Dunedin Methodist Parish Finding good in everyone Finding God in everyone
Presbyters: Rev. Stuart & Rev. Cornelia Grant 453 6762 Parish Stewards: Mr Neil Thompson 489 5078 Dr Richard Cannon 464 0564 Mrs Fay Richardson 489 5485 Tongan Steward: Mr Palanite Taungapeau 456 3144 Parish Office: Stuart: [email protected] 466 4600 Cornelia: [email protected] Sarah: [email protected]
We are at home on website http://www.dunedinmethodist.org.nz
PARISH BULLETIN 8 t h NOVEMBER 2009
WORSHIP FOR SUNDAY 15th NOVEMBER 2009 9.30am Mornington D Phillipps 9.30 am Mosgiel C Grant 11.00 am Glenaven D Phillipps 11.00 am Wesley C Grant 1.00pm St Kilda S Ikahihifo 6.00pm Broad Bay H Watson White
NEXT SUNDAY, 15 November. Stuart will be in Bluff to preach at the 50th anniversary of the Bluff Church building. The church in Bluff is a three way cooperating parish, Anglican – Methodist – Presbyterian, worshipping in the former Methodist Church. Donald Phillipps will lead worship at Mornington and Glenaven. 2 CHURCH CONFERENCE The annual Methodist Conference commenced yesterday at Durham Street Church, Christchurch. The Rev. Alan Upson, who served in this parish some years ago, was inducted as President, and Lana Lazarus, of Te Taha Maori as Vice President. This afternoon the Rev. David Poultney, who was a candidate for the ministry from Glenaven Church, will be ordained. He will be wearing a stole embroidered by Jeanette Gibson, and given by the Glenaven and Broad Bay congregations. Elspeth McLean and Olive Bain from Broad Bay have travelled to Christchurch for the ordination service. Our prayers are with David on this important occasion, and as he continues in ministry in Hamilton. Our Parish is represented by Neil Thompson and Fay Richardson, two of our Parish Stewards, and our presbyters Cornelia and Stuart. Laura Black is representing the Mission. Greg Hughson will also be at the Conference, and Hilda joined him yesterday as Greg’s father Alan, who died earlier in the year, was honoured as Conference members paid tribute to people who have made significant contributions to the life of the church
A Night at the Oscars A night of fun and glamour for all ages. Friday 13 November at Mornington. 6-7 pm: pot luck tea. 7-9 pm: movie-themed activities and competitions. ("The envelope, please...") Join us for our very own Academy Awards. Wear something formal. Entries for the Best Short Film category should be provided on DVD and must be less than two minutes long
MOSGIEL MID-WEEK SERVICE 11th November at 2.00pm, Midweek Service in Mosgiel, led by Earlene Owens, with afternoon tea to follow. Everybody welcome.
MORNINGTON WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP The afternoon and evening groups’ combined end-of-year party will be held in the church lounge on Monday 9 November at 7.45pm. Multi-talented John Watson will entertain in his inimitable style with dramatic readings. Please bring a small contribution for the party supper. All welcome. 3
MWF TRAVEL FUND AFTERNOON Saturday 14th November, 2.00pm at Mornington Church Theme: Ring In Creation Cost: $5.00 each Each car load to bring dessert or party plate Bring a small bell of any kind if possible (leave Big Ben at home!) Everyone Welcome
RAINBOW READINGS: BROAD BAY On Sunday 15 November you are invited to drop in for a programme of poems, stories and reflections on diversity: 6-7pm at Broad Bay Methodist Church in Greig Street, just off Portobello Road. Bring (or wear) something of your favourite colour, and some food to share afterwards with tea or coffee.
GLENAVEN CHURCH will hold their annual meeting in the course of their worship following a shortened service on Sunday 22 November.
PARISH COUNCIL meets on Wednesday, 18 November, 7.30pm at Mosgiel.
