Easter

A Happy Easter to all.

I have spent Easter in Dunedin.  It feels like the first time.  I was here in 2010 but at that time I had only lived here a little over 3 months.  I had just moved into my house and my sister was here to help. We went to St John's on Maundy Thursday and the Cathedral on Easter Day.  My sister does not like the sadness of Good Friday services so we just went for a drive to Palmerston.

In my evangelical youth I remember occasionally attending communion on Thursday to remember the first last supper.  Services on Good Friday were sometimes the Litany and sometimes Ante Communion.  I took a while to understand that was not Anti Communion but merely the service leading up to but not actually consecrating and partaking of the bread and wine.  It was instilled in me that Good Friday (and I guess Easter Saturday) were the only days on which one never took communion.
In the afternoon we often went into the city for the Procession of Witness.  This began as a procession in opposition to the opening of the Easter Show on Good Friday but developed into a more general procession in which the parishes marched behind banners through the city.  Occasionally I went to the cathedral for the 3 hour service from 12 to 3 in which there were sermons on the 7 Words from the Cross.
At home we had hot cross buns and I still continue this tradition.  Friends laugh at me that under no circumstance will I eat a hot cross bun before Good Friday.  I often went hungry at staff morning teas in the week before Easter rather than break this rule. The leftovers are eaten on Saturday then not again until next year.  I think it is ridiculous to see them on sale in shops almost the day after new year.

Easter Day was just like any other sunday except the churches were more crowded and we went home to a special dinner and exchanged Easter eggs and bunnies.
Thankfully, my family has never gone into the commercialisation of Christianity in a big way.  Once I grew beyond childhood we have never given gifts at either Christmas or Easter just exchanged cards and Easter eggs.

Most of my adult life has just been a service on Good Friday morning in addtion to the usual Easter Morning Communion. 

I began worshipping at St James, King Street in 2006.  It was too far to attend the Thursday evening service but I returned to the 3 hour service on Good Friday.  The first year there was the familiar sermons and meditations on the Words from the Cross but in the following years they moved to more elaborate services, including a section where the cross is processed down the aisle and we all kneel. Not quite kneeling at the Cross itself which is forbidden in the Diocese of Sydney.

They also have communion, they use the elements consecrated the evening before and reserved (also forbidden) in the chapel.  I have always left at this time as I still feel that Good Friday is the one day we do not take communion.

I would have liked to have gone to the Easter vigil on Easter Morning at St James but there is no public transport at that time. (unlike Anzac day when trains and buses are put on to transport us all to the Dawn Service starting at 4.30am).  Easter Eucharist at St James has very special meaning for me with a great procession of crosses, banners and incense, singing "Jesus Christ is Risen Today".

In 2011 Easter Day was followed by Anzac day.  In 2012 they were 2 weeks apart so I went to Sydney both years for both special times.  This year there is nearly 4 weeks between so I am just going over to Oz for Anzac day.

I attended the Maundy Service at St John's.  I find the stripping of the sanctuary and leaving the church in darkness very moving.  I missed the music at St James.

On Good Friday I went to the 3 hour service at the Cathedral. The Dean reflected on 12 paintings with meditation and bible readings, mainly from Mark's narration of the Crucifixion.  This was interspersed with 12 organ recitals.
Then on Easter Day I was able to drive to St John's for the morning Vigil and service of Light. We sat in darkness for an hour with bible readings by torch light and meditation. Again I missed themusic.  I do not do quiet meditation very well, my mind wanders.  However lighting the candle and then entering the lighted church was very moving.

Afterwards, I returned for Choral Eucharist and the opening responses of "Christ is Risen" and the singing of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" meant I did not feel I was missing St James.

The whole liturgical experience from the Last Supper and darkening of the church on Thursday through  the meditations on Friday and then lighting the candle and celebrating the Resurrection with Eucharist on Sunday has been a wonderful gift.

Oh and my sister has left me an Easter Bunny when she visited Dunedin 2 weeks ago

So Proud of St John's Roslyn

I am thrilled to be able to balance my last post with this one about a suburban church in the Diocese of Dunedin.

I have just learnt that the parish is to give 2 half stipends (wages) for the next year to the bishop of Christchurch and to the Maori bishop of the South Island. That amounts to $50,000 and means we can only do the minimum needed to repair the parish hall (the support piles are rotting).

Bishop Kelvin of Dunedin has written that both bishops were initially stunned that any single parish could be so generous. (In NZ the Anglican church is divided into the 3 Tikangas or cultures - Maori, Pacific Islander and Pakeha (White). This is not apartheid, just makes running the church much easier, all are welcome at any church but, just a small example,  today our church had harvest festival with fruit and vegetables in the sanctuary a very European tradition. The Maoris believe this is a sacrilege.)

Bishop Victoria of the Diocese of Christchurch has been struggling to keep her head above water.  In the centre of town the only Anglican church left standing has been the ancient wooden church of St Michael's and All Angels, and the school attached to the church has been badly damaged.  The churches in the Western suburbs, traditionally the powerhouses of the diocese are all struggling to meet the needs of their communities and in the Eastern suburbs, the smaller more impoverished churches are trying to deal with the huge social and physical upheaval caused by the liquefaction and destruction of houses.  On hearing of St John's offer, Bishop Victoria was able to move immediately to establish a one year position of a pastoral coordinator in the East of the city. 

Bishop John of the Maori South Island Pihopatanga O te Wai Pounamu reacted at first with utter silence then tears. This was the first bit of good news he had had in two weeks. The Maori diocese has, over the past years,  put all of its efforts and resources into building a new marae, church and educational centre and the costs had stressed the diocese to its limits. The building would have served as a training centre for Maori leaders, and as a worship, resource, meeting and social services base. it was almost complete when the quake struck and utterly destroyed it. The budget had been so tight that it was grossly underinsured and years of work disappeared in a couple of minutes. The bishopric has been ministering, physically, emotionally and spiritually to a wide clientele who live in the East and are under resourced in every sense of the word.

Bishop Kelvin has further written "Believe me the maximum value will be wrung out of every cent. But believe me also, that the sign of solidarity that the money represents has meant more to the Pihopatanga than the actual dollars and cents.  For myself,  I cannot tell you how proud I am of you all in making this act of generosity.  In doing the work of the Kingdom of God, this is absolutely huge and will have repercussions far beyond anything you can imagine. Thank you for doing what is right."