Kia ora e te whanau
This weekend was with the Lower North Island Synod / Central Presbytery UPOG sponsored meeting at Rongotea, where we were royally hosted by the local people – thank you, thank you! UPOG stands for ‘Uniting Parishes Oversight Group’ – a creation of the Synod and Presbytery to provide support to the high number of CVs in the region. For the Presbyterians this represents 41% of their Parishes, for the Methodists 83%. One of the highlights for me was a presentation on the ‘Drama of Worship’ by Peter McKenzie (peter.m@presbyterycentral.org.nz ) – Central Presbytery Executive Officer. I found it thoughtful and thought provoking – and, as one with a tendency to free-wheeling – a challenge to being clear and intentional in how worship is curated and led. It is surely worthy of greater ‘exposure’.
Along with the open engagement times during the day this was an important time together. It was a reminder that without CVs the Partner Churches would likely feel little need to talk with one another.
Personal and Leadership Resources
1. Jessica Stillman mines Mark Twain – and how his insights have and continue to inform and enrich our lives to the present day. I’m going to give the game away with this title
Trying not to be dumb beats trying to be smart
Stillman riffs into the Dunning-Kruger effect – to quote her – ‘shorthand for the fact that the more ignorant and incompetent among us are often the most self-confident, while genuine experts wrestle with self-doubt.’ Of course that doesn’t apply to me. Or you. The article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jessica-stillman/this-1-simple-mark-twain-quote-instantly-smarter.html
2. And another from Stillman.
The Ultimate Antidote to Self-Doubt
For both those of us who suffer from ‘Imposter Syndrome’ and those of us who don’t. Either way this is worth a read – we’ll all learn something. The article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jessica-stillman/ultimate-antidote-self-doubt-1-sentence-legendary-fashion-designer-diane-von-furstenberg.html
3. Lynne and I are coming up on our 44th Wedding Anniversary. We have a good marriage. Mostly.
The Psychological Eye Trick That Helps Rekindle Love When One Person Isn’t Feeling It Anymore
I certainly don’t feel that our love needs to be ‘rekindled’. Yet, what I started to notice, after reading this article, is how little sustained eye contact we actually make. I want to do better. You may also. I checked with Lynne that it’s okay to share this (yes, I’m a man under ‘authority’). The article can be read here: https://www.yourtango.com/love/psychological-eye-trick-that-helps-rekindle-love
Homilies
Trevor Hoggard’s sermon surveys 2 Sam 7:1-14a, Eph 2:11-22, and Mark 6:53-56. To quote Trevor ‘Christians may have known from the beginning that Jesus was more interested in building a “house” in the sense of establishing a never-ending lineage of faithful Christians’, while recognising ‘sacred spaces matter to people not just within the church, but to the broader community too. It’s something deep and ingrained in the human psyche’.
Trevor’s offering can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpWa1bvevCw
My response to the Gospel text of Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 is titled ‘Boat Time’. I was struck by how the lectionary seems to point to the difference between Jesus’ time in the boat, and the constant demands made of him and the disciples while on land.
It can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RzWyFk3UAI
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Ngā manaakitanga
Andrew Doubleday