The Seed Disperser - July 2022
What’s in this month’s Seed Disperser
Book of the month
Prayers for the Gathering
Inspiration this month
Soup in winter
Coming up
Stroll for Your Soul
Special offers
5 Senses to Prayer Boxes - FREE shipping
Kereru news
Bundles
From electronic to print
Technical challenges
On a personal note
Whales, bioluminescence and polar bears
Book of the Month - Prayers for the Gathering
Prayers for the Gathering is the work of Alan K. Webster. This book is the first in a series of prayer books called, ‘Conversations on the journey’. The included prayers are suitable for use in gatherings for worship whether online or in person, formal or informal. With three sections including Gathering, Praise & thanksgiving and Benediction, there’s something here for every worship gathering. Of course, many of the prayers can also be adpated for personal use.
This month we’re offering a 15% discount on Prayers for the Gathering. (RRP $19.99 NZD). Use the discount code JULY22 at the checkout and you’ll only pay $17.00 (NZD). For our overseas subscribers the currency conversion this is likely to be $15 (AUD),$13 (CAD), $10 (USD) and $8 (GBP). The offer is available until 31 August 2022.
Here’s an excerpt from Prayers from the Gathering It is taken from the prayer ‘The spaces between’
We come to open our hearts to the spaces between:
The peculiar blend of the ordinary and the special that makes up a
Sunday service
The very familiar and the surprisingly new
The things we thought we knew and those that sneak up on us
unaware
We come to listen between the words:
The ways in which the silence can catch us
a turn of phrase, a metaphor we had not thought of…
A tune that catches at our hearts with reminders of other contexts,
other times
The sheer beauty of music’s call to us
Alan K. Webster - Prayers for the Gathering
Inspiration this month
Soup in winter
Our inspiration this month is based on soup. Here in Aotearoa we’re in the middle of winter. A bowl of soup in winter is a classic food the world over for providing comfort and warmth and sustenance in these colder months. This earthy, humble and rustic dish celebrates the gifts of produce from the land and sea and makes us feel good physically. Soup is a dish that is prepared and eaten across countries and cultures. Soup unites us as people.
Gathering with others, or caring for those who are sick or living alone becomes part of our outward expression of offering God’s warmth and comfort and sustenance beyond ourselves. This winter when there are people around us who are cold or lonely or sick we have an opportunity to share God’s love.
Christ encourages you, and his love comforts you. God's Spirit unites you, and you are concerned for others. Now make me completely happy! Live in harmony by showing love for each other. Be united in what you think, as if you were only one person. Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.
Phillipians 2:1-3 (CEV)
Soup making event
Hold a mid-winter soup making event for a local foodbank or organisation already set up to help those in need. Invite participants to bring along vegetables out of their gardens or the gardens of friends or neighbours.
You may need to supplement the donations with purchased produce. If you have a local place where you buy fresh produce, you may be able to get some donated.
Divide the ingredients into stations so there’s room for everyone to peel and cut and wash ingredients. Make soup together and enjoy conversation and laughter. If there are too many hands and not enough tasks, get others involved in baking bread.
Soup delivery
If you have friends or neighbours living alone or currently sick, make some fresh soup. Package up and deliver bowls of soup, along with bread. Include a copy of the hearty soup prayer below.
Soup prayers
Here’s a few prayers from Caroline’s collection of 5 Senses to Prayer - Experiential Prayers. You are welcome to share these prayers with others or use them while you are enjoying your own cup or bowl of soup.
Hearty soup prayer
Enjoy your cup, mug or bowl of warm, hearty soup on a cold winter’s day. As you sip or spoon your soup, reflect on the warmth, comfort, sustenance, strength and love we receive from God. Offer simple one word or one sentence praise prayers to God.
