DIY on the Geraldine River Walk

A few days ago I took the “river garden walk” at Geraldine.

A narrow strip of rough woodland runs between the buildings and the river at the back of the main street is. Locals have been cleaning up the scrub and carving a one kilometre path along the riverbank. Everywhere they are planting new shrubs on the tidied up grounds. It's looking stunning.

This achivement, apparently, is not the work of the District Council and certainly not the Government. It’s being done by local volunteers who are taking a little pride in their community.

Another example of that DIY spirit by which people pitch in and get something done for their own place, their own environment.

Rather like Local Shared Ministry, in a way...

Pioneers

 Last night we visited the memorial to Richard Pearse, New Zealand’s pioneer aviator. It’s a simple replica of the machine in which he made the first powered flight of the British Empire, if not the world. It’s sited almost exactly where that first flight ended in a hedge,

Only his own modesty and conflicting eyewitnesses accounts about the actual year denies him the certainty of beating the Wright Brothers into controlled flight by several months.

Considering that Pearse had no training or qualifications of any kind, his flight was an absolutely extraordinary achievement. He solved problems without the benefit of knowledge already available in other parts of the world. He wrestled with the equipment and supplies he had and improvised to create his own solutions produced an amazing result. And at the end of the day he put his own body on the line and flew the thing.

It’s that kind of spirit that impels people in some small congregations to tackle Local Shared Ministry. They choose to realise on their own assets in ministry instead of waiting for someone else in some other setting to provide ministry for them.

Will you take...?

   Our month in the South Island was planned around the wedding of Grandson Tim and Casey at her parents’ high country homestead.

   It was a great occasion for around 100 family and friends. The weather forecast hadn’t looked too good but it turned out fine. All the complex and little details put into this imaginative event went smoothly. And everyone pitched in and enjoyed themselves. For my part, it was a pleasure to have no responsibility for any part of it!

   So another couple was launched on their joint life’s path. Another set of families is linked together “by marriage”. And all of us had the opportunity of thinking again about our own relationships and expectations.
   Some say, Why bother with a wedding? Well, I’m glad these two have. Just the event itself was a positive experience for dozens of us. I wish them well.

So what happened?

       Yeah, well, that last post wasn’t a very good one to shut down on was it? Thank you to those who took the trouble to be in touch.... A most know, the Ca Pros is a long way from slowing me down – it’s only the side effects of the drugs that are the problem! And some travelling and quite a lot of new work...
       In the last few weeks the parish has been putting a new Team in place. It’s been a complex process, and there were a lot of learnings but at last we are under way. There are six of us, about half “called” and the rest formally elected by the Annual parish meeting. It’s an interesting mix of new and experienced people and we are already catching up on long-term matters that haven’t had top priority in recent years. The Paihia congregation is continuing in great heart and good numbers and there is much to be thankful for.
       It’s a different story at Russell, where the parish has at last had to recognise that the days of a viable congregation has come to an end. There are now no services, not even over summer, when there are usually some visitors. But we will celebrate the building’s centenary in April with a significant closing event.
       So that’s the life of the parish: ongoing life in one congregation and closure of another. And I suppose that’s a little like my own life in recent weeks. A couple of extended trips away with the caravan, interspersed with some frenetically busy weeks back home. And a rising PSA that resolutely marks out the days and months and years. Sitting in the sun in Timaru right now, I am making the most of them, one day at a time.

End of Life Choice

   My PSA has begun to creep up for the third time since prostate cancer was diagnosed over a decade ago. The medications are becoming less effective and I have been “doing the math”…So, though I can hope for some time yet, I have thinking again about the ultimate outcome.

   In pastoral ministry I saw many people and their loved ones going through terrible “end of life” experiences. These days there are really helpful opportunities to prepare for a “good end” (e.g. "Thinking Ahead") and more medical techniques in palliative care and sedation. I am conscientiously doing some of the former and when my time comes I hope to receive the best of the latter.
   Last week, for the first time in this country, someone who pleaded “Guilty” to assisting another to die, was actually discharged without conviction. In the context of Maryan Street’s “End of Life Choice” bill recently submitted for the Parliamentary ballot, this judgment has raised the stakes on the issue.
   Some of my Christian friends who would retain the “sanctity of life” doctrine at all costs presumably also subscribe to St Paul’s “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. The inconsistency puzzles me; how can you be so committed to life that you aren't in a hurry to pick up the bonus points?
   I don’t share their theology, nor their rejection of the possibility of choosing a dignified end. I’d like to think I’ll be ready when the grim reaper rolls up. But I hope also, that by then, our country will be a little more relaxed in permitting me and others around me to have some part in the timing and nature of that sacred moment.
   I'm not into gambling, but I will watch the Parliamentary ballot with interest!

