Auckland Unitarians

Speaker:- Ron Ahnen Worship Leader:- Viv Allen Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 24 November 2024 As you all know, we just finished an election in the U.S. with so many different candidates—not just presidential ones—putting forth many competing claims about what “the truth” is. The good news is that we've got fact-checkers and journalists all trying to help us sort out exactly what is and is not true. You might think it's easier to find the truth these days, given that you can Google just about anything in a nanosecond. It turns out, finding out the truth is not so easy. In fact, it's often really, really hard. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/listening-for-your-own-truth/

Viv Allen says:- About a year ago an email dropped into my inbox from my cousin Hamish who I only catch up with at family funerals. Attached to that email was a 93 page thesis on my great, great Aunt, Annie Jane Schnakenberg nee Allen, who I knew little about except that she'd fought for women's suffrage in NZ and was a fluent speaker of Maori, so I was very excited to find out that Randolph Hollingsworth had done a huge amount of research into Annie Jane's life and written a thesis about her. I quickly got in touch with Randolph to find out more and was delighted to meet her as she now lives in Auckland. Randolph is now an independent scholar, who enjoys researching women's history which is how she came to write about Annie Jane. Often in NZ we only hear about the main characters in history such as Kate Sheppard but there were many more women who helped fight for women's rights. Now I'm going to let Randolph tell you more about this fascinating women, Annie Jane. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/annie-jane-schnackenberg-nee-allen-new-zealand-fighter-for-womens-rights/

with Barbara Thomborson Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 17 November 2024 Ageing and death are two timeless themes, universal to our human experience. Our culture's near phobia about death has created unneeded anxiety and irrational fear about “passing on, passing away, kicking the bucket, giving up the ghost, breathing your last, losing your life, expiring (like a use-by date), or just plain croaking”. That's a small sample of the euphemisms English has for dying. In her book The Coming of Age, Simone de Beauvior says, “The vast majority of humankind looks upon the coming of old age with sorrow and rebellion. It fills them with more aversion than death itself”. For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/ruminations-on-ageing-and-dying/

with John Maindonald Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 10 November 2024 Today, no business of any size uses paper based accounting. The move from paper based systems started in the late 1950s when large corporations started using computer mainframes, as they were called, for basic operations. In the 1980s personal computers made computer-based accounting systems widely available. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-age-of-the-machine/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 3rd November 2024 Barbara Kingsolver, in her novel Demon Copperhead, has Demon say this: “… she looked at me in the eyes, and we were sad together for a while. I'll never forget how that felt. Like not being hungry.” Like not being hungry. She looked at me in the eyes, and we were sad together for a while. I'll never forget how that felt. Like not being hungry. Have you ever been seen like that by another person? Have you ever shared such a deep understanding, be it of sadness or of some other emotion? Do you know that feeling, of not being hungry? Will you ever forget how that felt? I will never forget how that felt. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/a-year-and-a-day/

Speaker:- Peter Lineham Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 28th April 2024 Ralph Waldo Emerson knew how to upset Unitarians, for he had been one of them. Emerson was from a Unitarian family, trained at Harvard College, and his brother William was educated at Gottingen and was a minister. Waldo became minister of Second Church Boston in 1829. But he took a break, after the death of his wife, and headed to Europe. Returning he wrote this extraordinary essay, Nature, from which I read. He was a mystery to his fellow Unitarians. In 1838 he spoke to the Divinity Class at Harvard, in words that caused a huge controversy... For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-american-transcendentalists/

with Karn Cleary Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 21 April 2024 I titled today's service “Remembering Anzac Day”, purposely. It disturbs me to see or hear references to “celebrating” Anzac Day, when I believe it should always be a day of mourning for all those who died so futilely at Gallipoli, and all the others whether they returned or not, who have gone off to war from New Zealand. The 24th April, the day before Anzac Day is the anniversary of the death of my father, Bror Muller, who died in 1967. This talk is really about my father's experiences during the Second World War as an enemy alien and, in his words, 100% committed pacifist. I'll also talk about how those experiences affected his life after the war, and the impact on his family, or at least on me, growing up in the 1950s and 60s. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/remembering-anzac-day-2/

