Category: spirit and faith

Bronwyn’s liturgical, inclusive, progressive, post-Christian creative writing and poetry

@bronz.beads first midweek market a success!

My @bronz.beads first time Mahara Midweek Market was a great success today: it was good to be under shelter from the persisting rain. Some other stallholders had pulled out because of the weather, but when people commented we were brave to be out in this weather, I pointed out that if it was sunny, I’d have to be at home mowing the lawns, but instead I was having a nice morning, knitting and chatting and selling jewellery to the nice folks in Waikanae.

It was great to sell two of the four brand new bracelets I made last night, as well as Christmas ‘trinkets’ – and a couple of knitted wreaths and Xmas trees I took along ‘just in case’.

Image © bronwyn angela white
Image © bronwyn angela white
Image © bronwyn angela white

“Rainbow Trinity” in Q-Spirit blog!

I’m thrilled that Kittredge Cherry has included one of my prayers in her blog about “Trinity,” the last image in Doug Blanchard’s gay Passion of Christ series: Trinity Sunday: Holy Spirit blesses same-sex couple as Gay Passion of Christ series ends.

You can find “Rainbow Trinity” and other inclusive, progressive liturgical writing on my Words of Spirit and Faith website. You might also enjoy the prayer I wrote for Transgender Remembrance Day.

While you’re there, check out the music by Amanda Udis-Kessler written especially for my hymn, “Faith of Metaphor and Mystery” which has a version for same-sex and mixed raced weddings.

You can download the score and recording (free) from Amanda’s Queer Sacred music website.

Kittredge Cherry, founder at Q Spirit is a lesbian Christian author who writes regularly about LGBTQ spirituality. She holds degrees in religion, journalism and art history. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer, advocating for LGBTQ rights at the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches.

two brides – Love Equals range on http://www.felt.co.nz
IMAGE © bronwyn angela white, Kapiti / Wellington, NZ
SOLD!
IMAGE © bronwyn angela white, Kapiti / Wellington, NZ
sold – Love Equals

photographs © Bronwyn Angela White

Cabin fever?

If you’ve ever had that feeling of, “I wouldn’t wish depression on my worst enemy—but I wish my friend could experience it for just a day…”

As I ate breakfast in the sun this morning, I’ve been browsing through the March 2012 “Creative Fibre” magazine in which crafters from Canterbury write about the destruction of their equipment, social and business lives in the earthquakes of 2011, and their stories going forward.

I wondered what stories of recovery, inspiration and kindness will come from our collective experiences of COVID-19, a different kind of devastation, but one that’s brought many lives to an abrupt halt. For some, “isolation” has been little different from “retirement”; for others, the social and financial fabric of their lives is shredded and torn.

A good news story is the astonishing success of the “New Zealand Made Products” initiative on Facebook. In less than a week, it’s gained 250,105 members who’re sharing their NZ owned, designed and made products—and getting sales. You may be sure I’ve added my bronz.beads online shop to the listings!

Yesterday, as we move into Alert Level 3, it finally hit me: cabin fever! Most of the projects—I finished knitting those cardigans!—are complete, the garden’s tidier than ever before, I’ve run out of good beading wire and a necklace I made with florist’s wire broke and beads spilled everywhere… basically, I was out of sorts.

Not sure I can blame this on the lockdown, though; some readers will know I live with depression and despite the thank-god-for-antidepressants that keep me from despair and hopelessness, there are still ups and downs, as the black dog tries to throw its shadow over everything.

Finally I stopped procrastinating and got on with collating another book in my “Words of Spirit and Faith” series. It kept me absorbed—husband had to remind me I hadn’t moved from my chair for hours and should take a break—and brought a gratifying sense of accomplishment. And a Facebook discussion led to possible collaboration with someone in the United States—my lyrics and her music.

Because there’s sure to be someone reading this who struggles with anxiety and depression, or who cares for someone who does, I’m offering some excellent and simple resources. If you’ve ever had that feeling of, “I wouldn’t wish depression on my worst enemy—but I wish my friend could experience it for just a day”, share Matthew Johnstone’s “I had a black dog” and “Living with a black dog”—yes, amusing cartoon drawings and words about mental illness (links below).

