Eugene Peterson represents something of a conundrum in our world. When you hear him speak, he is gentle. But when you read his works, he brings a prophetic edge. His words have been provocative and fearless, often wounding in the moment, in the hope of healing in the long run. But those words are hard to marry up with this soft spoken introvert. He is a mystery in that he displayed humility and audacity side by...
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Here's a drama/prayer of confession you might like to use on November 11, when the world marks the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War One. You'll need two readers: one who can act with some bluster and ignorance, and another who can handle some tricky place names. Reader 1: Loving God, we come to you this day to give you thanks that it is exactly 100 years since the end of the Great...
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Here is the final (and eagerly awaited) installment of my trilogy of posts about helpful prayer and liturgy resources. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth by Brueggemann (USA) I wish there were more works like these, where our biblical scholars and theologians let their work reach its proper end - the task of prayer. Surely the place where a depth of understanding of the biblical narrative and Christian theology is most needed and fruitful is in addressing and...
Read MoreRead More Here's part two of my list of most influential and useful resources around prayer and liturgy. Grant us your Peace by David Grant (Aotearoa) I leaned heavily on this book during my time in parish ministry. Because I decided to introduce and follow the lectionary to my parish, and because the Presbyterian heritage has a rich history of engagement with the Psalms (a history that is largely lost) I needed to find alternative ways to engage with the...
Read MoreRead MoreSomeone recently asked me for a list of my favourite resources for prayer and liturgy. As I compiled them, I started to write little descriptions, or quote passages to demonstrate what I liked so much. In many cases I just wrote out the prayer where the bookmark was left. Here is the first part of what I wrote.Body Prayer by Pagitt and Prill (USA) This is an interesting one. Its about moving prayer beyond words and intellect,...
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A few years back, I was asked to write a song to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women's ordination within the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. As a result, 'Mothers of Faith' emerged.The story behind the song can be read more fully here.On Monday, the Very Rev Margaret Reid Martin, the first woman ordained into ministry in the PCANZ in 1965 passed away. She was a pioneer. You can read something of her story...
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I had a message from a friend asking if I had 'The Grace' in Te Reo Maori. I was sure I did. I'd used it before. But it actually proved more difficult to find that I expected. In the effort of making it easier for you (and me) next time, here it is.Kia tau ki a tatou katoa Descend upon us Te atawhai o tatou Ariki The grace of our Lordo Ihu Karaiti of Jesus ChristMe...
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Until a little more than a week ago,I was involved in a production of Les Miserables. It has been a bit of a life goal. Without a doubt it is my favourite musical, for its gritty story of grace and its anthemic music. Over the last four months I have immersed myself in the character of Marius, the young man who falls in love, loses his love, risks his life for a revolution, and then...
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A ministry friend just asked for the story behind my song, 'Christ Before Me'. Since I wrote it up for him, I thought I'd share it here as well. Before I wrote this song, I developed the lyrics as a poem. They are a paraphrase of a section of an ancient Christian prayer called, 'St Patrick's Breastplate.' I used them as part of a spiritual practice where I would write them on a piece of paper, then...
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This is a mural sent to me by Rebecca Wilcox. She's an artist and youth/family worker at Miramar Uniting Church in Wellington. You can see more of her art here. However this piece was not something Rebecca did alone, but more of a collaboration between her and some of the young people she works with. She drew the tree outline, and then gave her young people pictures of birds to be inspired by, or trace...
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Recently I was at a worship service and there were a variety of others leading bits of the service. At one point someone led us in a prayer of confession. I think it might have been responsive, in that we (the congregation) had bits to say throughout it. Then afterwards, the leader led us in a further prayer, asking God for forgiveness for what we had confessed.Later in the service, in fact, right at the...
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For over a year now I've been working in the studio with friend and producer Matt Caradus. Before we started working on this project, the last time I had seen Matt was when he moved to Tauranga just as I was leaving for a new job in Auckland. That was 3 years ago. So when I got in touch with Matt last year to collaborate, I thought he was still in Tauranga, and he thought...
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