In September 1992 the youngest of our three children, eighteen month old daughter Kristen, died on the road outside our manse, hit by a car. I was in my first year as a minister, serving in the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand in Tokoroa, a town of 16000 people connected with dairy, logging, pulp and paper industries. A month later, the twenty one year old daughter of the church secretary was killed in a horrific car accident.
As you can imagine we were struggling to deal with multiple layers of grief, as a family, as a congregation, as a community. Coming into Christmas I remember the struggle of being responsible for communicating the love, joy and hope of the season. As I preached through the nativity stories I was attuned to the down-to-earth struggle of a young couple as they grappled with an unplanned pregnancy and an arduous journey away from home. I took comfort in God’s engagement in our suffering through becoming one of us, in the flesh.
Lloma, the church secretary who shared our journey of grief, was inspired to reach out to others who were feeling lost and alone over Christmas. Together our families gathered a team to host a Christmas Day dinner for people who were away from their families. The community responded magnificently. Farmers, butchers, and bakers donated food for the meal. The local newspaper featured our plans on the front page and challenged readers to invite their neighbours to their Christmas meals.
Celebrating Christmas without Kristen was painful. It wasn’t the memories of past Christmas that we grieved for – it was the lost opportunities of the future. But as we connected with our community we discovered others with similar experiences. Together we made God’s connection of fragility and joy.
An article I wrote for the back page of Journey, December 2007
Tapu Misa, columnist with the New Zealand Herald, recently mentioned her conversion to Christianity in passing. In her post, Discovering mum’s right about religion? Priceless, she unpacks the costly nature of that conversion.
…Having become a Christian, I can see why I resisted it for so long. People who dismiss it as a crutch for emotional cripples are wrong. Although I find the world a better, richer, more compassionate place with God in it, there’s no getting away from the fact that Christianity is a demanding religion. I’ve no problem loving my neighbours as myself but loving and praying for my enemies has so far proved more of a struggle (though I have ceased to wish them ill).
And not only am I supposed to face up to my awful imperfections, but I’m supposed to do something about them….
Tapu is helpfully deconstructing the illusion that conversion is merely some temporary fix to an emotional problem or an indication of an intellectual weakness. Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not an easy option - in fact it flies in the face of the natural outcomes of a busy, consumer-driven comfortable lifestyle. Thanks for the reminder Tapu.
Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and Mark Hart have joined up with drummer Matt Sherrod to reform Crowded House, almost two years after the death of former drummer Paul Hester, and over ten years since the band last played in concert. The new lineup is working on a new studio album is planning a world tour.
Talking about the decision Neil said “After spending most of last year making music and hanging out with my friend Nick Seymour we are now announcing our intention to reform Crowded House with a new record entitled Time On Earth. It feels right to us that the band should re-emerge at this time and together with Mark Hart we look forward to reconnecting with the audience that we established and for whom we still hold a deep respect. We aim to make the upcoming shows and the new music every bit as vital and spirited as what has come before. We are conscious that Paul Hester was above all a great drummer and we are currently auditioning to find someone special to take that role.”
The band is currently putting the finishing touches on the new album for release later in the year. Tour plans are yet to be announced but the band have confirmed they will play the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California USA along with Bjork, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.
This Saturday 17th March, the band will be performing new tracks and old favorites for a special live interactive webcast at 10pm GMT (3.00pm Los Angeles, 9.00am Sunday Sydney, 10.00am Sunday NZ), through www.crowdedhouseofficial.com. The band will take time during the performance to read out comments and answer questions from you.
Crowded House is making it possible for a few people to attend the webcast, live in Bath, England. You must be able to make your own way there and back. No accommodation will be provided.
I’ve just had a look at the trailer for Jonathan King’s horror movie, Black Sheep. Set in New Zealand. the movie tells the story of Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister) returning home to sell his share of the family farm to his older brother Angus (Peter Feeney), who is carrying out secret genetic experiemnts. While trying to reveal Angus’ experiments, a pair of environmental activists accidentally release a mutant lamb, which infects the herd and turns them into killer sheep.
The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year and is being released on NZ screens in March this year by Icon, originally supported by New Zealand Film Commission
Weta Workshop is providing animatronic puppets, special make up effects and other trickery to bring killer sheep to life in gory detail.
Get ready for the violence of the lambs. If you dare, see the Quicktime trailer for Black Sheep online at www.blacksheep-themovie.com
Also worth checking out is Scott Weinberg’s interview with director Jonathan King for Cinematical.
Olaf Wiig, one of the hostages recently released in the Gaza strip, says that being a Kiwi saved his life.