Soup of the day prayer
In winter, cafés and restaurants have signs promoting the ‘soup of the day’. There’s often a hot soup warmer sitting on the counter. As the customer watches, the soup is ladled into bowls and a smell of comfort and warmth fills the air. How many times has the next person in line, changed their order to have the same? This keeps customers coming back day after day for a bowl of whatever is on offer in the ever-changing menu. Sometimes the soup of the day sells out quickly and other times it just isn’t a hit with the customers. But there’s always another day and another soup. On a cold day, serve yourself a bowl of hot soup and enjoy the complexity of the tastes and the warmth and nourishment it provides. Think about your own day. What kind of metaphorical soup has been served up in your life today? Has it been nourishing? Has it been flavourful? Are you just hoping there’ll be a completely different soup option tomorrow? As you taste each spoonful of your chosen soup, pray a one-word prayer of your real life needs to God.
Prayers from 5 Senses to Prayer - A Collection of Experiential Prayers Book One
The following prayers come from 5 Senses to Prayer - A Collection of Experiential Prayers - Book One by Caroline Bindon. They both fit in well with this month’s soup theme. Use the onion prayer when preparing soup ingredients. If you’re gathering with others and setting up work stations to prepare ingredients, you could provide an experiential prayer just like this one for every work station.
Use the bread making prayer if you’re making bread to accompany your soup. Take time to pray through the bread making steps.
Cutting Onions Prayer
Look at the onion. It is shaped round like the world. Sometimes our understanding of our world is limited to our own surroundings. We can’t understand all the terrible things happening elsewhere in the world, because our lives are going well or because we live in a place where we have food, shelter and fresh water. When we stop to think about it, we know that not everything in the world is good. In the same way, as you feel the smoothness of the onion skin and hold the onion, you know that it is an onion. If you’d never seen or heard about a raw onion before, you’d not know what will happen next. The uncut onion has an onion smell about it, but once you cut into it, suddenly the smell hits you and more besides. Your eyes start watering and your mouth and nose fill up with onion in an overpowering way. Hold your onion and think of it as representing the world. Take some time to cut open the world. Think about things that make you sad in the world today. Listen to the sound of those in need, feel their pain, cry with them. Cut up an onion and as you cut it, pray for those who are less fortunate than yourself.
Breadmaking Prayer
As you go through each of the various stages of making the bread pray about your life using the symbolic actions of bread making as a prayer metaphor.
As you take the ingredients you will need, think about all the different things you are doing that allow God to be part of your life and pray for those aspects of your life.
As you watch the yeast rising focus on one aspect of your life where you have seen God at work and pray for this part of your life.
As you knead the dough think about all the things in your life that are hard work right now and are taking time to sort out and pray God will be at work through this time.
As you watch the dough rise pray for patience to watch God at work in your life in God’s time not your own. As you are shape the bread give thanks to God for shaping your life.
As you smell the bread cooking give thanks to God for all the good things happening in your life right now.
As you eat the bread give thanks for God’s provision in your life.
Coming up… Stroll for Your Soul
Stroll for Your Soul starts in the southern hemisphere on 3 September. If you’ve never participated in this annual event, this could be your year. You can Stroll on your own or gather a group together. Groups don’t have to physically Stroll together to share a group subscription. Stroll on your own, stroll outdoors or sit beside a window and look out and reflect. Each day during the three week Stroll period you’ll receive an email into your inbox at 6am NZT.
“Everywhere you go always take the weather” says the chorus of ‘Weather with you’ by New Zealand band, Crowded House. We can’t avoid weather. It dictates our behaviours and what we can and can’t do. It influences our moods. It disrupts our lives. It is part of every day.
As we note an aspect of weather each Stroll day, we use it as a lens or a metaphor to reflect on our journey with the Divine. We hope our attention to the weather deepens our awareness of the Divine atmosphere all around and in all things.
Each day begins with a ‘Weather report’ and then offers information or a story or video with ‘Today’s weather’. The ‘Weather with you’ section provides a response and we end each day with a ‘Weather blessing’. Read the daily email and take yourself on a Stroll outdoors or sitting beside a window.
If you like to interact with others we also have an optional facebook group where Strollers share their thoughts and photos and provide daily Instagram prompts for those who like to share visually on this platform.
We offer both individual and group subscriptions. Stroll for Your Soul is also included in both the Kereru Through the Year Bundle and Kereru Through the Seasons Bundle (There’s further information about our Bundles further down this e-zine.)
