Sermons
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Contents |
July 08
6 July
A son of Abraham
Who are the tree-climbers in our society? Who are the ‘sons of Abraham?’....
The gift of new beginnings
There is always something exciting about new beginnings and having a freshly developing little person as an integral part of your day and your night, has certainly heightened my sensitivity to all that is new in our world....
June 08
29 June
Abraham and Isaac
You'd think that Abraham had been through enough already! ...
Archdeacon Rob MacLay
22 June
Let's cut it out!
Would that we could cut out some passages from the Bible! Stories like that of Hagar and Ishmael’s treatment at the hands of Sarah and Abraham surely have no part in scripture? ....
15 June
God's Prodigious Justice
Hardly a day has gone by in the past few weeks without the nightly news being dominated by reports of high profile court cases, and their sometimes surprising outcomes, or by stories of gut-wrenching crimes that outrage public opinion ...
Dr Chris Marshall
Labourers in the field
It was close to midnight when I clambered up the three flights of stairs and unlocked the apartment booked for me. Not only had I flown non-stop from Wellington to LA and on to New York, but had navigated my way by AirTrain and Subway to Fulton St, downtown Manhattan. The key turned in the lock ...
08 June
Healing
Healing – what do we mean by ‘healing’? First a negative definition – what healing is not. Healing is not, and should not be confused with, a cure. That is the work of doctors and medical practitioners generally. When we’re sick, especially if we are seriously ill, we put ourselves in their capable hands. The outcome we hope for is a cure.
01 June
Through Faith and For Faith
Each of the scriptures for this morning services are powerful and provocative in their own right. Together, they present an interesting challenge. There can surly be no-one here who can hear these particular words of Christ given to us through Matthew’s Gospel and not feel at least a little unnerved:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven” (7: 21)
May 08
18 May
Pilgrimage to unholy places
It was perhaps in the 1920’s & 30s that things began to change. People started making what can only be called pilgrimages to First World War battle sites: the Somme, Passchendael, Ypres, Messines Ridge, Verdun – hardly ‘holy places’ ...
Organ Donors Service
But some doubted
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Trinity this past week. There’s been a lot of time to think during the six days of meetings – first the Inter Diocesan Conference, and then my first experience of our church’s General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui.
11 May
Weaving and Walking
The Sesqui celebrates the diocese of Wellington as a richly woven, well travelled, 150 year old rug. A little worn in places, the odd coffee stain, but with threads and a pattern that are still vibrant and colourful....
Bishop Tom Brown - at opening service of General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui
April 08
Dedicated Living and Giving
27 April
Worship, hospitality and education – the planks which inform our life as Cathedral.
O Praise the Lord!
20 April: 5pm
I still chuckle when I hear the phrase ‘neither delighteth he in any man’s legs’. I have this picture of our college principal sticking his leg out ...
The Home of Forgiveness
20 April: 10am
... many nations are filled with Diasporas; people living away from their homelands. For some this is a matter of choice and preferred circumstances, but for many the dislocation has come ...
Being built in the image of God
13 April: 5pm
After the temple was completed came the challenge to live out their calling as people of the temple; as people whose lives reflected and illustrated the God they worshipped.
This is something that our Young Adult group spent some time considering last weekend on our retreat...
The Fulness of Life
13 April: 10am
if we ask, ‘If the universe is like a great piece of music, in what key is it set? (A flat, B minor, C sharp minor…), the answer is: It is set in the key of GIVING...
The Road to Emmaus
6 April: 10am
It’s a simple story - focused on a meal, on broken, blessed and shared bread. It’s a profound story – with the dawning realisation that life will never be the same again – for the Lord is risen...
March 08
Low Sunday
30 March: 5pm
It’s now fashionable to want to be religious in general, but not to believe anything in particular – and here the resurrection is the big ‘no-no’...
Words, words, words
30 March: 10am
The words are offensive to some, utterly inspiring to others. They are inadequate, easily misunderstood, open to manipulation. They are life-changing, awe-inspiring...
Easter Day
23 March: 5pm
A never-ending dawn
If this is Easter morning, what then of Easter evening? In what way do we greet the Easter message at the close of day in our Evensong?
23 March: 10am
Easter is Good News
Easter this year has then, that special sesqui layer of meaning to it. To some extent the founding of the diocese of Wellington came about due to a series of extraordinary incidents sparked by a tragedy: ‘Tarore, the daughter of Ngakuku ...
