The patience of God - Pastor's pen for 25th July 2021
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let...
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Pastor's Pen for 18th July 2021 - Listen
On Saturday night 10th July I made a snap decision to go and see Derek Lind (and band) at Kumeu live. I haven't made a habit of seeing...
Pastor's pen for 11th July - Hate Speech
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash There has been a mild media flurry about a revision to existing Hate Speech laws proposed by the...
Pastor's Pen for 4th July - Building community.
It felt to me like a lot of community building activities on the weekend, aside from the usual stuff including morning church. I really...
Kindness - pastor's pen for 27th June 2021
Today I got to be a whānau support person in court for the very first time. I can see why it's important to have support as the whole...
Pastor's pen for 20th June 2021 - the fog lifts
Laps of Kainui Lake early in the morning began amid the disorientation of a low Waikato fog. Fortunately, no navigation was required as...
Pastor's pen 13th June 2021 - "What is that in your hand?"
Exodus chapter four finds God cajoling Moses into leading the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt and eventually to the promised land....
Pastor's pen 6th June - Spirit season
Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash Someone raised with me on Monday the interesting observation that in Revelation chapter 21 there is no...
Belonging - Pastor's pen for 30th May
Mostly humans do better when they belong to something. There is something healthy about being in relation to other people, although some...
Remembering - Pastor's pen for 23rd May 2021
My Mum, spitting out bits of confetti, June 1964 Before the Rotorua marathon, I spent a couple of days at Mum and Dad's in Cambridge,...
Pastor's pen for 16th May - mission and ministry
"Jesus observed that the religious leaders of his day needed new eyes with which to see what was going on and new ears to hear what was...
Pastor's pen for 8th May 2021 - Milestones and mixed blessings
5th May finds me at the tenth anniversary of my ordination to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church of...
De-clutter - Pastor's pen 2nd May 2021
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash The holiday Monday after ANZAC Day saw most of the family involved in a vigorous session of...
Pastor's Pen for 25th April - very present
Psalm 46 opens with the words; 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' We experience our own small losses and...
God alone - Pastor's pen 18th April 2021
Leave everything quietly to God my soul. God alone suffices. God is everything to me, my rock, my rescue, my refuge. For God alone my...
Pastor's pen for 11th April - a Call to Prayer
Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash A faithful Christian might consider the call to prayer ubiquitous, all encompassing, something that...
Pastor's pen - Holy Week 2021
Easter, the point at which the whole Christian world turns, the watershed of history. Or just another long weekend? I don't feel I have...
Stigma - Pastor's pen for 28th March
Photo by Adrien Bruneau on Unsplash The Shorter Oxford Dictionary defines stigma quite fully and variously, literally meaning; 'a mark...
Pastor's pen for 21st March - Pray for Myanmar
Downtown Yangon, yesterday or the day before. It is both helpful and alarming to have friends with close contacts in Myanmar. The news we...
Pastor's pen for 14th March 2021 - Cancel Culture
Yesterday evening we had our running club committee meeting at the pub, because the council staff room we use since our clubrooms were...