Nice To See Ya

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
Proverbs 18:10 

Girls how wonderful to have seen so many of you on the netball courts at the Edgar Centre and around town as I do my thing with the family.

Shrove Tuesday 2007

I hope youare well and think of you often.
Take good care of each other

Richard Kerr-Bell 

Fantastic!

Girls, you are fantastic.

There are so many people with expectations of you; friends, parents, coaches, teachers, randoms! And yet you keep getting up and doing your best, standing up and having another go, and I want to say to you that you are inspirational.

Never give up, always ask for what you want (politely of course), take action if there is something you want to change and please be gentle on yourselves.

You are so lovely, so eager to learn, to grow, to make something of life and to ask questions to make sense of it.

Keep taking care, keep laughing, keep looking after each other.

So many of us are proud of you. I know I am

Pa Richard

Easter

There is a lot more to Easter than the Easter bunny!

Bishop Kelvin gave a brilliant homily at our Easter service. As I understod it, he was challenging us to see, hear and think beyond what we can perceive using our senses. With the analogy of dogs who see les colours than we do and certain birds who see a greater rang of colours than we can and this is only the sense of sight, how many other frequencies of life, or planes , or dimensions of existence are there?

And doesnt this open us up to the possibility of life beyond what we know in our heads?

This adds a different level of understanding perhaps to Jesus miracles, Jesus risen, the presence and gifts of the holy Spirit, life after death, heaven... .

For most if us an Easter service, the hunting of eggs or the presence of large chocolate eggs, hot cross buns, and hopefully a family gathering of some sort is our Easter.

With all that is your holiday (holy-day) keep some room for miracles, for new life and possibilities where it looked like there was no life or no hope, room for peace and room for laughter.

God bless
Pa Richard

Saying Goodbye to People I Love

This has to be the hardest goodbye I can remember.
Why?
Well I'm sure you will hear me talk about it over the coming weeks but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to put down some thoughts.

Firstly, I will miss you girls something crazy. It is very rare in life to make about 1000 friends over 6+ years (give or take), enjoy spending every day with them, seeing them, talking to them, watching them play sport, sing, learn, and pray, grow, then one day... oh that will be a very sad day for me, say that you wont see them so much anymore.

The year 8s had a party for me today because I will not get to teach them again and when I spoke in response to their wonderfully generous songs, messages, food, and gifts I just wanted to cry. So thanks so much.

I know we will have lots of time over the coming weeks, and when I am somewhere else, be sure to say hello if you see me, I will certainly be waving at you!!!

You are very special people. I will miss you like a family.

Aue te tangi o te powhiri e tangi ana!
And so the time for tears of farewell has arrived.
When asked earlier this week if I was ready to move or was I sad, I replied, "I am very very sad"
Your daughters are just magic. I have loved working with, praying with, teaching with, and growing with them.
As I said, I am not leaving them, I am leaving the roles that I have in the school.

It has truly been my privilege and pleasure to spend just over 6 years of my life in the service of these young women
at St Hilda's. the many Sacristans, the Sports teams, Chapel Committees, Touch teams, and classes. Chapels and
Religious Education, We have shared pain and struggle, laughs and friendship and I am so better off for being with you.

i am also indebted to Hazel Day for the time we have worked closely together and so many staff who do their very best
with all they have to share they joy they have in the topics they teach.

And to you the parents, thank you. For your trust and support, for your feedback and for sharing these wonderful young
people with us.
To the Board and Chris Leighton for the courage and vision to hire a male, non-ordained Catholic to lay the roles of Chaplain,
Guidance Counsellor, and Teacher of Religious Education. It has been one of the highlights of my professional career.

I will always have some light blue running deep in my veins and I will follow the lives of each of the girls with pride.

It is with much sadness and with memories of great joy that I leave on May 27th for a full-time counselling position at Kaikorai Valley.

