Pancakes are political Would you like to know your neighbours better? Do you like delicious food? Do you want to change the world, one small action of kindness at a time? Well, do I have the festival for you: Shrove Tuesday! When I was a little girl, our elderly neighbours had spare keys to our […]
During the United States primaries, I had to consciously limit my fascination with US politics and remind myself that it was getting daily updates on the campaign trail shenanigans wasn’t much different to reading about foreign celebrities inĀ gossip magazines. I had better things to do with my time and attention. And then Trump got elected. […]
Parenting is flipping hard work, yes? You’re responsible for, as my friend Jess says, tiny sociopaths. They’re cute, sure, but they have little in the way of empathy, self-control, or social graces. You get no sick leave. You’re operating on so little sleep that serious reading now means clicking ‘see more’ on Facebook. Communities like […]
How can something as (potentially) shallow as Christmas gift shopping be a great way to make a difference in the world? Easy š If we aspire to living a life where our actions reflect our values, then how we spend our time and money on Christmas gifts can make a real impact on people beyond […]
We’re now in Holy Week, where Lent morphs into Easter. In my house we’ll continue lighting our Lenten candles and saying the sentences about Jesus that go with them, but there are plenty of other special things coming along this week that can take their own place in household spirituality. So here’s a bunch of […]
This is an all-in-one post for Week 3 of our Lent with Kids plan. To fill in some background,Ā start here. You can also see theĀ series index here. One of the things I love about the Montessori philosophy is that kids can make do meaningful work. Give kids brooms and cloths to match their size, and […]
Sorry, couldn’t resist the reference to my fond 1990s memories of Kylie and Jason at 7pm, five nights a week. Anyway. Welcome to Anna S, regular Sacraparental conversationalist, who celebrated Neighbours Day last year with great success. I’m keen to do something this year to follow up on our Pancake Party with the neighbours, and […]
This is the third in a mini-series looking at how different traditions celebrate Lent. You might like to start with the first post on Old Testament fastingĀ and catch up on the second on Jesus and the Early Church. It wasn’t until I moved to New Plymouth, next door to a lovely Egyptian family, that I […]
My sermon on Sunday and the accompanying blog post were mainly directed at the ‘neighbours’ of an unborn child: those who have the opportunity to support a little family in crisis.Ā What I also want to say loudly, and separately, is that if you have experienced a crisis pregnancy, for any reason, in any circumstances, […]
This is a post about crisis pregnancy that is aimed mainly at those in a position to support an unborn baby and its family. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy yourself, you may prefer to read this accompanying post dealing directly with such a situation.Ā Inspired by Germany In the United States it’s […]