Resources for faith and life
Welcome to 'Conversations' ...

Worship, prayer, poetry, passion and inspiration
from Aotearoa New Zealand




Brought to you by Silvia Purdie

from Christchurch, New  Zealand

Silvia is the Minister at
​Cashmere Presbyterian Church.
​Check out their website.
Gaps in the wall
(on ministry and God and identity)
 
I cannot imagine who I would have been
if I had not been drawn to the gaps in the wall
between this world and eternity
 
The biggest gaps are the littlest things
a smile of a toddler, the feel of a petal
a small square of bread in my hand
 
A fantail flies through and its wings brush my arm
I hold out a stick and it lands for a while
it chirps at me and is gone
 
I stand at the front of a room full of people
around them I lay a drawstring of gold
(with words not my own though the voice is mine)
that borrows my heart and my mind
 
I stand at the front with the flowers and casket
a woman is dead and her family hurts
I say the old words and I lift up my hands
at the edge of the gap and I push her on through
 
I open the book and a guide is waiting
(not always, but often) to lead me in
he links it together and opens up questions
and burrows my heart and my mind
 
I come to the silence, I warm to the light
the energy bubbles like jets in a spa
I carry it with me, this crack in time
 
New article:
Be Yourself ... but not too much!
a reflection on 'self' in ministry

​
Have you discovered ... 
my writing about Peter's Wife?
I've been rearranging the Biblical material. 
Check this out:
So Peter had a wife??

Or how about my
Bible love stories
(I'm always a sucker for a romance, though the story of Bathsheba probably doesn't count!)
A Spring confession (all age worship)
 
Thank you Lord for the Spring, for the colour and life we see around us.
Thank you for every sign of hope. It’s easy to get scared and upset by things that happen in the world, but you draw us to celebrate and praise.
 
Thank you for every bit of beauty in the world. We know all too well that there is also so much that is ugly, even in our own hearts.
We know only too well that so much that is lovely is under threat of destruction.
We confess to you that even in what we say and do there is not enough hope, not enough love. Without you we can’t do much right.
We confess our sins to you O Lord.
Make us new again. Bring fresh energy, burst your life out in us.
A Spring Blessing

​May the sap rise in your heart
as the Spirit of Jesus lives within you.
May you flower bravely
with gifts you are yet to discover.
May you know the great delight God has in you
May others see in your eyes and in your smile
the beauty of Christ’s love.
Amen
NEW BLOG:  The Trouble with the Jameses 
Have you ever wondered who James was?
Turns out, that is kind of tricky. In fact, it's quite the topic of controversy over 18 centuries!! And it does matter, for how we understand the New Testament and Biblical leadership.
... written as a blog, one bit per day. All 7 days now complete. 
And another new blog: Did Jesus get tired?
an article about ministry, fatigue and recovery
The Psalms in a fresh voice for kids, families and worship
Picture
I've made it!!!
My Psalms work has been getting lots of attention lately (at the expensive of the housework!) ... and I am not delighted to report that I have finished a full set of all 150 yay!!!
This is in my work for children, family devotions and all-age worship. Here it is. Please have a read, tell me what you think. What I especially want is for kids to have a go at reading them out loud. I want it all to flow easily off the tongue, so I need to know which bits catch you up.
Like 'Conversations'? Click & share ...

Preaching article:

Silvia's 'Pastoral Preaching' approach,
​on the Kiwimade Preaching website

New Sermons!

Will and Work
Sunday 1 October
Matthew 21:28-32
Philippians 2:1-13

I’m sorry. This isn’t really much of a sermon. I don’t have any important theological points to make about all of this. I don’t have any ethical principles for how you should live your life or what kind of church we ought to be.
I just want to let the scripture speak for itself today. This provocative story and this breathtaking poem. Here’s how Paul sums it up:
for God is at work in you, empowering you to both will and to work for his delight.

Other Resources added:

A new Communion Liturgy written for including young children in the communion service. I'd love your feedback about this. 

New resources for Funerals, including for farewell gatherings around a bedside, and some evocative poems.
Poems for Weddings

Baptism with a splash, and praying through the laughter!
Also in 'Conversations.net.nz' is a presentation encouraging churches to promote themselves better, and engage with their local communities. Includes some of the stuff we did at Milson.

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

... 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.



A practical word about this website:

I am in the process of changing all my file attachments over to PDF with a simple 'click' link format. Bear with me, might take me a while.

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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