Resources for faith and life |
Welcome to 'Conversations' ...
Worship, prayer, preaching, inspiration and song from Aotearoa New Zealand |
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Brought to you by Silvia Purdie from Christchurch, New Zealand Silvia is the Minister at Cashmere Presbyterian Church. Check out their website. |
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An Open-Eyes Prayer
As we come to church this morning, we look around We see this beautiful place, the solid beams of wood above us the colour of the glass, the light shining through the strong walls, each stone cut and laid exactly square. May this place draw us into you, loving God. As we come to church this morning, we look around We see these people, each so precious, each unique little ones, older ones, busy ones, tired ones each come to be part of something bigger than just ‘me’ May this community draw us into you, loving God. As we come to church this morning, we look inward We close our eyes, we rest a moment breathe in and out You, O God, are within us, beneath us, above us and around in the motes of dust that float in the air in the stillness that rests under all the noise In this place and in every place, draw us into you, loving God. Amen. |
I promised you new photos from Kenepuru Sound, at the top of the South Island, NZ ... some perfect dawn moments from an amazingly beautiful place:
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Announcing, hot off the press, new for Lent 2019 .... (drum roll please!)
For God so loved the world study about Christian faith and our environment 8 weeks of reflections, with personal and practical ways to pray, exploring the Bible and critical current issues. Also I'm adding in lots more stuff into the Creation page in the God menu, including links to major websites. |
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STRESSFUL SITUATIONS in ministry
A word of advice for newbies and old hands in ministry
on dealing with crises.
Sooner or later in your ministry, things will get ugly. Shit happens. People get hurt. People get mad. And the underbelly of your coping strategies gets dragged out into the light. When that happens, how you respond as a church leader will make a huge impact on the outcomes.
Wedding Resources
Updated material on weddings, and some work-in-progress about the Commitments of marriage.
A word of advice for newbies and old hands in ministry
on dealing with crises.
Sooner or later in your ministry, things will get ugly. Shit happens. People get hurt. People get mad. And the underbelly of your coping strategies gets dragged out into the light. When that happens, how you respond as a church leader will make a huge impact on the outcomes.
Wedding Resources
Updated material on weddings, and some work-in-progress about the Commitments of marriage.
The blessing of God be upon you and go with you
The authority of God be over you and around you
The grace of God be in you and freely given by you
The peace of God be yours, this day and every day. Amen
The authority of God be over you and around you
The grace of God be in you and freely given by you
The peace of God be yours, this day and every day. Amen
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Fresh work on the Psalms ...
Looking for ideas about how to use Psalms more in a worship service? New page in my Psalms section: HERE Enriching Worship with Psalms (a workshop for the Canterbury Lay Preachers Association) How does the Revised Common Lectionary use Psalms? I've been right through the 3 year cycle of the Lectionary and drawn up an index of which Psalms are used for which seasons in which years. This has highlighted for me how the Lectionary chooses Psalms and verses within Psalms. I find the results troubling. If you use the Lectionary, check out my new pages & analysis HERE. |
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Family Tree: Material about my family tree, ancestry, where my ancestors came from in England ...
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In 'Conversations.net.nz' you will find:
GOD ... resources for worship, especially 'Calls to worship' and confession - prayers and home-grown 'psalms' - sermons - Communion liturgies - all-age worship ideas & reflections for children's ministry PSALMS ... reflections on Biblical Psalms interpreted and reworked for prayer and for use in worship LOVE ... poetry, discussions on marriage & intimacy and dramatic explorations of Biblical love stories ... reflections on grief and death SONG ... original music, for worship and for kids ... and lots of lovely photos! 
Because I believe ... that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true! that growing to maturity in Christ takes work that courageous honesty of heart and soul is required that worship is wonderful that each person is a taonga, a treasure, no matter the age, assets or abilities that the local church is the hope of the world. |
In conversation ...
... chatting with friends over coffee ... finding words for the moments and movements of mind & body, my spirit alive with God-Spirit ... getting to know Jesus Christ, ever curious as to what he would say and do ... bringing every fibre and phrase into the eternal conversation of Father Spirit Son ... conversations with children and elders, with church as it is and as it might be ... with my people in my place and offered to everyplace ... with pain and with celebration, with beauty and with scars, with the sacred and the ordinary, with scripture, song and silence. All material here is copy-right free; you are free to copy and paste to your heart's content. I just ask that you acknowledge the source and help promote my website.
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