E NEWS 19TH APRIL 2024
Tena koutou. Yesterday was a very busy day. We have three people from our church currently in hospital. Jenny Simpson, Caroline Glass and Janice Gault. Janice is being discharged back to BUPA care today. Incidentally, it will be Janice’s’ 90th birthday next week on Friday 26th April. She hopes that she may be able to attend church next Sunday. All three pass on their love and greetings to our church. We will remember them on Sunday in our prayers for the people.
We had a wonderful celebration of Lloyd Jobson’s life at his memorial wake after church on Sunday. It was good to meet his siblings and friends and family. Molly shared a wonderful tribute and did a great job co-ordinating the event.
Aivale Cole’s Opera concert last Friday at our church was a sell-out. Apart from one song with former friends from Wellington East College she led a solo performance for two hours complete with humour and theatrics.
Here is a picture of us together pre-concert warm up.
This Sunday’s lectionary readings can take us in two directions (1) The healing of the lame man by Peter & John or (2) The Good Shepherd.
I’ve always been an advocate for contextual theology. In the case of the good shepherd many Pacific islands and their people have never seen a sheep, let alone know what a shepherd is or does. So the next closest thing to a sheep is a pig. Jesus the pig herder. Pigs, like sheep, definitely know the voice of their owner or keeper.
In Papua New Guinea one pig herder states that “ We don’t have sheep on our island. In fact we have never seen one nor do we know what they are like but what we do have is pigs. And those pigs know our voice” he continued. Sometimes we will lose one of our domesticated pigs we are raising and so we will call out into the jungle a special call that we know only that pig will recognize. And when we call out, sure enough that little pig comes running straight out of the jungle and straight to us because it knows our voice. Not only does that little pig know our voice when we call to it but it knows whether or not a stranger is the one calling or if its owner is calling out to it and you can rest assured that it won’t come if it’s not the owner calling to it. Our pigs know our voices and when we call, they come.”
Biblical texts may not necessarily be understood if the readers or listeners have no concept of what is being talked about. Pacific Theology or Coconut theology is an appropriate recontextualising of the Biblical texts in order for it to be relevant to its readers and listeners. Or in the case of the theologies of Asia, Kosuke Koyama’s “Water Buffalo” theology.
After coffee this Sunday two groups will be meeting at the same time. The “Y” Group or young Adults group will be meeting in Conference room 1, while Congregational Conversation will be happening in the Hall. My apologies to CC; I have the pleasure of hosting “Y” group. I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday. Go gently on yourselves, ngā mihi, Fei.
You can read the full E news here: https://mailchi.mp/82dd9e807cbf/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-9445284
