Christmas Dinner generosity (2)

Musical generosity.
Over night we have lined up some musical stuff for the Christmas Dinner. We talked with a couple who were so happy to give some items. Another lady who has played piano and sung for us for a couple of christmas dinners is happy to come back. She said, "Thank you for asking".

Pretty cool. Music adds so much.

Linda at the piano two years ago. (We wear ghastly shirts so that people know who to go to for assistance)

Christmas day dinner Dunedin generosity (1)

I thought I might keep my readers up to date with the generosity of Dunedin people leading up to our Christmas Day dinner.

• We have had heaps of people booking in to be volunteers on the day.
• We have Little India restaurant lined up to cook the vegetables and Marlow Pies will cook our twenty plus legs of mutton. The owners of both places have helped in the past. They are both going away this year, but have insisted that they will organise for someone on their staff to look after it all for us.
• We have applied for and received $2800 in grants from two places, the Trust giving $2000 does not want any recognition... "Your Church deserves any recognition due".
• The Dominican Sisters gave us a donation of $500 and other donations of $200 and $100 from individuals have been received.

Today three things have happened which prompted this post.

• A breakfast time phone call offered a ham for the dinner.
• A lunch time phone call offered a ten seater bus to pick up guests and deliver them home with the driver willing to host the passengers at the meal.
• A man in overalls walked into Space2B, did not introduce himself but asked, "Are you the minister of this show?" "Yes"... He dug in his pockets and pulled out a bank cheque for $110 "Here, for your Christmas meal - you do well. Bye!" and walked out the door. (I recognised him from other years)

I'll keep you posted on other developments... I am always humbled by people's generosity.

Sowing the seed

Gardening day
Mondays are my only day off each week. We have an acre of ground at our house and we try to establish a vegetable garden. It is not as big as it ought to be. I am aware that many people in the world would love to have this much ground and this climate. They could live off it, where as we waste much of it. We have two goats who are just grass eaters who keep the paddock in check and we have a hen house with eight hens producing a good number of eggs every day. The last three Mondays, have been rainy weather so nothing has been done in the garden. Today was a brilliant day, sunny and warm, but not too warm. With sun hat and sunblock on I planted 9 rows of various vegetables. They are a bit late but with proper care they will produce. I had to fork over the ground and had been tossing stones over the fence into the paddock. I realised that we could use them and that this patch of ground had plenty of them. I managed to collect two buckets of stones which went on the path to the hen house.
Gardening insights
One of the reasons I enjoy gardening is that it provides time for your mind and heart to catch up on yourself. It enables you to appreciate various things. Here are a few.

• The bird song at various times of the day was magic. I still marvel at how such a small instrument can produce such big sounds.
• I think the peas I had planted a few weeks ago actually grew while I was watching them today. I am sure they were bigger tonight than they were when I began this morning.
• As I tossed stones from the garden into a bucket I got to thinking how amazing it is. Each stone is a different size and shape yet as I threw them in the bucket I think I got at least 9 out of every 10 in the target. I think it is amazing that my brain, eyes and arms can co-ordinate in such a way! The human body is a pretty good piece of machinery. I still marvel at cricket batsmen who have a split second to see and hit a ball.  (It is just a pity NZ batsmen could not do it better!)
• I just love that I could, if I had the time, feed myself in a healthy way off my patch of land. Maybe when I retire? While I was dreaming of this I began to wonder. I realised that presently I find fulfillment in dealing with people, helping them, supporting them and sharing with them. When I retire will I truly be happy just growing a garden?

A different denomination?- a different ministry?... but we're doing OK

In the newspaper and via email another denomination in Dunedin was advertising a part time ministry position. I am super busy; I have significant frustrations in my present ministry; I need to start looking after my health a bit better so I am tempted to go for a job with less hours. I emailed away for information and to let them know I was interested. There are a number of congregations and the position meant working in a team with others. There was a "Parish Profile" which I was interested to explore. It was all very well worded. There were mission statements, goals and clear descriptions of what was happening. If the figures are to be believed the total attendance at services amounts to about three times what my present congregation is. The biggest congregation of the four has more attending than my present one. The theology they wanted to pursue was "Progressive Theology" which is where I am at. They had some lovely sounding statements about their work... but.... the heading on part of the Parish Profile read like this;  Significant congregation achievements, events or programmes in the past 3-5 years in the congregation and community:

