Kauri, Leigh Reserve, North Shore It's peaceful just to look up at a healthy Kauri tree and just enjoy being present with it. We all know by now not to stand on their root systems, particularly in the era of Kauri dieback disease. They have a particular smell about them and a majestic presence in the forest. I just like to stand and behold them. I don't feel the need to analyse them beyond that, as I'm no scientist. I was going to call this post Behold, but I remembered I had

Beach Art, Narrow Neck Our coastline is dotted with reminders of a time when certain world leaders chose violence over negotiation, invasion over conversation. These 'pillbox' gun emplacements were installed from Devonport to Long Bay, from 1942, when it was thought the Axis forces, namely the Japanese, might have an interest in invading Aotearoa. This one is decorated with a depiction of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh’s headdress, or nemes. The striped headcloth frames a stylis

Kaipatiki in the rain As we make our way through a sermon series on the Gospel of John, chapter 17 swirls with the themes of unity, love and God's glory. Glory is a complex word to pin down. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary reads; "Exalted praise, honour or admiration, accorded by common consent to a person or thing." This is but one of ten shades of meaning listed. It is right that in the church, we agree to give glory to God. But we are kidding ourselves if we think we fully u

This week, the week of our AGM, I've been thinking about our church. Let's ask; What are we building here? I'm talking less about bricks and mortar, but more about another kind of building; community building. Reading a poem by Anna Johnstone this morning, she compared the story of the three little pigs with the wise and foolish builders found n Matthew chapter 7. She writes; "We clap for the third little pig who went for bricks and mortar, who built something strong, who gav

The view from the top of the hedge Inspired by seeing the newly shorn Feijoa hedge at the church, I thought it was time to trim the hedge at the manse, before Spring warmth and rain gets a chance to supercharge its growth. You get an interesting perspective from up top, seeing the neighbourhood differently. I even trimmed the other side of the hedge, the one I don't have to look at. I talked to Kevin the neighbour and he gave me his views on things and the plans he had for a

Hera wanted an updated photo for the cover of the AGM reports, so I took one, seeing as the existing one was quite old. It got me thinking that the church is, of course, not about the building, as much as it is the people. Still, as physical beings we need a physical place to be. As the different workstreams of our Revitalise project go about their mission, it's likely there will be a few changes to the physical site. One of the streams we call 'Impressions.' Do people feel w

During the recent Abide conference, which some of us attended, introductions were made to the keynote speakers, which would be expected. What was notable several times, was the level to which the person introducing the speaker layered praise and acclaim on the speaker, to the point that the speaker was embarrassed and felt that the introducer was talking about someone else, providing a caveat that they would struggle to live up to the superlatives in the introduction. Sometim

My father, brother and uncle, back when we had old British cars or rusty Holdens. On this Father's Day I remember my own father, and his unflinching mission that his two sons would have what they needed to succeed in life. Family was everything to Dad, but inevitably, things had to be done his way, or there would be trouble. The passing of time time has allowed teenage resentment of his parenting approach to be tempered by insight provided by greater knowledge of my father's

I've recently watched the most recent movie adaptations of Frank Herbert's 1965 Sci Fi epic novel, Dune. I had been meaning to do so for a while. There is a substance found on the planet Arrakis, derived from the bile of juvenile sand worms and called 'the water of life.' It is bright blue, and deadly poison to all but those prepared and chosen for spiritual leadership, who are made ready to drink it. Once consumed, and having survived doing so, the recipient receives the gif

© Maham Sajid You may well have watched the movie Monsters Inc. with your children or grandchildren. The main premise of the movie is that an entire society has been built around a false assumption about what makes people afraid. The monsters' world depends on the screams of human children. The monsters enter children's bedrooms through doors, frighten them, and collect their screams as an energy source. The critical discovery occurs when the child Boo inadvertently enters th

Land Cress in my garden One can feel compassion for the scapegoat / fall-guy in the most recent leadership crisis for the National Party. My colleague Wayne wrote of him; "Chris Penk is a very straight up and honest guy. I knew him when we were serving in the Navy. I was surprised that he was interested in the snake pit that politics sometimes descends to." Henri Nouwen suggests that; "In a world in which competition continues to be the dominant mode of relating among people,

Recently, the minister of foreign affairs in our coalition government told a fellow member of parliament, Green MP, Lawrence Xu-Nan '“Go back to your own country. That’s where they lie like a flat fish, but they don’t lie like that here, all right? This is called a democracy,” he said. He has since doubled down on his comments, saying Xu-Nan “can’t even speak the language properly”.' (NZ Herald 31/7/2026) This has made the news around the world. Stronger leadership would have

The church feijoa hedge needs a jolly good prune. There were plenty of fruit this season but many were small and uninspiring. Late winter is the time for it, along with pulling out windblown and bird delivered self-seeding plants and shrubs getting in the way, choking the undergrowth. Pruning is a metaphor for spiritual discipline and growth, applied to Israel, for example, in Psalm 80 and Isaiah 5, or to the followers of Jesus in John 15. That which is displeasing to God wil

Scandretts Regional Park In his recent anthology Beyond the Border, Owen Marshall writes; "That something exists doesn't ensure meaning, despite our anxious compulsion to bestow it, both the trivial and significant have a power to move us." We are the species which never tires of making meaning, wrestling with what we find in the world. Out of all God's creatures we are the storytellers and recorders of histories, at least that we know of. A life without meaning seems a hopel

Shepherds Park, last Sunday The trail through Shepherds Park towards Kaipatiki Road is a much smoother run than a couple of years ago. The addition of numerous trail-flattening upgrades, like footbridges and grading the knobbly bits, has domesticated it quite thoroughly. Dear reader, I once would have scoffed at such gentrifying modifications making it 'too easy.' But now, my wobbly calf, knee and hip conditions are glad of them. The way is clear and the going is much improve

Takapuna last Sunday I managed to find a gap in the showers for a bike ride on Sunday. I got to the far end of Takapuna Beach, turned aside from the main road and sat in the sun for a little while. Not long, but just enough to soak up a little winter sun and appreciate the quietness after all the singing, praying and talking of the morning. I was flicking through a little book of Celtic prayers today, finding something called the Bright Field. I read; "Life is not hurrying on

I was thinking about the moves to ban under 16s from using social media by the current government. They would seem to be in good company, with Australia and the UK further down that track already. At face value, it seems like a good idea to many adults, as we instinctively want to protect the young from harmful online content. It seems to me like something that will be hard to police, given that many young people are internet savvy and will be able to use pretty simple workar

I found it quite entertaining the other day while dodging the rain showers, to find young Moo absolutely fascinated by a hedgehog. The local skink population would have been momentarily relieved, as she was taking a break from tormenting them. I'm not a cat mind-reader, but I imagine she was considering whether or not the prickly customer was prey or playmate. She was certainly curious. We may remember when our children were young and how curious they were, asking questions,

Ngataringa, Devonport I find there are some optimum conditions for cycling to Devonport, or rather, to state it in the negative, conditions I would rather avoid; anything resembling rush hour, school drop off or pick up times, very windy or wet weather, poor light conditions. You get the picture. Yesterday afternoon the conditions seemed perfect, aside from dawdling people crossing the road without looking and a few distracted Sunday drivers. It's amazing how invisible one ca

Memory Rock, Medlands Beach It's ten years today (Tuesday) since I was inducted into the ministry of Forrest Hill Presbyterian. It's been a decade with a number of grave challenges and also many blessings. When we were at Great Barrier recently, I explored the beach in the early morning. There was a local mini island called Memory Rock, or at least that's what the local church folk called it. There was a scary little path up the side with not much to hang onto. Life in minist