The Parish Council Team takes off in LSM

     Some time ago, I noted that when the local church membership is very small, it is simply not practicable to have two or three separate bodies making decisions around the same mission and ministry. In June, I reported that we combined Team and Council.
    It’s taken some time to get all our ducks in a row. But this week we have the first reasonably complete meeting of the new joint Team and Council.
     We have called five people into particular roles in ministry and have coopted the Treasurer so we have a solid team of six who will be known as the Parish Council Team. They have all the powers of a Parish Council but function as an LSM team with the usual education and support from Ministry Enabler Rosalie who happens to be also our District Superintendent.
     It will save some duplication of thinking, planning and reporting. It will reduce demands on our membership for routine business. And it will eliminate the “them and us” sense that sometimes develops between two bodies.
     We’re still finding our way but we’re on the way…

Thanks to Tim Norwood for the logo suggesting an LSM model of Team and Teams in Mission.

Not so happy with politicians these days…

     Sure, the recent debate on same-sex marriage was conducted with dignity and produced some excellent speeches on both sides. And the result was beyond expectation with 2/3 of the house voting in favour of considering a change.
     But the reluctance to lower the alcohol purchase age in the face of the strong case made by the Law Commission is still something of a surprise. Advocates for change have put a brave face on their loss and will promote other ways to try to reduce our serious problems of binge drinking. But the government is still obviously reluctant to tackle the issues of pricing, advertising and packaging, some of which have proven benefits.
    The legislation is a long way from being finished, but the outlook suggests that a rare opportunity to make a difference is slipping away.

Winter Holiday

Top of Mt St John, Tekapo

     We enjoyed a wonderful road trip last month, covering quite a lot of the country.

     We discovered many things we hadn’t seen before, enjoyed hospitality in several homes, manoevred our cosy caravan onto a many an unfamiliar patch of grass and generally enjoyed ourselves with more sleep than usual. And, yes, a little more food, too… A relaxing, refreshing time as the day to day stuff gradually disappeared out of our consciousness. Even my blog!

     Back in Paihia, it was my turn to lead the rather special service with a visiting choir, who’d come to say Thank you for using the church as their practice venue. A couple of minutes before the appointed time, I distinguished myself by tripping on the church step and starting the service with a couple of plasters ineffectually preventing my Cartia-thinned blood from running down my face. But we had a stimulating time as I made links between their three popular songs and our Christian heritage.

     A day or so later I was at the doctor’s with a badly bruised left hand on which the little finger still insists on finding the cAPS LOCK instead of “a” most of the time. Touch typing has been a rough ride ever since so, like other things in life, I am having to pause and think every time I come to an “a”.

     The vacation pace is doing me good!

South Island Trip

Bev and I have been on the road for a couple of weeks and the sunniest two days of the whole period were spent indoors!

We attended a workshop for people interested in Local Shared Ministry in the Methodist Church. It was fascinating to meet others at various stages in the LSM journey, and to see what contribution it has made to their congregations.

As the first LSM in the Methodist Church in this country, our congregation might have been thought to have seen it all. But there were many learnings for us as we shared our knowedge and experience with others,

Of special importance was the opportunity to renew acquaintance with peope from three other places where we visited years ago to commend the strategy.

We've moved on in subsequent days to visit family in Upper Hutt and Christchurch. In the latter we are again appalled by the scale of the damage and its implications for the whole country for years to come. So much to do... But every now and then there's a bright cheerful note of optimism. Call it faith, I guess....

Error Messages in LSM #6

#6 Confidentiality

Confidentiality is all-important in the Local Shared Ministry Support Team. Serious breaches that are not dealt with can tear a team apart in a very short time.

If an individual is grappling with a personal problem relating to the team or another member, this must first be dealt with within the team, not by following other procedures which may be open to parish members or the general public.

The Enabler must be proactive in ensuring that issues are dealt with before major conflict develops. Of course, the Enabler will be under supervision and may, under that seal of that process, feel obliged to share some details around the issues.

But general discussion around the congregation about issues among members of the Team must not take place. Such gossip can inflame other differences of opinion that are not even relevant to the issue.