With Rachel Mackintosh & Betsy Marshall Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 14 April 2024 Unitarians are a mixed metaphor. Roots from flora, wings from fauna. There is no exact Greek mythical creature to represent this idea but perhaps we can think of a dryad or tree-nymph, maybe combined with a phoenix, the bird who rises. We are a mixed metaphor and a mixed faith, one that values pluralism and whose hymn book is called Singing the Living Tradition. For more information, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/roots-hold-me-close-wings-set-me-free/

Speaker:- John Maindonald Worship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell Recorded 7 April 2024 @ Auckland Unitarian Church From the time when he returned from his five year journey around the world, Darwin thought long and hard, not just about the relationships between living things, but also about life and living. He moved from relatively orthodox Anglican to an agnostic who never ceased to wonder at the world of nature and the place of humans in it. While he never identified as a Unitarian, he was exposed to multiple sources of Unitarian influence. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/charles-darwins-religious-life-journey/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh Recorded 31 March 2024 @ Auckland Unitarian Church I preached in this church last year on Easter Sunday. My theme was resurrection — I spoke about the power of love over hate. In the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Knowing that when life is gone, love is left for shining.” Since then, as most of you know, I have become a widow. My husband and your minister Clay Nelson died last November. In preparing for this year's Easter Sunday service, I have read all eight of the Easter sermons he preached here in this church. I have seen that he talked about the necessity of experiencing Good Friday if we are to experience Easter. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-empty-tomb-holding-lament-in-one-hand-and-joy-in-the-other/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Sally Mabelle of Taupo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 24 March 2024. During my 12 years as a member and lay worship leader at Auckland Unitarian church, we sang that ‘Spirit of Life' song hundreds of times, to begin nearly every Sunday service. Today, I'd like to draw our attention directly to that same Spirit of Life, which is intimately with us in every moment – I'm talking about our very breath – literally our IN-spiration – and our EX-spiration…a free gift that we receive at birth and is our closest and most constant spiritual companion throughout our whole life. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/breathing-the-spirit-of-life-what-does-it-mean-and-why-does-it-matter/

Speaker:- John Maindonald Worship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell Recorded 17 March 2024 @ Auckland Unitarian Church Charles Darwin, who lived through the middle years of the 1800s, is familiar to most of us as the man who laid the foundations of the modern theory of evolution. His ideas have had dramatic continuing effects on our view of ourselves and of the world of which we are part. The idea that living things shared a common evolutionary heritage was not new. What was new was the mechanism that Darwin, along with Alfred Wallace who came up with very similar ideas at the same time, proposed. Darwin worked his arguments into a book of almost 500 pages that was widely read and finally carried the day in the world of science. It is a careful assembly of evidence, from animal breeding, from geology, and from the way that different life forms are distributed across different continents and islands. For more see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/part-of-nature-or-separate-from-nature-charles-darwin-and-evolutionary-biology/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh Recorded 10 March 2024 @ Auckland Unitarian Church I have recently watched all three seasons of Ted Lasso. I had been aware of the show for some time but had been put off by the moustache, and the fact that it seemed to be about sport. Though I admire physical grace, I really don't care about all the winning and losing and fighting over a ball. I had been missing out. Ted Lasso is a gift. It is a gift that slowly unwraps. When one of the characters, Danny Rojas, says, “Football is life”, I like his joy but really don't connect. Football isn't my life. Turns out though, that in Ted Lasso, football is a metaphor for life. Turns out that Ted Lasso himself really doesn't care about all the winning and losing either. He cares about community and people being their best selves. He's probably a Unitarian, though that doesn't get mentioned in the script. For more see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/constrained-and-sustained-and-still-we-rise/

