Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Letters of commendation

It is a pleasure this morning to write commending the work of others, three colleagues all affected to one degree and another by the quake, in particular reworking ministries in changed circumstances, including broken churches.

Bosco Peters now has Liturgy up and running again. The school where he works is in the central business district of Christchurch which has been without power until very recently. No power, no server, no website for several weeks. But all is well again and I am looking forward to a new lease of life at Liturgy after an unexpected and surely unwanted 'leave of absence' from the blogosphere.

As I listen to people, lay and ordained, proferring their opinions of good preachers around and about, a couple of names often get mentioned in dispatches. From my own experience these high opinions are well-founded. Anglican Taonga carries an excellent recent 'post-quake' sermon from each ... from Jay Behan and from Lynda Patterson.

Thank you for your continuing prayers for us. Many challenges face us, and many predictable challenges lie ahead such as the need for stamina, patience, and the hope of which Jay speaks and the faith of which Lynda speaks. The way ahead for many parishes and church schools is a matter of seeing through a glass darkly (will the engineers declare our building(s) should be demolished? will the insurers agree? will people/pupils who have left for safer pastures return?).

5 comments:

liturgy said...

Thanks for your welcome back, Peter, and for your earlier offer of internet access at your place, and your care of people. I have appreciated your lateral thinking here on future rebuilding, especially in relation to churches, our cathedral, etc. I will be adding my lateral thinking on my blog in a day or two.

Blessings

Bosco
www.liturgy.co.nz

Father Ron Smith said...

Give me Lynda Patterson every time. A scholar, a theologian, a realist thinker, a catholic, charismatic, and A WOMAN!

Who is Jay Behan? Son of Wally?

Peter Carrell said...

Hi Ron,
The Reverend Jay Behan is Vicar of St Stephen's Shirley.

Anonymous said...

"Give me Lynda Patterson every time. A scholar, a theologian, a realist thinker, a catholic, charismatic, and A WOMAN!"
All captured here: "And there are times when I’ve been so irrationally angry that only the thought of being captured on a cellphone and appearing as a Youtube video has stopped me leaping out of the car and smashing somebody’s windscreen with the New Zealand Prayer Book."

Ah, a use for it at last. :)

Peter Carrell said...

Hi Anonymous,
Please use your name next time or there won't be a next time, if you get my drift.
Your comment sneaks in because it has a certain wittiness about it.

The sentence you cite invites a witty response so long as we think of its as part of the colour and texture of the sermon and not as an accurate guide to the sanity and sancity of the preacher.