MOSGIEL PEOPLE – HOUR OF PRAYER ON THE TAIERI The Taieri Ministers Association invites all congregations to gather and pray for one hour, - Where? At the Catholic Church When? Saturday, 28 November, from 9.30 to 10.30am, Followed by morning tea.
PLASTIC BAGS REQUIRED If you have any old bread bags or supermarket bags it would be appreciated if you could pass these onto Paulette Boyes. 4
SYMPATHY We extend our deep sympathy to Paulette Boyes and family (Mornington), her parents, nephews and niece on the sudden loss of Paulette’s sister Yvonne last Tuesday.
MISSION UPDATE Our annual report will shortly be published and a copy provided to every member of the Parish, thank you for your patience! Arahina now has an Edible Garden established with the help of the Horticulture students at Approach - a great experience for the children who attend Arahina after school. The children at the Preschool held a wearable art show - very successful!! much proud dancing and showing off by ALL (some teachers may have joined in). We are working with the Ministry of Social Development, Malcam Trust, Otago Polytechnic and others on a range of initiatives for young people struggling to stay in Education. We are working with the Council of Social Services and Community Builders on improving collaboration between community groups in Dunedin. We are working on pulling together research projects on families of prisoners, and literacy, Schools, and Pacific Island families for the Families Commission and Ako Aotearoa. Our submission to the DCC Gaming Review will be advocating for a "sinking lid" approach, if you are interested in knowing more about this, please contact Laura 466 4600. Laura was invited to speak at the AGM for Hamilton Methodist Social Services, and to run a strategic planning meeting for Palmerston North Social Services - it is great to get out and about and to be able to learn from other Methodist Social Services' activities and build relationships. We have also started building relationships with businesses, with particular interest in workplace literacy and numeracy; we believe that New Zealand and Dunedin will soon be facing an extraordinary skills shortage that few seem interested in planning for. We remain very concerned that the new Government's emerging policies are more interested in streamlining the bureaucracy than in improving conditions for folk; and we believe that the long-term impacts of many recent policy changes have not been fully evaluated: the Mission is bracing itself for more significant change in social services, 5 education, and support for families; and for some fairly awful down- stream affects over the next 20+ years.
We were driving to Christchurch at Labour weekend. I was in the passenger seat. The car radio was on, and I slipped into that state of altered consciousness where inertia leads one to become an indiscriminate audience for whatever is on the airwaves. Somewhere along the way I became aware of Roger Kerr, executive director of the Business Round Table talking to Chris Laidlaw about the people, the writers and the thinkers in his life who have influenced his thinking.
Naturally enough many of those whom Kerr mentioned were his associates in the business world. One man in particular, Bryce Wilkinson, a colleague in Treasury, was described by Kerr as a humble and inspiring man, an unsung hero in the New Zealand Economics scene, and a man that Kerr and his colleagues looked up to.
When Laidlaw, quoting from a 1990s Management Magazine, reiterated that Wilkinson was ‘the guru’s guru’, Kerr modestly agreed. Then he moved on quickly to acknowledge that Bryce Wilkinson was not only his personal ‘go to’ man, the one above all others with whom he could converse about the most difficult of economic issues, but he was also his life support system. A man, Kerr added drily, who would not let him get away with so much as a sloppy phrase. I listened passively to Kerr’s unstinting praise of Wilkinson. After all, they were like-minds.
But it got me to thinking about the debt of gratitude that we all owe to the mentors in our lives – those people who inspire, encourage and generally look out for us. Their wisdom and experience is invaluable. Odysseus 6 knew that when he set out for the Trojan War and continued on with his famous wanderings. While absent he entrusted the care and tutoring of his son Telemachus, to his wise friend, Mentor. And the idea of mentorship was born.
Mythology has merged with history now, but society continues to bear witness to the value of mentoring relationships. Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great, Johann Christian Bach (the father of Johann Sebastian) mentored Mozart, Bobby Charlton mentored David Beckham – just a random few to suggest the great diversity of relationships across the ages.