With Karn Cleary Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 3 March 2024 Our speaker planned for today had to drop out at the last moment due to illness. Karn Cleary has thankfully stepped up to fill in and is going to lead our service with a reading, with a few minor changes, of “The liberal church finding its mission: It's not all about you”, an article by Rev Peter Bullata in the US. Here's his web page and blog, which is very interesting in itself: https://peterboullata.com/about-4/ For more information, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-liberal-church-finding-its-mission-its-not-all-about-you/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Viv Allen Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 25 February 2024 I had intended to read one of Clay's talks entitled, Why should we learn another language? From Sept 2020 in its entirety but after I read it I realised that a lot of it was about Clay's personal journey. I have experience with my own journey regarding this topic so I've added some of my own thoughts and picked out parts of Clays' speech that are relevant and added some from other sources, What has this topic got to do with any of our Unitarian principles? A lot. For more info, see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/why-should-we-learn-another-language/

Speaker:- Laurie Ross& Worship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell Laurie Ross © 18 February 2024 A Call to the people of New Zealand, as a Nuclear Free Peacemaker nation, to withdraw from Militarisation and Warfare. It is time for Humanity to end the barbaric practice of war to work for Peace and Justice. ‘Love' is the foundation of Unitarian fellowship and the quest for ‘Truth' leads to liberating our minds from warfare doctrines threatening destruction of Life on Earth. Humanity must end War before War ends Humanity. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/peacemakers-unite-for-a-world-beyond-war/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church, 11 February 2024 Why do we repeat this ritual every year? It isn't just to brag about our travels. When we share our water in the common bowl, it reminds us that while we are separate people, we are also part of an interdependent community. You probably know about the water cycle.... For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/water-communion-2024/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- John DiLeo Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 4th February 2024 At the end of October, I travelled to Washington, DC, to present training at and attend the OWASP Global AppSec Conference. On the Sunday before the conference, I had the opportunity to attend the first ThreatModCon, a one-day mini-conference focused on threat modelling. At that event, I was privileged to hear a presentation by Avi Douglen. Avi is a leader of the OWASP Israel Chapter, and a member of OWASP's Global Board. He's a security consultant and threat modelling practitioner, and is one of the signatories of the Threat Modeling Manifesto, created and published in 2020. Avi's presentation is titled “The Threats to Our Community,” and I'm going to share with you much of the content from that talk. As I listened that day, it became clear to me that the threats he spelled out – and the countermeasures he recommended – would apply to any community that relies on mutual trust and respect to function. Communities like ours. So, I asked for a copy of his slide deck, to use in a future talk at my church – he was surprised by the request, but agreed immediately. In October, Avi spoke for an hour – I'm going to try to do his ideas justice in less than 20 minutes. We'll see how that goes. Before I begin, I need to provide a general content warning. While I won't be going into details of any, I will be naming many abusive behaviours. If this could be triggering for you, I welcome you to remove yourself from this space to protect your well-being. For more information see:-https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-threats-to-our-community/

With Rachel Mackintosh Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 21 January 2024 Alice laughed. “There's no use trying,” she said. “One can't believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven't had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” “THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”, LEWIS CARROLL (CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON) We know, because of science, the enlightenment, telescopes, that compared with us, the universe is big. We may have seen that meme that shows two photos of the Milky Way, one taken before, and one taken after we have made a mistake: clue, it's the same photo. My musing today has as its starting point, not Alice, actually, but the quote: “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” My sermon topic “Bending the arc of the universe” has taken liberties with the quote already, and may seem arrogant – how could we bend the arc of the universe? – but I am aiming rather for audacious. As Paul said when I sent him my title, “May as well aim big.” Meditation / Discussion Questions:- What makes you pause in wonder? And what action for justice does this inspire in you? For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/bending-the-arc-of-the-universe/

With Alix Geard Recorded by Auckland Unitarian Church 31 December 2023 Good morning, community of Auckland Unitarians. Kia ora koutou! As we gather on this last Sunday of the year, New Year's Eve, we find ourselves between times, standing on the bridge that connects the past and the future. Today, our theme is “Reflections and Resolutions” – a time to look back at the footprints we've left on the path of the past year and to gaze forward with hope and intention into the uncharted territory of the coming year. There are cliches at this time of year. We might at well make use of them. Janus, the 2-headed god of doorways, transitions and January looks both back and forward. I encourage us all to take some time to think, to feel, to breathe, to examine… and to gather ourselves together as we move into the new year. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/reflections-and-resolutions/

