sustain:if:able kiwi

the kainga returns

kainga – a Maori word for home, address, residence, village, habitation, habitat.

This is the colours we’re painting the outside of our house – offwhite (Quartz) walls and chocolate brown (Balsamic) windows (inside the window is a wine bottle, a gift from one of my classes, and a VW combi model).

Unsure about how the stresses of being Principal would impact me, I’ve taken a month off the house. But it was good today to be back into it today. Painting top coats is always very satisfying. Instant gratification, although they rely on the hours of undercoat preparation.

Anyhow, the overall result is pleasing.

This is our kitchen window, which had totally stumped our local window tradie. He spent over 20 minutes walking around it, inside and out, scratching his head, to eventually declared he’d never before seen anything like it.

The previous owners had taken a window out. The window they tried to put in place didn’t quite fit! So they just put it in anyway, leaving left 10 cm “air holes” either side. It must have been a cold place in winter!

So it was out with the old window. Which also meant new exterior cladding to cater for the hole left. On the way, it was worth putting in batts, before a new window got inserted, undercoated and now – today – painted.

a mail male impulse buy

Monday afternoons, I have a regular date with one of my children. (For those who count hours, I work late the other 4 days of the week to keep the ledger sweet.) We’re working on a project together, making an outdoor writing hut. I pick her up after school and we use the few hours to plod away.

We’re always dreamers, accessorising before we’ve put the door on, thinking colour schemes before the walls are up. But we both need time away from reality, time to be fun and flippant.

A few weeks ago we went looking for a mail box. All houses have mail boxes, she loves writing and so it seemed a neat way to add some personality. Alas all the local hardware shops had nothing that appealed.

Too expensive, too square, too common. The list went on.

And then today she showed me this. A real mail male impulse buy.

requesting permissions

I had a lovely, surprising and very encouraging email on Friday – a request for permission to publish one of my blog posts in a church resource called Seasons of Spirit – a lectionary-based resource created in community with congregations representing different denominations from Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

The post is here – titled Theology needs art, my floor talk earlier this year to launch the Adelaide College of Divinity bi-annual art exhibition. Seasons of Spirit want to use it as a general article for Pentecost 2, 2013.

It’s wonderful to be part of a world in which spoken words in one context (a floor talk), can through the use of the internet, become a resource for another context. It’s also a reassurance that blogging does have a communicative purpose. People other than my mum do read it!!

big day, big night

“Take care and tread gently and carefully” – words this week from my supervisor.

Today – tonight actually – I’m commissioned as Principal of Uniting College, at the opening gathering of the Presbytery and Synod of South Australia. I start officially on 1 July and tonight marks the time when the church sets me aside for this role. I will be asked to reaffirm my faith in Jesus and to commit myself anew to the mission of the church. In turn, the church will be asked to commit itself to prayerful support. It feels significant personally.

Today is also the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Uniting Church. A coincidence I’m sure! But it does provide a way to reflect on a question I’m often asked – how I, as a Baptist from New Zealand, end up leading a Uniting Church College.

It’s a great question, one that was explored fairly thoroughly in my interview processes, both in first coming to the College as Director of Missiology in 2010, and then as Principal.

In the interviews, from my perspective, I reflected on the man from Macedonia, in Acts 16:9, who invites Paul to come on over, to work amongst them in mission. It was my sense that God might be calling me also to “come on over the ditch”, to work in mission. For Paul and for the Macedonians, this was going to mean a journey of working out how to do that in a way that might honour the past, yet fully serve the present, as part of embracing God’s good future. So also for me, it felt like a call to serve, for a period of time to journey among a different culture and group.

From the Uniting church end, I wonder if their perspective might best be captured in the video below, produced to celebrate today, June 22nd, the 35th anniversary of the Uniting church

For Alistair McRae – “Lets demonstrate in the life of the church what God intends for the whole world.” For Ken Sumner – “I think that’s the mission of the church, to bring about reconciliation.”

What a wonderful ethos to celebrate.

So I can’t speak for the Uniting Church, but perhaps tonight, in some small way in my commissioning, there is again that affirmation of hospitality and inclusiveness, these Uniting values of reconciliation in mission, so central to the formation of the Uniting Church and it’s ongoing vision and values.

blue view from my balcony

I’ve spent the last two days in Sydney, enjoying time “on the balcony.” It’s a phrase from Ron Heifitz, who argues that if life is a dance, we need time to get far enough above the fray to see the key patterns, to gain perspective on conflict, to nurture relationships, to find sanctuary and recover a sense of purpose.

My supervisor for this “Principal” phase I’m about the enter into suggested I join him “on the balcony”, to look at the view, to talk leadership and team and capacity building, to reflect on how I might transition and begin.

It’s been fabulous. (The photo is of the Three Sisters, in Blue Mountains, and yes, there is the shadows of me and my supervisor!)

still blogging 10 years on

Apparently Saturday marks my 10 year blog-versary. I say apparently because my original webhost is long gone, so there’s no “public” record of birth.