Lots of love and the blessings of a loving God be with all of you.
Arohanui

Richard Kerr-Bell
Pa Richard

Love is the Law

Jesus said, "I am the way the truth, and the light", and that the sum of the 'Law' was love.
This is not so easy to interpret I know. I say I love my mum and in the next sentence, I love McDonalds, I love that dress, and I love those shoes - this may be on the spectrum but it is not anywhere near Jesus' start point.

The love he spoke of, relates to love for one another as a reflection of our love for God. the respect, dignity, care, kindness, and gentleness with each other. How we welcome strangers and those without support, how we go out of our way to ensure each of us has enough, and when we forget, he asks us to ask for forgiveness, to give forgiveness when asked, and to seek to make changes.

Nothing about this real Christianity is soft. Attending Chapel, Church, singing, praying are all noble and worthy expressions of our love for god and each other, but they build on the relationships we are already working with, they do not replace the law of love, as Jesus worded it. In fact without love, we are wasting our time.

Love is not easy, love requires the Spirit of God, the commitment to letting our ego, fear, and false perception of superiority go.

Jesus as we near Easter, pray for us,be with us to love, to know what love is, to experience true love.

Pa Richard

Lenten W.O.F

That's right, a Lenten Warrant of Fitness!
This is a quick check to see how our preparations for Easter are going, especially as they relate to Lent and our reflection of our life, prayer, and relationships.

The natural disasters have certainly left us with a heaviness, maybe we have thought about our life' priorities or simply moved a little closer to those we love through more time, contact, or a phone call. the other response is to withdraw in fear. or confusion, or numbness to life's trauma and challenge.

So it would be fair to say most of us have been a part of a 'Lenten' experience on a much bigger and deeper level, I know our services and prayers have been more focused, and emotional. If I was to add anything, it would be to ask if you haven't already, "How are your relationships with those closest to you? Is there anything you can do to improve them, move closer or deeper or just give some appreciation?

Know you are loved - that is the key message of Easter.
Take care -God Bless

Pa Richard

Friends

Friends are fantastic, many songs and poems, sayings, and photos reflect the importance of friendships to us.
It is important to be a good friend, and this can be hard when our friend is hurting, sad, or angry, what do we do then?

Keep talking and more importantly listening. Sometimes just being there means alot in tough times, sometimes a laugh, or an understanding look.

Some useful phrases if you are unsure of our to approach someone are:

• Not having a great day?
• You O.K?
• Sorry things are so tough at the moment, you know I'm here for you!
• Is it O.K if I sit here?
• Do you want to come for a walk?
• Use humour that is appropriate and that shifts the focus a little.

So what do we do when we are in a mess? It can be really really hard to break out can't it?

Sometimes we need our friends to help us and if we have been mean we may need to say sorry

Hope

In the following speech, John F. Kennedy speaks of a practical hope, one that challenges us to know we can effect our world for good, we can change our world for the betterment of all people, and that when we are in need, our duty as fellow humans and especially for us as Christians, is to offer without limit our assistance and our hope.

"With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds; let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. "

Hope is not a dream or a fantasy of magic, it is a willingness to suspend judgment until all possible efforts and options are spent, and even then to wait a moment longer.

History is full of stories of hope against seemingly impossible odds, unthinkable miracles and yet time and again the physics of life are turned in our favour without reason, without understanding for our knowledge is tiny compared to the size of an infinite universe and a God of infinite love.

So when you cannot hold your hope, allow others to do so, 
when you can no longer believe, allow others to continue to believe in you, 
and when you cannot think of a reason to get up, allow others to sit with you, 
to pick you up and to carry you as God does in love and in sadness.

“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope”

Love knows no bounds, and God is love 

Japan - Tsunami - Earthquake, Christchurch : Where is God?

No one watching the coverage of the horrific Tsunami/Earthquake in Japan or the Earthquake devastation in Christchurch could not wonder what was happening the world? When will it end? Is this the end? and Where is God?