Last night on Close Up, on New Zealand’s TV One channel, Wiig talked about the two weeks in which he and US reporter Steve Centanni were held captive by the Holy Jihad Brigades. When the kidnappers accused Wiig and Centanni of being implicated in American oppression of Muslim Palestinians, Wiig said, “Dude, I’m not American, I’m a New Zealander”. He explained that New Zealand had a difficult relationship with the US, did not support war in the Middle East, and had no soldiers there. “We’re a different sort of people altogether”.
Wiig said that the conversation ended with the abductors saying “We realise you’re a New Zealander, we know New Zealand doesn’t kill Muslims. Unfortunately you’re with a very very dangerous American and we’re going to kill him”.
Centanni, obviously, would not have been glad to hear that news. Olaf kept the accusations to himself until after their release. The fact was Centanni was working for Fox, an American news conglomerate owned by an Australian-born naturalized American, Rupert Murdoch. Maybe these guys were getting Centanni to stand in for Murdoch? Centanni did work as an embedded journalist with the Navy SEALs during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.
Olaf Wiig is a NZ born freelance photographer living in Sussex, England. Through this kidnapping ordeal he’s earned himself a Wikipedia entry.
I used to work in the same building as Olaf’s father, Roger Wiig, at that time editor of Crosslink, the newspaper for the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations in New Zealand. Last I heard Roger was living over in the UK, after a stint here in Brisbane. The world is full of Post Kiwis!
Nebuchadnezzar, (Derek Barry) a resident of Wooloowin in Brisbane, has posted some very helpful stories this week, with insightful comments on the passing of the Maori Queen, the newly launched blog of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Queensland going to the polls, and the proposed legislation on assylum seekers hoping to enter Australia.
Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on Tuesday at the age of 75, after a reign of more than 40 years. Dame Te Ata was the longest serving head of the Kingitanga movement - the royal line, which started almost 150 years ago in an effort to stem the loss of native lands to the flood of white settlers arriving in New Zealand. I’m sure it was only a couple of weeks ago I was reading about representatives of the Methodist Church of New Zealand attending celebrations of Dame Te Ata’s anniversary.
On Monday Al Jazeera announced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has started his own blog. Iranians found out about this after it was announced on state TV on Sunday and they urged members of the public to send the president written messages through the website. Nebuchadnezzar writes about the difficulty the average Iranian has when trying to publish a blog. Despite the roll-out of broadband, censorship is alive and well in Iran.
Alan Jamieson at Prodigal Kiwi(s) Blog is posting a series on books that engage with ‘living and dying’ - books that help us face our dying so we may really live.
Auckland - was March 17 - now November 24
Auckland - was March 18 - now November 25
Brisbane - was March 21 - now November 7
Melbourne - was March 24 - now November 18
Melbourne - was March 25 - now November 19
Adelaide - was March 28 - now November 16
Sydney - was March 31 - now November 10
Sydney - was April 1 - now November 11
First match in the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup ended in a resounding win for the All Blacks - 32 All Blacks, 12 Wallabies. So much for the Channel Seven advertising, suggesting that the All Blacks are just fruit (Kiwis) that can be squashed. And so much for the Channel Seven advertisement portraying the All Blacks performing their haka with handbags on shoulders. The Wallabies were bagged tonight.
Martin Stewart, a Presbyterian colleague in Aotearoa New Zealand, has started a blog. Martin’s one guy who helped launch me into an earthy approach to spirituality. He’s a U2 fan, keen musician, theological gardener and able comedian. In his spare time he’s based at the Highgate Mission in Dunedin where he works alongside Fyfe Blair, who appears to have jump started his blog: Beyond Flatland.
Duncan Macleod posts on life, faith and culture in Australia, drawing from his involvement in the creative industry, the Uniting Church, the blogosphere, generational research, the emerging church and life on the Gold Coast.
In September 1992 the youngest of our three children, eighteen month old daughter Kristen, died on the road outside our manse, hit by a car. I was in my first year as a minister, serving in the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand in Tokoroa, a town of 16000 people connected with dairy, logging, pulp and paper industries. A month later, the twenty one year old daughter of the church secretary was killed in a horrific car accident.
Tapu Misa, columnist with the New Zealand Herald, recently mentioned her conversion to Christianity in passing. In her post, 
Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on Tuesday at the age of 75, after a reign of more than 40 years. Dame Te Ata was the longest serving head of the Kingitanga movement - the royal line, which started almost 150 years ago in an effort to stem the loss of native lands to the flood of white settlers arriving in New Zealand. I’m sure it was only a couple of weeks ago I was reading about representatives of the Methodist Church of New Zealand attending celebrations of Dame Te Ata’s anniversary.
Martin Stewart, a Presbyterian colleague in Aotearoa New Zealand, has started a blog. Martin’s one guy who helped launch me into an earthy approach to spirituality. He’s a U2 fan, keen musician, theological gardener and able comedian. In his spare time he’s based at the 