The Rt Revd Dr Thomas Brown
23 March: 8am
The miracle of Easter is that no matter what happens in the world – death, mayhem, moral chaos, starvation – Christ is the one who remains standing.
Maundy Thursday
20 March: 7.30pm
For many people this is an extremely uncomfortable event. To have our feet washed, or to wash another’s feet crosses the boundaries of our personal space.
Palm Sunday
16 March: 5pm
One of the less obvious costs of such a war is underlined in a report this week on the discovery of the body of Archbishop Paulos Rahho ...
Jesus wept
9 March: 10am
Jesus wept. No distant uninvolved God here, no stiff upper lip kiwi-men-don’t-cry attitude. Jesus wept – for his dead friend and his friend’s grief stricken sisters. How would you paint that cameo ...
Work the works
2 March: 10am
Jesus continues, and this is the key, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.” (John 9: 3&4)
February 08
Arts Festival
24 February: 5pm
It is a great privilege, Dean Frank to be speaking here this evening, during the celebration of the Arts Festival and specially the Cathedral’s Art Encompassing, thank you for inviting me.
Beverley Shore Bennett MBE FMGP
Living Water
24 February: 10am
In four successive Sundays in Lent we are prepared for the big story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus by the little stories (all from St.John’s Gospel) ...
Thank You
17 February: 5pm
Be thankful – and say so.
Give us passion
17 February: 10am
The challenge is before us today. Last Sunday night we were dared to wear our faith more openly – to show the world that we are part of the body of Christ by our actions and words in every part of every day. Today we ask ...
The Ven Judy Hardie
Our story, God's Story
10 February: 10am
Celebration, temptation, sin, forgiveness, resurrection, life and loving – all are part of the Gospel, all are part of our Sesquicentenary celebrations, all are part of the weft and weave of a Cathedral such as ours.
Sesquicentenary
6 February
It is an honour and a privilege for me to have the opportunity to preach on this important occasion and I thank Bishop Tom for his invitation.
The Most Revd Dr Philip Aspinall (Primate of Australia). Sermon preached on Waitangi Day at Rangiatea Church at the start of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Wellington.
Being God-bearers
3 February: 5pm AAW Sunday
There is something deliciously ironic, and perhaps a little cheeky, in standing to preach at this service on a Sunday dedicated to the Association of Anglican Women
Let us go into the house
3 February: am
This day Archbishop Brian was there. “Michael,” he said, “you have to finish this Cathedral.” That sounded like music to me. “Last night I was at a reception at the Beehive,” he said. “Prime Minister Lange was showing the visitors the view and said ‘that’s the Cathedral’ and the visitors laughed. Do something about it.”
Dean Emeritus Michael Brown
January 08
Religion and Politics
27 January: 5pm
Rudd begins his essay by expressing disgust at how in George Bush’s America and John Howard’s Australia Christianity has been captured by an unholy alliance of conservative politics and fundamentalist religion. By contrast he indicates ...
Will you follow?
27 January: 10am
Jesus, however, is not going to do this on his own. Nor is it going to be left for some nebulous ‘others’ to do – the government, the clergy, the suitably vague and distant ‘someone else’.
Anglican Communion Sunday
20 January: 10am
The Anglican Communion has featured in media reports in recent months, the focus being, sadly, on news of dissension and division within some of its parts. What is frequently overlooked however is the vast network of Christian love and understanding ...
The Ven Judy Hardie
The Servant of God
13 January: 10am
Today’s sermon was an easy one to write given the readings focusing on the baptism of Jesus, the servant of God spoken of so eloquently in Isaiah, and the death of two great Kiwis late in the week.
December 07
Christmas Day
25 December: 10am
This was the moment when Before Turned into After, and the future's Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.
Advent People
16 December: 5pm
As Advent people we can count on God entering our lives
The Ven Judy Hardie
Hikoi of Hikois
16 December: 10am
What then do we make of John’s rather pathetic question sent to Jesus: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’
A rowdy guest
9 December: 10am
The conflict between Ian and Maurice over Venus comes to a head in a Café where a number of old gents meet every week to crack the breeze. Maurice is so incensed by Ian’s behaviour that he rolls up a newspaper and starts bashing him over the head with it, all the while yelling, ‘You must learn to be nice to people’. more...
