In 1969 when singer Peggy Lee released, Is that all there is, she posed an intense existential question. She wasn’t searching for an after-life but musing about the disappointment that life can be, even when faced with the unbridled energy that is a raging fire or lost love. Since I’ve been tangling with dislocation from […]
Spirituality beyond dogma: a creative balancing act
Musician Moana Maniapoto found her beliefs challenged when the ashes of Headless Chicken’s founder Grant Fell were sprinkled on stage during an award ceremony by his wife Rachael. But one of Fell’s colleagues said, ‘I felt like he was there. It was a total magic moment for us.’ The broadening out of how we express […]
Humanist chaplains help normalise spirituality in healthcare
Lindsay van Dijk, a humanist, has been appointed by the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to lead a chaplaincy team that includes Christian, Buddhist, and Bahai members. As Lindsay told the Guardian, ‘A lot of people don’t have an organised faith, but still have spiritual and emotional needs at difficult times. Often people are trying to […]
Secrets, God and broken glass
Everyone carries secrets. Not necessarily the kind that titillate, but the ordinary, everyday ones that rise to trouble us like a recurring virus. The pain of regret, of knowing that our lives are not perfect, not even close but sometimes a chaotic mix of halfway rational choices and haphazard mistakes. Knowing that this life may […]
Shame on you Dr Billy Graham
Dr Billy Graham, often called one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 21st Century, died on 21st February. He was a powerful influence on my life in the 1950’s and 60’s, and not in a good way. His evangelical preaching filled stadiums worldwide including New Zealand in 1959 but by the time of […]
No religion but still soulful
The moment arrived. I opened the New Zealand Census webpage, filled in my code and with one click of the mouse became a No Religion, one of the fastest growing groups in our community. To be honest, I didn’t feel that I had an option. Although I’ve tangled with what we mean by God for most […]