Living Every Day - Pastor's Pen for 16th November 2025

Green Route November 2025

Life throws some things at you. There are stories that can be shared of unexpected things that happen in ministry, some good and some terrible. I've shared with you previously about the time a certain woman had the mic at the service in week two of my ordained ministry and instead of reading the call to worship, went into a long tearful diatribe which resulted in her and half the youth group disappearing to the Mormon Church the next week. It was supposed to be the 60th anniversary celebration of the church but we were all in shock. Nobody trains you for this stuff.

My relatively tame work stories pale in comparison to what Dame Jacinda Ardern had to deal with. We saw Prime Minister last Saturday night at the movies, which was an intimate portrait of family life inevitably lived in the public eye. A very poignant and enjoyable movie. Unexpectedly finding herself leader of the Labour Party just prior to the 2017 election, she found herself prime-minister later that year, aged 37, meanwhile expecting a baby. What followed in her tenure included; responding to the Christchurch terror attack, the Whakari/White Island tragedy and of course, the worldwide Covid pandemic. Hardly a surprise to hear her say at her resignation in early 2023 that she; "didn't have enough in the tank." The movie actually showed the worry lines growing. I imagine a key leadership role in such circumstances would age a person.

The reality is all of us have to deal with unexpected shocks and unwelcome events, along with the good stuff. As people of faith we know that God journeys with us. We used to sing that Hillsong number a lot, The Power of Your Love, which has the lyric; "The knowledge of Your love, as You live in me. Lord, renew my mind, as Your will unfolds in my life, in living every day, by the power of Your love."

May we indeed live every day in God's love, transformed by the renewal of our minds for what lies ahead. Shalom