Tag Archives: Advent

Seeking refuge in hope

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Opening words are A Portrait of a Dog as an Older Guy, by Katia Kapovich.

Rev. Clay Nelson © 10th December 2017

When I first arrived in New Zealand there was a kiwi-ism that greatly troubled me… “She’ll be right.” It threw me as I can’t think of an equivalent aphorism from my native tongue. Of course, in a country that could make Trump president, that’s not so surprising.

What I like about it is its optimism. Continue reading Seeking refuge in hope →

What are we waiting for?

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Opening words are First comes the waiting, by Erika A. Hewitt.

Rev. Clay Nelson © 3rd December 2017

Christians are celebrating the First Sunday of Advent today, one of the four Sundays before Christmas. As Unitarians, it is fair to ask, why do we care? Well, because Advent is all about celebrating waiting. Continue reading What are we waiting for? →

Keep Calm and Carry On

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By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 6 December 2015

Sometimes the beginning of a sermon has an unlikely beginning. At the Living Wage Office where I work three mornings a week, in the break room there is a sign with a familiar look. It is red with a white crown at the top. Underneath it says “Keep Calm. Fill the dishwasher, not the sink.” It made me think about the original sign of which it is a parody, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” We see it everywhere these days affixed to signs, greeting cards, tea towels, coffee mugs, and the like. Over my morning tea I wondered where it came from and why. Continue reading Keep Calm and Carry On →

A Subversive Christmas

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/podcast/20141214RevClayNelson_ASubversiveChristmas.mp3″]

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Clay Nelson © 14 December 2014

We have lit the third Advent candle, the one for peace. It promises that the day is drawing near when we will once again hear the Christmas stories from the Gospels. In preparation for that I would like to give you my Christmas present early. Come Christmas Eve, I would like you to be able to actually enjoy and be transformed by the stories without having an internal argument with your rational side about Virgin births, moving stars, the birth of Saviours of the World, divine babies in human form, and whether or not any of it is history.  Continue reading A Subversive Christmas →