Speaker:- Jonathan Mason Worship Leader:- Phebe Mason Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 17 December 2023 Each year, as we celebrate Christmas, I have wondered what really happened in Bethlehem. The Nativity Scene is embedded in our seasonable culture. In our Unitarian hymn book, we have about 25 hymns that refer to Bethlehem, the Star, and the manger scene. So this year, with the request for sermons, I thought I would review the historical evidence for the Nativity before Christmas. Now the good news is that for events that occurred 2000 years ago, you can believe whatever you wish. And I'll skip over the Immaculate Conception, which Unitarians and even many Christians don't believe. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/lukes-christmas-story/

Speaker:- Paul TonsonWorship Leader:- Alix Geard Recorded 10 December 2023 @ Auckland Unitarian Church From my earliest years I've known about Jesus of Nazareth and in my youth I was especially drawn to him as a charismatic individual. Later I loved the idea of him as a sign of contradiction, a life-long challenge to my easy preconceptions and natural prejudices. Last week a number of you recalled elements of Jesus' surprising behaviour and message, e.g. towards women, towards authorities, and confronting his parents and disciples. BUT All this time in the church I've been told that he is uniquely GOD and MAN, the messiah and my saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. In hindsight, I have never needed that bit! Now I have the tools to show from the NT many strong threads to understand Jesus as an exemplar of a life we can all enter into. Jesus as an exemplary figure lives out a path of purpose and empowerment that others can emulate. This understanding of him offers a gospel that is egalitarian and universalist. This is the direction of my three addresses. For more, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/jesus-the-messiah/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Betsy Marshall Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 3rd December 2023 Today we gather to celebrate the opening of this building on 4 December 1901 – exactly 122 years ago tomorrow. As Clay Nelson said in his service for new members in 2015, the anniversary of the building is a time to be reminded that “we didn't get here out of nothing, we are connected to those who came before, and others in the future will be connected to us, a reminder of our oneness”. The focus of today is not just on the past but also on our aspirations for the future – hopefully a future in which Auckland Unitarians continue as a vibrant faith community as well as a force for social and political good. For the 'Where to from here?' part of the service the congregation broke into structured small group discussions using a format known as 'Table Talk', facilitated by Marlon Drake of Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/our-rich-history-and-where-to-from-here/

Speaker:- Paul TonsonWorship Leader:- Ted Zorn Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 26 November 2023 The path ahead of us JESUS WITHOUT CHRIST is a possible title for a book that has been germinating in my mind recently. In preparing for today with Ted, I was delighted to find that numbers of this congregation may share the questions that give rise to such a title. This discovery has confirmed our intention over three sessions to look candidly at the ways we may usefully speak of and even emulate Jesus of Nazareth. For more see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/rabbi-jesus-the-teacher/

Speaker:- Rachel MackintoshWorship Leaders:- Ted Zorn, Kate Lewis Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 5th November 2023 Our recently retired minister, Clay Nelson, died on Thursday (2 November 2023). Those of us who have known Clay are grieving. So, we've changed this service to reflect on coming together in grief and the wonder of life. Rachel MacIntosh, Clay's wife, will present a talk that Clay wrote and presented to us a couple years back called “Welcome to Limbo. Please leave your certainties at the door.” Appropriately, it's about how we respond to chaos, uncertainty, and the unexpected. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/welcome-to-limbo-please-leave-your-certainties-at-the-door/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Kate Lewis. Recorded 19th November 2023 @ Auckland Unitarian Church. I'm very aware that this is the first service since Clay died that we're not using one of his talks. I've been on the calendar for months, and Ted and I decided that this would be an alright topic for today since we're hurting and I hope that some of these words may be useful for all of us in dealing with grief. I also feel the need to give a disclaimer because I'm an academic, and this isn't my field. I am talking about self-compassion because becoming more compassionate towards myself and others is a path that I am on and something I'm striving for. I have become interested in the psychology behind it and have done some reading, and I'm convinced that most of us can benefit from an increased dose of self-kindness. For further information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-healing-power-of-self-compassion/

