Adrift - Pastor's pen for 1st February 2026

Over the summer I listened to parts of Kelly Tarlton's Final Treasure Hunt on National Radio. I recommend it to anyone interested in the late adventurer and entrepreneur Kelly Tarlton or New Zealand's history. In 1769 the ship Saint Jean Baptiste, captained by Jean-François Marie De Surville lost three of its massive anchors during a storm in Doubtless Bay. Two of the anchors were recovered in later years but the focus of the treasure hunt was to find the third one.

To be adrift near to a rocky coast, having lost an anchor in a storm, is always a concerning and sometimes a potentially catastrophic situation. The pilot of a boat will do all within his or her power to rectify the situation and find safe harbour, preserving the lives of crew and passengers.

We see a world adrift in a physical sense, but also spiritually. People have nothing to hold onto. They are adrift. We saw the movie Anchor Me: The Don McGlashan Story on the anniversary Monday. It was very interesting. I've long been a low-key fan of Don's music, particularly his work with Blam Blam Blam and the Muttonbirds. The refrain of the title song "Anchor me, in the middle of your deep blue sea, anchor me," reads like the heart cry of people in an uncertain world. We can handle a bit of drift and uncertainty, but ultimately we would like some safe anchorage. "As the compass turns, and the glass it falls, where the storm clouds roll, and the gulls they call, anchor me, anchor me, anchor me..."

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430) wrote; "You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless till it finds its rest in you." In a chaotic and anxious world, God alone is our sure and certain hope, our anchor. In Christ we find our peace. Shalom