Kia ora e te whanau Charities Commission Requirements I’ve been asked a question. It goes like this: With the necessity of all groups with charity status to update their constitutions we wonder if U.C.A.N.Z had a basic draft constitution that might save Co-operating and Union Parishes from spending hours redrafting their Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau On the day before Daylight Saving kicks in (that will be this coming Saturday), I invariably work my way around the house – appliances, clocks, watches, cars, – in changing time in anticipation of the following day. Remember to put your clock forward by an Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau Sunday found me at a CV’s AGM. It was warm, open, and honest. There was a healthy acknowledgement of the head winds that the Parish faces. And no intention of giving up. There was, however, a piece in the Treasurer’s report that bears addressing. It Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau This update is being ‘assembled’ in the early hours in an Auckland motel room. I had the joy of sharing Sunday worship with Kaurasi Langi and the 10am Grey Street congregation of the Onehunga Co-operating Parish – probably one of the most culturally mixed (seemingly Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau I’m in Auckland this coming weekend. I’ll be preaching at Onehunga Co-operating Parish, Grey Street, at 10am, Sunday. On Monday afternoon I’m engaging with the Methodist Tauiwi Strategy Meeting. I still have a little space in my diary and could be available to meet with Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau I was shocked to hear of the death of Rev Siosifa Pole. He died peacefully on Sunday morning. Siosifa, as one of the Mission Resourcing Directors of the Methodist Church, faithfully represented the Church on the UCANZ Standing Committee until his term concluded at the Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau Earning the right I’ve reflected from time to time on the importance of Church leaders loving the people they’ve been called to serve. As I was coming into ‘ministry’ I’d often hear of the importance of being ‘prophetic’ – the priority of calling people to Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau I’ve been musing about the issue of leadership. The tradition I come out of hasn’t been strong on it – it’s almost as if we have to discover how to do it as we go along. And it’s just possible that it’s not our strong Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau Once again I’m going to start with an article I wrote for the Methodist Monthly Touchstone: Maybe we got it wrong “Mission is what the church does when it is dying”. Attributed to Deitrich Bonhoeffer, this is an uncomortable challenge. We don’t want to believe it/him. Read more…
Kia ora e te whanau I sit looking out the window at the unfolding results of the promised weather-bomb. It continues to affirm my conviction that the most depressing month of winter is invariably the last one. My supervisor trained as a psychiatrist. I visited with him late last week. Read more…