There is never one answer and no answer that everyone will accept or understand.
(Dealing with Grief and truma with kids)


In events of this magnitude it is overwhelming and it would be insensitive to share anything but sympathy and empathy with those directly affected.


The place religion and our faith plays is this;
To provide a space that is within our reach, and within our experience, that acknowledges what has happened and the level of personal loss involved. A place to put all that is too much, too hard, and far too fearful for a while. To put our faith that inspite of all that has happened and will happen,  God's faithful presence and love can and wants to hold us.

This is no cop out, it is doing what we as humans can do, what we as people of faith believe has been an historical and appropriate response to these events that we struggle to understand.


We pray for Japan and her people, for Christchurch, and for all affected by natural disasters.
We act with all we can as their brothers and their sisters. We unite and remember that we are all in it together, our neighbour, our school friends, our town, our country, indeed the earth's community of living things.


Some things that may help on a day to day level.

• Routines -just take a little more time with them and be a little less ridged.
• Be gentle on ourselves. If you find you are tearful or upset easily, it is natural, just take it easier on yourself and those around you.
• Take time out from what is real. Movies, humour, a book, creating something.
• Talk to people you trust and who care about the fears you have, it makes them a little more easy to face and to overcome.
• Every emotional response is natural. anger, fear, confusion, sadness, anxiety, injustice, doubt - accept that this is so, and be gentle with it, with others -our tolerance levels and awareness can be a lot lower, even when the trauma is only watched from a distance.
• Nothing wrong with a another dose of hugs, cuddles, and 'I love you's.

Be gentle

Contribute as you are able
Pray
Talk
It is the right thing to do, the only thing we can do.


Pa Richard
LINK for  Dealing with trauma and grief for kids



Waiata Tangi for those who have passed:

Lent

With Ash Wednesday tomorrow Lent will have officially begun!

I know I'm making sound exciting but as we said in Chapel, it is really about reflection, about creating change in our lives, returning to what gives life, to what is the essence of our lives, and to make space fr prayer, to share our life with God.

Traditionally people give something up for Lent (the forty week days of Lent until Easter), some give up chocolate, a TV Programme, Lollies, ice-cream and so on. Another approach is to do something. So this might mean  be conscious of saying thank you, of giving so many compliments (sincerely) a day or week, for doing an extra job you know will make a difference, or volunteer.

Is your life perfect? So what area would yo like to change for the better?
Let this be your challenge maybe - one little thing, one day at a time (weekends off to catch your breath).

Accept the cross of ash after chapel, as a start point to new life, or a little change towards where you want to be.

God Bless
Pa Richard

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, is the first day of the Season of Lent which is the beginning of the Easter Period of the Church's calendar, remembering Jesus 40 days in the desert preparing for his mission that would end in his death (Easter)

Its name comes from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshipers’ heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the world. 

Ash Wednesday is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully Christian.

Watch and listen to the Archbishop of Canterbury reflecting on 'Lent'

The placing of ashes on one's forehead or hand is for the whole congregation in services similar to those that are now observed in many Christian churches on Ash Wednesday. Ashes became symbolic of that attitude of penitence reflected in the Lord’s prayer:  “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us”  (Luke 11:4, NRSV). 

When we hold our Ash Wednesday service (March 9), you can receive ashes on your forehead or hand on your way out of the Chapel.


God Bless
Pa Richard


PS On Tuesday we have Shrove Tuesday which is a bit of fun, but historically is seen as the last day to use up 'rich' foods in preparation to fast and go without as a reminder to rely on God's love for our spiritual food rather than fill our lives with 'things', and  to share what we have.

Mardi Gras or Carnival

Carnival, which comes from a Latin phrase meaning "removal of meat," is the three day period preceding the beginning of Lent, the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday immediately before Ash Wednesday. The three days before Ash Wednesday are also known as Shrovetide ("shrove" is an Old English word meaning "to repent"). 

