Reflecting on the Community Food Bank

By reaching out to one another we must reach beyond the boundary of our Church Family. As it is, I feel our Church Family does a great job of caring for each other.  And the talk we are going to hear today from the Food Bank Chairperson explains the working of the Community Food Bank here in Kerikeri. By contributing to that, we are obeying the words of Christ, the ever compassionate one:

• Do to each other as you would have done to you

• Feed my lambs

• Visit the sick

• Feed the hungry

Many people question the need of a Food Bank. Probably those who have never been hungry. It is not for us to give our reasons as to the whys and wherefores of these situations. Our God is a loving and practical God. He will do the judging, not us.

My personal thought on the Food Bank debate is: As long as there is a chance of one child - just one child - being hungry, I will go on happily supporting the Food Bank, and all the wonderful people who put hours of their precious time into sorting and packing and being the actual backbone of this great service to those less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you and may God bless you all.

Jean Andrewes 5 June 2014

Harvest Festival

This week at our bible study group we read and discussed the reading from John 4 - the first part. A lot of emphasis on the necessity of water and our need for it for survival. God's whole earth cries out for water so his creation can flourish. We look to water to experience the refreshment we need physically, the beauty we see in our rivers and our oceans. Too much water can bring terror with it. Flooding and tsunamis. Our hearts lift at the sight of a rainbow - God's reminder that he is always there for us, through rain or whatever.

And then, going back to John 4, the sensitivity and depth of understanding in the conversation shared by Jesus and the woman from Samaria. They met at the well that Jacob so thoughtfully had built so many years before. She was drawing water for her household. Jesus was thirsty and had no bucket and his disciples had gone to the nearest town to buy food. He asked her for a drink. Her astonishment would have known no bounds. It was a huge "no-no" for Jesus who was a Jew to eat or drink from the same bowls as Samaritans. But Jesus had no compunction about breaking rules, putting people before unnecessary rituals and humbug. The time they spent together was very beautiful, very precious, and the woman was left with no words of chastisement, no feeling as being treated as a lesser person. Instead she was filled with elation and hurried off with her new friend's words ringing in her ears, "Everyone who drinks the water I give them, will never thirst. Indeed the water I give them will be a spring of water welling up into eternal life."

Today we are reminded of the need for water and the advice from Revelations 7 which says, "Hurt not the earth, nor the wind, nor the sea, nor the trees." And we look at our display of God's harvest given in love to us, his children.

Outside my front door, growing in a large pot is an ugly, tattered-looking cactus type plant. Why would anyone want to keep it? So unattractive. It could represent the distortion of many lives, lives lived in poverty, in hopelessness, and depression. And then about once a year a magical thing happens. A funny little brown shoot appears on the edge of one of the tough, dry leaves. It grows over a period of days until it forms a bud about the size of my hand. Pink edgings and creamy white inside. This plant is called "Moonlight Beauty" by the Japanese. As the full moon shines, the bud, over 2 or more hours, opens into the most exquisite flower the size of my opened hand. Pink petals framing its pure creamy petals inside. And the air is filled with the most heavenly perfume.

Why did it fill me with such excitement and joy?

The ugly background made me think of the life the Samaritan women had lived, her past that Jesus saw though compassionate eyes. The beauty of the flower expressed Jesus love for all.

Jean Andrewes, 23.03.2014

If we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another

Spoken at the Kerikeri Combined Churches Service in Holy Family Catholic Church 30.03.2014

Good evening everybody. My name is Jean Andrewes and I represent the Union Church. It gives me great pleasure to be here in your church tonight, as the last time I was here, was to attend Joan Taylor's funeral. I was quite blown away by the warmth of the reception I received that day, the welcome from Father Sam and being included in the rituals, even sharing in the sacrament of Holy Communion. This was a very healing time for me, having lost my old friend and sparring partner, Joan, and my dearly loved husband almost a year ago.

In my younger days, my knowledge of Roman Catholicism was blighted by the fact that my mother had rejected the Catholic church to marry my father. I won't go into details of that, but it did leave me with a rather nasty taste in my mouth, and a lot of unanswered questions.

As I reached adulthood, I met with lovely people, beautiful people, practising Catholics who became my friends. I married and we lived next door to the Catholic Church and Presbytery, and we became mates with the priest. He was an awful tease and delighted in the fact that when he rang the bell for early morning mass, he woke me up. I challenged him about this and he laughed and I swear that he rang it even longer after that. I hate mornings and he knew it.

From 1 John we read, "God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another."

By reaching out to me in friendship and fellowship and following his light, you have helped me reach the full circle of the doubt that kept me in the darkness. I thank you all and the God we all worship for that. May we all continue to reach out in fellowship and love to each other.

Now I’d like to read to you the words we sang in our church this morning. “Christians are all kinds of people” written by Stan Stewart

Christians are all kinds of people;

They’re average, they’re short and they’re tall,

From all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of outlooks,

Our gracious God uses them all.

Christians are all kinds of people,

Not even especially good,

But God’s love is mighty and that is what counts,

With mercy as wide as the sea,

It reaches to you and to me.

Christians are all kinds of people;

They’re smilers, they’re grouchers, they’re clowns,

In all kinds of weather whenever they gather

You’ll find every kind of them round.

Christians are all kinds of people -

And sometimes all kinds are in me.

But God’s love is mighty and that is what counts

With mercy as wide as the sea

It reaches to you and to me.

God uses all kinds of people;

The black and the pale and the tan,

New born and the aged, the fit and disabled,

They all have a part in the plan.

God uses all kinds of people

With problems, with hang-ups, with scars -

But God’s love is mighty and that is what counts

With mercy as wide as the sea

It reaches to you and to me

And may that merciful God use us all and give each one of us a special blessing tonight, and every day before us as we walk the path of light as we share in the time of Lent in study and prayer. And remember, Christians are all kinds of people.