The source of power
9 December: 5pm
Sometimes it is possible to become so caught up in the doing of worship or religion or in the politics of religious practice, that God, the centre and essence of faith is forgotten.
The Ven Judy Hardie
That we may walk in His paths
2 December: 10am
It is Advent again – just four Sundays away from Christmas (although I possibly do not need to tell you this. The commercial world has certainly not forgotten it.)
The Ven Judy Hardie
November 07
Lift high the Cross
25 November: 10am
Excited chatter gave way to a hushed whispering as the first procession of ordinands, accompanied by their presenters, made their way to their seats. Then the organ burst forth and a thousand voices were raised to sing Lift high the Cross, the love of God proclaim,
Truth midst Power
18 November: 5pm
Are there any parallels between Daniel and our lives in 21st century New Zealand? As we think through that question it may come as a surprise to realise that Daniel is a fascinating book well worth a careful read in today’s world. In many ways Anglican Christians may feel like the exiles ...
Apocalypse or Blessed Normality?
18 November: 10am
For me – and maybe for you – recent days have been apocalyptic. On Tuesday at Te Papa I heard one of Al Gore’s eco-evangelists talking ... On Wednesday there was a double-banger: on the one hand, revelations of bugged conversations amongst would-be terrorists; and, on the other, the Hikoi to Parliament with its sustained rage ...
Prayers for Peace
11 November: 5pm
Among the chaplains serving in those dark days was Eric Milner-White. After the war he returned to King’s College Cambridge where he went on to become Dean .... One of his most lasting achievements while at the college was the introduction of the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, first broadcast in 1928 and now a cornerstone of the BBC's Christmas schedule. But he also left us a prayer for peace,
Sinner and Saint
4 November: 10am
“What is Halloween?” “I know, I know” they all shouted, hands shooting into the air. “Yes?” “It’s about ghosts and the devil,” said one. “It’s about evil,” said another. “What else?” They looked puzzled. Eventually one said, “We don’t really know what it’s about.”
October 07
Vanity of Vanities
28 October: 5pm
Vanity of vanities – all is vanity. These oddly disturbing words from Ecclesiastes come from a book that has intrigued and puzzled generations of readers. Tonight’s passage from the last chapter reminds me of the final stage of Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man – with one exception. Where the Bard leaves us with a babbling child-like idiot of an old man – sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything
Prayer of the Humble
28 October: 10am
For the many of us who are here day by day within the Cathedral we know this to be a place that can be equally busy and hectic, without necessarily a sense of the stillness we might associate with God, and yet despite this, it will always be a sacred space in the heart of our city where people do gather into the stillness of God’s presence.
Young People' Sermon
21 October: 5pm
With the pressure of our secular society and the church’s self-criticism, I sometimes feel alone with a big burden and wonder if there is a future? 1: But hang on…there’s five of us giving this sermon and there’s usually only one so you are definitely not alone! The people in Nehemiah’s day felt exactly the same,
Cathedral Young Adults
One among you is Christ
21 October: 10am
But, you ask, how do we know Christ? Let me tell you a story. It’s one that has been around for a long time, but loses nothing in the retelling.
Three Years On
14 October: 5am
Three years ago tonight, the 14th October 2004, you, the people of this Cathedral, and I entered into a partnership... On that night I promised to serve you as your Dean, and you promised ...
World Mission
14 October: 10am
The wedding in Cana of Galilee is an invitation to see God smile in a frowning world. God’s radical invitation to an alternative economy ...
New Sight
7 October: 5pm
This has been Book Month in New Zealand. In library and shop displays and in the media we have seen and heard much about the writing and publishing of books and stories both old and contemporary...
The Ven Judy Hardie
Reading Notes
7 October: 8am
Today’s first reading is the beginning of a Lament – a song of grief following the disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. It is followed by Psalm 137 – where the traumatised slaves ...
September 07
Who is Lazarus?
30 September: 10am
Lazarus is the drunken teenager on Courteney Place we avoid after the opera, the snotty-nosed child beggar we see in our travels to Bali, India, Morocco. Lazarus is ...
St Matthew the Apostle
23 September: 5pm
Imagine the scene – it’s after a church meeting, a choir practice, vestry, choral evensong perhaps. We retire to the Front Pew Pub across the road. Orders are placed – a bottle of Magnificat Merlot, a jug of Spirit’s Old Dark..
Whom do we serve?
