The Seed Disperser - September 2024
Birds of the air
What’s in this month’s Seed Disperser
Special offer - Canvas of the Soul
Update on seasonal resources - Rambles
Featured resources - Science and Faith
Inspiration this month - Birds of the air
Birds of the air
The story behind Kereru Publishing
Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau / Bird of the Year 2024
A bird based practice
Coming up - Counting Down to Christmas
On a personal note - Interruptions
Special offer
Canvas of the Soul
Janice MacLean from Prayer Bench, and writer of this self-guided retreat says,
"I first encountered Emily Carr as a young theological student. Now, more than 40 years later, I reflect on the echoes of the ancient wisdom I felt within my soul when gazing at her canvases and reading her journals. This retreat invites you to discover how a spirit of place can expand our awareness and deepen our connection to the web of life, inspiring us to generate goodness and nurture hope in a world that is deeply loved."
We carry the wisdom of a mystic within us. Whenever we ground ourselves in a place and open our hearts to wonder, we step into this mystic wisdom. Whether it’s through experiencing reverence for life, feeling anger for justice, or being called to deeper love, courage, or gratitude, we are embodying the wisdom of a mystic.
In this retreat, we draw on the profound insights of Emily Carr, a West Coast Canadian artist and author, exploring her deep connection to the landscape and the powerful sense of place she found in nature.
In times of anxiety and loss, it is often the artists, poets, and mystics who help us live in the land—not just live on it—with imagination, memory, and truth.
Select from personal or group options. Available on Kereru Publishing website. Individual retreat = $22 NZD and Group retreat = $40 NZD
Update on seasonal resources
Rambles
Rambles is a beautiful resource presented digitally in visual format. It takes many hours to create the scrapbook pages. Janice and Caroline have new ideas to make Rambles even more usable. Unfortunately, this resource will not be available in September as previously promoted. They are both working hard to produce special resources for late 2024 and in the window when they should have been working together on Rambles, they each had family events calling for their attention. Janice and Caroline are looking forward to getting back to developing the theme and offering Rambles in 2025. The new Rambles date is 10th May. This also means Stroll will be offered later in the year in September 2025.
Those who had already registered for Rambles as part of group subscriptions will instead receive the Canvas for the Soul retreat. This will be delivered via email on 4th October.
Registrations for 2025 for group and individual subscriptions are now open but more details will be provided closer to May next year.
Featured resource
Science and Faith
Over the next few months Kereru Publishing is making available books written by Graeme Finlay that explore the relationship between science and Christian theology. As a Christian and a scientist Graeme is devoted to both and sees in them a natural compatibility. Graeme is a recently retired lecturer in General Pathology in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland and has worked on anti-cancer drug development for 20 years. He writes out of a concern that suspicion of science and the evolutionary process is harmful to the Christian cause. The first two titles will be “Evolving Creation” and “God’s Books: Genesis and Genetics”.
Currently the titles are only available in paperback format but we will be working on electronic versions shortly
Individual titles are $10 (NZD) each. Purchase both titles for a combined total of $15 (NZD). Add each title into your cart and an automatic discount will be applied at the checkout. Postage for one or two books is $10 (NZD). If you’d like to purchase multiple copies of either title please contact us for a delivery options.
Inspiration this month
Birds of the air
Churches all over the globe celebrate the Season of Creation in September. We thought we’d provide some inspiration this month that ties in with this season.
At this time of year our household wakes to the Tui in the blossoming cherry trees outside our bedroom windows. September is also the month for the Bird of the Year and details are below on how to vote.
New Zealand is home to many unique insects, birds, lizards and frogs, but the most visually obvious creatures are birds. There are thought to be 168 species of bird endemic to New Zealand. Our only native mammals are bats and marine mammals. The native birdlife is in decline and some species are extremely threatened. Birdlife is ecologically significant in New Zealand to sustain our forests.
Let’s take some lessons from the birds on how we can live out our faith as individuals and as groups together in faith based communities.
The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord;
the earth and all who live on it are his.
He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth
and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.
Psalm 24:1-2
Good News Translation
The story behind Kererū Publishing
Stories from the past tell of the incredible sound of a flock of Kererū flying overhead, the whooshing and beating of a hundred wings impressive and deafening. These days a flock of the distinctive native New Zealand pigeon with its white vest and iridescent green feathers tinged with purple and bronze is a rare and unlikely sight. While still found in the forests and even in the city parks and gardens of New Zealand, Kererū are usually spotted alone or in pairs. While not the most threatened bird, the Kererū are depleted in number and they have an important part to play in keeping New Zealand green.
The never-ending spiral interconnects the future of the Kererū and the forest together. Kererū are seed dispersers. They spread the seeds of native forest plants and are the only New Zealand bird large enough to eat the big fruit of the largest native trees. Without the Kererū, the lush green forest that still covers a quarter of New Zealand is also threatened and the loss of their native forest habitat means the loss of Kererū. Intentional action is needed to save the Kererū and the native forest.
The story of the Kererū is a metaphor for the church. Persisting with some of its old ways and forms, the church in some places is struggling and is could be considered a threatened species.
