Go Opua School!

I hear that the Board of Trustees of one of our local schools last night voted to cease religious instruction as from the end of the year. Before a storm of protest breaks out among the local Christians, let me place on record that I am not greatly troubled. Indeed, as a conscientious objector to leading such classes myself for some 50 years, I am somewhat gratified.

I understand the Board voted primarily because they had a problem with the growing number of children whose parents asked them to be excused. It seems only one Trustee actually objected to the content and delivery though I understand the probability is that the local volunteer teachers were sitting very loosely to the official guidelines of the NZ Churches Christian Education Commission.

Nearly 60 schools in this country have relinquished religious instruction in the last couple of years. This is consistent with our 1877 Education Act which stated that education should be free, compulsory and secular. For one and a half centuries, enthusiasts have been finding ways around the secular clause and squeezing “Bible in Schools” and other such programmes into the school year.

Had this determined assault by well-meaning Christians produced a country of devout Christian citizens all this voluntary effort might have been justified. But the evidence is that NZ continues to lead the way in secularisation in the Western world. Attempting to “teach” the faith to children in the public school does not produce faith-full adults. Indeed, some suggest that it actually provides a barrier to serious reflection as an adult. Certainly my experience in dealing with people beyond the Church has been that I get a better hearing among those who don’t carry around a package of childhood knowledge of “Bible stories”, never mind threats of hellfire and damnation on sinners.

New Super-Highway or just a better road?

The proposed deviation of State Highway One from Puhoi north is a ticklish political and economic issue for our small country.

As a Northlander, I guess I respond to the official view that the development of our part of the country would be greatly enhanced by an easier road north. Some of us have experienced huge delays on vital trips through this congested area at certain times. Somewhat naively, we would like the choice of paying a toll for the sake of a smoother trip.

But an interesting new argument for the tollway was presented recently. We were told that the by-pass would speed the passage of vacationing Auckland to their beaches by a matter of some thirteen minutes.

I am among those who feel that the improvement of the existing highway at a few key points would bring a substantial benefit for a fraction of the cost of the super-highway. But then, as a proponent of Local Shared Ministry, it comes naturally to me to look for the simple, efficient, economic solutions, whether in national roading or small church strategy...

Heavy weather ahead!

We’ve had a clutch of rain and wind warnings lately as unseasonal cyclones have sneaked down from the tropics bringing threats of the worst weather we ever get up here. And that usually means power outages.

So Bev’s got out the candles and had them standing ready. Some of them look like they should be on the dining table with a fine meal. None of them looks like the utilitarian candle our great-grandparents used to take up the stairs to bed at night. If we’d been reaching for these in the dark we’d probably have tipped them over. And after a few minutes alight they’d have been dropping wax everywhere…

In the event, we didn’t have to use them. We had only about 40mm of rain and the wind was hardly noticeable. There was certainly no damage.

Local Shared Ministry often comes about in response to predictions of doom for the traditional strategy of paid ministry. But the response must be practical and realistic. It’s not a time for prettying up our church image. It's a time for getting on with the job. And it may be quite hard work...

Top of the Milk

Being unable to see it in the country of its production, and noticing that the New Zealand TV show Top of the Lake was being broadcast in England while we were there we mentioned to friends that we should see it while we were there.
They’d already seen an episode. Their response was, great scenery, but they really didn’t like all the foul language.
Our conversation took place about the time of Fonterra’s $15m botched milk powder recall. It seems a little ironic that the TV show and Tourism NZ’s “100% Pure” image both relied on our gorgeous lakes and mountains while we shot ourselves in the foot both times.
There was no malice in either event, of course, but the consequences continue…

A secret chuckle in the numbers...

In our Russell Church we didn’t make much use of the board for the hymn numbers for the service, so each Sunday Ed set it up with the date for the day. It was interesting to note how long visitors took to catch on to it… In another church in the 1960s, my steward would always say to me as he put up my hymn numbers, “No, Dave, not today.” He was adding up the first numbers to see if the last one was the total. So, I guess I have a thing about hymn boards.

Thus it was that when we stayed in the lovely converted chapel in Beeley, UK, a few weeks ago I enquired if the numbers on the hymn board had any secret meaning. No, they were just random numbers.

So now I have taken a few moments to skim through the 1904 hymnbook that might have been used in the chapel decades ago and can suggest the following hymns for the hospitable chapel home of Janet and John and their venerable hymn board:
657 We love the place, O God
684 How happy are we!
853 Jerusalem, my happy home
854 Sweet place, sweet place!
899 O happy home
959 There's a glorious work before us
717 Abide among us
449 Come, o thou traveller unknown

Tweeting at the rock concert

“I hope my iPhone isn’t disturbing you,” she said, at the interval in the Concert Hall rock concert.
“Actually,” I replied, courteous but firm, “It is a bit distracting…“
But that didn’t make the slightest difference. She went right on, taking photographs and tweeting to the world at large. Every time she turned the phone on or a tweet came through, it lit up and I don’t think she even thought to turn down the screen brightness.
I guess I should be grateful that this discourteous practice hasn’t yet crept into church life. But, then, perhaps preachers would be delighted if people in their congregations were tweeting: “Hey, I’m in amzg chrch with fab prchr.Get down hre.”


