Inspiration this month - Counting the days
Counting Down to Christmas
Taking Flight - Advent
Stir it Up Sunday
Sunflowers
Measuring tapes
Egg timers, hourglasses and eternity
Special offers
From a Friend - Notes to a Friend - Giveaway
Substack Referrals
On a personal note
Dealing with the unexpected
Inspiration this month - Counting the days
We are at that time of the year where counting the days is a common occurrence for many in our families, communities and workplaces. For the faithful, Christmas is an observation of the birth of Christ. We are nearing that time of the church year where it all begins. We call the start of the church year, Advent and this season signals the arrival and coming of Jesus Christ. For many people, Christmas is a time of celebration that isn’t as much religious as it is about gathering with family and acknowledging the bonds of love that tie people together. There is a sense of hope in the air, a yearning for peace and a willingness to find joy in small things as we head towards the Christmas.
Here in Aotearoa, there’s a line that gets drawn at Christmas. There’s the counting down to Christmas with deadlines to be met. Plans and tasks are planned and measured and labelled as before Christmas or after Christmas. Many businesses will have a closedown over the Christmas and early January period. This is more about summer, than Christmas, Christmas falling neatly into a time when the weather (in theory) gets warmer and summer gears up into full swing. Here in Auckland the longing for a long hot summer is palpable. We’ve had a year of so much rain. We’re ready for a break from the weather and from the challenges and stresses of the last few years. We’re counting down the days until we have summer holidays.
In this edition of The Seed Disperser we bring together a few resources for ‘Counting the days’, in relation to Advent, Christmas, summer and ordinary days.
Advent Calendar - Counting Down to Christmas
It’s almost time to start Counting Down to Christmas. Our annual Advent resource, Counting Down to Christmas is available for purchase on Substack or via our website.
This year the offering is suitable for all ages. It’s very visual and thought-provoking. We have included an interactive element with an opportunity to be involved ahead of the event and also during the countdown period itself.
Every day we’ll follow along with child-whizz Detective Sam T. Sirhc (pronounced Search) and her trusty sidekick cat, Leon (Noel spelt backwards) as Sam and Leon search for Christmas. They’ll be joined by four Christmas friends, Snow, Angel, Holly and Star. The four friends will appear daily in a short video vignette. They’ll also respond to a daily question (with help from friends - download and fill in the questionnaire to help them out). We’ll read a few notes from Detective Sam’s casebook including a brief inspirational reflection and a short Bible reading and she’ll also include the occasional puzzle. Leon will add his contribution with a suggested additional activity based on the daily theme.
The content is inspirational yet brief, designed to be viewed and read by an individual starting their day, a group of housemates gathering around the dinner table or dip in and out as there is time.
Here’s a video of the four friends providing a glimpse of the kind of vignettes we can expect to see each day. This one didn’t make the cut, because our daughter’s cat made an unexpected stage debut adding a delightful element and creating a blooper video. The daily video vignette will be above the paywall so if you want to see the daily videos but don’t want to receive the full resource, you can sign up as a free subscriber.
You can read more about Counting Down to Christmas in this post Introducing… Searching for Christmas on Substack or on our website.
Pricing for 2023
In acknowledgement of the financial challenges facing many with cost of living, we’re offering Counting Down to Christmas at a third of our regular price for this year. We wanted to support our subscribers. We’d love to have you join us and also to tell your friends about it.
Our annual subscription cost is usually $30 NZD for an individual, $50 for a family/household and $75 for a large group.
Individual subscription now $10.20 (NZD) per person
Groups more than 2 people to $6 (NZD) per person
Groups with 7 - 20 people please contact Caroline for a unique subscription code and a reduced rate of $4.50 (NZD) per person
Groups with 21+ people please contact Caroline for a unique subscription code and a reduced rate of $3 (NZD) per person
Genuine hardship FREE - please contact Caroline for a free subscription
There is also the option for those who can afford to pay more to do one of the following.
