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Keeping our nation free from antiquated religious influences is a thankless task but someone’s got to do it. Dr Pita Sharples, Maori Party Co-Leader, supported Kelston’s initiative saying that ‘schools have to reflect and respect the culture of our kids to make them feel welcome and connected’ and noting that karakia, ‘is a vital part Read more
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Getting any kind of help from Jesus didn’t seem likely when I was propelled onto a praying exploration by my friend Marcia’s decision to go on pilgrimage. Neither did I expect preaching at a local church, an unusual experience for me these days, the preaching and the going to church, to be a tipping point. The gospel I Read more
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The trouble with the godstuff is that you can spend an awful lot of time wrestling with things that make no apparent sense. Like this prayer exploration I’ve been tangling with after my friend Marcia asked me to pray for her before merrily tripping off on pilgrimage. Prayer has always been a mystery to me, which you Read more
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Pentecost is no match for the World of Wearable Art that puts the Wow factor into Wellington. The festival where art, fashion and theatre collide, the only boundaries being the limits of human imagination . Festivals need to promise good times, strutting their stuff with music, laughter, food, entertainment and, if we allow them to, speaking Read more
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Not one prayer Marcia. Even though you asked me to pray for your pilgrimage to Santiago, not one dialogue with God has unfolded. No petitions have been sent heavenward asking for your safekeeping. Not even any candles lit on your behalf. My lack of proper praying hasn’t given rise to any guilt at all; just an engaged interest Read more
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Anzac Day troubles me because when all the processions, words and rituals are done, I don’t know what it means. That’s frightening given its resurgence as a quasi belief system in New Zealand that seems to demand an almost unquestioning reverence. It’s not that I haven’t tried to understand. I’ve ploughed my way through books, Read more
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Bodies are machines, says Associate Professor Geoff Shaw, an intensive care specialist in Christchurch. He’s passionate about bridging the gap between engineering and medicine, using that connection to help unravel the secrets of human machines. There’s truth in what he says about the human body, especially when viewed from the highly mechanized intensive care environment where Read more
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Searching for Sugar Man is a strange story. On the face of it, a documentary about a musician famous in one country and completely unknown in his own. Within the layers it becomes an Easter tale. David Letterman called it jaw droppingly fascinating and that about sums up this movie about Sixto Rodriquez, a musical political from Read more
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No matter how much my Mum tried to speak softly about the outrageous goings on in the Presbyterian Church with ‘that man Geering’, I could hear her telephone whisperings. One of the great advantages of my childhood bedroom was its proximity to the telephone. A significant cream instrument with braided cord, set upon a clever combination Read more
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‘Why on earth do people use crosses to mark road deaths,’ asked my friend as we were setting the world to rights over a glass of vino. ‘It seems strange,’ she said, ‘it’s not as though they’d all be believers.’ Her question penetrated. I turned to talk to her but instead found myself looking back Read more
Mr Alex McNaughten