Category Archives: Reviews

Praise for Earthed in Hope. eBooks now $9.99

The following review by Rev John Meredith appears in the June 2015 issue of Touchstone – the Methodist Church’s monthly newspaper.

“Alister G. Hendery,
Earthed in Hope.
Dying, Death and Funerals. A Pakeha Anglican Perspective.
Wellington: Philip Garside, 2014, 300 pages.

Hendery remarks that over the past four decades funeral practices in New Zealand have undergone sweeping changes. Celebrants who are not clergy conduct well over half Pakeha funerals and offer a highly personalised, life-centred alternative to churches. Although the church is no longer the chief provider of funeral ceremonies, Christian faith has a realistic approach to death and grief that is grounded in undying hope in God. Writing from an Pakeha Anglican perspective, Hendery addresses significant issues of Christian faith and practice and touches on matters relevant to all who exercise funeral ministry.

A funeral marks the ending of a human life and, as Hendery points out, people today have a wide choice in style and content of a funeral service. When a minister of the church is requested to officiate it cannot be taken for granted that the community for this funeral either understands or accepts the Christian story. Listening is a key part of the minister’s preparation. It is also important for a minister to accept that profound feelings of the loss of a physical presence cannot be assuaged by religious formulae.

At several places in the book the author stresses that whatever form the funeral takes, the most effective feature will be the embodiment of compassion by the minister. While those attending the funeral may forget what was said they will probably remember the attitude of the minister.

While a minister of the church is a spokesperson for the gospel, Hendery stresses this does not mean imposing on people. Ministers must be flexible and willing to offer guidance rather than ruling on matters such as choice of music and form of tribute.

Hendery expresses concern about the way euphemistic language may diminish the reality of someone’s death. Too often a person passes away to become the deceased. Instead, the author prefers unambiguous language. His practice of referring to someone who has died as “the dead person” indicates both respect for the person and an acceptance of reality.

The idea of closure, as it is popularly termed, is addressed thoughtfully. Writing of the pastoral care of people who are grieving, Hendery suggests that while, over time, those who have been bereaved may become reconciled to their loss, this does not mean that closure, is an appropriate end to the experience of grief. Those who are left continue to relate to those who have died through memory and abiding influence.

For those concerned with funeral ministry there is much in this book that will repay careful reflection: how God and Christian hope are presented, the avoidance of euphemisms and idealistic eulogies, ritual at and after the funeral, funerals following suicide, funerals of children and children at funerals. Hendery states: We need to be able to look death in the face and be willing to wrestle with the theological, spiritual and emotional demands that this takes. Earthed in Hope offers significant help for those who are serious about doing this.”

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“…rich with stories, metaphors and invitations for ministering across cultures…” Review of Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight by Jione Havea

The following review by Jione Havea — Senior lecturer in biblical studies at the United Theological College & School of Theology, Charles Sturt University — will appear in the August 2015 issue of the Uniting Church Studies journal.

Rev Havea is a Tongan Methodist minister and is the Principal Researcher with the Public and Contextual Theology Research Centre.

Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight
‘Alifeleti Vaitu’ulala Ngahe
(Wellington, Philip Garside Publishing Ltd., 2014),
pp. 68. ISBN 9781501004476 (pbk).

“This slim book is rich with stories, metaphors and invitations for ministering across cultures, generations and languages, written by a Methodist Minister in Aotearoa New Zealand. Ngahe reflects on his ministry over nine years at two parishes (Avondale and Manurewa) and identifies stepping stones for those who wish to be involved in what he calls “engaged ministry,” which simply means to be not just saying it, but doing it (p. 11).

Ngahe values the practice of reflecting on one’s experience and ministry, and then sharing the wisdom gained with other colleagues and other ministry agents. Those are the motivations for Ngahe’s work and I hope that this book will inspire other Pacific islanders to reflect and share, instead of hiding, their experiences, stories and wisdom. This hope echoes a biblical opinion: that the lamp which is not lit and placed on the table is of no use to anyone.

Ngahe developed his reflection according to three metaphors borrowed from the life practices of three different subjects: weaving of mats by Tongans, spinning of webs by spiders and the flight of birds. On first view, these metaphors could be unpacked toward defining forms of ecological ministry. Maybe that is a task for another series of reflections! At a deeper level, the metaphor from Tongan mat-weaving represents Ngahe himself, and his place in the two parishes, represented by the other two metaphors. Ngahe is a Tongan weaver who “net-works” with a spinning spider (hence the word “networking” on the title of the book) representing Avondale, and a bird in flight representing Manurewa (a name that consists of two Māori words: manu translates as bird, and rewa translates as kite).

The first metaphor is weaving. Weaving is a communal activity in Tonga, and the outcomes are various kinds of mats for different persons and for different purposes. Mats are made of the interweaving of strands and at the end, the edges are unfinished. “They remain open and ready for more strands to be woven in” (p. 14). This is how Ngahe saw his ministry at Avondale. A mat was already being woven, when he arrived. That mat was unfinished. He wove more strands into that mat; then it was time for him to move on, leaving the mat for the next minister and the community to add more strands. In this regard, ministry is never finished off. One comes to the mat (read: ministry), adds a few strands, then leaves the edges unfinished for others to join in the weaving.

