Rope Weaving

This was a Sunday that Clay's sermon needed to weave a variety of events and themes into a single sermon: the end of the church year, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Sunday and the ordination of our curate, Denise Kelsall, as priest. What keeps us from ending up in the middle of nowhere on our individual and corporate journeys? Where do we find our power to reach our goal? A glossary for those who live outside New Zealand: Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand with means "land of the long white cloud." Te Taura Tangata means plaited rope of the land. It is a reference to the people of the land who make the land. Pakeha refers to New Zealanders of European descent. Tikanga means stream. There are three interdependent streams running throught the Anglican Church in this land, Pakeha, Maori and Pacific Islander. Maui, a forbear of the Maori who according to myth fished New Zealand up from the sea. Kupe, one of his descendants who discovered it while chasing an octopus. Wheke is the octopus.