Sometimes I’ve read a book that is so memorable that years later I not only remember much of the book, but also the emotions I felt when reading it, where I’ve read it, and what the weather was like. One of those was a book by south German author Ottilie Wildermuth. In the middle of…
About a month ago I wrote about a non-Christian song that masquerades as religious (“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen). In addition, there are probably a few songs that are occasionally sung in churches that are more influenced by secular music and thought than any Christian background. A few weeks ago I sat in a Spanish restaurant…
This week, as I regularly do, I took services in rest homes. As I came into one of the rest homes, some residents already sat expectantly in the chairs in the room where the service is held, while others still drifted in. After greeting the people informally I began to set up for the service.…
Habitus Group has withdrawn its proposal for the development of the tennis court and vicarage lands. The validity for the offer had expired in late May and has not been renewed. Habitus Group has mentioned that this is due to significant increase in build costs and a reduction in demand. I have talked with Habitus…
It is quite possible that hymns and songs influence our faith more than Bible reading, books, or sermons. We sing hymns again and again, so that their music and their words are firmly planted in our minds and hearts. Music affects us far more deeply than just the written or spoken word alone. Maybe that’s…
The pop song “Hallelujah” written by Leonard Cohen has become very popular, especially as it was covered by successful groups such as “Il Divo” and “Pentatonix” for the more classically inclined, and a whole list of other famous singers. It has become a firm favourite of many.A few years ago I took a funeral where…
It’s probably appropriate to give you an update on some property matters. The proposed development of the tennis court land and vicarage land has been passed to Church Property Trustees (CPT) and the Diocesan Standing Committee. Before those boards consider the proposal for sale and development of the land, they wanted to get some more…
Returning to New Zealand I came early to the airport in Tel Aviv. That was a good move as I found out. Otherwise I might not have made my flight. The security lines stretched through the whole airport. While check-in only took me about five minutes, getting through security took me about three hours. It…
Some of you have asked what I have been doing these past three (actually 2 ½) weeks in Israel. Yes, it had to do with archaeology, but I was not excavating anything. I have spent eight seasons excavating in Israel and now three seasons restoring pottery (a season normally lasts between two and six weeks).…
While you at St Paul’s were celebrating the Church’s birthday and the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, I attended the agricultural festival of Pentecost here in Israel. Before Pentecost had anything to do with the coming of the Spirit or the Church, it was a Jewish festival. Normally known as Shavuot or the…