The second metaphor comes from the Avondale Spider, which is an icon at the Avondale Town Centre. Ngahe reflects on the process and art of spinning a web. The hardest part is the first thread, and finding an anchoring point for the web. Once that’s in place, then the spider goes back and forth to weave its intricate web. For Ngahe, the spider is in a process of net-working. This is valuable insight for engaged ministry: get the first strand anchored then net-work with other churches, other organisations, and other social bodies, to cooperate in building the web (read: community).

The third metaphor, bird in flight, is inspired by the name of Ngahe’s second parish: Manurewa. Similar to the spider, the bird has to struggle to get off the ground as it starts its flight. But once it is in the air it floats, almost effortlessly, like a rewa (kite) that is being carried by the wind. Mission is like this also. It needs a lot of help to start its flight, but once it is in the air, it will glide almost effortlessly. This is how Ngahe experienced his ministry at Manurewa, where the support of the community made the mission of the church almost effortless. Almost!

One of the strengths of this book is the way Ngahe explains the three metaphors with stories of his ministry, which was always engaging the community in different mission projects, including working on a car park mural at Manurewa. For Ngahe, mission is about hospitality, compassion, empowerment and hope (pp. 42-43).

The chapter on theological themes is worth reading and reflecting upon (chp 5). Ngahe invites further reflection and engagement around the theologies of hospitality, which requires breaking down the barriers that come with social status, and transformation, which needs to be at the physical also and not just in a spiritual exercise. Ngahe closed the book with his ten personal (chp 6) and ministry (chp 7) learnings, which reads like a “top ten list” (à la David Letterman) instead of a list of “ten commandments.” Personal and the ministerial experiences are indeed interwoven, and reflection on one leads to reflection on the other.

I commend this book not just for Tongan Methodist Ministers but also for all ministry agents who are involved in intercultural and engaged ministries. Who isn’t? In other words, this book is for you as well!

I hope for two kinds of responses to Ngahe’s work: First, for readers to critically engage his proposals. Do the metaphors work? I’m conscious that some are scared of spiders, for instance, while others eat them as a snack. What other metaphors would you weave into Ngahe’s mat? Second, I hope that this work will inspire Pacific Islanders to reflect on your ministries, write your stories, and share your wisdom with the rest of us. If you don’t, then future generations of Pacific Island ministers will have to learn from non-Pacific Islanders. You may of course write in your Pacific languages. In other words, you don’t need to write in English. But writing in English is also an opportunity for non-islanders to learn from the rest of us.

Finally, I look forward to the outcome of the next nine years of Ngahe’s ministry and for his further sharing of his reflections and his gifts.”

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Fraser Boyd featured in Upper Hutt Leader, 25 March 2015

Newspaper Article

Author tackles fiction

Upper Hutt Leader 25 March 2015, pg 12

Upper Hutt Leader article 25 March 2015 150w

First time author: Fraser Boyd undertook a lot of research before writing his first novel. (Upper Hutt Leader, 25 March 2015)

“Upper Hutt’s Fraser Boyd had done a lot of writing in his time before he turned his hand to fiction.

The former technical writer and Air Force photographer has recently had his first novel published.

Never to Return Home tells the story of Boyd’s wife Margaret’s great-grandparents, who emigrated from Ireland to Otago in the 1860s.

Boyd said his interest in their story began when his wife embarked on a family history project. Scant details were available about their lives in New Zealand, so Boyd used his imagination to fill in the gaps.

Boyd, a morning person, would get up bright and early to work on the story.

“It took three years’ spare time,” Boyd said.

“I don’t think I found it too difficult,” he said. “Once it flowed, it really flowed.”

Boyd said he wanted to rewrite the novel about five or six times, often realising he had skipped some years in the story.

Once Boyd had finished his manuscript, he showed it to his family before it went to publisher Philip Garside.

After that, there was a “huge amount” of rework by the editor.

“I write long sentences,” Boyd said. “Some had to be cut in half.”

Boyd said he was amazed how much information is available to help with writing a piece of historical fiction.

“It’s surprising how much you can find when you put some strange words into Google.”

In one instance he had found a complete history of the Port Chalmers Quarry.

Boyd said the whole process had been a big learning experience, but he would recommend it to others who felt they had a story to put to paper.

“Based on my experience, I would say ‘do it’.”

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Touchstone March 2015 Review of Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight

Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight
– Engaged Ministry in Avondale Union and Manurewa Methodist Parishes

By ‘Alifeleti Vaitu’ulala Ngahe

2014, Philip Garside Publishing, 68 pages

Reviewer: Brian Turner

“Rev Vai Ngahe has done what many clergy intend but few actually do – that is, to reflect on past ministries in order to traverse better the pathways ahead.

Vai has done this for the first nine years of his Auckland ministries in Avondale and Manurewa and he has shared his reflections with us by publishing them…Brave man! Vai utilizes compelling images from his Tongan background as well as a presbyter/minister in Aotearoa-NZ. Drawing on his experience in relating to the community in Avondale and Manurewa, he makes a strong case for congregations and parishes to relate more closely to the communities where they are located.