23 September: 10am
Today our popular understanding of prophecy more often that not refers to the ability to speak of the future. For the Harry Potter readers amongst you, this is the understanding given there of prophesy; a prophecy being something foretold of the future. Yet the biblical role of a prophet...
Battle of Britain Sunday
16 September: 10am
Sadly, wars and violence did not end with the armistice at the end of the Second World War; just as the war itself did not end with the sacrificial victory we now call the Battle of Britain. War touches our lives even now.
Obligations of Hospitality
9 September: 10am
That this particular reading should be read today, in the week that has seen the release from prison of hunger-striker Ali Panah, is perhaps one of those God-incidences that happens to people of faith.
Becoming who you are
2 September: 5pm
One of the tragedies of our high speed, ‘I-want-it-all-&-I want-it-now’ culture is that people are too quick to say ‘I love you’ without really knowing who ‘I am’ or who ‘you are’
Who gets invited?
2 September: 10am
It was an intentional and deliberate drawing back and taking time to think about Biblical Hermeneutics. For three days seventy people, drawn from across the Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, sat in this sacred space - men and women, gay and straight, Maori and Pakeha, Tongan, Samoan, both native and Indian Fijian, liberal and evangelical, old and young, lay and ordained
August
St Augustine
26th August: 5pm
His was a brilliant mind; a rich kid, well-educated with the world at his feet; obsessed with sex; in love with himself; a rolling stone ...
Be our freedom, Lord
26th August: 10am
This hasn’t been because of the highly social behaviour of our Young Adults group or the exuberance of our growing Youth Group, or even the combined rejoicing of our choirs ...
The Blessed Virgin Mary: Gift of Humility
19th August: 5pm
Mary had the wisdom to perceive that the gift she receives is a gift she receives on behalf of all people. The words of the Magnificat...
Do you think...?
19th August: am
“Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth?” Why of course Jesus! Isn’t that what everyone has been saying? Aren’t you called the Prince of Peace? ...
Frogmouth
12th August: 5pm
Imagine having a name like ‘Frogmouth’. It sounds like some terribly cruel playground teasing. ‘Hey, Frogmouth! Come over here a minute!’ The tawny frogmouth is a ....
Conservation
5th August: 5pm
- Joy Cowley
I’m old enough to remember the attitude of the 1940s that regarded land in native bush as land “wasted.” These days, people are placing covenants on farmland so that it can return to native forest
The Gift
5 August: 10am
When she heard about my medical adventures, she gave me lots of very big hugs, saying what an awful time I had had and how good it was that I was OK and then thrust into my hands a range of crafts from her stall – things for me to take as gifts to remember that the gift of life was still mine.
July 07
Saints and Martyrs of Europe: A Divine Diversity
29 July: 5.00pm
Our celebration of Europe spans the greatest period of history, both in time and potentially in influence upon the shape of today’s church. Whilst our contemporary Three Tikanga church reflects our own uniqueness, that uniqueness is born out of conversations here with the heritage given to us in the life’s service of these European saints.
Ask, Seek and Knock
29 July: 10am
I was not altogether surprised when Claire called to ask about today’s reading from the prophet Hosea. We don’t normally bandy around words like whore and harlot in church! Nor is it very polite to refer to someone in that way – especially not one’s wife!
Mary Magdalene
22 July: 5pm
Ever since Pope Gregory the Great, who died in 604 AD, got confused, Mary Magdalene has been associated, at least in the Western Church, with prostitutes and sinners.
The New Testament record is somewhat different....
RSCM Winter Choir School
8th July: 5pm
I have just come back from a week in Masterton with 67 choristers from all around the country and a host of musical and house tutors and staff, where I was chaplain to the Royal School of Church Music Winter Choir School. This event is hosted by the Wellington branch of the RSCM and I know that many people here are not only passionate about church music, but particularly passionate about encouraging our young people to follow their musical passions within the context of our church and cathedral community and particularly support this event.
Sea Sunday
8th July: 10am
The sea – and matters pertaining to the sea - has always been of prime importance to New Zealanders living in this island nation. Media headlines frequently embody references to the oceans around us and to the shipping and recreational activities that take place in these waters.
The Apostle Thomas: Faithful Doubt
1st July: 5pm
The saint we celebrate tonight is famous not for his faith, but for his apparent lack of faith: Thomas the apostle. Even people with little exposure to the Christian tradition tend to understand the meaning of being called a ‘doubting Thomas’. Yet it seems to me rather unfortunate that the popular legacy of Thomas is one of doubt, when in some ways Thomas can be seen as a great encourager of our faith.
