Author Archives: Philip Garside

“God is already existing and active in people’s lives – in their suffering, grieving and dying.”

“Ministry becomes immensely rewarding when we are able to recognise God’s presence already existing in the lives and experience of the bereaved (in what Denyer calls ‘the baggage’). It is not a matter of taking God to people (or taking people to God). That implies that God is not present in the situation. It is about recognising that God is already existing and active in people’s lives – in their suffering, grieving and dying. Augustine, who has a clear sense of God being present in all places, vigorously challenges a limited view of God’s presence – ‘present entirely everywhere at once.’ The minister’s task is to help people recognise the divine activity and presence, or as Rowan Williams describes it: ‘finding out what God is doing and joining in.’”

From Chapter 5 — How Might We Respond? of Earthed in Hope: Dying, Death and Funerals – A Pakeha Anglican Perspective. By Alister G. Hendery. Order now eBooks or Print book

“What we need are grievers who can express their grief unapologetically;”

“The pastoral dimension of a funeral will enable and reinforce healthy grieving. It will acknowledge where people are in their grief and give them the opportunity to express something of their experience of loss and recognise the true nature of the death. I suspect few people today consider grieving to be pathological, but many regard it with a deep sense of embarrassment and awkwardness. What we need are grievers who can express their grief unapologetically; showing us that grief is not an illness, not a weakness, not self-pity, not simply sadness, not something that we should grin and bear – but a natural, normal response to loss. It is part of being human. John’s statement, ‘Jesus began to weep’ (John 11:35) (or, as in the Revised Standard Version, ‘Jesus wept’), affirms our needs in time of grief. A grieving father wrote: ‘I shall look at the world through tears. Perhaps I shall see things that with dry-eyes I could not see.’ That Jesus openly expressed his grief is not, however, a warrant for turning the funeral into a liturgical counselling session but an expression of the compassion of God who is present with us, sharing our pain and acquainted with our grief.” 

From Chapter 2 — Universal Dimensions, of Earthed in Hope: Dying, Death and Funerals – A Pakeha Anglican Perspective. By Alister G. Hendery.

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“…each funeral is the result of a partnership between minister and bereaved…”

“Ministers need a strong and loving wisdom to guide the bereaved through the funeral process, carefully listening to what is being said, building rapport and empathy, and being willing to explore possibilities with those making the arrangements. The trust and confidence of the bereaved has to be gained and this can only be achieved by sensitive response to their spiritual, social and emotional needs. We live in a consumer culture where people are used to getting what they want and expressing dissatisfaction if they do not get it. That does not mean that the mourners should dictate the form and content of the service. Rather, each funeral is the result of a partnership between minister and bereaved, the product of negotiation not dictation. In that process, the minister has to be able ‘to gauge accurately what this family would like to hear said and have done. It is entirely possible to keep the Christian liturgical framework and still include elements or emphasise themes that mean a lot to the bereaved but are not at the forefront of the liturgy.’582”

From Chapter 9 — The Funeral Service, of Earthed in Hope: Dying, Death and Funerals – A Pakeha Anglican Perspective. By Alister G. Hendery. Order now eBooks or Print book

Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight by Vai Ngahe – coming mid-Oct 2014

Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight: Engaged Ministry in Avondale Union and Manurewa Methodist parishes 2006-2014  by ‘Alifeleti Vaitu’ulala Ngahe
— Coming mid-October 2014

ISBN 9781501004476. 68pp. 6 x 9″ soft cover

Tongan Methodist minister ‘Alifeleti Vaitu’ulala Ngahe has been in full-time, ordained ministry for almost 10 years. This book reflects on those years in Avondale Union and Manurewa Methodist parishes in Auckland, New Zealand.

Rev Ngahe’s approach is to create strategies for change by engaging in deep theological thinking, in networking with key local people and organisations, and in careful reflection on learnings from his ministry. He believes all people in a community have a contribution to make and hopes this book will encourage church and other local leaders to work effectively in their communities.

Church life and ministry is changing. Alongside this, our communities are changing and are often stressed. How does the Church engage effectively with the communities in which they are set?