Special Offers - 5 Senses to Prayer
Experiential Prayer Kits - FREE POSTAGE
For the first time ever we’re offering FREE postage within New Zealand* when purchasing one of our three different experiential prayer kits. Use the code WINTER22 at the checkout.
Winter is a great time to purchase one of these kits. Each kit comes with an inspirational zine, postcards with instructions and a range of resusable and consumable items.
Use the prayers over and over again. Some people like to sit with the box and pray through each prayer in sequence taking 20 minutes to half an hour to complete. Others choose one prayer a day to pray. Others like to keep it as a handy tool if getting out to church isn’t possible, or if they’re looking for refreshment.
Click on the headings to view in our online shop
Basic experiential prayer kit - Using tactile and visual senses, this kit introduces 7 different types of prayer and postcard explanations on using the senses to pray. $35 (NZD)
Never-ending circles full kit - This kit picks up the theme of theme of the never-ending, unceasing, all-encompassing and embracing love of God. Every prayer in this box is based on a circular or round object or movement. $35 (NZD)
Never-ending circles mini kit - This kit combines two prayers from our 5 Senses to Prayer Experiential Kit and two prayers from our full version of the Never-Ending Circles Prayer Kit. $20 (NZD)
Offer available until 31 August 2022 and while stocks last. Limit to 1 box per order to quality for free shipping. Use code WINTER22 at checkout.
*For international customers we’ll offer a $15 (NZD) cash back reward after payment has been processed to help offset postage.
Kereru News
Kereru Bundles
Our Bundles are now in our online shop. For those who subscribe to one or more of our subscription based resources selecting one of these options means you’ll benefit from a discount as well as reducing administration time and effort. Check out our Bundles page
Technical challenges
In the last couple of months we’ve been moving our list management to a different provider. If you’re a subscriber of Taking Flight you’ll likely have received at least one email from us. We have been experiencing a few minor teething problems but hopefully we are almost at the end of this process and things will be smooth sailing from here. Do reach out if you’ve missed getting a resource you’re expecting or if you get a random email that doesn’t make sense to you.
From electronic to print
We are currently exploring options for internationally offering a print on demand service, and here in New Zealand undertaking a short print run to be able to provide physical copies of some of our titles. We’re looking initially at upcoming future titles, but may also explore our backlist. We’d love to hear from you if you’d be interested in print versions of any of our books, and which if our current books you’d like to own in a physical format.
On a personal note
Whales, bioluminescence and polar bears
With the help of a couple of local facebook groups, our household has enjoyed some intriguing sightings at our local Manly beach. Whangaparāoa means bay of whales, and Andrew, walking along the beach one day, noticed a pod playing in the bay. He alerted the facebook group and was joined by many others gazing in awe at the sight. The whales stayed in Manly bay for quite some time and then moved around the peninsula for the rest of the day, delighting many locals.
A few evenings later, the local bioluminescence facebook group posted about sightings at Manly beach. Andrew and our daughter Sarah headed quickly down to the beach at 11pm where Sarah happily waded fully clothed into the cold water to splash amongst the glowing electric blue waves and photograph the display.
Caroline’s health is always up and down and the last few months has seen some ‘ongoing maintenance’ from her specialist, a few tests and new medications and many hours of rest. During this time she’s been borrowing the most recently released children’s books from the library and has read her way through over 100 books since February.
The Last Bear is one standout book from her reading. This book is targetted for 8-12 year olds but will appeal to readers young and old. Published in February 2021 by Harper Collins in the UK, it’s written by first-time author, Hannah Gold and has already won several awards. The Last Bear tells the story of a girl who befriends the last polar bear on Bear Island and embarks on a life changing adventure. It’s a story of hope and love and making a difference. The underlying theme of climate change is handled beautifully. The readers travel with the characters on a journey that is surprising, moving and inspiring.
Here’s a video of Hannah Gold talking about The Last Bear.
As you might have noticed we haven’t quite managed a e-zine each month, due to Caroline’s health, but she’s up and going again, so all going well you can expect a shorter email in your inbox in a couple of weeks for our August edition of The Seed Disperser. You can also login to the website to view older editions.
On the journey
Andrew & Caroline