A Bread and Butter Sermon
1st July: 10am
‘Through the YEARLY CYCLE, the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and keeps the anniversaries of the saints. ORDINARY TIME is devoted to celebrating the mystery of Christ in all its aspects.’
June 07
John the Baptist
24 June: pm
But who was this John? The information we have comes almost entirely from the New Testament – apart from one reference by the Jewish historian, Josephus.
Let us be Still
24 June: am
And then I stopped writing. It was enough for now. It was enough simply to sit, to be, to do nothing.
Evelyn Underhill - Mystic
17 June: pm
In purely secular fashion we could say that mysticism – .... – is the kind of passion and occasional ‘eureka’ experience
Lead me in your righteousness
17 June: am
As you know I enjoy wearing a sky-blue clerical shirt. It is my favourite colour, and for me at least, suggests calmness and peace. Imagine my shock then when last week one of my colleagues in Hong Kong said that he assumed I was a ....
Son of Encouragement
10 June: pm
The spirit of Barnabas was, I am sure, hovering over the gathering of a small group of priests who met last week in Hong Kong. Invited to attend I had little idea ...
Mission to Somewhere
10 June: am
This morning I am imagining that our Cathedral is buzzing with a joyful exhaustion after having being blessed by young people from all around our diocese camping over night within its walls. Organised with our Diocesan Youth Office, this was the ‘Camp to Nowhere’
Trinity Sunday
3 June: am
There has been a degree of controversial discussion this week about our collective religious, or non-religious, identity.
May 07
Augustine: Testimony to God's Spirit
27 May: pm
Augustine appears at times to be a rather reluctant and hesitant missionary
Pentecost
27 May: am
The amethyst ring worn by a bishop as a sign of office is an interesting choice. The Greek word ‘amethustos’ means ...
The new Body of Christ
20 May: am
...the problem of how human beings of such inherent individuality and difference can cohabit peacefully is the most ancient and most enduring of issues to which we are yet to come to a united understanding...
Obstinate in Resurrection
13 May: pm
Matthias found himself in a difficult situation.
We are God’s Church
13 May: 10am
There was absolute silence as the last one slowly lit it and placed it in the sand tray. Their vicar spoke briefly and simply.
John the Evangelist
6 May: pm
Thank God for John the Gospel writer.
A confused dream?
6 May: am
I thought of that meal in China twice this week. Once when I first read today’s passage from Acts; and again as I watched the people pouring into the Cathedral for the Vigil last Wednesday.
April 07
Great is God's Faithfulness
29 April: pm
Gracious deeds. Praiseworthy acts. Great favour. Mercy. Steadfast love. These words defined Israel’s understanding of the faithfulness of their god and its memory of its history.
The Revd Elaine Farmer
Dedicated Living and Giving
29 April: am
For me the element of thanksgiving is even more important as I give thanks to God for the opportunity I have had to respond to my vocation amongst you, the Cathedral family, for the past two years. I have never known two years to pass so quickly!
The Transformation of Human Tragedy
22 April: pm
Despite, and also through, these embellishments, the St George, of both myth and history, has been called on to awaken in us the challenge and the courage to give our all to God
The Lamb is the Lion
22 April: am
The mystery is revealed – the Lion is the Lamb, the persecuted is the Christ, the host is the Lord.
Transformation is Resurrection
8 April - Easter Day: pm
Here’s an Easter day riddle for you. What do a butterfly, a frog and an oak tree have in common?
Are you not the Messiah?
6 April 07 - Good Friday '
Of one thing you can be sure, every person who dies says they are innocent. But I’ve never heard of the executioner saying the same. That’s what the centurion said! "Certainly, this man was innocent."
Meditation for Maundy Thursday
5 April 07
One of the Anglican rituals that we continue at Wellington Cathedral is a re-enactment of the foot-washing. I vividly recall my feet being washed by the principal of my theological college. There was this great man, on his knees, cradling my feet in a towel!
March 07
Demands my All
25 March 07: 10am
It is an intimate, touching scene taking place in the privacy and security of a friend’s home. Then Judas Iscariot speaks. He cheapens and makes coarse something beautiful.
