Peninsula Parish | Anglicans in Miramar, Seatoun and Strathmore
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  • About
  • What we do
    • Worship Services
    • Discipleship House
    • Being Whanau
    • Being Neighbours
    • Shop 89 mission op-shop
    • Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals
    • Giving
    • Venue hire
  • Resources
    • Parish Newsletters
    • Sermons
    • mental wellbeing
    • Library
    • Worship Tools Login
  • Strathmore Community Church
  • Connect

Book Reviews

Scarred by Trouble, Transformed by Hope By Joan Chittister

23/5/2025

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​This is another welcome book owned by Alan Wilson and it is my favourite by Sister Joan Chittister so far, as it follows her own personal life and the struggles of her soul from which light has arisen, through hope and faith in our Lord. What particularly spoke to me was her struggle with her writing talent. From initial experience of four years in an iron lung, to being bitterly disappointed by her Mother Superior as a young nun thwarting her acceptance of the IOWA Workshop scholarship, her life unravels. I won’t give it all away but if you have read her other books and want to know why and how do beg Alan to borrow this mighty epistle. 
Thank you Alan, thank you Joan. It was a succinct and very satisfying read.
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Huia come Home by Jay Ruka

15/5/2025

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Heather Gray

​Huia, your destiny is to bring everyone together.
- Māori Proverb - 
“ Once the sacred guardian of NZ’s native forests, the huia was a symbol of the land’s unique beauty & spirituality. The rare bird’s tragic extinction in the early 1900’s represents a shot to the heart of Aotearoa & is a potent metaphor for a country’s conflicted history.”
‘ Using the story of the untimely extinction of the huia, Jay Ruka offers a fresh perspective on the narrative of Aotearoa, a tale of 2 cultures, warring views, and the things we lost in translation.’
Revisiting the early missionaries, the transformative message of the gospel & the cultural missteps of the T of W ‘ Huia Come Home’ invites us to reconnect with the unique story offered by the indigenous Māori lens.
In relearning the history that lies in the soil of Aotearoa, we might just find a shared hope for the future & a recovery of national treasures once thought to be extinct.
I found this a marvellous book that offered a fresh perspective to my education and supposed learning of NZ history. Well done Jay Ruka for giving pakeha a truthful statement with advanced tangata whenua spirituality to complete one’s unbalanced previous viewpoint.
This is Andrew’s book and a must read for every kiwi. Thank you Andrew. Thank you Lord and thank you Jay.

2017.
Published by Oati.
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The Celtic Way of Prayer by Esther de Waal

7/5/2025

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Heather Gray

Esther’s‘ The Celtic Way of Prayer - The Recovery of the Religious Imagination’ Esther de Waal
Esther’s simply beautiful book outlays how the tradition of worship draws on both the pre - Christian past & the fullness of the Gospel. It is an enlightening glimpse at the history, folklore & liturgy of the Celtic people. Like a fresh living spring, Celtic prayer is liberating and demonstrates the monastic prayer & praise of early Irish litanies & medieval Welsh praise poems & the wealth of blessings derived from an oral tradition that made prayer a part of daily life. For example - “our religion is all about thanking the Creator.
That’s what we do when we pray
We don’t ask Him for things
We thank Him 
We thank Him for the world and every animal & plant in it.”
Esther’s book is full of deep spiritual magic. Thank you Lord, thank you Esther.
Parish library 235
Image Books 
Doubleday.
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He Tatau Pounamu by Alistair Reese

1/5/2025

 

Heather Gray

Alistair’s little pounamu coloured book on the Treaty of Waitangi is a treasured possession of Andrew our vicar. Sir Haare Williams wrote the introduction.

“The Treaty is the Covenant 
  for our land of Aotearoa,
  A magnificent Covenant which
  supports the unity of Māori and Pakeha 
  Its mana, autonomy,
​Protocols, stewardship, Unity, and Humility,
  Māori and Pakeha working together 
  for the benefit of all.”

Easy to read & bilingual this Covenant of Reconciliation demonstrates that this “mountain will never move.” This bond of grace was signed nearly 200 years ago by the representatives of 2 sovereign nations. “However since 1840 that relationship has been under duress & the contract often disregarded & dishonoured.”

Alistair Reese, born in Kirikiriroa lives in Paengaroa now with his wife & family. He has postgraduate degrees in Theology, History & Tikanga Māori & his research & speaking interests centre on the Treaty and reconciliation so he is well versed to speak as an authority.
​
Thank you Alistair & Jeannie. Bless you for clarifying this ongoing debate. The book is a gem.
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    ​Each week we will feature a book from our library with a review, if you would like to read it you can find it in the Iona Centre.

    Archives

    May 2025

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Contact Us:
Phone:  04 380 7174 

Email: [email protected]
Physical address: 89 Miramar Avenue, Miramar, Wellington
Postal address: PO Box 15106, Miramar, Wellington 6243
Sunday Services:
8am - Traditional Worship (1st Sunday)
10am - Family Worship
​4pm - Strathmore Community Church