Church Talk
Nukutere's founding fathers finishing soon
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 14: The first Christian Brothers arrived in Rarotonga on January 26, 1976, to build and grow Nukutere College which was then less than a year old. The original community was: Brother Terence McErlane (community superior and principal), Brother Simon Coughlan (teacher), and Brother Joseph McRae (school and house manager). The young Nukutere College gradually […]
Christian Brothers departing Rarotonga
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 14: It is with great regret that the Catholic community of the Cook Islands will see the departure of the Christian Brothers from Nukutere College in December 2009. This announcement was made by the Province Leader of the Oceania Province of the Brothers, Brother Vincent Duggan cfc, on August 12, 2009. The leadership team […]
Jubilee idea
Wednesday 12 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 7: Religious advisory council president pastor Tutai Pere described the Cook Islands’ 44 years of self governance journey as being similar to the 40 years the Jews spent wandering the desert in search of the promised land. “Forty years is a very significant number in the Bible,” said Pere. “Not only did the Jews […]
A space for silence in our daily lives
Wednesday 12 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 7: A modern parable A severe drought fell on the land and nothing grew. Day after day the sun scorched the earth, plants withered, rivers dried up and people died. Only a few healthy people remained and they were desperate. Then they heard about the Rainman who could make rain fall; maybe he could […]
Gospel Day celebrated with cake
Wednesday 5 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 31: The arrival of Christianity to Rarotonga 186 years ago, was celebrated with song and dance at the Are Karioi Nui on Monday. In his sermon, Nikao Cook Islands Christian Church’s Rev Tereora Tereora likened the embracing of the gospel in the Cooks, to that of Laban welcoming his nephew Jacob, as told in […]
Michael is not Jesus
Wednesday 5 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 31: The Bible names Michael as “one of the chief princes” in Daniel 10:13. As he is one among a group of equals, he cannot be Jesus, because Jesus is unique. He is one of a kind. Many Cook Islanders know John 3:16 and understand that “only begotten” in this verse, — ‘monogenes’ in […]
Distorted vision – being fixed on God
Wednesday 5 August 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 31: Spiritual vision is our capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the word from his point of view. But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. Self-serving desires interests and goals block that vision. Serving God is the best way to restore it. A good eye is […]
Rebuilding your life the way God wants you to
Wednesday 29 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 24: Last weekend I was reading an interesting book on the failure of economies. While this might have been its focus, what riveted my attention were the references to human suffering associated with these events. But my greater interest was aroused by the allusion to the notable increases in people taking their own lives […]
Ziona Tapu to be re-dedicated
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 17: The 160-year-old Arorangi CICC church, Ziona Tapu, will be re-dedicated in a ceremony on Monday morning. The occasion is one of the highlights of the Cook Islands Christian Church biennial meeting which begins on Sunday, April 19. “We’ve been blessed,” says Arorangi ekalesia secretary Okirua Teokoitu of the restoration project which began in […]
It isn't all about today
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 17: Every working day when I arrive at my work place, I read the newspaper. I learn of what is happening on the island and around the world. I am challenged and drawn to the conclusion, is it worth it? I’m continually urged to get the most from the present. The past is gone […]
Family home evening is good for the family unit
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Thursday 9: The family unit has been one of our most important teachings of the Church. It is important for not just ourselves but also our friends and neighbours. Church leaders have instructed our members to set aside a night as ‘family home evening’. This is a time for families to study the gospel together […]
Did God really die and live again?
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
I mate tika ana ainei te Atua e kua ora akaou? Thursday 9: How could there be a resurrection if there was no death? Could there be light if there was no darkness? Could there even be death if there was no life? The Bible in Hebrews 2:9 tells us that God became man in […]
Uipa'anga maata i roto i a Aperira
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 3: Ka raveia te uipaanga maata a te akono’anga Cook Islands Christian Church a te ra 19 ki te 26 o Aperira, ki Rarotonga nei. Kua akatinamou te kumiti akaaere i te manako maata o te uipaanga e ko te ‘atoro atu anga ia ratou i vao ake i to te Atua koro’ (reaching […]
Encounters of faith and culture
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
Friday 3: Our Pacific is made up of islands with many different ethnic origins. Each cultural group has values and ways of living that are distinct but all are relatively successful efforts in a common search for the fullness of human life. FAITH calls on people to examine the good points as well as the […]
Celebration granted 12-month approval
Wednesday 1 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
27 March: Justice minister Kete Ioane has granted Celebration on the Rock church an extended 12 month provisional approval as a religious organisation on March 18. Ioane wrote to church leaders Murray and Nancy Watkinson in response to their application for government to recognise their church. The provisional approval is reportedly the first time a […]
God's view on alcohol and drunkenness
Wednesday 1 April 2009 | Published in Church Talk
27 March: To te Atua turanga no runga i te kava e te konakava To be drunk means: – to be intoxicated – to be under the influence – to be under some form of addiction – to be under the control of………. – to be put over – under – and beyond being one’s […]