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• Moments: The Guide

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 5 January 2020

  Of all prophets and seers
  tradition presents
  just three,
  openingthe clasp of heaven’s veil... more»

  
  Christmastide, Twelvetide

• Iona

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 12 June 2019

  Surging swell unrelenting
  Fisher's net cast from storm
  Colours fast in ceaseless shaping
  Shingle beach salvaged story's form more»

  
  St. Columba Poetry

• The Muse

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 14 February 2019

  Courage and faith, water and earth,
  reveal unseen spaces nurturing life,
  strengthening hearts... more»

  
  Poetry

• The Guide

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 5 January 2019

  A stall beneath a public hall:
  Journey’s end –
  could this be –
  the beginning quest? more»

  
  Christmastide; Twelvetide; Epiphany

• Along the Verge

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 30 August 2017

  No surrender, holding the line of retreat and advance,
  countless blades wave in sullied draft declaring
  nature's vulnerable defiance... more»
  Poetry

• Autumn leaf

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 30 August 2017

  Falling: Round small, golden light
  Nudged from place, purpose done;
  riding air in descent like flight... more»

  
  Poetry

• Alienation

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 30 August 2017

  In a flash, shutter-lie, the mind receives
  an image that remains, knowing beauty,
  barely held beyond the instant of sight... more»
  Poetry

• Ground for Justice

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 26 March 2015

  New Zealand has a history of criminal trials and subsequent resolutions exposing miscarriages of justice. more»

  
  Meditation, Reflection, Justice, Reconciliation

• Wonder

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 26 January 2015

  Contemplative experience is profoundly personal. The practice is about entering an inner vulnerability that may, mysteriously, reveal a sense of transcendent wholeness. more»

  
  Reflection, Meditation, Peace, Wonder

• For the Advent Wreath

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 1 December 2014

  A first candle:
  Light, as breath,
  bringing life to
  islands, sky and sea.
  For creations gift,
  our prayer and praise. more»

  
  Candle Lighting Ceremonies, Advent

• Beyond the Gloom

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 19 September 2014

  The record of post-colonial deconstruction across Asia, Africa and the Middle East has illustrated the ultimate futility of military might and associated political advantage being a conveyor of cultural values and technology. more»
  Meditation, Reflection, War, Conflict

• Fearless Inclusivity

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 21 February 2014

  Can one hold a Christian Faith without a supernatural belief? To say 'no' confronts a prominent dimension of Christian orthodoxy. To say 'yes' engages growing numbers asking unconditional questions about Biblical interpretation in the light of current scientific, historical and philosophical research. more»
  Reflection, Meditation, Supernaturaism

• Spacious Spirituality

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 10 February 2014

   You will not have to travel far to appreciate the multi-cultural character of Auckland and much else of New Zealand. The diversity of cultures is obvious at work places, parks, beaches, more»

  
  Reflection, Meditation, Church, Marginalisation, Multiculturalism, Diversity

• The wake-up call to beat them all

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 3 February 2014

  A spacecraft millions of kilometres from earth, ten years after launch, being brought out of induced hibernation by mission control. The signals took something like forty five minutes to travel the distance one way. more»

  
  Reflection, Meditation, Imagination, Miracle, Beauty

• Beyond a Prophetic Science

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 31 January 2014

  Invisibility is a challenge. The study of climate change has been a prophetic science. It has served to indicate destructive changes that simply had not been apparent. Prophets of disaster are rarely welcome. more»
  Meditation, Reflection, Climate Change

• Bedrock of a Democracy

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 21 January 2014

  Get ready for the triennial dose of popularist politicking, facile rhetoric and expedient policy pronouncements. General election year has come round again. more»
  Meditation, Reflection, Democracy

• The risky path of engendering conversations

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 14 January 2014

  Each Sunday, a living relic of an era now passed continues to exhibit life signs. Around the country there are gatherings of Christians of all sorts of theological persuasion. Such gatherings continue to fall under the public classification of Church.
  more»
  Meditation, Reflection, Sunday, Church

• Memorials and Myths

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 17 December 2013

  The myths that come from inherited memories are well worth holding with care. Care to serve the realities of lives deserving memorial and care to offer minds yet to come the scope to understand the complex depth of history's tradition on which we stand. more»
  Meditation, Reflection, Christmas, Memorials

• An advantageous place

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 2 May 2013

  Marriage equality provides the Anglican church with an advantageous place in public discourse as it is no longer burdened with being a moral guardian of difference based on gender. more»

  

• Clara's got talent for waiting

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 8 December 2012

  On national television and before a live audience Clara van Wel stirred the gloss of competitive celebrity, revealing unnervingly simple questions about meaning, belonging, acceptance and love. more»

  

• Threatened but still in favour of women bishops

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 25 November 2012

  I was ordained at the end of 1984. On reflection this seems to have been at the end of the male dominated Anglican Church in this country. For my ordained life the experience has been marked by a deepening feminisation of the Church. For a bloke this has not been without discomfort, even a sense of threat. more»

  

• Keeping faith

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 8 November 2012

  Without a ground of faith between people, within institutions and among communities, it will be near impossible for any law or regulation to gain a meaningful hold. more»

  

• Spirits' Rise

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 12 October 2012

  Awe-struck wonder, restless life
  weigh lightly on
  gentle hearts, open minds,
  freeing spirits to rise. more»
  Poetry

• Holy Island

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 10 October 2012

  Somewhere between feelings and intellect prayers may be born.
  Holy Island is a meditative reflection offered for
  personal and community use.
  more»

  
  Poetry

• Spacious Living

  The Rev. John Fairbrother 13 September 2012

   A response to the Moments article (9 Sept. 2012) Getting to grips with space by The Rev Sande Ramage Spacious Living. Why do we tolerate, create, celebrate, engineer such noise more»
  Poetry
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Topics

• Poetry [72]
• Reflection [32]
• Meditation [28]
• Advent [16]
• Love [10]
• Church [9]
• Christmastide [8]
• Lent [6]
• Pentecost [6]
• Advent Poetry [5]
• All topics »

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Authors

• The Rev. Dr. Hilary Oxford Smith [48]
• The Rev. John Fairbrother [26]
• The Rev. Canon Dr. James M. McPherson [21]
• Tess Ashton [15]
• The Rev. Maren Tirabassi [12]
• Ana Lisa de Jong [12]
• The Rev. Gayanne Frater [9]
• Susan Smith [8]
• Jan Richardson [5]
• Dr. Julie Thorpe [5]
• All authors »