Pay for a group subscription for others
Give a gift subscription to a friend
Donate a full priced subscription $30 (NZD) to help support those who can’t afford a subscription
In reducing income this year from writing Counting Down to Christmas, we’re hopeful that some of the shortfall may be recovered by increasing the number of subscribers this year or other subscribers making a donation.
Advent - Taking Flight
Current subscribers to Taking Flight will have already received the first resource for the first week of Advent. This is now also available on our Taking Flight substack website for paid subscribers. If you’re looking for inspirational ideas for worship, Andrew’s bumper editions of Taking Flight throughout Advent have plenty to offer.
Subscribe direct through the Taking Flight Substack website or purchase the Advent subscription through the Kereru website.
Stir it up Sunday - 26 November
In some church traditions the Sunday before Advent is called Stir it up Sunday. Last November’s edition of The Seed Disperser has plenty of creative ideas for both personal use and in group worship.
Stir it up Sunday name comes from the Book of Common Prayer, and possibly dates back to 1549. The words of the Collect said,
"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people"
As traditions go, somewhere along the way, the metaphor of stirring up the Christmas pudding or Christmas cake became a timely fit for the Sunday before Advent, inspired by the ‘stir up’ from the Collect. This delightful play on words means generations of families, particularly in the UK, have stirred their Christmas pudding and/or Christmas cake in readiness for Christmas on this day every year.
Sunflowers
Can worry make you live longer? Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of them.
Matthew 6:27-29 (CEV)
Sunflowers are simple to grow and there’s still time in Aotearoa for these to be planted. Watching them grow in real time is fun and measurable. Andrew has been running sunflower growing competitions in each of his current congregations and there has been great enthusiasm and participation.
He has distributed seed of the Helianthus Russian Giant variety and is offering prizes for the tallest the tallest plant and the largest flower head.
The photo shows Andrew with his last year’s crop.
Here’s a prayer Caroline wrote many years ago based sunflower seeds.
Measuring Tape
Caroline is working her way to writing the second book in the 5 Senses to Prayer series. Each week in our 5 Senses to Prayer Virtual Prayer Room she publishes another two prayers. Some of the prayers have appeared before and are at the polishing stage, but others are newly written. You might be interested to read the full post from the Virtual Prayer Room.
Use a measuring tape or a ruler to measure things around your space. Measure the height, depth and length of a room or a piece of furniture or another big item. Measure something smaller like the length of a knife and fork, the width of a book, the height of a pot plant. Think of some of the reasons why we measure objects and visible, tangible things. What else do we measure that are perhaps invisible or intangible? What are different ways we measure? Think of people who experience life differently to yourself. How do your thoughts measure this difference? Turn your thinking into a prayer for those who are experiencing difficulties and facing challenges you are not familiar with and know you don’t really understand.
To follow along on this writing journey sign up for a free subscription to 5 Senses to Prayer Virtual Prayer Room for one prayer a week or start a paid subscription and receive two prayers a week.
Egg timers, hourglasses and eternity
There is something rather soothing about watching sand move through an hourglass. This early form of a clock with a way of measuring time dates back to the 8th century. The desire for people to measure time dates back even longer, perhaps even to the beginning of time itself.
St Augustine of Hippo and eternity
St Augustine of Hippo (354 CE) pondered the existence of time and his thoughts still influence philosophers and theologians today. This article is an interesting read on trying to understand what is time through the writings of St Augustine.
As we approach Advent and Christmas in worship of our Eternal God and in celebration of the birth of Emmanuel - God With Us. We can appreciate St Augustine’s thinking to help us understand that God’s time is something we humans will never be able to comprehend.
In the 2008 translation of the St Augustine’s, “Confessions”, Henry Chadwick offered the following translated quote:
“Who will lay hold on the human heart to make it still, so that I can see how eternity, in which there is neither future nor past, stands still and dictates future and past times? Can my mind have the strength for this?” (St. Augustine)
Egg timer prayer
Our classic egg-timer prayer has been included in several of our 5 Senses to Prayer resources.