Now the answer they gave to that was a program that was essentially geared for the "faithful" and the "thinkers". These are "evening meetings that will enrich, educate and entertain members of the parish and also the wider community".  There were also a couple of retreats. Is that all they could list in the last 3 - 5 years? None of the future goals of the parish had them reaching out and serving or interacting with the community in any big way.  Now I realise that there are probably other significant things they do not mention but they seem to fall short from my perspective. I then thought "how could my Church answer that same question?"... A weekly Drop-in centre for unemployed, mental health patients etc; Space 2B open and available to the community; Settlement resource at Space2B; New Immigrants Orientation tours with the City Council; links to, hosting and encouragement of Sustainability groups; Monthly cultural family nights; Christmas Day community dinners are just the main ones. As I read this profile I began to think that for our size we are doing very well.  We are punching a way above our weight, though admittedly the proportion of my congregation participating in these is relatively small.  This different denomination has all the correct words and progressive theology that would tempt me. Their thinking is good. They do a lot of "education and theologizing" which I would enjoy, but it seems all inward. It appears to be intellectual and/or spiritual "masturbation". They do not seem to be intent on connecting with their community. I could be wrong, but I guess I have to ask, "Would I fit in?" I would in many respects, because I like their words and theology. But with their apparent directions I may also find more frustration. Then again, it might be something I can change? The comparisons have been an interesting exercise. We do need to be sowing the seed. Seeds are no good just sitting in their packets, they need planting in the garden.

Sunday again... I can do so much!

Just about to start last Friday's small funeral.

Life seems to be a bit of a blur lately. I am always rushing from one thing to another. Last Monday it rained so I did some work on Sunday's readings, thinking that could mean I could take some time off during the week. There has been no chance of that happening! I have been putting in some long hours and often not sleeping well at nights.
Fire aftermath
I mentioned that St John Headquarters had a bit of an explosion and fire that I came across on Thursday. I had visited it then, but had been thinking that I would pop across on Friday morning to see how people were. St John NZ had done away with Workplace Support Chaplains in favour of a counselling service people rang up for, so I had lost my paid chaplaincy job there and now continue to have contact as a voluntary chaplain. I had gone in to the office an hour earlier on Friday morning to get some work done. (I have a regular visitor for coffee on Friday mornings.) As I was working away, I had a phone call and visit from two of the leaders from St John. They asked if I could go across and spend some time chatting with staff who had been distressed by the fire etc. Of course I said "yes", whilst wondering how I was going to fit everything else in. The selfish vindictive side of me wanted say, "Where is your fancy new counselling service you replaced me with now?" I spent a big part of the morning talking with people for whom the fire had been a frightening experience. Sometimes it just added to stuff that was already happening in their lives. Later in the day I visited the hospital where a staff member had been receiving treatment for burned hands.
Community building
On Fridays a group we have assisted in getting off the ground meets in our building free of charge. They are "Women Across Cultures" a group of women from many cultures who spend the morning together. (Because of the presence of one or two women from quite strict Muslim backgrounds men are not allowed in the room.) We have a group of guys frequent our Space2B at lunch times. This last Friday the women were cooking up a lunch, a multi-cultural delicacy. They sent a message through to Space2B to see how many were there. In due course enough food to feed us all came through. I loved that sharing, it is part of my dream.
Another sad contact- the importance of crew members
I had heard that one of my fire fighters had experienced a tough situation on his day off. He was sitting watching TV when there was a fatal accident between a car and a motorbike on the road outside his house. He was first on the scene and stayed with the motorcyclist as his life ebbed out of him, then extinguished the burning bike before any other emergency services managed to get there.  I knew the man was coming on duty that night so I made a trip to the fire station to see him and see how he was doing. It was interesting how he said such an incident was so different when off duty. On duty when the alarm goes of you steal yourself up to face whatever and you have your crew with you. When it is unexpected and you are alone it is harder to deal with.
Mini Stroke
We have in our congregation a man we first met through our drop-in centre, his name is Robbie. He helps out in various ways and we support him too. As I was visiting fire stations on Friday I got a text from my wife to tell me that Robbie had suffered a mini stroke and been taken to the emergency department. I went there to see him and sat outside the curtain around his bed listening as the doctor checked him out. I realised that I loved Robbie like my own brother and was feeling deeply for him. He is OK, given medication and back giving me cheek, but that too was part of my Friday.
All of the above fitted into my Friday. I worked nearly 15 hours in total.
Saturday

Me and bridegroom waiting for the bride

Long distance shot of the happy couple.