The Tuesday just before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday, or is more popularly known by the French term Mardi Gras, meaning "Fat Tuesday," contrasting to the fasting during Lent. The entire three day period has now come to be known in many areas as Mardi Gras.

The Power of Music

I often play music during religious education classes, but not always hymns or 'standard religious music'. There is nothing wrong with these tracks that I also have a large collection, I am however, captured by the power of music in general and the message of hope, peace and justice, of connection and especially of love.


The Ulanov's comment in their book called 'Primary Speech' about prayer that desire and a movement towards something outside of ourselves is a beginning of prayer.


It has always been a feature of good music that it affects a generation, that one song, group, or cause creates change. As St Augustine is quoted as saying, "Singing is praying twice", and we know ourselves how it can lift us, inspire us, keep us mired in the muck of anger or pain, and free us from it by giving it a voice.


I was at a concert last night with my daughter and buckets were passed around to collect donations of for Christchurch people and their extreme need of our support. Each of the musicians expressed a heart felt connection to the cause and the people of Dunedin, thought small in number gave generously.


It was a pleasure to be a part of something that makes a difference.


Thanks to OP Shop, Midnight Youth and of course Brooke Fraser.


 Golden love. (I just found it quite powerful along with One Day and Water...)

Religious Education and Social Entrepreneurship

Religious Education and Social Entrepreneurship can be fantastic partners.

this came to be very clearly in reading Chapter 3 of "Half the Sky", 'The New Abolitionists'. It tells of Zach Hunter a 12 year old boy living in Atlanta, who started a campaign he called, 'Loose Change to Loosen Change" and he asked school kids initially to donate their loose change to his cause which was of course, towards taking action t effect change in the human trafficking horror.

While doing this he also collected 100,000 signatures to take to the White House so that more pressure might be brought to bare on countries that do not enforce the law in this area.

His example is one one many where people of all nationalities and backgrounds who are starting movements that while based on a business model to generate income, donate almost all profit towards a cause which is designed to improve life for people or the environment in one way or another.

A group called Ashoka is an international organisation that promotes such ideas and causes. The first paragraph on their website I have put here:

What is a Social Entrepreneur?

Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.
Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.


A New Zealand organisation with the same goals is here and their website begins  here...

Social Entrepreneurship is found when an individual, group, organisation, or network seeks systemic and sustainable change on our most significant social problems.

Social Entrepreneurs create the innovations that will be “patterns for change” in what government, businesses, community groups or citizens will do to address these problems.

The New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellowship has been established as a peer learning community of outstanding New Zealand change-makers. Every six months this Fellowship meets to explore the skills of social enterprise, and to share experience on creating and supporting social innovation

One place to start: Tactics of Hope

The Tactics of Hope:  Social Entrepreneurship

Prayer in a time of need

Prayer is always an appropriate response to anything, to celebrate, to acknowledge creation in the environment, before a meal, at the beginning of a journey, to give thanks, and especially in times of tragedy.

We held a service fo the whole school today at St Hilda's to prayer for the people of Christchurch, to acknowledge our connectedness, our humanity, the fact that we cannot control the universe but rely on each other to get by, to accomplish anything. Often we can't even save ourselves and maintain our own sanity in life on good days!

It is at this time that prayer and holding our love and memory of people close to our heart, placing them before God and within God's presence, that we contribute deeply.

There is no one right response in tines of trauma, tears, for no reason, fear, and feeling sick are all a part of this painful experience.

There is a beautiful and very old sculpture known as the Pieta by Michelangelo in St Peter's Basilica in Rome.  Ithink it is how we (if possible) can look after ourselves and others in such times, with gentleness, with nurturing, and with patience.

We pray for you all
Pa Richard

Dear friends,

All Saints Church will be open all day for people to come in and light a candle and pray for the people of Christchurch.
All are welcome at 5.30pm today at a Holy Communion service with prayers for Christchurch. Please share this information through your networks.

