Resources for faith and life |
Welcome to 'Conversations' ... Inspiration from Aotearoa New Zealand |
Welcome to Advent and the Christmas season!!
A time of hope among the compounding worries, waiting and longing for the Light of the World to come, to shine, to make all the difference!
You'll find loads of cool Advent and Christmas resources on the Conversations website. Prayers etc are in the 'Worship' menu. Sermons, including ones on John the Baptist, the Wise Men, and Joseph and Mary, are in the 'Word' menu in 'The Bible' section.
You'll find loads of cool Advent and Christmas resources on the Conversations website. Prayers etc are in the 'Worship' menu. Sermons, including ones on John the Baptist, the Wise Men, and Joseph and Mary, are in the 'Word' menu in 'The Bible' section.
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John 1, Hoani 1:1
I te tīmatanga te Kupu, In the beginning was the Word i te Atua te Kupu, the Word was from God ko te Atua anō te Kupu and the Word was God. |
John 1, Hoani 1:3-4
I a ia te ora; In him is life; ko te ora te mārama mō ngā tāngata. life that is light to humanity. I roto i te pōuri te mārama e whiti ana; The light shines in the darkness, heoi, kīhai i mau i te pōuri. but the darkness cannot put it out |
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And a little something extra special for Christmas ... how might a Māori view of Jesus' genealogy inform our Christology?? A powerful reflection (excerpt from his PhD) but my friend Wayne Te Kaawa (the Rev Dr Prof!)
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Brought to you by Silvia Purdie 
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Place Sustainability Consultancy and training
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I have been getting heaps of new visitors to my website lately, so if this is your first visit, Nau mai Haere mai, you are warmly welcome!
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Climate Theology
I am preaching a lot, in a lot of different contexts, about climate change. So I keep adding to my Climate Theology page. Here's a recent one, me arguing back at Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17: |
Image from Disuko on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0W11b3HwbRPH7fVNZNVm6y
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1 Thessalonians is also the cause of massive problems for the church and its mission ever since. Why? Because Paul here paints a picture of ultimate hope and ultimate glorious future at the return of Christ, and in verse 17 he describes his vision that we
“will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever.”
Oh dear, really, Paul!? In the clouds? Floating in thin air?
As an eco theologian I have a big problem with this verse. Because I see the damage it has done through the centuries in disconnecting people of faith from the land. If our ultimate hope and ultimate future is to be found somewhere floating up in the clouds, then why would we care about the earth?
“will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever.”
Oh dear, really, Paul!? In the clouds? Floating in thin air?
As an eco theologian I have a big problem with this verse. Because I see the damage it has done through the centuries in disconnecting people of faith from the land. If our ultimate hope and ultimate future is to be found somewhere floating up in the clouds, then why would we care about the earth?
Blingual Bible readings and prayers incorporating Te Paipera Tapu
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E te Ariki
O Lord, nāu nei i hanga you have made te rangi me te whenua the sky and the earth, te moana me ō reira mea katoa the sea and everything in them. Acts 4:24 Lord God, maker of all that is, ngā mea katoa, hear us as we pray for your creation. We praise you, we give you thanks for beauty and wonder, for the delicate balance of earth and atmosphere, te rangi me te whenua. This balance is under threat, Lord, and we pray for your sustaining power. We need you now. |
Video to help pronounce the Lord's Prayer in Māori:
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Supervision
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Safe, Empowered and Grounded: Trauma Informed Supervision
Article by Silvia Purdie, in conversation with Liz Pennington A series of short videos about professional supervision:
Youtube: 'Conversations that make a difference' Can I be your supervisor?? Call or email me to talk about it.
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'Moving On: Grief in Ministry Transition'
Over the last couple of years I have been working away at a 'passion project' reflecting on the challenges of ending ministries. This has become a book, as I have been hugely honoured that many fabulous people, from a diversity of cultures, have shared with me their own experience of ministry transitions, both personally and helping others through endings. Read more HERE |
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Video:
half hour talk on climate change and theology |
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A page on anxiety from a Christian perspective. Understand your own and other people's stress reactions ... and tools for non-anxious living.
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"Relationship Repair Kit"
offering eight practical and profoundly important tools for strengthening your marriage. - in the Counselling section. |
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Life, the Universe, and God
Six Big Ideas about Creation DOWNLOAD HERE A six-part study on God’s Creation in Christian Theology: • an overview of leading writers in eco-theology • a range of perspectives • questions and suggestions for discussion and prayer • issues raised by the Covid-19 pandemic. |
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Resources for faith and worship:
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 ... skilled professional support ... 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 ... 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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Photo and painting by Jessica Ramage
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