The Seed Disperser - October 2022
Reformers and Saints
What’s in this month’s Seed Disperser
Book of the month
Church Invisible
Inspiration this month
Reformers and Saints
Church of the month
Paraparaumu Baptist Church
Coming up
Counting Down to Christmas A Pinch of Spice
Special offer
Who Made God? And Other Tricky Questions
Kereru news
Payment options
On a personal note
Caspar Schwenkfeld
Book of the month
We are living in a time in which we are seeing a rapid unravelling of institutional structures in Western society and a re-alignment of values. The church is not faring well in this process. This book takes the form of an earthed and practical theology and asks the question ‘what is the church?’ Rather than a purely theoretical, or a purely pragmatic approach, it looks to the radical Reformers of the sixteenth century and finds there an emphasis on the church’s invisible realities and on community both of which have a relevance to the twenty-first century.
Use the code CASPAR to receive your 10% discount
Inspiration this month
Here in Aotearoa, October is the month where spring’s warmth brings hints of summer ahead. We get outdoors more and the light lengthens. In the northern hemsiphere the opposite happens, and as the days shorten and cool, the celebration of Hallowtide seems to fit more with the season.
Our kiwi culture has only in more recent years embraced the traditions of Halloween. All Saints Day is also known as All Hallows Day and the day before is All Hallows Eve… Hallowe’en. Our focus in this edition of The Seed Disperser is to seek inspiration from some of the heroes of our faith, both historical and contemporary.
Reformation Sunday – 30 October 2022
The reformers of the church are celebrated on 31 October each year as this was the day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. That action started a chain of events which shaped the course of the church and of Western civilization, in a way that is still significant today. The European Reformation is generally considered to cover the years of 1517 to around the end of the 16th century. Reformation Sunday is usually observed on the nearest Sunday to 31 October or on the last Sunday in October.
Reformers and Saints
Some of the reformers who have contributed to our understanding of the church are Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Menno Simons and other lesser known reformers such as Caspar Schwenkfeld. Associated spiritual movements of the Catholic Counter-Reformation brought to prominence church mystics like Teresa of Ávila.
Do you have a favourite saint or hero of the faith? History invites us to look back to help us to look forward. Spend some time with one of the heroes of the faith and seek inspiration from their journey.
Ask yourself:
What do I find inspirational about their story?
Why do I find this inspirational?
How can I apply this inspiration to my own life and faith journey?
Videos for Reformation Sunday
A fun, animated history of the Reformation (4min 55sec) from National Geographic.
History 101: The Protestant Reformation (4min 57sec) also from National Geographic.
The story of Martin Luther (4min 32sec) - A Playmobile animation with a good summary of Luther’s story. Suitable for all ages.
Whiteboard Reformation (2min 17sec) - A clever little video made for Lutherans that’s entertaining and informative.
A Charlie Brown Reformation Day - Luther’s speech at the Diet of Worms as performed by Linus.
Another option is the Reformation in a music format, there’s: Luther Rap (3min 9sec) and, I love this one, Martin Luther (3min 13sec) the Luther story sung to The Bangles “Manic Monday”.
All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day
Janice from The Prayer Bench shares in her monthly newsletter…
The days of Hallowtide are coming beginning October 31: All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints and All Souls. It is a rich time. I thought I’d share six ways of living consciously through these thin days when heaven and earth are close.
Read her newsletter to find out the six practices she offers for this season.
Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints
As a parent, author Daneen Akers wanted her children to read stories that helped transcend fears, connect with each other, engage in justice, and model an expansive and fully inclusive view of the Divine. This is a book for all ages written for an 8 year old reading age. Click here to view the website.
Church of the month
We’re starting a new section in our monthly edition of The Seed Disperser. We know many of our subscribers are looking for fresh ideas and new ways to do things that are accessible and resonate in very real ways with people on a faith journey. It’s time to spread our net wider than our own experiences and share the stories of other seed dispersers in Aotearoa and beyond.
Paraparaumu Baptist Church
This month we feature Paraparaumu Baptist Church and the work of Andrew Bollen. Many years ago, we both worked together with Andrew and Xanthia Bollen over several years, writing material for the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society/Tranzsend annual appeal.
Paraparaumu Baptist Church is a place where ‘faith defines life’. Andrew Bollen is the pastor and his approach is to keep things real and down to earth. At PBC there’s a focus on trying to make sense of life and exploring how faith in Jesus helps to make sense of how to live. Most weeks Andrew writes a short piece for the church website in the Church Life section. The pieces are pithy, real, down to earth, very kiwi and inspiring.
We really love the vibe of the Paraparapumu Baptist Church website. We encourage you to check it out for yourself!