Rev. Michael Wallace
Vicar, All Saints Anglican Parish
786 Cumberland Street, Dunedin 9016
Aotearoa/ New Zealand

We Pray for the People of Christchurch

Lord we ask your peace on the people of Christchurch, at this time of great mourning.  May we have the courage to offer our prayer, our homes, and our means however we are able to support and encourage them.

If you are not sure how to ray or what to say, you can simply bow your head, or kneel, or sit and pray these words below as Jesus taught. Or simply let your tears be the words of your heart placed before God.

As found in: Matthew 6:9–13

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil."

Amen

Prayer

Religious Education and long term benefits

Many people can rightly ask, "Does teaching religious education have any effect on long term (or short term for that matter) behaviour or faith practice?"

And to be honest, without serious research, one couldn't honestly say. I can however speak to my 6 years as Lay Chaplain of St Hilda's,  collecting anecdotes, and listening to past students, their parents, and the stories they retell.

This weekend as you can see by the photo (upper left), I was in Twizel, Lake Ruataniwha for the NZ Rowing champs. On Sunday I was back at school blessing two new boats, the Lucy Strack, and the Mick Strack.

Lucy and Mick have left an amazing legacy for rowing and success at St Hilda's Collegiate School.

Any way, Lucy's mum commented on how wonderful the school had been and the impact of the religious practice and classes, the expectation of behaviour and values was very supportive to parents and in the formation of their kids.

One important point I can make is that all we do is plant the seed of faith, and give witness to it through our relationship with the students and the way they see us behave with one another.

God's grace and the community, the young persons life experience all add a richness that can not be measured or valued. When we work with God, it is never according to our time, or our expectations, not that these are too great, more, that God's generosity is too great and we ask or expect to less. 

The growth of people in faith and in relationship with God as they have the capacity to understand and experience is never on a scale. It is a matter of love. All love reflects something of God.

Most of the time for something to grow, it requires a seed, some water, and some sunlight. I believe religious education through the content, or through the relationships example, possibly reinforced with Chapel services and prayer, can all play a significant part in the formation of young people.

If we do nothing else, they should experience and hear that they are loved, that they have infinite worth, and that God is love, and thats all there is to it!

I have great respect for the students I teach, it helps that I like them very much, they are great kids, great people to be with and enjoy life with.

Go well

God bless

Pa Richard

Courage

This Friday the Church remembers Martin Luther. Our theme is courage and in his day, Luther had courage coming out of every pore in his body. I am Catholic, but I can absolutely appreciate and celebrate Luther's commitment to truth, to his faith, and to the guidance of his spiritual director.

He asked questions that no one else would dear, he challenged the state, the Church, those with with the power and the finance to back up whatever course of action they wanted to take. Luther challenged injustice, corruption, and the "Do what I say not what I do" attitude.

He not only spoke up, he added his intellectual expertise, his influence, and his prayer to make some sense from what he saw.

Courage is not necessarily about putting ones life on the line, indeed it rarely is, so I wonder why we struggle so hard to avoid being accountable ourselves to our own values and beliefs, why we find it so much easier to go along with the crowd as a follower of other followers, rather than a leader or follow a leader. One thing that can help is prayer. To hold before God and with God, the questions that cause us to prickle, that move us to discomfort.

I think there are many similarities to Julian Assange, in some respects he is putting a mirror to Governments and asks the tough questions -we have seen the result.



"All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired"
Martin L

Teaching Religious Education

This is a joy!

Today I had 11S (Year 11 is 14-15years of age) and as you can see in the Titles we look at relationships.
One task is to answer a series of questions that help reflect on our many relationships. While some finished early through a quick mind and writing speed, I'm sure some whizzed through with one word answers. However there were a group who seriously considered what these questions were asking about their relationships.

