Poems, Sermons and Writings

Matthew 7:24-29 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Hearers and Doers “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”  Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes . I runga i te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu.  Āmine. In the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen Morena Ni sah yandra Malo e lele-i Good Morning These are greetings in the languages contained in “A New Zeala

The following essay was written for my public theology course. The question was "What challenges do movements like #MeToo and #ChurchToo raise for the churches and how should churches respond to these?" This is a dense and confronting subject. My full bibliography is appended if anyone wishes to pursue any of these sources. Gazing into the Mirror “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” [1]  This verse has been a comfort and an inspiration to me, however the picture is somewhat passive, we are just gazing and the Lord is doing all the transforming. When churches are confronted by movements such as #MeToo and #ChurchToo different mirrors are required and more active responses. We must look in the mirrors of the world, our sacred text, our history, our current situation and Christ. These mirrors