If you have a recommendation for our Church of the month section we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for fresh ideas and inspiration to share with others.
Coming up
Join us from Saturday 26 November as we start our daily Advent calendar - Counting Down to Christmas.
This year our theme is ‘A Pinch of Spice’. In this lead up to Christmas 2022, we use a daily pinch of spice, associated with Christmas celebrations across ages and cultures to help us sit up and take notice of the Christmas story in a fresh way for this season in our lives. The Christmas story is a familiar one and as well as finding refreshment we also use a pinch of spice to find comfort and security in our faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God.
We have several subscription packages available for individuals, small groups and large groups. The best way to purchase these is from our website or send us an email.
If you live in Aotearoa you may also be interested in purchasing an accompanying Pinch of Spice kit and you can read more about these here. We still have some available but these are now limited. Purchase from our website or send us an email.
For those who subscribed last year to Counting Down to Christmas your name will still be on our Substack list, but you will need to pay for this year’s subscription to receive the daily emails from 26 November 2022.
Between now and the 26 November Caroline will be writing the occasional free post in our Counting Down to Christmas. You can sign up for free to receive these without making a commitment to the paid resource.
Special offer
Who Made God? and Other Tricky Questions could make a good Christmas gift for those of all ages who are curious about some of the tricky faith questions. Written for children and their adults, this is a book for all ages.
Click this link for 5% discount on the physical copy of Who Made God? And Other Tricky Questions or use the code CHRWMG at the checkout.
Kereru news
Payment options
We now have a range of resources and distribution methods. So we thought it was time to explain our different payment options and fees. As much as possible we’ve tried to keep our prices low, and resources like Taking Flight haven’t had a price increase in over 8 years. We know in these times, purchasing resources and books may feel like a luxury and we’d like to do all we can to support our loyal subscribers.
Here’s our payment methods
Direct - via email
All of our resources are available for purchase by contacting us directly. We can send the resource to you and provide an invoice. Sometimes this is useful if the invoice is to be paid by a different entity than the purchaser. We can offer a delayed payment period or payment installments. If you have any questions or want to purchase any resources this way please just send us an email. When we send you an invoice you have the option of paying by bank deposit, paypal or credit card. This means there are options for international purchasers as well as those with New Zealand bank accounts. If paying via credit card the fees are paid by Kereru.
Our online shop - website
Our website has all of our resources and shows our current prices. You can pay via our website using credit card, paypal or bank deposit. If you have ShopPay or GooglePay these will also both work. Shopify fees and payment gateway fees are charged to Kereru not to the purchaser.
Substack
Three of our paid subscription resources are on Substack. Taking Flight, Counting Down to Christmas and 5 Senses to Prayer Virtual Prayer Room. All of these can be purchased by either of the above methods or direct through Substack. Substack charges in USD so unless you’re purchasing in that currency expect to pay a currency conversion fee and the final price may differ depending when you purchase and the currency conversion rate. Substack’s fee as well as the payment gateway fees are paid by Kereru not the purchaser. You will notice that The Seed Disperser appears as a paid resource. It will always be free, but offering this as a paid resource provides an additional option for any subscribers who wish to financially support our work.
MailerLite
We have recently shifted from MailChimp to MailerLite for our list management. As part of this move we are now able to send out reminders and invoices for payment of Bundles or other subscriptions ahead of when these are due. These invoices operate like the direct option above, providing the various payment options of credit card or paypal or bank deposit. The fees are covered by Kereru not the purchaser.
On a personal note
Caspar Schwenkfeld
In our household we’ve come to regard Caspar as something of a friend. It doesn’t matter that he lived centuries ago, he is a friend firstly to Andrew, and then as often happens in households, friendships made by one person are shared with others. Andrew’s friendship with Caspar goes back to when he was completing his Masters of Theology and looking at the Radical Reformers.
In his sabbatical he’d sit upstairs in the manse, day after day reading through primary source material, Caspar’s many volumes of work titled, Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum. This little known reformer came to life in front of us as Andrew would tell us what he’d read of Caspar each day. Through an era of bitter disputes and intolerance Schwenkfeld sought to be conciliatory. When asked to side with a particular party his response was, “In my mind I am one with all churches in that I pray for them, in that I despise none, because I know Christ the Lord has his own everywhere…” These thoughts have shaped our ecumenical outlook.
Since our first introduction to Caspar Schwenkfeld, we’ve managed to visit the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennyslvania and become friends with living Schwenkfelders. We’ve toured parts of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic finding places that Caspar worked, lived and visited. Learning about and from a hero of the faith keeps their story alive, while bringing a fresh focus to our own faith journey.
On the journey
Caroline & Andrew