I admired their investment in their future, as friends: parents; partners; spouses; siblings; and girl friends.

They seemed to realise that relationships are it!
When these aren't gong well, nothing else has the same spark or energy, taste or joy.

One great movie to watch is, Life as a House. this is a tough story of families and the individuals making sense of their place in life and with each other. It is about forgiveness, stress, life, desperation, and redemption, about healing and about death. It is about the legacy we leave our family and our relationships, and while you are still breathing, you have a chance to make things better.

Another great movie for relationships is 'Uncle Buck' and Simon Birch.

We watch a movie clip from such as it is easy to see different points of view and the affect our behaviour and thinking has in relationships.

You get out what you put in. I try to give every chance to learn, to take an idea that has been shown to make a real impact on life and especially relationships, and translate this into class.

When you see it 'happen', the opportunity taken up, it makes teaching religious education a wonderful joy, not that what I planned worked, but than another person has seen the beauty and potential power within themselves and experienced the richness of their life!

Keep laughing
Pa Richard

The right time to celebrate

When is the right time to celebrate?

Seems obvious does'nt it but you might be surprised with the worry and anxiety a number of people experience when wondering, "Should we celebrate this or that"? How big should we go? Is it worthy?

While some celebrations require a lot of planning, people will decide them selves if oyu let them.

We have just been to a farewell barbecue of a Parish Priest who has served in this parish for about 8 years and people were asked to bring a plate with the BBQ and tea/coffee/juice supplied. Well people just kept turning up over a period of time until the speeches and gifts were giving. As it was held on school grounds there were playgrounds and plenty of room for all.

The invitation was for anyone involved in the school or parish and surrounding parishes.

Because all brought something, there was more than enough and for more than just one helping too!

So to answer my question, as Jesus himself showed, anytime is the right time to celebrate when it brings people together, all walks of life, to contribute, and to share, to belong.

The other aspect was that no alcohol was needed for a wonderful warmth and open spirit to be present.

It reminds me of a Maori proverb (whakatauki) "Ko tau rourou, ko taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi". With your basket and my basket the people will be satisfied.

For as Jesus said, "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there"

God bless

Pa Richard

Halberg Awards and Jesus

Murray Halberg in 1962 attended a sports writers’ dinner in Toronto, proceeds from which went to Canadian children with a disability.  Halberg was so impressed and moved by this that when he returned home he suggested to his employers, New Zealand Breweries, that a similar function be organised in New Zealand.  From that suggestion grew The Murray Halberg Trust for Crippled Children.  


In 1963 and in each subsequent year the Trust has organised the Sports Awards.  Previously, under Fairbairn’s reign, the trophy had been presented to the winner at a formal gathering attended by politicians and civic dignitaries.  The Trust adopted the Canadian idea of the dinner with the dual purpose of raising funds and of publicly recognising the leading sportsmen and women of New Zealand.  

In 1987 the Awards were changed in format to include categories and in recognition of Sir Murray’s contribution, the overall trophy for the sports person or team of the year is now known as ‘The Halberg Award’.
Today the Westpac Halberg Awards of New Zealand are accepted as this country’s premier sporting awards, which recognise teams as well as individual sports men and women.(from
the Westpac Halberg site) 

With the New Zealand Football team (The All Whites) winning a number of the awards and especially the Supreme award, a number of people have expressed disappointment and derision of the people and status of the award.


This to me is extremely sad and a sign of a community or country that has become more exclusive of an 'in crowd' than inclusive and celebratory of the achievement of all people.


It seems the 'big boys' or 'old boys' network and other individuals of NZ's more traditional sports such as Rugby, Hockey, and Netball are not able to recognise when a team achieves significant international acclaim outside of what we are used to. A number of sports and media "leaders" and long time commentators seemed to spit the dummy!


Given that the panel of selectors is probably more representative of a wider variety of sports and is probably more democratic (they no longer meet around a table for hours with wine and cheese influencing  others towards their view), I think it is a fairer assessment.