Rev Ngahe says, “Over my years in ministry it has become clear that people are excited and enthusiastic about engaging in God-talk and living out the Gospels. …communities come together when a vision and the possibility of achieving positive change are offered.”

Using the metaphors of weaving a mat, creating a network the way a spider spins a web and a bird taking flight, he explains how he has given new life to his parishes.

  • The mat represents the history of the church. Leaving the edges of the mat unfinished allows new stories and experiences to be woven in.
  • The web represents the network that needs to be deliberately built up between people in the church and the leaders and organisations that form the surrounding local community.
  • The bird reminds us that it takes a lot of energy to take flight. But when the community is working together and heading in the same direction, we can relax and enjoy the ride, soaring through the air.

Vai_Ngahe_PortraitTwo key projects demonstrate the power of church and community working together. The run-down Rosebank Penninsula Church building has been restored and transformed into a busy community centre. The outdoor mural at Manurewa Methodist church was painted by people of all ages from within the church and the wider local community. It remains a vibrant symbol of that church’s role as the Corner of Hope.

Rev Ngahe’s enthusiastic and yet deeply thoughtful, methodical approach will provide inspiration for all who are engaged in multicultural Christian ministry.

 

Are you ready for retirement? Bruce Woodley will get you started…

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Preparing For Retirement Today: Dealing With The Financial And Physical Issues
By Bruce H. Woodley  eBook released 21 Feburary 2014.

PFRT_CreateSpace_cover_21_Feb_2014_250wClick the cover or this link for full details and to order.

Are you ready for retirement?

Bruce Woodley will get you started on planning for a financially secure, happy and healthy retirement. By exploring how to handle our savings and investments in a practical and common sense manner, both when we are working and in retirement, he shows that it is possible to reach our retirement goals and provide a future which is both fulfilling and enjoyable.

The book also outlines how relationships can be improved, by helping men and women to understand that they often have different approaches to financial planning and managing money. It also identifies how to provide for family legal matters.

Woodley shows how the new 60 is the old 40 and that we can take charge of our own future, rather than retiring from life. With a positive approach to living life to the full, we can look forward to living our dreams in our older years, with more life ahead of us. We can stay young at heart.

Listen to a recording of a Service exploring the Nativity Stories and Celebrating Christmas

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Help your congregation to explore the Nativity Stories and why we Celebrate Christmas

On Sunday 22 December 2013, I prepared and led a worship service for my 10am Congregation at Wesley Methodist Church, Taranaki Street, Wellington.

A congregation member said that she would like to be able to share a recording of the service with her church back in her country, so here it is.

I have re-recorded the service by reading my leader’s version of the Order for Service, which includes my sermon, the readings and discussion questions.

Download the recording .mp3 file here (32mb)

  • The mp3 link will take you to a page where you can either listen to the recording or download and save the file to your computer to listen to later.

Download a PDF of the Order of Service here

  • Clicking the PDF link for the Order of Service will immediately download the file to your computer.

I felt that this service was particularly effective in stimulating the congregation to think again about the nativity story. I set the scene by explaining that stories about Jesus conception, birth and childhood only appear in the Bible in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels, and pointing out that these gospels actually tell two different nativity stories.

In the middle of the service, the congregation formed four groups to discuss these questions:

  • Group 1: What if Mary said “No” to the angel? Think about how this would affect our
    relationship with God and God’s relationship with us.
  • Group 2:  Matthew and Luke provide nativity stories. Paul, Mark and John don’t. What
    do you think about this?
  • Group 3: Matthew has wise men. Luke has shepherds. Does this tell us anything about
    the two writers and the audiences they were writing for?
  • Group 4: What is your favourite part of the nativity stories. Are there any parts you don’t
    like. Why?

They spent 10 minutes sharing within their groups and the groups then reported back their responses to the whole congregation.

Worship leaders are welcome to use or adapt any of my ideas in the Order of Service and the recording can be freely shared.

You are welcome to comment on this post clicking the Leave a Reply link or by emailing me at books@pgpl.co.nz

Cheers, Philip Garside