Feb 15 2009
February 2009 Newsletter
Programme:
Many people today find that their intelligence and their integrity make it impossible for them to believe that the mother of Jesus really was still a virgin when he was born; that Jesus did turn water into wine; that after his death he was resurrected in such a way that there were no remains of his body left on Earth. And I could list many other similar difficulties that have been linked with accepting Christian beliefs.
But there was a time, before the dawn of the scientific age, when such beliefs were not incredible in the way they are today. I propose to lead you back into the time before that dawn, in the hope that we may better understand both our ancestors of 500 years ago, and how radically different our perceptions of ourselves and our world are, in the Western world, from what once seemed self-evident and was accepted unquestioningly.
Geoff’s Annual Report (see below) and Ian’s Financial Report (see 2nd appendix at foot of this post) were enclosed with this Newsletter.
2. The Cup of Tea:
There was tea, coffee and biscuits at 5.30.
With sadness we reported that since our last meeting of 2008, two of our members of long-standing – Jeanette Scott and Albert Moore – have died. Each of them made a significant contribution to the life of our group. We offer our sympathy to their families, and we share their sense of loss.
The last meeting of the year was again one which invited contributions from the group, this time about “what gives you a sense of awe and wonder?” Not surprisingly some themes recurred often. This summary can’t do justice to the depth and variety of what was said.
WONDER David Kitchingman
When I say the word, a host of electrochemical reactions in your brain creates a storm vaguely similar to the one raging in my head. Somehow these multiple galaxies of our brain cells perform the impossible – and inter-react as mind. This may be the greatest wonder – cannot understand our minds, any more than a tooth can bite itself.
The size of a mind is mind-blowing; there is scientific evidence for the assertion that “every individual consciousness is as vast as the universe”. But the sense of meaning is even more mind-blowing. We might argue theologically that every individual consciousness is also as profound as God, profoundly knowable and profoundly unknowable. Some might even want to add that every individual consciousness is a part of God. It may be that our discourse is itself divine.
What matters is that the subjective phenomenon is awe-inspiring. We must never lose the wonder of the process by which we wonder.
What Gives Me a Sense of Awe and Wonder … Ian Fleming
My seventy–odd years of life, so precious to me, is an insignificant flash in the 3 billion years of miraculous, procreating life on this planet. I have inherited DNA through my ancestors that stretches back through mammals and their predecessors to the first bacteria, who still feed on the sulphur of the fumaroles in the ocean depths and thrive in temperatures of 1000 degrees Celsius. I am cousin to every form of life I come across – the worms and bugs in my garden, and countless bacteria that conspire to produce the plants and weeds, not to mention create the oxygen I breathe and nourish the planet that nurtures me.
My particular species has come up with, in various forms, a god concept, in its best form, the god of the good we do, the practice of compassion, justice, creativity, agapeic love. That excites me too.
Chairman: Geoff Neilson – Phone 489-6727 – Email: Geoff
February : Authority – it ain’t what it used to be. Don Feist.
March : Karen Armstrong’s take on “The Golden Rule”. Ian Fleming.
April : Growing with a Song. Colin Gibson.
May : Origins of Religion. Greg Dawes.
June : Leaving Port on the Sea of Faith. Bruce Spittle.
July : On Moral Instinct. Margaret Feist.
August : Abide with Me. David Kitchingman.
September : The New Schism. Chris Bloore.
October : The Ecological Imperative – Is Tomorrow’s God Gaia?
Five of our Members reported back from the National Conference.
November : What gives you a buzz, a sense of awe, wonder or excitement?
Members’ discussion.
This year has seen the establishment of our own web site. Our thanks to Ian Fleming for making this happen.
After many years of having the opportunity to have a meal prior to our meeting, this now longer continues. Our thanks to the Maori Hill Church Caterers for the meals they served up over some ten years. This was, for many of our members, an enjoyable social event prior to commencement of our meetings. This will now be replaced by a “tea/coffee and biscuits social half hour”, organized from within our membership. We have agreed that we should monitor this new arrangement and review its operation sometime during the year.
The phasing out of this evening meal also means the team of dedicated “telephonists” will no longer be required to phone around our Membership each month to ascertain the numbers that would be coming to the evening meal. Our thanks to them for the work and commitment they made over many years.
The “library” continues to serve a useful purpose. With the appointment of a “librarian”, responsible for the overall function of our book borrowing, I am sure this important part of our group’s activities will be better organized and our Membership will gain from it.
Don Feist and Alan Jackson, two of our Members, were appointed to the National Steering Committee for a three year term.
To Ian Fleming, our treasurer, go our thanks for keeping the finances in order, to Don Feist, our Newsletter Editor for preparing our monthly Newsletter, and my own thanks to Don for his assistance to me as Chairman during the past year.
It is the continued interest and participation of Members that makes this Sea of Faith Group so successful.
Geoff. Neilson Chairman
AGM Agenda
Financial Statement