The English astronomer, Sir Fred Hoyle, coined the term “Big Bang” to mock the theory proposed by Belgian priest, astronomer, and professor of physics, Fr Georges Lemaître, that the universe had a beginning. The scientist Hoyle died in 2001 never accepting that the universe had a beginning. Albert Einstein also could not accept the clear
Last Saturday I was privileged to concelebrate for a Requiem Mass for Jonathan Mane-Wheoki at St Michael and All Angels. Appropriately, the waka huia with its strong connection to Jonathan was back up after being down since the quakes. Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui a Tāne. This is a Māori saying, “A tōtara
It would be churlish to oppose Statute 713 (“Bill 6″) of New Zealand Anglicanism’s General Synod Te Hinota Whanui (GSTHW) without providing for some thinking through of an alternative solution to the problem that it is trying to address. The presenting part of the statute is that it rules which preposition (‘of’ or ‘in’ or
There are some very good Christian communities. I worshipped with two exemplary communities this weekend. But sometimes (say in holidays) I visit a community for Sunday worship, and at the end wonder, if I lived there, would I go back? Too often I think I wouldn’t… And that leads me to ask myself: What do
My friend Andrew Hedge was ordained bishop last Saturday and installed as the 16th Bishop of Waiapu. Andrew Gordon, from the Diocese of Waiapu, designed and produced a crozier with a difference. It retains the concept of shepherd’s crook and incorporates the image of a koru. “The koru (Māori for “loop”) is a spiral shape
In worship, we conclude reading from and listening to the Bible with the declaration that this is “The Word of the Lord”, or “Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.” The Reformation heritage has that God speaks to individuals (and communities) through the Bible. But again and again I see pastors, worship leaders,
Too often I get the impression that when people think of, hear, or use the word ‘liturgy’, what springs to mind are: lavish processions, a robed choir, incense, reciting texts together from a book (or a screen). So you end up with people saying, “Our church is not very liturgical.” Or, “We don’t use liturgy