And if you’ve ever thought someone should just pull their socks up and get on with it, please also read, view or listen to these resources. They could change your life or save a friend’s.

I trust you’re making this time of limitation a space for deciding how you’d like your life and community to be, and what sort of ‘new normal’ we can create together.

Kapiti Arts & Crafts Society Shop

 

i-had-a-black-dog-cover-image-matthew-johnstone
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I had a black dog—video

Living with a black dog—video 

I had a black dog—book

Living with a black dog—book

Happy New Year & lackadaisical resolution

Hi everyone! As you’ve gathered by now, I don’t blog or post often – too busy doing, making, creating, collating, advertising and sometimes even selling, to let you know what I’m up to. Which is, as I keep being advised, counterproductive.

So, here’s a summary from 2018, along with a well-meant resolve to communicate more often this year:

Knitting Lots of knitting, which you can see on my little brother big brother website, and buy from my online shop, bronzart.felt.co.nz. Knitting for my family – including the grandsons who star as my “little brother and big brother” models – and a trip to South Korea to visit them. “Little brother” asked me to knit him “a red scarf and mittens to wear on my head!” I made him a red scarf and hat for Christmas.

Also quite a lot of knitting for charity, including Foster Hope and the Otaki Health Camp, renamed STAND, soft hats for cancer patients at the regional hospital. And currently, for “Operation Brighten“, a challenge for the Creative Fibre Wellington area members, to create colourful winter clothing and accessories for women at Women’s Refuge.

Beading and jewellery I’ve made and sold jewellery this year, including some steampunk inspired things! Also enjoying a fortnightly group, part of Kapiti Arts and Crafts Society, where we learn new techniques and help fundraise for the society by repairing jewellery for members and others. We sell our work as individuals or on behalf of the group in the society’s Gallery and Shop.

Card making and selling I’ve set up a new online shops to sell cards made by my daughter and me; mostly her cards listed so far, as I need to make some more! You can see my bronzart and her azolloza ranges at lozabronz.felt.co.nz

Creative writing and publishing Produced the second in a trilogy of “Spirit and Faith” poetry and liturgical resources. You can buy both “Something new to say” and “You who delight me” from my website. My third book will be published in 2019.

I continue write and publish the occasional liturgical work on my Words of spirit and faith website, which you can follow, as well as via my spirit and faith Facebook page.

Conference admin This year I’ve been occupied, and preoccupied, with admin—committee secretary, marketing, website, bookkeeping, registrations—for NZ’s 3rd Progressive Spirituality/Christianity Conference in September, hosted this year by St Andrew’s on The Terrace Presbyterian Church in Wellington. It was a successful event, despite the organising committee’s initial trials as not one, not two, but three guest speakers were unable to make it, one dropping out after we’d begun marketing. The overall theme was environmental—“Creation: ecology, theology, revolution”.

I ran a workshop, “Creating down to earth prayers” for people who don’t believe in a literal, interventionist God but still want to participate in liturgy of an inclusive, progressive kind. I plan to publish the workshop notes as an ebook.

I’m also involved in fundraising for refurbishment of the church’s unique pipe organ.

Gardening As we come to the end of 2018, the gardens are flourishing—it’s been a great spring and summer for lovely, lush flowers and now the veges (lettuce, beetroot, beans, courgettes etc) and fruit (apples, plums, figs, grapefruit, raspberries and currants) are abundant. The downside of growing your own produce is the amount of water (we’re on water meters now and seem to pay per drop) needed to wash strawberries and lettuces to get the slugs and sand out. It’s great to have a prolific lemon tree—my husband’s limoncello is delish!

Early Christmas Presents Finally, our apartment in central Wellington sold. We plan to use a wee bit of the proceeds on refurbishing our place here in Kāpiti—new carpet, some painting etc. And maybe a little overseas travel…

For early Christmas presents, we’ve bought each other brand new laptops, with Windows 10 and all, which has taken up an enormous amount of time wrangling all the downloading, synchronising and general looking up the how-to stuff online!