The Yearning for Beauty
18 March 07: 5pm
Interestingly it was Oscar Wilde who used that phrase of a cigarette - exquisite, yet leaving us unsatisfied!
The Longing for Relationship
11 March 07: 5pm
At the heart of relationships is sex. Not in the sense of being 'sexual' and erotic.
A Time for Fasting
11 March 07: 10am
If you go under a bus tomorrow, what will you be remembered for?
The Quest for Spirituality
4 March 07: 5pm
Imagine a fertile valley, lush with grass and bush, bees buzz from flower to flower, bell-bird and kaka enjoy the fruits of the trees, tuatara bask in the sun, blue duck glide along the still waters ...
Feel the Awe
4 March 07: 10am
The story of the Transfiguration is a strange one that fits uncomfortably in the season of Lent. Yet it does fit ...
February 07
The Search for Justice
25th February 07: 5pm
It's not fair!
Crossing the Border
25th February 07
At the border there are signs to alert the traveller as to what is to come. Everything is open to change ...
An Active Faith
18th February 07: 5pm
Active faith is not simply obeying a set of rules. Active faith is living fully in the Spirit of Jesus Christ...
Dare to live the Resurrection
18th February 07: 10am
Whoa! Stop! Part of me wants to say this is going too far! Love your enemies, do good ...
Julius Dienes
17th February 07
My height is 187cm. For the "purists" that is 6'2"... And yet, I feel totally dwarfed by the stature of he whom we gather to remember today.
The Revd Canon Richard Simpson
Slavery Today!
11th February 07: 5pm
Work Visa. Current for travel until 8 August 1991 for single journey. Holder may travel to New Zealand and on application may be granted a permit for 13 weeks ...
Lookin' at ya, Kid
4th February 07: 10am
At the Dean’s suggestion, I’m going to tell you how this pattern became real for me in November and December when I visited three Carmelite Convents in Germany, Berlin, Weimar and Dachau.
Installation of Jan Joustra as Dean of the Waikato, St Peter's Cathedral
4th February 07
(A Cathedral)is a sacred place, tapu space, an ikon if you like, in a city and country where God is often pushed aside
January 07
There's got to be a morning after
28 January 07
... did a Google search and come up with three scenarios. The first had to do with the ‘morning after pill’ – not quite what I wanted for a sermon on a patronal festival day!
Hear, Interpret, Understand
21 January 07
Whether we are reading about a president’s hat, the swimming or otherwise capability of a Nobel Peace Prize winner, or a comment made on National Radio ...
Gospel Wine Lives
14 January 07
... is becoming even more vital for the communities in which we live. It has been a tragic week for many in this country ...
Is the Dean an Agnostic?
14 January 07 - Auckland Cathedral
The last two months have seen an astonishing public debate about atheism and religion. First, Richard Dawkins, the Oxford scientist and atheist, publishes his book The God Delusion which seeks to debunk religion, albeit in a very dishonest manner by focussing only on fundamentalist religious caricatures ...
The Rt Revd Richard Randerson, Dean of Auckland
Epiphany
7 January 07
Happy New Year! It’s a strange time of year I always think – when everything that is usual, that is ‘normal’ seems to be shelved for this New Zealand time of Christmas holidays
December 06
Family: Holy and Unholy
31 Dec 06: Sunday after Christmas
‘The Holy Family’ - when people, painfully aware of the realities of their own situation
A Christmas Gift
Christmas Day: 10am
Imagine my surprise then when, just last week, a 16 year old posed this question to us: Which side of the envelope do you put the stamp on – left or right?
Coming Ready or Not
Christmas Eve: Midnight Mass
It was a dark and stormy night, and all three gates from the farm house down to the road were shut because the sheep had been mustered for shearing
The Revd Dr Thomas Brown, Bishop of Wellington
The Resurrection of Christmas
24 Dec 06: Advent 4
I wonder if the headline in yesterday’s magazine section of the paper was intentional? Over a series of interviews with people about what Christmas means to them stands the banner: “The Resurrection of Christmas.” Yes! They’ve got it.
Tell me a story
10 Dec 06: Advent 2
He embedded the story in the world he knew. It was a world where children were friends and played together. A world where growing up meant ....
I cannot tell
10 December 06: Advent 2
It’s a day I’ll never forget. Sunday afternoon, 11th February 1990. No Eucharist today; instead we brought a large television set into the sanctuary and ...