Speaker & Worship Leader:-Viv Allen Viv Allen led a service centred around a reading of a Clay Nelson sermon from February 2020 For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/curiosity-may-be-harmful-to-cats-but-how-about-to-unitarians-2/

Speaker:- Mary Ellen WarrenWorship Leader:- Ruby Johnson Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 29 October 2023 For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/world-polio-day/

Speaker:- Grant Williams ofMaritime Union of New ZealandWorship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/a-wharfies-story/

with Karn Cleary Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 15 October 2023 For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/flower-communion-4/

Speaker:- John MaindonaldWorship Leader:- Shirin Caldwell Recorded 8 October 2023 @ Auckland Unitarian Church John Donne (1572-1631), who wrote the words that I want to ponder today, lived in England in troubled times. He was born to a staunchly Roman Catholic family at a time when it was illegal to be a practicing Catholic. For more information see:-https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/no-person-is-an-island-unto-themselves/

Speaker:- Peter Lineham Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson I was very struck by an article in the Washington Post on 21 August of this year by Perry Bacon jnr.... Recorded 1 October 2023 by Auckland Unitarian Church For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/finding-your-home-in-the-church-community/

Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 24 September 2023 Speakers & Worship Leaders:- Rachel Mackintosh & Betsy Marshall In early 2014, our Unitarian community was coming to terms with the fact that after only eight months, due to visa issues, we'd lost the American minister we'd contracted for two years. Fortunately the Ministerial Search Committee wasted no time in resurrecting itself to identify what we might do to support our Church's dual strategy of working towards a full-time ministry and strengthening lay leadership. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/cornucopia-a-tribute-to-clay-nelson/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church 17 September 2023 Here is a factoid about your minister I hope to have kept from you for nine years. In secondary school, I was a band nerd. I wasn't the cool one playing the sexy alto sax like I wanted. Instead, I was consigned over my objections to playing the tuba. It was even more humiliating as I was one of the smallest in the band. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/pomp-and-circumstance-a-valedictory/

Speaker:- Paul Watson of Essentially MenWorship Leader:- Ted Zorn Kia ora everyone, and a heartfelt thanks to Ted for that beautiful introduction. When I first met you Ted around 20 months ago I instantly liked you, and I think one of the reasons is because as you presented last week ‘You've always had a thing for language'. I think our brains connected quickly, my Auckland spelling, speaking and debating days came flooding back as an articulate American shared his recent struggles, learnings, and pain with me. Recorded 10 September 2023 For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/a-new-way-of-being-men-being-real/

with Ted Zorn Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 27 August 2023 I've always had a thing for language. I think I inherited this from my dad. Dad wasn't highly educated, nor widely read – the only magazines he ever subscribed to were Reader's Digest and TV Guide, and I never knew him to read a novel — but he loved to play with language. He often used words that were either made up or some version of a word he'd learned while serving overseas in the military. He would latch on to words and phrases that were new to him. When he came to New Zealand for the first time, the term flatmate caught his eye – it's not a term used in the USA — so for his remaining years, he referred to my daughter, his granddaughter, as “my little Kiwi American flatmate”. In fact, he had nicknames for just about everyone – or at least everyone he liked. They were not all flattering. For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/a-rose-by-any-other-name-is-not-a-rose-part-2/