My midwife was blogger, which after a few months, got hosted in as part of the Graceway church website. When I transitioned city (Auckland to Christchurch) and churches (Graceway to Opawa) at the end of 2003, it seemed appropriate to leave the resources of the blog at Graceway, but I continued to blog, using wordpress (first entry here). Going back through blogger archives, this is the earliest post I can find is dated 9 June, 2002.

Ten years ago. Before Facebook, iPhones and twitter.

I remember the day I put my first post up and within a few hours, had comments from Andrew Jones, Prodigal Kiwi and Rachel Cunliffe. That sense of amazement over a digital word and how strangers become linked.

All 3 remain friends – Rachel visiting us this Easter, Andrew stayed at our house last year, while I enjoyed a beer in Auckland with Paul last August. A virtual world, yet with enduring relationships.

I’ve often pondered whether to continue blogging. And then there will be another random connection – a comment in response to a post that gives me fresh vistas, a email asking to borrow a prayer resource. And I will be reminded of the gift of connection, the new worlds made possible through the web-verse.

I can’t picture a world in 10 years time, nor whether I will still be blogging. But I still like to remain open to the sheer wonder of human connection.

refreshed by Robe

It was a rich weekend just gone. The destination was Robe, a holiday beach town 3.5 hours drive south of Adelaide. The occasion was the invitation to Refresh, to explore mission with rural churches from the South East of the state. With a theme of refresh and with the destination a holiday place, I decided to go early and stay on. Which meant I woke on the Friday to this

and on Saturday to this

The theme of Refresh was Getting on with mission. I did three sessions, one on what is mission, another on the place of church in mission and a third on engaging the community through practices of listening and presence. Plus I lead worship and communion. (This was one result, folk writing in liquid chalk on the lovely chapel windows a word that summarised their weekend.)

I talked about the importance of asking “What is God up to in the world?” which was picked up superbly by one of the other worship leaders, who invited folk to make a windsock, writing on it where they were seeing the Spirit in their community.

They made such a bright and beautiful addition to our life together. It was probably one of the most enjoyable groups I’ve worked with in a long time. I’m still trying to reflect on why. Perhaps it was that I was more rested, being on study leave and going early. But I think it was also their honesty and realness.

Which still gave me time on Sunday to tuck up in bed, listen to the pelting rain, read The Time That Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans, before getting up to appreciate this

en-robe-d for mission

I’m heading south for the weekend to enjoy the beautiful Robe. When not enjoying the beach, the great local coffee or wine tasting at Coonwara, I will be joining the Uniting Church Rural resourcing team. They visit 3 centres around rural South Australia each year, offering training, encouragement and resourcing. This year the theme is mission and I’m doing 3 teaching sessions for them

• What is mission?
• What can mission through church look like?
• Engaging our community (in which I’m offering a mission-shaped ministry module, as part of promoting the 2012 Adelaide msm course).

I’m also leading worship, in which I will try and model some creative ways to engage the weekly lectionary text (Isaiah 6 in Trinity Sunday).

It has been a really intense week, as I’ve juggled study leave (alas very little), preparation, plus chairing the Joint Nominating Committee as we look for a Director of Missiology/Post-graduate Co-ordinator. So a bit of space away from the city and the email will be appreciated.

I was meant to be heading with one of the children, but alas they have been bitten by the flu. Nevertheless, wine, coffee and walking can still be enjoyed.

three month “project” anniversary

It seems a most appropriate marker

of three months of hard labour on our “project” ready for pick up by the Council tomorrow morning. It includes urine stained carpet from two rooms, a gutted entrance way, gib and ceilings into family room, back entrance way and a bedroom.

It’s had moments of unexpected spirituality – a perfumed blessing and renovation spirituality.

Tomorrow the electricians return and if things go well, we might have lights that switch on and off in the family room, back entrance way and one of the bedrooms.

On Friday the electricians found yet another surprise. The service fuse (from the road to the house before it gets to the metre board) kept tripping. ETSA was called, lots of head scratching and the fault was eventually traced to the presence of wires attached to the power line incoming from the road, with the potential to draw (sans) power into the roof cavity.

Not sure if that’s an entry for my Dictionary of Everyday Spirituality in that – other than the risks some people are willing to take (attaching wires to live 240 volts), in order to pursue their indoor gardening hobby.

my study leave world

This is what my world has been reduced to … the lived experience of everyday people (Cityside survey data) being placed alongside mission, methodologies of how to read living experience, theories of curation. Locked in a concrete box called an office, removed from distractions, my world is now smaller, yet, strangely, larger.

feel the seasons change

Today marks a personal and vocational transition for me. From 1 April to 1 July I’m on study leave, three months break from teaching to read and write.

As Faculty at Uniting College, we gain 6 months study leave after every three years of service. I was due to take this in Semester 1, 2013. However, with my appointment as Principal, which begins 1 July, it would have meant that 6 months after I became Principal, I would have been absent for 6 months. Which is not ideal. So the suggestion was made that, for the sake of leadership at the College, that this be split into two 3 month blocks, with one taken before I start.