Saturday was also a busy day. I was up early and working. I conducted a wedding and attended the reception in the afternoon. I was pleased with the way I conducted the wedding and the positive vibes I got about it all. I returned home and continued working at around 11 p.m. It was about 12:30 a.m. when I went to bed and a little after 6 a.m. when I got up this morning.

Two interesting things
We New Zealanders are masters of the understatement. I had to laugh as I talked to people who had experienced the explosion and fire at St John. "It was a bit scary" meaning really I was petrified. "Just a little bit of a mess" meaning the room was a blackened stuffed up mess. "I got a bit of a fright" meaning I was scared out of my brain.  Fire fighter involved with the motorcyclist said something like, "Yeah it was all a bit sad." I think he means it was a very tragic accident. Robbie said something like, "Didn't like it much!" which meant experiencing the stroke had scared the life out of him. We have a funny way of communicating our feelings. We understate them, when deep inside we have been profoundly impacted.
I am impressed with what I can do. I have been incredibly busy and having to fit a lot of stuff into each day. There have been times when I have wondered how I can possibly do it all. But I have! I have done it well too. I seem to be able to prioritise, think carefully about how to most efficiently do things and manage to come out on top. I have surprised myself with how I will write up a "to do" list and methodically work my way through it and still find creativity. Somehow the insight, the energy and the endurance "comes"... I actually feel linked to processes bigger than myself.

Generous fire fighters

I had been out in the country for a wedding rehearsal. As I came back to town and down the hill toward the church I noticed fire trucks surrounding the St John Ambulance Headquarters with hoses going everywhere. There had been some sort of explosion inside. It is just across the road from the church so I went over and talked with fire fighters and Ambulance people. They were winding down the incident and I was chatting with firefighters. It was Green Watch, the crews which will be on duty on Christmas day. They came up to me and said that they will be keen to help. It was almost embarrassing their readiness to be involved. Fire fighters have assisted with our Christmas day dinner every year now since about 1995. I enjoy their involvement and their acceptance of who I am in mission and ministry. It is a real buzz on the day.

A new responsibility

Tonight we had our Night Shelter Trust meeting. I love working with the people on the Trust. Kevin our chairman of 6 years has decided to step down and I have been "promoted" to the chair. We have made great progress this year in establishing ourselves on a firmer footing and we are hoping to continue the momentum. I am going to have to rely on the whole team doing their thing if we are going to progress. They said as they left that I will have to go home and "adjust your CV." It will be quite "life-giving" working with this generally enjoyable bunch of people. 

After the meeting a group of us was sitting around chatting. Into the church walked this rather spaced out looking guy. He turned out to be homeless. He went away and came back again and I eventually took him around to the night shelter. Warren our night shelter manager welcomed him (he was familiar to him) and sat him down to talk with him. It seemed a fitting end to a night of discussing the business side of our work. 

Life for me even at 63 is one big interesting, though challenging adventure.

Why not vote?

My daughter in law and her father when he visited them in Edinburgh earlier this year.

Apparently there was a very low voter turn out in the general election on Saturday. When there is a low turn out that is always bad news for Labour. I get frustrated when people don't vote. I can understand a certain cynicism, because you are not sure who to believe, or if you can believe any of them. Sometimes too there is not much difference between parties so apathy can creep in. But I think we have a moral responsibility to vote. We now have Mixed Member Proportional voting which means every vote has an impact on the numbers in Parliament. Under First Past The Post you sometimes felt it was a waste of time.

Last year we were privileged to meet Mr Ciaglewicz in Poland. He is my son's father-in-law. We saw him shortly after elections in Poland in July/August last year.  During our visit we had a special night with him talking through the use of dictionaries, pictures and charades.  Later in the evening Magda his daughter came home and we had an interpreter. (She was surprised with how well we had done communicating, and some how some of the fun and delight went out of it when she could interpret... it was too easy. ) We caught up on his life, who he was and on his history.  At one stage he told us that he had been annoyed with his children because they were not inclined to vote. He pointed out that under the communists he had been a part of a group working for democracy. He risked arrest and at one stage had to move his family because of his involvement in agitating against the regime. He had risked, worked and struggled to help get a functioning democracy in Poland, and he did not like it being taken lightly.

I began to have a new appreciation for the freedoms we have here in NZ. We may feel very powerless in all the various fluctuations of life, but we can vote. We have an opportunity to express our values and perspectives on polling day. This will always involve a compromise because we will always find some aspects of a political party that we cannot identify with, but we can influence the general direction of our country.  We ought to make use of the opportunity to vote.