With John DiLeo Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church, 20th August 2023 As we were driving home from last Sunday's service, I was thinking on what I should talk about this week. During that service, we celebrated Clay's years with this church as our paid minister, and we acknowledged that phase of our community's life was coming to a close. During the Notices that day, Ted reminded us all of the need for members to step up and fill the void Clay's retirement has created. We can no longer sit back and let him come up with all the ideas week after week, because – simply put – it's not his job any more. The ‘theme' or ‘slogan' that popped into my head during last Sunday's drive home was simple: “One Community – Many Voices.” For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/mystery/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church, 13th August 2023 As has been mentioned once or twice recently, and to my great sadness, I am retiring at the end of the month. Because I have loved all forty-one years of my ordained ministry in two denominations and my nine years with you, I want to scream, “Nah, this isn't how I planned it.” But, ”Yeah, it is the reality I must come to accept…kind of.” The expectation of ministers, when they retire, is to absent themselves for at least a year from the congregation they served to make room for the new minister. As trained UU ministers don't grow on trees here or in Australia, and it will be a while before we can hire my replacement, I've been asked to help fill the vacuum on a voluntary basis while you figure out where you want to go. For more information see https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/nah-yeah/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh. Recorded 6th August 2023 at Auckland Unitarian Church. I met Clay 10 years ago at a residential training for community organising. The basis of the training was storytelling. At the opening of the training, all participants were asked to tell stories about a time we had spoken truth to power. Clay's story was about taking the Anglican Bishop of Auckland to the Human Rights Commission for violation of the Human Rights Act because he refused to ordain a gay priest. My story was about standing up to a union leader who, to a largely but not totally white male audience, had used the phrase “dirty girls of the Philippines” to refer to migrant sex workers. I confronted him privately and told him I had been offended at his use of language that was imperialist, misogynist and anti-worker. He went back to that audience and apologised, even though many of them had found his language perfectly acceptable. As all the people in the room told their stories, we began to see that all of us had not only identified injustices but had also had moments of courage where we had spoken up. Some of our stories had had successful outcomes, but many had not. Many of us had acted alone. All of our stories had promise. When one person shows courage in the face of injustice, that act holds the kernel of transformational change. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/were-gonna-sit-at-the-welcome-table/

Recorded @ Auckland Unitarian Church, 30th July 2023 Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson My father loved words. The Oxford English Dictionary and books on etymology, the study of the origin of words and how their meanings have changed throughout history, were never far from his fingertips. If he couldn't find just the right word for the book he was writing, he had no reluctance in just creating a word that captured his intent. He passed on his love of words to me. That was to my benefit in seminary, where I was required to take two semesters of word study. It was essential to preparing sermons. Our task was to fully understand biblical words in all their meanings, translations and uses in biblical times so they could be applied relevantly in our modern and cultural context. I know it sounds boring and tedious, but thanks to Dad, I loved it. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/organic-generosity/

With Rev. Clay Nelson Piano:- Frank Chen Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 23rd July 2023 You might remember me telling you the story of the 1969 UUA General Assembly in Boston. It was at the height of the Black empowerment movement in America. For that reason, many Black UUs attended instead of the token few who usually came. White UUs were shocked and wondered where they all came from. They had always been there since the 18th century but had been generally ignored or discounted. We were more diverse than we had been aware of or at least acknowledged. But in 1969, systemic racism reared its ugly head, undermining that diversity and many Black UUs walked out the door, never to return. Much has happened within Unitarian Universalism since then. So, it was highly newsworthy when Sofia Betancourt, a woman, a person of colour and openly queer, was overwhelmingly elected as president of the UUA. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/whiteness-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/

With Kate Lewis Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 16th July 2023 Many of us have lost a sense of belonging in one place or another, having made a life around the world from where we were born and grew up. There is a longing for a beloved past and people, and despair when we realize that when we go back everything has changed and feel grief at what has been lost. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/coming-to-a-sense-of-belonging-matariki-in-our-time-and-place/

With Paul Henriques. Recorded 2nd July 2023 by Auckland Unitarian Church. As many of you know, with Auckland Unitarian Church support, I initiated a pilot programme to help dyslexic children in Samoa in a joint programme with their Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. While there I came across information on Samoa's nonviolent struggle for independence from New Zealand. Back in New Zealand, I began to read up on the subject and in asking friends and family about it, found few knew much about it and some nothing at all. I find it a very sad but interesting story, that certainly deserves knowing about, and thought I would share a bit of it with you this morning. For more information, including links to the photographs and references, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/samoas-nonviolent-struggle-for-independence-from-new-zealand-colonial-rule/

with Rev. Clay Nelson Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 25th June 2023 Over a long life, I often think about the choices I've made or were made for me. How have they determined who I am now? How have they pointed me in a positive direction or made my life a personal hell? They have surely done both. Has my life followed a script with little input from me, or has it been totally of my own making? These are the musings I'd like to explore this morning. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/are-you-living-the-life-you-chose/

