This is the final episode in our 2022 series, Faith, Crisis & Freedom.  Bronwyn Wood, Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, takes us on a rich tour of the data around children's educational achievement, and what Covid has done to their learning.  And she offers some thoughtful analysis of where we're going wrong in  New Zealand particularly, and what we might do to get back on track. 

This talk comes from the St Michael's Faith, Crisis & Freedom series (2022).  Dr Andrew Shepherd, lecturer in Theology & Public Issues at Otago University, probes the Western cultural mood, as humanity stares down the barrel of environmental devastation.  After summarising some of the "Cli-Fi" literature written in the past decades, he offers a close reading of Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, and asks where we can find resources of imagination to address the environmental crisis.

Note: the sound quality is not up to our usual standard on this episode.  Our apologies for this.

How do I know God?  Why all this Trinity stuff? Christians often feel befuddled by the doctrine of the Trinity.  Rev. Dr. Tim McKenzie suggests that our challenge is to know the God indicated by the doctrine, rather than focusing on knowing the doctrine for its own sake.

Psalm 8

It's Pentecost Sunday! Rebecca Packer unpacks the rich biblical imagery for the Holy Spirit and asks, "what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit"?

Remember the first lockdown? How did we get from teddy bears in people's windows to fiery protests at parliament? In this talk, Dr Philip Fountain considers the government's management of the Covid pandemic, and suggests that hidden religious themes in New Zealand political discourse can cast light on what happened. How do ideas of sovereignty, solidarity, sacrifice and the iconic enable a better understanding of our deeply contested national politics?

Why on earth, since Jesus prayed for the church to be one, i it so divided?  Is there any hope?

Rev. Dr. Tim McKenzie preaches on the lectionary readings for Easter 7, 2022.

Acts 16.16-34

How are we to face the future?  How can we do it with anticipation, but not anxiety?  Jessie shares from these scriptures on that theme:

Acts 16.9-15

The Rev. Dr. Hirini Kaa kicks off the first session in the new St Michael's Autumn Series, Faith, Crisis & Freedom. 

Dr. Kaa is an Anglican priest and historian, who has recently published a definitive work on the history of Te Haahi Mihinare (the Māori Anglican church), in all its promise, travails, and hard-won new hopes. What might the experience of Te Haahi show us about Aotearoa and the road towards decolonisation? His address is in parts sobering, hilarious, and challenging in all directions. 

Kaa is introduced by the Rev. Māmari Stephens, Reader in the Faculty of Law at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington, and Anglican priest.

Find out about the other events in the Autumn Series at https://www.facebook.com/stmichaelskelburn

Easter 3, Acts 9.1-6, Revelation 5.11-14, John 21.1-19

Listen carefully, and you'll hear the epistle reader introduce "Revelation Chapter 5" as "Revolution Chapter 5".  Which is about right. Tim McKenzie preaches on Singing the Lamb's Song. The witness of history is that those who've been prepared to do this are truly revolutionaries.

Protestants often think of being a Christian as a question of believing things.  But is that the right place to start? Jesus puts a frighteningly terrifying emphasis on doing things.  In this sermon, Dr. Philip Fountain lets Jesus speak for himself, with devastating effect.

Scripture: excerpts from Matthew 5, 6, & 7