So of the next three months, I am based on Adelaide, head down, writing. My major project is a book on emerging church sustainability. This builds on my PhD research, which explored in (great) detail an emerging church in Auckland, New Zealand. Last year, I returned to the same church to repeat the research. This provides what I think is a world-first, an close up inspection of an emerging church over a 10 year period. My hope is to turn this data into a book, tentatively titled “Emerging ten years on”, yielding important insights around leadership, continuity and sustainability.

I also have a number of smaller projects I want to play with – turning my recent mission conference presentations into written pieces available as internet accessible downloads, either as “singles” or as an “album” – tentatively titled “Feelings of Jesus and the mission of God.” I also want to paint an icon, as a way of reflecting on the change of role I am undergoing.

Then in December-March 2012 (3 months plus 3-4 weeks for holidays), I hope to go to the UK. I’d like to base myself (and family) within a UK College training missional leaders. (I’m having a conversation or two about this, but nothing definite has emerged yet).

I’m happy to speak to groups about the data emerging from “Emerging ten years on.” I also want to extend the research – specifically by re-interviewing the 10-15 UK emerging church communities I interviewed back in 2001.

So this morning, rather than head to the office, I’m at home. I’ve turned off my google calendar. What has been so jam packed for the last few months, is now basically empty. I’ve loved being able to say no to basically every speaking invite for the next 3 months.

Although I can’t quite start writing yet! There are still a few things in the “in” tray – some assignments, some Masters processes that need to be enacted.

finding voice, losing mine!

Today I spoke to Catholic Education, to about 120 staff, gathered for a day of annual retreat, providing the keynote input over about 90 minutes. In discussion with the organisers, I spoke on the theme of “Finding Voice, telling stories.” It was a slight adaptation of a presentation I gave back in September last year, to the Australian Religious Press Association, which seemed to go well, both then, and again today.

I began by using a film, The King’s Speech,

because I have a voice

to open up the topic of how we find voice, individually and as communities. Then under 3 headings I explored

• a theology of finding voice – Moses, Elijah, the short ending of Mark (16:8), then drawing on The Divine Voice: Christian Proclamation and the Theology of Sound and Sense Making Faith Body Spirit Journey

• finding voice today – some contemporary cultural analysis, including the way that Douglas Coupland, in 1991, in Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, focuses on telling stories as a way of finding voice, and then returns to that theme some 19 years later, in Generation A: A Novel.

• three stories of finding voice that inspire me, to conclude (specifically the Parihaka story, Brooke Fraser and Paul Kelly).

As I spoke, I pondered the irony – that as I spoke on finding voice, I was losing mine. You see, today was my last public speaking engagement for the next 3 months. From 1 April to 1 July, I am on sabbatical and I’ve been able to politely say “no” and “sorry”, to a whole range of speaking, preaching and teaching, clearing space in order to focus on some writing. (More on the shape of that next week, when I actually start).

Which seemed to me, as I spoke, to be such an important irony to live within, the need to pause one’s mouth in order to think, process, reflect, read, re-stock. To find voice, but in a different way – with written, not spoken words!

house blog

We’ve set up a family blog, to chart the progress of our “project” – the house needing major renovations that we’ve recently brought. The blog is called “taylorskainga” – which is a Maori word for home, address, residence, village, habitation, habitat.

The blog will chart progress, with before and after shots. (Mostly before at this stage, cos while we’ve been working pretty hard, at times it feels like we’ve only just begun!). It’s hopefully an encouragement as we wade through the work.

Today was top coats on the ceiling of the family room, with the hope that by the end of the weekend, we can then move lots of the furniture currently stored in the garage into the house.

Tim Finn at Bird in the Hand winery

Team Taylor are off today to hear Tim Finn at Bird in the Hand winery. It’s a happy constellation of a number of threads.

• First, they make great wine at a great price.
• Second, Team Taylor love Tim Finn, with the lyrics from “Couldn’t Be Done” from the Imaginary Kingdom (2006 album) being often hummed among us.

We had no idea that it couldn’t be done
And we needed to find a like-minded someone
We had no idea that it couldn’t be done

• Third, its the first night concert for our two girls, and we’re hoping that this is a gentler introduction than some other night concerts could be.
• Fourth, it’s a long story, but I found myself in Perth over last weekend on what was actually my birthday. My excuse is that I tend by nature to think in days, not dates. So I looked at the Perth Summer Spirit event, thought that if I was speaking Saturday and Sunday, having a day off on Monday to go wine tasting would be a great way to remind myself of my humanity and the good things about life. The Perth end were booking the tickets, so I said go over Friday, return Monday. When the tickets arrived, I looked at the dates and realised Monday was my birthday. Duh!! So while it was a great way personally to have a birthday, for the sake of family celebrations, Saturday 25th was decreed my “2012 birthday.”

And what better way to spend it that listening to Kiwi music at a winery with my family.