Jesus was executed because the crowd with the power did not like him insisting that everyone could and should participate equally in society, they didn't want him pronouncing that some people's illness or gender, religion, status, or occupation should be viewed as less valuable. 

In some ways the All Whites experience moved the hearts of people, it is said we cheers for the under dog but back the top dog. In this case we backed and cheered for the under dog. You know, history is full of examples we celebrate similar to the All Whites; the NZ Tall Blacks journey to 4th place in the World Champs, the are countless monuments to the fallen of our nation and in every country - who gave their best and did not return, movies have been made about 'The Alamo', 'The 300' a tale from over 1000 years ago, they didn't win either, but the achievement and spirit shown was of greater worth to those who remember. Or the walker who made it into the stadium, not first, not even third, struggling to the finish line to greater cheers than the winner!

Jesus criteria for salvation was to love one another. And unlike the Westpac Halberg Awards, JC was not comparing different sports with the same criteria open to subjectivity.  (How can a first place in a teams competition with no more than 4-6 countries playing seriously compare to an individual sport competing regularly on a global scale?). He was comparing people against his belief in his Fathers words that all were created in God's image.


Yes I'm a football fan and I celebrate - but I would have celebrated any sport that had won because all finalists were deserving. 

Lets challenge ourselves to celebrate every success, to accept when our team doesn't win, we don't get the mark we wanted or the job we deserved. 


I congratulate Ricky Herbert for his acceptance speech, claiming that NZ is blessed with many great codes (sports) and that he will wear a rugby jersey this year to support what he called "Another great code" (rugby).


The greatest battle is always with oneself, go the All Whites, Go the All Blacks, Go the rowers and shot putters, go the cyclists and yes, go the Black caps in India!


God Bless
Pa Richard

True Grit

This movie I went to this week lives up to it's title. It is a western re-make of a John Wayne movie of the same name.

A number of lessons can be drawn from this tough movie.

• Experience and trusting relationships go a long way in life. 
• What you sow you reap - you get out what you put in
• Sometimes stuff happens that is not just, not fair, not able to be handled as it is too hard to face - this may not mean anything to others. How we respond to it however, can effect the rest of our lives.
• We rely on one another to just get by sometimes.
• Drive, purpose, focus, and willing helpers or supporters, will get us where we want to go.

In the end it is about revenge and 'justice' in an old testament kind of way. The space to grow I guess is the emptiness we can experience without God. Without the experience of love, our lives can seem meaningless, empty, a struggle, and we slowly withdraw.

The challegne of course is to have 'true grit' and to ask for what we need, to expect the outcome we desire and work like heck to make sure it happens, to let love in, to trust and to care. At this point really amazing things happen.

At the end of the movie, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) finds resolution in caring about another who cannot repay him, being part of a purpose worth living for, worth dying for.  Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) finds justice for her dad and more importnatly, finds a father figure she lost.

What does it have to do with religious education?
Redemption, the power of purpose that comes from caring for others, relationships matter, and that these things make life deep and rich.

God bless
Pa Richard

Prefects Commissioning

This Friday we have a service to Commission our school prefects.

While each prefect plays a lead role in specific areas of the school life, it is important to keep in mind that the commissioning also reflects or symbolizes for us our 'Co - Mission -ing' to be disciples of Christ.

To be those who do our best to follow 'the way'. And in essence, as the Gospel tells us, is "to love one another".

We celebrate this as a school and in Chapel for this reason. Some of the words you will hear on Friday is the response to questions by the prefects that says, 'I will with God's Help'.

This too is significant. My friends, it is hard enough saving ourselves don't you think, let alone not allowing our friends and families to help us in life, well God plays a part in this if we are open.