Web spinning and FB page admin In case you’re wondering, I’m admin of my 4 personal websites, several Facebook pages and 3 online shops, as well as web-spinning the Progressive Christianity Aotearoa website and media presence. I create monthly posters for Kapiti Arts and Crafts Society to promote exhibitions, manage its 3 Facebook pages and this year will probably take on the role of webspinner, as the website needs a bit of TLC.

Discount OFFER! If you’ve read this far, and there’s anything you’d like to buy from my ranges of knitting, jewellery, cards, publications etc, QUOTE “BLOGGING SELLS” in your subject line or order form for a 10% discount on any one product of your choice.

I do get around to posting on Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram, and tweeting from time to time. But if you’re wondering why I don’t post more often… I’m probably doing this:

Operation Brighten project

 

 

New book for Advent and Christmas

Just in time for Advent and Christmas: “Something new to say”. Christmas messages and reflections for thinking people in the 21st Century; realistic expressions of “spirit and faith” for post-Christians, Progressive Christians and evolving christians – and all who see the sacred in the every day.

“Bronwyn’s words are more powerful and real than a thousand theological treatises on incarnation” – Rev Dr Margaret Mayman

Order from my website: Words of Spirit and Faith

These prayers, affirmations, reflections and blessings are in inclusive language, with an emphasis on “faith not belief”, and social justice.

The title comes from a Christmas Day reflection led by Bronwyn: “Every year, in manses and studies and at the kitchen table, preachers and worship leaders approach Advent with a mixture of joy and trepidation. Joy, because Christmas is the penultimate Christian festival—each week the excitement builds, every week another candle is lit, every year is pregnant with possibilities—but trepidation, because December 25 after December 25, the person leading the service tries to find something new to say!”

This book is ideal for progressive and liberal faith communities and churches; lay and ordained worship leaders will find them especially helpful, and there’s plenty for individual contemplation and enjoyment, too.

Order and buy online

 

New book: “Something new to say”

Buy now in Kindle or Paperback format from Amazon.

from Endless Advent:

“This year, may we enjoy this time of preparation, thrilling to angel song and sparkling lights, Snoopy’s Christmas and Silent Night; may the little boy drum for us, and the wise ones’ gifts be ours, as we birth each day the Christ of synagogue and stable. Let us be the gift we long for, after the paper’s discarded and the cards are put away…”

From Space for wonder:

“At this time of year, we can get caught up in the myth, the image of a baby as the fulfillment of hope rather than the start of a lifetime’s responsibility and care, the work of the village, not just the single parent or unstable family. So we hold all parents, all families in our hearts—the wounded and abused, the loved but uncared for, the grandparents exhausted from bringing up children when their own daughter or son is in prison or drug-dependent, mentally or physically unwell…”

from Where are the others?

“As we gather around the child of hope, we’re joined by a heavenly host; the kin-dom of heaven gathers with us—
But where are the others? The brothers and sisters, the half-brothers and step-sisters, the broken relations, torn-apart siblings, the unblended families, the reconstituted ones. All the children with bruises on their bodies; fathers with bruises on their psyches; mothers with bruises on their hearts? Here they are! The jailbird cousin and the crazy aunt. The depressed daughter who’s dragged herself out; the edge-of-hysteria, manic sister; the autistic grandson beind a haybale, rocking; the transgendered, the cis-gendered, the queer and the straight, the birth children and adopted children and fostered children; these fragile families of blood and of choice. All the whanau of Jesus: gathered to celebrate heaven on earth, in the promise of a child…”

SNTS Cover 1

 

Holy Fools, Feast of Fools…

What do you know about them? I’ve been doing some research – more on that later – and have found some interesting info and misinformation.

Meanwhile, my personal nomination for Holy Fool as Artist and Commentator is: Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, writer, philosopher and poet. And pray-er, or writer of prayers. Good ones.

This is one of my favourite prayers by Michael Leunig:

God give us rain when we expect sun.
Give us music when we expect trouble.
Give us tears when we expect breakfast.
Give us dreams when we expect a storm.
Give us a stray dog when we expect congratulations.
God play with us, turn us sideways and around.

Amen.

Advent: Take time to be aware…

“Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.” – Edward Hays, A Pilgrim’s Almanac