Colourful Dreamer

Easter is a time to have our minds blown by and for our imaginations to run wild with the possibilities of what the reign of God might look like. I wonder what that means for us as we commemorate ANZAC Day and offer a place for our city to commemorate the Battle of Pukehinahina Gate Pa.   These dark and sad stories would seem to be the exact opposite of Easter. And yet amid the violence are moments of compassion that arose out of the deep wells of faith within people like Henare Wiremu Taratoa, Heni Te Kiri Karamu and Rawiri Puhirake. Mind blowing Easter shaped possibilities. Strangely in Easter we go back to John’s version of the last supper. In our gospel reading (John 15:1-8) Jesus comforts his shocked disciples with his last “I Am” statement – “I am the vine and you are the branches”. As they and we hear this we are invited to hear all the previous I Am statements like, bread of life, living water, light of the world. Look them up. And then Jesus says “You are”. The only time...

Today we stop to remember the end of WWI – a war that significant social, political and economic consequences toppled empires and gave birth to nation states unheard of. In its ending it sowed the seeds for future wars and conflicts that can still be seen today in the Middle East. We particularly remember the terrible human cost of this war, especially on the young nation of New Zealand. Jubilate Hymns have run a contest for a hymn for this week. Here are two verses from the winning entry by Ally Barrett (https://jubilate.co.uk/songs) Hope for the world's despair: we feel the nations' pain; can anything repair this broken earth again? For this we pray: in every place a spark of grace to light the way. Love for the human heart: when hate grows from our fears and inwardly we start to turn our ploughs to spears. Help us to sow love’s precious seed in word and deed, that peace may grow. I have blogged about ANZAC Day before mostly around the myth that this wa...

The live version can be heard here Gate Pa – Year A 3 rd  Sunday in Easter, Readings: Psalm                          Psalm: 116:1-4, 12-19                                                                     First Reading:                    Acts 2:14, 36-41          Second Reading:              1 Peter 1:17-23   ...

For us at St. Georges Anglican Church at Gate Pa this is a busy time of year. We are in the middle of the Season of Easter, which lasts for 50 days. Easter is all about hope; hope that our world might live as God intended, with all loving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind by loving our neighbour as ourselves. On Saturday 23 rd April we remember St. George. While George is the patron saint of England, he was not British. He was born into a Christian family of Greek decent in Palestine in about 280. He followed his father to be a tribune in the Emperor’s body guard. In 303 the Emperor Diocletian ordered all soldiers to sacrifice to him as a god, and if they refused for them to be put to death. George refused the order, and went to the Emperor to tell him that the order was wrong. He was tortured and put to death. His grave is in Israel and he is remembered today as the patron saint of all Palestinians. George challenged the Emperor’s attitudes and beliefs th...

Listen to it here Gate Pa – Easter 4 + ANZAC Day 2015 Readings: Psalm:                                      Psalm 23  First Reading :                          Acts 4:5-12 Second Reading :                     1 John 3:16-24                  Gospe l:                                     John 10:11-18       ...