2016
To answer the question, “Can a Unitarian go to heaven?” I asked Google. I got some interesting responses, all “No!”
No, Unitarians don’t like gated communities.
No, everyone in heaven is in agreement. Thinking it was hell Unitarians wouldn’t go in.
No, a dead Unitarian is all dressed up, but with no place to go.
No, on the road to the after-life there is a fork in the road. The left path has a sign “To Heaven” and the right has a sign “To a Discussion about Heaven.” Without pausing, the Unitarians always turns right.
And my personal favourite:
No, old Unitarians choose not to go to heaven; instead they try to die on the second Thursday of the month because that’s when the recycling goes out.
The next one might have been intended as a joke, but actually is to the point.
No, Unitarians believe in life before death.
Continue reading Do Unitarians go to Heaven?