Mark Twain toured New Zealand in 1895 as part of his world speaking tour. At that time, he was one of the most readily recognized personalities on the world stage. His programmes brought his social comment to audiences using wit, sarcasm, irony and straight humor. This Sunday, member David Rohe reprises his role as Samuel Clemens sharing some of Twain’s observations of the human condition that speak to us today.

This monologue is an edited version of Hal Holbrook’s “Mark Twain tonight.”

By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 13 March 2016

The title of this sermon is really a ruse. I’m not really asking you if you are a mystic. I’m really asking if I am. I’m not sure yet why it would matter if I am or not. How is it possible to really know? Is it even desirable, especially if you are a minister to a group of Unitarians, many of whom are humanist in their perspective? Is being a mystic something that you are born to be or is it something you can become? What difference would discovering I am a mystic make for others or me? Continue reading Are You a Mystic? →

By Wayne Facer

Read by Clay Nelson

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Wayne Facer © 21 February 2016

• Noel attended at Kings College between 1930 and 1931 and then went to Ruakura College, Hamilton where he completed a Diploma in Agriculture. He worked on farms for a few years around the Hamilton area.
• When the pull of the city took hold and he returned to Auckland. He studied accountancy for Auckland University College and he worked and owned some milk bars which he later sold; he then worked at the State Advances Corporation, the government loan agency.
• By now he had started dancing and began teaching ball room dancing, but found he needed regular income so he got a job at Inland Revenue while continuing to teach dance. In 1947 he completed his diploma for the National Association of Teachers of Dance.

Continue reading This is your life – Noel Blyth →

By David Rohe

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David Rohe © 24 January 2016

Link to last Sunday’s Sufi Service, mentioned at the beginning of the audio recording of this talk.

First, let me say that I have been considering this topic for several years, probably since 2002. Therefore, I want to thank you for the opportunity to organize my thoughts a bit in order to present them, hopefully understandably.

Next, I had better let you know who is telling you this so you might appreciate the magnitude of the revelations, as they were. Continue reading A Confirmed Rationalist Confronts Magic →

By Jamila Cranston-Buckley

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Jamila Cranston-Buckley © 17 January 2016

Jamila Cranston-Buckley, is lineage holder for the Inayati Sufi Order Aotearoa New Zealand.
Introduced by: Sally Mabelle.

By Kurt Payne

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Kurt Payne © 10 January 2016

Opening words.

Before time began, we are told, there existed one Eternal Being, perfect in every way and beyond the power of human thought to comprehend. He existed alone. But although alone, he was not lonely. For not only was he one, he was also in a mysterious and incomprehensible way three, three persons in one god, the glorious and blessed trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

God, being perfection, needed nothing beyond himself. But as an act of divine will, or love, he began the process of creation by which other things were called into existence. Vast multitudes of spiritual beings were created, including Lucifer who ended up banished from heaven, the abode of God, to a domain of his own, a place of torment called hell.

At this point, therefore the universe was divided into two parts, heaven and hell. But then God began further acts of creation. He created light, inhabited by the sun, moon and stars. He created a firmament or atmosphere, inhabited by the birds. He created great waters, inhabited by fish. He created dry land, inhabited by plants, animals and men.

Man was the last created being, and was made by God in his own likeness.

My personal take would be that as a divine being, I should continue this process of creation, within my means, as acts of divine will and love.

Creativity and Spirituality.

As a designer and an employee in the fashion industry, evolution looks a lot like what we see as creation. Products are developed and popped out into the world, the weakest being put on clearance, never to be made again, the strongest put on repeat order and developed further into new patterns and styles, a type of natural selection.

My learning to weave last year has followed a similar process of evolution. The first piece I wove had uneven edges and the unmatched yarns shrunk at different rates, creating something that shouldn’t see the light of day. Continue reading Creativity and Spirituality →