sustain:if:able kiwi

parihaka day

Today is November 5. Many Kiwi’s will be letting off gunpowder in celebration of Guy Fawkes Day.

The Taylor family will be remembering Parikaha Day, the deeds of November 5, 1881, when New Zealand soldiers invaded the village of Parihaka, in Taranaki, and were met by peaceful non-violent resistance. The village was destroyed, women raped and leaders imprisoned, in stark contrast to the ethos of Parihaka, which sought to live in harmony with land and humanity.

There’s an open invite for church folk to join us, bringing a dessert. (I preached on it a few Sunday’s ago, because it seemed to me that Parihaka was an exampe of the call of the prophet Micah to love mercy, seek justice and walk humbly before God). We will show an excerpt from the TV program The New Zealand Wars, read the history of Parihaka Day, light candles in memory of those who suffered and accept a feather of peace as a commitment to follow the One who said “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

I wonder what would happen in New Zealand if the entire Christian population boycotted Guy Fawkes Day and instead remembered Parihaka Day? Would that be a counter-cultural act that might stand against the whiff of Guy Fawkes gunpowder and elevate the importance of peaceful non-violence?

Updated:
Here is the relevant bit of the sermon I preached, download. And here is the worship aftermath, candles lit in memory of Parihaka.