Our dream for Kererū Publishing is to provide resources to rejuvenate and reinvigorate churches and faith-filled individuals. We want to engage, encourage and inspire a generation of seed dispersers.
Birds of the air
Here’s a click and collect of bird inspiration from the internet. Delve into these websites with an openness to hear more about
How to care for God’s creation
What can we learn from birds
Read more about the Kererū on the Department of Conservation website or on the Kererū Discovery website.
NZ Birds Online is a digital encyclopedia of New Zealand birds. Find out about any bird you’re already interested in or use the website to help you identify a bird.
Watch this clever Kaka bird turn on a tap to get a drink of water and ponder the complexity and creativity of God’s creatures.
Every morning for the last 50 years, Radio New Zealand has played the sound of a bird call immediately before the 7am Morning Report. You can listen to the bird calls on the website.
The first songs that echoed across New Zealand were the songs from birds. Listen to this Radio New Zealand programme called, The Secret Life of Bird Calls.
Listen and download calls of Native birds from the Department of Conservation website.
Watch the live cam of the Royal Albatross on Pukekura/Taiaroa Head.
Birds NZ is an online database of bird observations in collaboration with Cornell University, where participants (ebirders) can join in and add or look for information about New Zealand birds.
Want to attract birds to your garden? Follow tips from the Department of Conservtion on ‘Learn how to plan and plant a garden to attract native birds’. ‘Create a bird-friendly haven in your garden, school, or local park’ with these tips from Garden Bird Survey. Predator Free NZ asks ‘If our native birds were gardeners what would they plant?’
For a lesson about birds from fiction outside of New Zealand , Aimee Nolte talks about the significance of the song ‘Feed the Birds’ in the movie Mary Poppins.
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
Matthew 6:25-26 The Message
Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau / Bird of the Year 2024
The annual voting for Bird of the Year 2024 closes at 5pm this Sunday. Want to join in and vote? You don’t have to be based in New Zealand to join in the fun. Click on this link Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau | Bird of the Year 2024 to find out more. You can vote for five birds. If you’re like us it’s pretty hard to pick!
This might not be the biggest election on the calendar in 2024, but it’s surprising just how controversial the annual Bird of the Year election has been in the past. Click on the link to read the Wikipedia article and scroll down to explore the controversies.
A bird based practice
Whether you’re in Aotearoa New Zealand and can find native birds around you, or in a different part of the world, set aside some time in the next few days to learn from the birds.
Go outside and find a place to sit amongst trees or near water where you’ll be sure to see and hear birds. If possible find somewhere you won’t be interrupted by other people. Allow yourself plenty of time to be present in the experience.
Make yourself comfortable.
Invite the presence of God in prayer.
Watch.
Listen.
Think.
Offer a response to God in prayer.
Write down three things
Something for which you’re grateful.
Something that inspired you.
An action you plan to take as a result of your observation
Coming up
Counting Down to Christmas
Te Taha Taiao - Ka Tangi Te Tītī
It might feel a little early to be talking about Christmas but our plans are well underway for this year’s Counting Down to Christmas.
This year our offering will come in a mix of two languages. Caroline is collaborating with Reverend Jacynthia Murphy to curate and write Counting Down to Christmas. The first year we held Counting Down to Christmas we offered a word for each day and we’re following a similar pattern this year with the words offered in te reo Māori. We’ll travel through Advent and exploring the stories of Creation and of the first Christmas through the richness of language.
This will be a visual and auditory feast for the senses. As Christmas approaches the Pōhutukawa (New Zealand Christmas tree) blossoms, but this is just one of the visual images we’ll enjoy each day. We’ll hear from multiple voices and be inspired with art and song as well as words.
Our theme Te Taha Taiao - Ka Tangi Te Tītī, ‘Alongside the natural world - the Tītī calls’ captures the 'mita' (rhythm and wisdom) of walking with, not dominating, the natural world and the Tītī will sing. This is a beautiful metaphor of reciprocity, 'manaaki mai manaaki atu, aroha mai, aroha atu' We join in the harmonious reo of Taiao. When we care for God’s world, it will care for us.
This has been an idea in the works since 2021 so we’re delighted to finally be able to bring this to fruition for our followers in both Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. Our intention this year is to offer Counting Down to Christmas 2024 as a free resource and we’d love to have as many subscribers as possible to sign up and encourage others to join us. We’ll provide more details on signing up in the next edition of The Seed Disperser.
To offer Counting Down to Christmas for free we are hopeful to obtain a couple of financial sponsors to help cover costs. Send Caroline a message if you could be interested in supporting our work in this way.
On a personal note
Interruptions
We seem to be in a season of unexpected interruptions and disruptions. Since our last edition of the The Seed Disperser in June, we’ve got raised gardens built and are yet to fill them with soil and start planting. Amongst a few other things, Andrew spent three nights in hospital with what turned out to be appendicitis and Caroline’s father had a fall which has resulted in more complexity in the care and support offered from our household. As a result of these and a few other disruptions some of our writing projects have also been delayed or put on hold for now.
As the weather turns from winter to spring we’re enjoying the seeds of hope and the glimpses of sunny warm days ahead, not matter what other interruptions come our way in daily life.
On the journey
Caroline & Andrew