Colourful Dreamer

Gate Pa –  2 nd Sunday in the Season of Creation 2019 Readings: Psalm -                        Psalm 19 First Reading -            Genesis 1:1-25            Second Reading -       Revelation 3:14-22 Gospel -                      John 1:1-5        What I want to say: I want to explore what the Season of Creation offers us; an opportunity to reflect on our place in this world as people made in the image of God. This is God’s world, and we are invited to live richly - joyfully responding to the goodness and generosity of God. What I want to happen: People to use this to respond to GretaThunbe...

This week we continue with our celebration of the Season of Creation. Normally this is the period in the annual church calendar, from 1st September to 4th October, dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life. It is a time to recall that this is God’s world, and that this planet and all who live on it belong to God. Our readings today remind us that the only starting point in talking about our place in this world is that this world is God’s gift. We receive this gift as people made in the image of the creating and life giving God. We are given dominion over this world, not to dominate and use the resources for our own short term gain, but to act for the long term benefit of all creation and all who live on it. In this season we join the world wide church catholic to hear again the invitation to live richly: joyfully responding to the goodness and generosity of God; growing in our vocation as image bearers; acting in the hope that God is reconciling all things. And it pr...

As we come to this Harvest Festival Sunday, the opening line from Philippians 4 is perhaps what should be foremost in our minds: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." Harvest is a time of looking back over what has been, pausing to give thanks and resting before the work of the new season so that we can reap a harvest again in due course. In Aotearoa New Zealand we are fortunate to have the richness of Matariki (Maori New Year) celebrations interwoven into the traditional Harvest Festival season. During Matariki, across New Zealand, people come together to remember their ancestors, share food, sing, tell stories and play music.  The storehouses are full and there is time to reflect and celebrate.  Today we will be exploring some of the parables within the Matariki stories and how they encourage us to care for creation, and to honour and celebrate all that God the Creator has given us. As you wait for the celebration to begin this morning, take a fe...