The days are surely coming
3 December 06: Advent 1
At the heart of our faith there are both the known unambiguous facts about Jesus Christ, and the unknown - the great mystery of God that seems to have no answers
November 06
The Writing on the Wall
26 November 06: pm
On the one hand we find Jesus living the power of love, the essence of his kingdom. On the other we find the mighty Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, one whose kingdom
There He Stands
26 November 06: am
Gujarat, 1930. There he stands. His frailness is evident in the bald head, round eye-glasses, stick in hand, cloth garment barely concealing his nakedness ...
The Faith Continuum
19 November 06: Evensong
Faith is a continuum. It never quite makes 100% in us. It always contains an element of doubt.
The Revd Canon Gerald Baker
The Song of Hannah
19 November 06: Morning Eucharist
The Song of Hannah is not without its difficulties. It is not much of an answer to deeply felt impassioned prayers that go unanswered. It could be seen ...
Listening to Isaiah
12 November 06: Evensong
Into this world of 8th century BC Israel and Judah came the prophets.
Giving our Today
12 November 06: Communion
On a day when many of the chairs in the nave of the Cathedral have reserved signs on them, in preparation for all the important people who will attend the next service, we read of Jesus warning ...
White Feather, Burn Cross
5 November 06
My sortie into All Saints’ has taken us from Guy Fawkes and fireworks, to Parihaka, white feathers, burnt nails and white ribbons.
All Souls'
2 November 06
I suspect that many of us here tonight are drawn, at least partly, by the music of Gabriel Fauré.
October 2006
Our Beloved Anglican Church
29 October 06
No one of us has the franchise on truth, orthodoxy, faithfulness and certainly not when it comes to interpreting the Scriptures!
Tears of Grief, Shouts of Joy
29 October 06
Years ago I preached a singularly awful sermon to a Diocesan Clergy Conference in England. Afterwards, an older, wiser priest said to me: ‘Raymond, it’s our language that always betrays us’.
Hospital Chaplaincy Sunday
22 October 06
Often when I am in the neurosurgical ward where people have had surgery that has effected their brain function the staff I see most frequently with those patients are the ward assistants. They are the ones, mostly with little formal qualifications, who sit with the patient 24 hours a day
The Revd Michael Jones - Ecumenical Hospital Chaplain
We are able.
22 October 06
If ever there was an arrogant, ignorant answer to a question it must be this one by James and John, in response to Jesus’ question. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptised with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
The Hard Questions
15 October 06
There are times .... when a believing community can be driven to extremity – when the world around can be no longer morally decoded. Like running before the wind we can encounter the loose, the wild, the undomesticated and the inexplicable
With God all things ...
15 October 06
I mention this not as a way of drawing attention to myself, but as a parable of what our whole civilization needs to do: slim down, wake up to life, wake up to God, get innovative, become aware of the needs of our world.
To Love and to Cherish
8 October 2006
It’s ten or twelve years since I last had the courage to preach on today’s Gospel reading. I remember the day well.
Being Counter-cultural
1 October 06
On the one hand there are those who are completely counter-cultural; those who try to keep themselves in isolation from the world, living in a time warp.
Vulnerable Living
1 October 06
A reading from the book of Esther began to shape our thinking this morning. For many people this book remains an enigma – why was it included in the canon of scriptures? There is no mention of God in it.
September 2006
Yes! I believe!
24 September 06
Possibly, at this stage of my life, I would rather alter the order of some of the declarations that come within the liturgy of Baptism. I would like to begin by saying Yes! I believe and trust in God, maker and sustainer of all things.
Let a Child Choose
24th September 06
Even the priest raises an eyebrow, desperately searching memory for the incident in mind – Mark’s Gospel maybe? “Let a child choose.”
A Dangerous Memory
17th September 06 (Battle of Britain)
Welcome to the real world! Yet, as I say, we do this remembering in the context of the dangerous memory of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is, however, more to this than we have so far glimpsed.
Synod Sermon
17 September 06
I runga i te ingoa o Te Matua, Te Tama, me Te Wairua Tapu. It is a joy to be with you as you meet for your synod. This Church has deep associations for me: My parents were married here, I was baptised here, my paternal grandparents were buried from here and my family associate this sacred place with so many significant occasions. My grandfather sang in the choir stalls here for many decades as did my father who was Crucifer here and for part of that time I was also a Chorister.
The Most Revd David Moxon