We get the government we deserve if we fail to have our say. Such apathy annoys me. Somebody who did not vote better not gripe to me when our assets are sold, or when they feel left behind!

Sleepy Sunday afternoon.

When I stopped .. I stopped!
I have had a very busy week. As well as the usual things there have been five extras that have added to the things to do list.

• I had a funeral to run. A funeral for me takes an extra eight hours of work at least. This one was "different" and probably took a little longer. 
• I had an extra little Advent Sunday ecumenical candle lighting ceremony to prepare for, print stuff for and run.
• I had a radio Church service to record.
• My daughter and husband are away on holiday. They generally type and print up the Church newsletter but this week I had to do this job. On a Sunday morning they prepare some of the service power points, they slot the ones I do into the program, set up all the audio-visual equipment and operate the buttons during the service. Angela also helps with the radio service. I had to do all these tasks this week.
• Christmas Community Dinner always means extra phone calls and emails to deal to at this time of the year. Each day there were people to contact about this or some phone call to respond to. 

All these meant more actual hours of work. But also for me each one meant extra stress levels. I have been a minister for decades, but I still get strung out about a funeral, a radio service and Sunday services. I lose sleep over these things.  After Church we had lunch up town, then when we came home I went to bed for a rest and in two seconds I was out like a light. I was really like a drunk man. I wanted to get up and do something useful, or go do some exercise, but each time I thought about doing so I just blobbed out again... for about three hours. I must have needed the sleep. ... or was it the lovely Guinness I had with my lunch?

But I CAN do it and do it well!

This week has been stressful, but at the same time I finish the week with the feeling that I am good at my job. I stressed about the very different funeral. An intimate and small one. Somehow it is easier to take a big one from behind a lectern, or at least its more familiar. I realised that a totally different approach was needed for this one. But the good thing is I could do it and do it well. I adapted! It felt OK and I could tell I was being helpful and meaningful for those involved. Yesterday I worked on the things for today. I had read extensively for the service and had been nutting out how to communicate it. As time went on I gathered material together. I planned all the different things I had to do in my mind and how to schedule them. "First I'll do this and put it on a memory stick ... then I'll do that leaflet.. then I'll write up my final draft.. then I'll do the power points.. then.. and then..."  It was about 7a.m. when my wife and I got to the Church this morning. The first service we had to host was at 9:15.  It all went so smoothly. I followed my plan and worked through all I had to do, and was so ready I could go up at 9:05 and chat with people arriving. For the next service also everything fell into place and while leading I could tell people were "with me". I "done good".  The Genesis myth has God working on creation and five times it says; "And God saw that it was good". In the final day it says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Well I look back on this week and even though I have not felt confident, and I stressed out frequently, and sometimes thought and said, "I can't do this!" ... as I look back I can say with pride... "I did it, and I did it well. I made a difference in people's lives! Oh yeah!"

Election blues

We in NZ had our general election yesterday. There were no surprises really. The National Party got back in and did so with an increased margin. I voted Labour so I am a bit blue today. I don't think Labour had the depth of leadership to carry the election. I am sad because I get the feel that with National the rich will get richer and the poor will be left behind. They tend to say that it is the poor's fault that they are poor. Now I am not naive enough to say that the poor never make bad choices. There are poor people I'd love to give a kick in the backside. But I am anguished by a lot of what I see. I see a growing divide between the computer literate and those who never have a chance to be that way. The simplest jobs these days often demand computer literacy. People make a few bad choices and often end up on the scrap heap of life and never catch up. Things like apprenticeships seem a thing of the past or out of the reach of many. In three out of my four chaplaincies people with responsible significant jobs are losing them. There seems to be no job security for so many people. I fear that National, even if it increases our efficiency and does balance the books, will increase these divides. The increased income will be enjoyed by the top relative few.

The other thing about National is that I just don't trust John Key. I think John Key is about John Key. He comes across smooth and smiling. His style has obviously won lots of voters. He has some sort of charisma... but ... the more I see of him the more I get concerned. He is pragmatic and will go with whatever suits at the time. I don't think he is a principled statesman. I just feel deeply uneasy and can't trust him.  The one good thing about the election is that the Greens have "grown up". They doubled their share of the vote. They have well reasoned policies and a breadth of policy now that is much more attractive to "Mr and Mrs Average" kiwi. I wonder if they may even replace the labour party as the main left wing party some time in the future?

Anyway... I know the Labour Party is really in a rebuild mode and expected them to lose... but I am still sad the Tories won again.