Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me
Digging Deeper with a Samaritan Woman Read More »
A group meeting for Lent is using Skype to include others in the rural parish of Malvern in New Zealand. The group is working its way through Lynda Paterson and Peter Carrell’s book, Being Disciples: Through Lent With Matthew. They use an iPad set up in the middle of the group of non-virtual participants, but
Lent Group uses Skype Read More »
Yesterday I wrote a post on the controversy in New Zealand about religious instruction in state/public primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The situation is different for secondary schools. Legally, if a school board wishes to allow someone from the Churches Education Commission to take a lesson the school is “closed” and parents may withdraw
Religious Education in New Zealand part 2 Read More »
[Update: There is now a part 2 to this post] For some people heat is rising, as it does from time to time, about religious instruction in state/public primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The law allows class or classes at the [primary] school, or the school as a whole, may be closed at any
Religious Education in New Zealand Read More »
I believe in the forgiveness of sins. A lot of people have and give the impression that the Christian God has set up the universe so that everyone goes to hell, but if you say sorry and a special charm prayer you will magically go to heaven instead. That is called cheap grace – there
The Forgiveness of Sins Read More »
Habit 5 – Being Connected I once saw a cartoon (I am sorry I cannot locate it) of an office building. Everyone was extremely busy inside the building – lots of internal communication – but there was not a single communication with the world beyond the building. From time to time I accidentally fall over
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Churches 5 Read More »
This is a follow-up post after discussing whether or not readers are provided training and how appropriate or not that is. As well as comments at that post, you can read insights here, here, and here. The ministry of proclaiming the Scriptures, the Word of God, in the Christian assembly is one of the most
This is the third post in a series looking at the confusion around NZ Anglican liturgical practice. In the first I listed the surprisingly few requirements for celebrating the Eucharist, how they are not well known, and how even these few are regularly flouted. In the second I expressed surprise that a church which spends
NZ Anglican Baptism Requirements Read More »