Time passes. Sometimes it goes quickly and other times it can seem so slow. When we watch a timekeeper measuring time, it can appear to take a very long time to pass by. When is it the right time to try to get right with God? God is timeless and there is never a better time than the present. Find an egg timer. Experiment with the timer before you begin this prayer. Watch as the sand transfers from one part of the timer to the other. Turn the timer so all the sand is in the top compartment. Begin praying in one sentence, telling God about something you’re sorry for doing. Continue praying in one sentence chunks about other things you’re sorry about for the duration of the minute. As you pray, watch the sand disappear from the top compartment to the bottom. Give thanks to God for the opportunity of this time to talk and be forgiven.
We have an excess supply of small egg-timers available for purchase at half price ($2 each) plus postage. Contact Caroline for availability but there’s enough for more than one group to buy a set for use in a small group or church community. This prayer and variations of it can be used in group worship settings again and again.
Make your own hourglass
Here’s an untested set of instructions for making your own hourglass. Send us a pic if you do try this yourself. We’d love to see how it goes.
Make your own hourglass from Christmas tree ornaments following these instructions.
Special offers
From a Friend - Notes to a Friend - Giveaway
We recieved a generous donation from a friend of Kereru Publishing, to distribute a limited number of physical copies of the book, ‘Notes to a Friend’ by Joy Cowley. The book retails at $15 and we have a free giveaway offer.
This lovely little book is supremely relevant to our time. There is a widespread interest in, and hunger for spirituality that is not being met by the church. The truth is that for many people the church is not seen as a spiritual place. Kiwi author, Joy Cowley, has produced a book to meet this need. It contains the wisdom of centuries of Christian spirituality, made accessible by being stripped bare of any Christian jargon. Each page contains a small easy to understand gem covering topics such as simplicity, service, trials, forgiveness and healing.
We are offering copies of this book to individuals and groups interacting with those who are interested in Christian spirituality but are on, or outside, the fringe of the church. This is a ‘pass-it-on’ giveaway.
Contact Caroline caroline@kererupublishing.com to request copies. Tell us about yourself or your group, let us know how many copies you’d like and how you plan to pass on the books. You are only obliged to pay the courier delivery fee. However, each copy will come with a slip showing our bank details and suggesting $5 per book, if you or your group wants to hang on to a copy, or make a donation to aid the publication and distribution of further Christian resources.
Substack referrals
We currently offer three paid resources through Substack as well as The Seed Disperser which is always free but does have a payment option for those who would like to financially support Kereru Publishing.
Substack has recently set up a referral programme. Paid subscribers to our paid resources receive benefits when they refer others. If you’re a paid subscriber to Taking Flight, 5 Senses to Prayer Virtual Prayer Room or Counting Down to Christmas you can check out the referral benefits on the Substack websites.
There are three tiers of benefits. The more referrals the greater the rewards. Examples of the first tier of benefits include
Taking Flight - Refer 1 friend and receive 1 free month
5 Senses Virtual Prayer Room - Refer 1 frend and receive 1 free month
Counting Down to Christmas - Refer 3 friends and receive a free copy of 25 Stockings to Christmas
On a personal note
If you think it’s been a while since you received an edition of The Seed Disperser you’re correct. Our last edition was sent immediately prior to a season of disruption and challenges in the lives of our family. We bounced from getting Covid into an unexpected chain of events. Caroline’s parents have needed significant support over the last few months, involving our whole household and extended family. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for the third time, resulting in a double mastectomy. The complicating factor of the care of Caroline’s father who has dementia included him coming to stay with us for a time and then ongoing support once he moved back home. We are glad they’d made the move to live next to us and this has made support simpler than it might have been if we’d had to juggle travel as well. The timing coincided with Andrew starting an interim ministry for a three month period.
However, we managed a pre-planned week in Rarotonga in early October which was a welcome respite. We’re looking forward to the end of the year and a summer break. This edition of The Seed Disperser is a little slimmed down without some of our usual sections but we hope to be back to our usual routines in the new year.
On the journey
Andrew and Caroline