We used to have a place on Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf just behind Rangitoto and Motutapu islands, and one of our friends who had a place (it was very wild in those days) and I remember after he had helped do some jobs for us, and mum thanked him and he replied, "Thats alright, it's all part of it".
Lets make an effort this term to help one another, to fulfill our co-mission to love.

Enjoy this 'Leadership Lessons' video!

See you soon
Pa Richard

Maori Spirituality

Tihewa mauri ora! I sneeze, I am alive!
What a wonderful expression, to anyone who has heard it used near the beginning of a speech on a Marae, it is beautiful.

What does it mean to be a live, and with spirit, fully alive? I will just give the English translation of another Maori saying, "What will it take to wake you from your sleep, to the blossoming of your dreams?"

When Jesus cam into the lives of almost anyone who touched him, heard him, watched him, he changed their lives forever. not in a short term way, but with love that gave life. We might say, he woke them up.


He woke them up to the possibilities for them in life, woke them up to fully realise their 'Tapu', their potentiality for being, (I'll try and make it understandable sorry)

He woke them to the fact that they were loved. That they could connect with the creative power of the universe, God, the creator of all things. All possibility is theirs, is ours.

Rev. Henare Tate coined the phrase, that the "Goal of all ritual (Maori) is to acknowledge, enhance, and restore the *Tapu of people, so that they might have the *Mana to achieve their goals, short and long term".

So I finish how I started, what distracts you from a life lived in abundance as Christ promised?
What will it take to wake you to a life that truly satisfies?

The definitions below are not definitive, but indicate a proximate understanding. Each Iwi (People) and Kaumatua (elder) will define what it means for their people.
*Tapu

The Rev. Maori Marsden discusses tapu at some length, not least to dispel some misconceptions about the concept held by early missionaries and anthropologists. He describes it thus:
The Maori idea of tapu is close to the Jewish idea translated in the words 'sacred' and `holy', although it does not have the later ethical connotations of the New Testament of moral righteousness.
It has both religious and legal connotations. A person, place or thing is dedicated to a deity and by that act it is set aside or reserved for the sole use of that deity. The person or object is thus removed from the sphere of the profane and put into the sphere of the sacred. It is untouchable, no longer to be put to common use. It is this untouchable quality that is the main element in the concept of tapu. In other words, the object is sacred and any profane use is sacrilege, breaking the law of tapu.

*Mana
Williams' A Dictionary of the Maori Language lists eight meanings for mana, providing the following possible translations:
I . Authority, control
2. Influence, prestige, power
3. Psychic force 4. Effectual, binding, authoritative
5. Having influence or power
6. Vested with authority
7. Be effectual, take effect
8. Be avenged.
These translations, however, do not describe the source of mana nor how mana is
upheld and maintained. The result is an unfortunate distortion of the real meaning of mana, which is inextricably based in the spiritual realms of the world.

Christmas at Te Tii Marae, Waitangi 2010

A Football Club with Heart and Spirit

FC Barcelona is a sports club with a proud tradtion. One of their great strengths is that the people of Barcelona literally 'OWN' 51% of the club. Most of the players are developed and coached from young people at the club. This has led to a team unity where everyone contributes and gives their best. Unity among players from many countries and languages works becuase they learn humilty, that is , we are all equal, I help you and I know if I need it, you will be there for me.

Go Barca!

What is cool?

This video by Russell Simon is worth thinking about as he looks at the meaning of cool, the power of meditation and how to have happiness and 'be cool' in life.

Religious Education Rocks!

Seriously! Real!
I can make this audacious claim because I know that at the heart of what e are learning is all about relationships, with yourself, others, the past, God, our dark side, our desire for growth, basically, its about who we are as people. Good people!

So welcome to the St Hilda's R.E programme for all year groups.

I am excited to go on your journey with you and see where we end up. Be brave, trust yourself to discover how wonderful a life we have been gifted to explore, to love, and to learn.

God Bless
Pa Richard

Religious Education for Years 7 -13 at SHCS Dunedin