Unraveling - Pastor's Pen for 14th December 2025

It was timely to be in Napier recently, to be present and assist with some issues my parents are having in their retirement village life. This was at a time when my brother was temporarily out of action following surgery. It was sobering to hear my Mum express confusion about who I was. She was expecting "Martin, from Auckland." I assured her that was me. There is a kind of unraveling at play. The stories are less distinct, the timelines more uncertain.

My Dad, also living with dementia, still expresses faith in Jesus whenever the topic comes up. In the midst of the unraveling, something remains. Rev. Professor John Swinton said;

"We should lament the things that have been lost, but the task of the Church is to accompany people with dementia in faith, hope and love; trusting that God has not abandoned them and that his disciples should not do so either.

When we approach one another like this, the binding power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to be with one another in ways that may be inexpressible, but which are always true, faithful and healing. Having dementia is not the end of our stories."

The churches have their own unraveling to contend with. What seemed a settled and normal church life in the mid 20th century, with full pews and Sunday Schools, is no more. A post-Covid 21st century church is something we have not faced before. What do we do?

Pastor and professor Alan Roxburgh suggests this is the wrong question. He writes; "We need to be asking a fundamentally different question: In scripture and our traditions, how has God turned up with God's people when they have found themselves in disruption and unraveling?"

As we face uncertain times in the churches, a kind of unraveling, we remember that the Advent God is a God of hope. We see green shoots in our congregation and our hope grows. We make plans and visions and as we do so we remember that God is faithful and 'turns up' when we stay close to scripture and walk with the Holy Spirit. God has not abandoned us and unraveling is not the end of our story. Shalom