These days the idea of mentorship has been reinvented with the rise of formal mentoring programs delivered by consultants to clients who hope to gather some ‘tools of the trade’. The programs are as varied as the organizations that sponsor them, perhaps within the education or corporate sector or maybe a particular profession. I have no quibble with them. But the kind of mentoring that embraces a mutually agreeable and self-chosen relationship with another person is unique. Often it develops over time. But always the help, guidance, training and support that a well-chosen mentor offers a protégé, is irreplaceable. It was this kind of relationship that Economics guru, Roger Kerr, described to Chris Laidlaw on his Sunday morning ‘Ideas’ programme, as we headed north.
I sat up with renewed interest when the interview moved on and Kerr switched focus to William Shakespeare, another of his ‘go to’ men. I leaned forward to turn the volume up a few notches and somewhat surprisingly found myself in synch with Roger Kerr’s thinking. Of course, it is not surprising that he should choose this literary giant as a major influence in his life. Kerr’s early academic studies had veered towards literary criticism. And who would not agree that Shakespeare was ‘the greatest writer of all time in any language’? Shakespeare’s writing is replete with phrases that still echo in our spoken vernacular, and his drama is full of penetrating insights into the human condition. All this is well vaunted among the literati and in more humble domains. Kerr referred specifically to Macbeth’s vaulting ambition, King Lear’s folly in not recognising which of his daughters loved him most, Hamlet’s indecision, and the way that Iago was able to play on Othello’s jealousy, all manifestations of human nature that reveal the complex ways people respond to what is happening in their world. 7
No argument from me, there. It’s just that I had never thought of Shakespeare as having much clout in the world of Economics. However, for Roger Kerr the connection is clear. He insists that Economics is about human behaviour – and the way people respond to incentives. Be that as it may, Economics is also about the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. And whatever our personal view on economic policy, it is about balance. Balancing the books.
And finding balance in our lives.
Perhaps that is why we must each seek out our own mentors and models, choosing carefully who and what we will embrace to enrich and influence our thinking. A wise mentoring relationship can give us fresh perspectives and the support we need to help achieve our goals – in ways that promote economic and social justice in our imperfect world. Elizabeth Brooke-Carr
Israel-Palestine: Rabbis’ Group Seeks Forgiveness for Behaviour to Palestinians
The head of the Israel-based Rabbis for Human Rights group has urged Jews to reflect on the way in which they deal with those outside their faith and to ask for the forgiveness of God about mistreating people in the name of Judaism. “The way we treat non-Jews reflects on our God and our religion,” Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, says. “And to mistreat people in the name of Judaism defames and desecrates God’s name.” 8
Palestine : Water Cisterns Destroyed
Christian Peacemaking Teams are people from around the world who stay in towns on the Palestinian West Bank to observe events and record the injustices being done to Palestinian people. Recently they made the following report:
“We received an early morning call asking us to come immediately to the Beqa’a Valley. Bulldozers had arrived to carry out demolition orders on farmers’ water cisterns (open, walled ponds for collecting water) which irrigate this fertile valley of grapes. When we arrived at the scene, two ‘stingers’ (5 ton jack hammers) had already begun their path of destruction. Away from demolition action, two handcuffed men and a woman sat on the ground in powerlessness. Earlier, the soldiers had blindfolded these men, but later removed the blindfolds. Within an hour, the family owning this cistern had lost the source of water for their many dunams of grapes. Many Palestinians from the Valley watched, mostly in silence”.
The report goes on to document the destruction of another cistern belonging to three families on their own land and neither the owners nor the observers could do anything about it. There was no explanation of why this destruction occurred, but it seems that nearby Israeli settlements which draw on underground Palestinian water sources did not want Palestinians to use the water, which is in reality their own. Later in talking to one of the families the father commented, “we have nothing. We have lost everything. We are poor, we have no weapons, we have little water and food. The only thing we have to leave our children is our land. Sometimes I ask myself, Why did God put us here? You tell me, Why did God put us here?”