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson Recorded 11th June 2023 @ Auckland Unitarian Church I keep getting enquiries about and objections to replacing principles with values (Here are links to the earlier talks on this topic:- 1, 2, 3 & 4). I thought I'd dealt with this issue but, apparently, not satisfactorily for some. So, let me try again. These changes did not come out of the blue. There are a couple of stories behind them. They tell stories about UU principles and values. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/a-ministers-work-is-never-done-and-neither-is-yours/

with Alix Geard. Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 4th June 2023. I wanted to share something about what the future might look like: especially something new about what's going on in the space around climate change and degrowth. I've been finding that quite depressing, though. I admit that I even asked ChatGPT for some examples of what I might say. The homilies it came up with were familiar, reassuring, anodyne and almost completely pointless. They did sound good, though. Instead, I want to throw some ideas at you about what people are like, and how we work together. The ideas are all a bit flawed – they're working notes and patterns to look out for – but I've found them useful. For more information, including links and discussion questions, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/beyond-growth/

Speaker:- Peter Lineham Worship Leader:- John DiLeo Recorded by Auckland Unitarian Church 28th May 2023. Perhaps the simplest way to introduce this Pentecost theme is to ask you to visualise this scene. The narrow streets of Jerusalem were in those days dominated by the huge temple on which King Herod the Great had lavished his attention, and was regarded as one of the greatest sites of the Roman world, and the Roman battalion's barracks and palace for the governor on his infrequent visits, for this was occupied territory, and the fear of public disturbances was a constant imperial fear in a province like Judea which was so distinctive in its fanatical religiosity. So when any disturbances happened, the regime wanted stability, they wanted to clear the streets, and Roman and Jewish leaders took the same approach. For more information, including all the discussion questions, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/pentecost-sunday/

Speaker:- Marlon Drake of Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga, Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh. Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 14th May 2023. Marlon attended Western Springs College and then moved to Wellington where he was a student activist at Victoria University, serving as President of the students association, campaigning against sexual violence and in favour of mental health support for students. He also worked part time as an organiser in the Living Wage Movement during his time as a law student at Victoria. Marlon is now the full-time community organiser for Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga, a broad-based coalition in Auckland working for social justice. For more information, including all the discussion questions, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-thrill-of-participatory-social-justice/

with Rev. Clay Nelson. Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 7th May 2023. This morning is the fourth in a series of musings about what it means to be a living tradition. (Here are links to talks 1, 2, and 3.) How have we changed? Who decides what it means to be a UU today? And who owns the congregation? When the eight members from diverse backgrounds were appointed to review Article II Bylaws, the first thing they did was consult UU stakeholders. These included, amongst others... For more information, including all the discussion questions, see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/the-thrill-of-participatory-theology/

with Rev. Clay Nelson. Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 30th April 2023. I was intrigued by excerpts of Diane Miller's reflections on the proposed changes to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws to be voted on in June at the General Assembly. Dianne was a young pregnant feminist invited to be on the committee charged with revising our purposes. Her son was born during the committee's work. He was a toddler when what we know as the Seven Principles passed General Assembly in 1985. It was a radical change from such statements in the past. Her son is now a parent with two children, and Diane is retired. She is 74. She is also delighted that the hard work of the committee she served is being revised nearly 40 years later. What struck me most is that, including her generation, which is also mine, three generations of those who became UUs after 1985 have only known the Seven Principles as the definition of who we are. For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/will-unitarian-universalism-remain-a-living-tradition/

with Rev. Clay Nelson. Recorded at Auckland Unitarian Church 23rd April 2023. Last week we explored the many challenges of being a living tradition, the biggest being finding a consensus when we don't have a creed, holy book of revelation or ecclesiastical authority. This morning our focus is on the Seven Principles. How they came to be? Their role in our faith. Have they passed their use by date? For more information see:- https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/have-the-seven-principles-passed-their-use-by-date/