PS I told her I'd put her picture online... She laughed, which I took for permission.

The Yotel and Local Shared Ministry

We tried out the Yotel at Heathrow. It’s not a room or a suite --- they call it a cabin. Usually, you don’t need to register at a desk, you just dial in your internet booking number at a docking station where you’re given your magnetic-striped key. Once there, if there is something you need, you can phone “Mission Control” and they’re most obliging with free hot drinks and other stuff.

I wouldn’t be promoting them especially - the smaller unit is definitely for very “good friends” and we’d recommend the premium unit for people of our age and build. But obviously I could hardly fail to draw a comparison with the small church.

Here was everything we needed for a short overnight: a complete bathroom in less than two square metres, table, case rack, hanger (just one…), and the cutest cubby hole with a very comfortable bed for two (very good!) friends. There was even a large TV at the end of the bed and wifi was available. Furthermore the whole thing was just across from the entrance where the bus dropped us and only one floor from our check-in desk. Only the Hilton could have been more convenient…

The parallels with the small church are inescapable. The Yotel provided everything we needed with the minimum of bells and whistles. It offered full facilities without charging an arm and a leg. The friendly young staff responded to requests with alacrity but probably didn’t have degrees in hotel management.

The Yotel and its friendly people epitomised the Local Shared Ministry team in the small church. Both groups are chosen for their specific skills. Both provide a service that relates to their situation. Both provide an unconventional approach that is relevant in a changing world. Both should have more use.

Back to church

I left my list of expectations behind this morning when I went to church. It was Saturday and I went with the family to their Adventist Church.

Not my scene, I guess. So much that was so different. Even the two hymns I recognised were sung to tunes completely unknown by me. And the theology was generally a long way from where I sit.

But what a great mixture of age groups; what obvious fellowship all the locals had with each other; and what warmth in the welcomes. There’s a sense of family that transcends suburbs and even cities and states; church seems to be the place where people know and are known by each other.

I have championed the small church because it makes this depth of relationships possible across the whole congregation. But here it seemed to be working among a group of 300...And that’s only their smaller morning congregation!

Another Museum experience...

Parable of the Museum

One of the many uncomfortable parables of Jesus is about the workers in the vineyard. All received a full day’s pay whether they worked a full day or just an hour at the end of the day. At first glance, it seems a bit unfair.

Bev and I have twice experienced the reverse situation recently. We entered a small museum with just time for a short visit. What was offered was a subscription with free entry for a year. No, we just wanted to have a quick peep at one or two things that had been recommended to us. Couldn’t we just pay for an hour? Sorry, you have to pay for a year’s subscription. Well, it wasn’t a huge amount but we declined.

In the next day or two the same kind of thing happened twice in car parks (probably managed by the same District Council). Four pounds for day, the notice said. How much for half an hour? Four pounds. We didn’t want security for a whole day, just a parking place for a few minutes. So for a 200 metre walk back we found an hour for 30p…

I understand there’s an economy of interest operating in this system. The provider has one kind of interest and we have another. And that’s just life. Both parties make their choice and live with it. Maybe the parable is about something like that. It has to do with some kind of need rather than some measure of entitlement.

So the small congregation doesn’t choose to have all the programmes and properties and paid personnel of a “normal” church. The small church lives by a different standard and contracts for what it needs and no more.

The Small Museum and the Small Church

Yesterday we visited Shaftesbury, the little town made famous by a Hovis bread commercial in 1973 featuring its really steep street of old homes.

But what caught my imagination was something else nearby. Tucked into the 16th century priest’s house behind the parish church are half a dozen rooms dignified with the title of Museum.
Over the years I’ve had my fill of small-town “museums” which are often not much more than a personal collection of dusty or rusty bits and pieces. And I am not that impressed with vast professional edifices of significant collections which require most of a week to explore.
But this was really interesting. Admission was free. The staff were apparently voluntary as they couldn’t answer a question of some complexity.
But the work of a museum was of a very high standard. The exhibits were completely uncluttered, the presentations well lit, the labelling not over-detailed but clear and well placed, the atmosphere carefully managed, the use of the large number of separate small rooms cunningly arranged. There was imaginative use of participatory bits and pieces for younger visitors. Altogether, it came across as a very professional affair.
That’s what I expect of the small church. It doesn’t have to have professional leadership at every point. But it must be able to draw on the best scholarship and experience to produce the best results from lay people. Local Shared Ministry makes that possible.