This raises a number of interesting questions. In what ways should the church relate to the community?

Should it offer programmes and initiatives that the wider community can join (for example, rebuilding the Rosebank church building as a community centre or painting a public mural at Manurewa) or should a parish/congregation relate to the good it sees being done by others in the community and offer its support without seeking to take over or dominate?

And who in the church should initiate community facing or joining activities? Historically, the NZ Methodist Church has said this is more the responsibility of the laity and diaconate (deacons) rather than presbyters. However, many presbyters have (like Vai) exercised strong community-facing priorities as well as in-church word and sacrament ministries.

More significantly, is Vai suggesting that the Kingdom of God is in fact the establishment of healthy communities in which the church is an integral contributor rather than a distant outsider? He seems close to this position when under the heading of a “Theology of Transformation” (page 50) he writes:

“We are no longer focussed within the church on the inside/us only. Our focus shifts the position to facing outside, to the community. The wider community also becomes us.”

That left me wondering if the oneness of church and community is more achievable in multi-ethnic communities than predominantly mono-ethnic ones. Vai himself advocates the importance of weaving together a multi-cultural community to support members within the church and people in the community. This pre-supposes that many multi-ethnic communities, and presumably those in which Vai has worked, are more open to the place of the church than communities elsewhere. In predominantly Pakeha Christchurch, for instance, when a congregation canvassed door to door and asked what people expected of the church, the response was invariably ‘Nothing…piss off!”

This suggests that in many communities there is a widening gap between church and community. Vai Ngahe is to be commended for developing ways to help bridge this gap. It remains to be seen whether such methods will work in all communities.” Touchstone March 2015

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“New Book Takes Wings” Review in Touchstone Dec. 2014 of Weaving, Networking & Taking Flight

New Book Takes Wings

By Sophie Parish

Review published in Touchstone Dec 2014

Rev Vai Ngahe uses symbols of nature to layout strategies for ministry in today’s world in his new book, ‘Weaving, Networking and Taking Flight’. The book was launched in Manurewa Methodist Church on Oct 25th. Those on hand for the event included local parishioners, business owners, and MPs.

In his book Vai reflects on 10 years of ministry in Avondale and Manurewa and the evolution of modern-day Methodism in the community. He records his growth as a minister and how each congregation has been transformed.

Reflecting on his work in Avondale, he highlights the importance of weaving together a multi-cultural community to support members within the church and people in the community. He writes about the importance of networking as a way to help transform lives.

Vai uses the symbol of the bird taking flight to write about his ministry in Manurewa. He describes how it has enabled him to see life from a higher and more spiritual perspective, and how the placement of the church is optimal for reaching the community on many levels.

Photos and articles in the book illustrate his journey and the improvements made to the Avondale church building and the outreach events organized at both churches to promote the love of Jesus and John Wesley’s message to go out into the community.

Vai offers concrete examples of how the church can thrive through the challenges of and changes in an increasingly secular society.

Available now in Paperback and Ebook.

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See the original review on page 12 of Touchstone Dec. 2014 here:
http://www.methodist.org.nz/touchstone

“Alister Hendery has distilled 35 years of ministry to the dying, dead and bereaved…”

Alister features in this excellent Anglican Taonga online article at http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/News/Tikanga-Pakeha/Earthed-in-Hope

“Over the last 35 years Alister Hendery has taken more than 1500 funerals – both as a priest and a celebrant. He’s also worked as a counsellor, specialising in grief and loss.

And he’s drawn from that lifetime of ministry to the dead, the dying and the bereaved to write: Earthed in Hope – Dying, Death and Funerals, a Pakeha Anglican perspective , which was launched in Wellington last week.

Alister says he began working on the book because of the “acute lack” of any serious writing about funeral ministry – and he was dismayed by the degree to which Kiwis marginalise death.

“We live in a death-denying society,” he says. “And the church has been seduced by that denial.

“I also wrote it because I had clergy who were saying to me: ‘Can you please just give us a resource on how to do funerals? Funerals 101, if you like.’”

“So, I wanted to write something that would encourage fresh thinking, not only about how we minister in the face of death, but how we regard our own mortality.”

Alister Hendery says he hopes readers of Earthed in Hope will draw confidence from it to:

“Enter conversations with people about the Christian hope in the face of death, and to be able to articulate what they believe about post-mortem life.

“Use our funeral liturgies with greater creativity and care… Our funerals aren’t ‘just for the bereaved’ – they’re far more than the popular notion of a ‘celebration of a life.’ They focus on the dead as well as the living. They also look forward with a hope rooted in the love of God from which nothing can separate us.

“Understand the diversity of beliefs that people hold and the questions people are asking;

“Find a new confidence to engage with people as they ask questions about some of the toughest questions we mortals ever face.

“Respect the uniqueness of each person’s experience of grief and to explore ways of caring for one another at times of bereavement, loss and change.

Archbishop Philip Richardson has written the foreword to Earthed in Hope , and he gives Hendery’s work high praise. He writes: “I am going to place a copy of this book in the hands of every person I ordain from now on.” ”