Features
'Celebration' also time to ask some tough questions
Monday 12 January 2015 | Published in Features
Cook Islander Thomas Tarurongo Wynne moved home in 2011 to take on his role as Tereora College’s guidance counsellor.
Will Crummer croons away the years
Monday 12 January 2015 | Published in Features
“I’m back in the race, I’m racing and I love it baby!” are the enthusiastic words Rarotonga master singer Will Crummer uses to describe a singing career that started many years ago, and continues to grow.
PM sings stars' praises
Friday 9 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Prime Minister Henry Puna had a chance meeting with Rarotonga singing sensations Annie Crummer and dad Will Crummer during breakfast yesterday morning at the Islander Hotel where the stars have been staying.
Interesting year starts and ends on a high note
Friday 9 January 2015 | Published in Church Talk
‘Our isolation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean no longer protects our unique identity’.
Royal reception for talented Crummers
Thursday 8 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Feasting and live singing was the order of the day when the Cook Islands National Council of Women hosted legendary crooner Will Crummer, his band the Royal Rarotongans and of course his equally talented songstress daughter Annie Crummer to a kaikai this week.
Royal treatment for singing legends
Thursday 8 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Cook Islands journalist Lisa Williams-Lahari shared these two photos of musician Will Crummer and his daughter Annie Crummer and accompanying band the Royal Rarotongans being hosted by the Cook Islands National Council of Women.
Year's celebrations start in style with two great concerts
Tuesday 6 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
The celebration of 50 years of self-government has started with a bang, with concerts on Rarotonga and Aitutaki welcoming the New Year and celebrations of the country’s treasures and milestone event still to come.
Remember the spirit of giving this year
Monday 5 January 2015 | Published in Church Talk
As we celebrate this festive season, our thoughts turn to that sacred event long ago when the Prince of Peace and the Light of the World was born,
Services to the arts merit honour for Cook Islander
Saturday 3 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
A Cook Islander has received the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Arts and Pacific community.
Dancing in the 2015 New Year
Saturday 3 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Dancing has been the main activity on the island and dancing in the New Year was kicked off in style with the dancing arrival of legendary Rarotongan musician Will Crummer on Wednesday afternoon.
Concert prayers answered as rain holds off till finale
Saturday 3 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Motone co-director Glenda Tuaine said she’d been praying the rain would hold off – and so it did for most of the Tarekareka ‘Our People, Our Music,’ concert
Legend's dancing return
Saturday 3 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
When legendary Cook Islands musician Will Crummer stepped off the plane and on to the tarmac at Rarotonga Airport on Wednesday afternoon,
Will Crummer dances his way home to perform at Tarekareka concert
Thursday 1 January 2015 | Published in Entertainment
Legendary Rarotonga musician Will Crummer proved that despite being away from home for nearly 55-years – he still had his island boy moves and charm
Pack your dancing jandals, rain won't stop this show!
Wednesday 31 December 2014 | Published in Entertainment
Pack your umbrellas and dancing jandals for the highly anticipated Tarekareka 2015 concert ‘Our People Our Music’ showcasing the islands musical talents.
Top Stories online this year - Rego plate theft made it big
Wednesday 31 December 2014 | Published in Features
The 11 most popular stories on cookislandsnews.com this year ranged from the rugby stars marrying on Rarotonga to criminal acts that outraged our community.
Double banger gives 2015 explosive start
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Entertainment
The arrival of 2015 will mark the start of an epic year of cultural festivities as the nation gears up for the 50th anniversary of self-independence.
Community on board for Tarekareka 2015
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Entertainment
Tarekareka 2015 – Our People Our Music Our Concert has received great support from community- minded businesses on Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
Peace on Earth to those of goodwill
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Church Talk
If you look into the Scriptures, you will find that angels encircled the entire life of Jesus. From the angel’s invitation asking Mary to welcome Jesus into her womb (Luke 1: 26) to the blessed moment of an angel announcing his being raised from the dead (Luke 24:4). In between there was the angel that appeared to Joseph in his dreams telling him not to divorce Mary. (Matthew 1: 20). Then there were the angels at his birth (Luke 2:8), calling forth wonder, awe, and gratitude. The angel that appeared to Joseph informing him that Herod would kill Jesus if he found him and that he should take his family and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2: 13). I want to focus on the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It was the custom that when a child was born, the local musicians would gather at the house to greet the child with simple music. As Jesus was born in a stable outside of Bethlehem, this ceremony would not have been carried out. So the music came from angels. Scripture even gives us the words of the song they sang. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours. (Luke 2: 14) It is a song which unites heaven and earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to earth and all its people. In choosing a message for Christmas, one message stands out for me over all others and that is Christmas calls us “to give glory to God, for He is good, He is faithful, He is merciful.” I hope we can all come to know the true face of God the Father, who has given us Jesus. And if we do discover this, our response will be to glorify God by spending our lives for love of him and of all our brothers and sisters. Starting on Christmas Eve, and again Christmas Day itself, our churches here in the Cook Islands would have reflected our giving this glory and honour to God by our attendance at church services. Like the Shepherds on hearing the angels’ message, we too need to “Go up to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us.” (Luke 2: 15) The special hymns of the night – those solemn Christmas carols, the various decorations according to our traditions, all bring home to us that God has been faithful to his promises. That God is with us as the word Emmanuel implies. Peace to Mankind Equally, powerful in the Christmas message is that God has come to bring “Peace to Mankind”. In the words of scripture, “And peace to men who enjoy his favour”. Luke 2: 14 The lead up to Christmas for me in 2014 has not been particularly peaceful as I watch the news each night on television: The new threat of Isis in Iraq and Syria. A large number of schoolgirls still missing in Nigeria who will not be able to celebrate Christmas with their families. Another group of schoolchildren missing in Mexico. The slaying of 132 school children and ten of their teachers in Pakistan. These events happening in parts of the world relatively remote from the Cook Islands are easy to ignore. But then the siege in central Sydney, where hostages were held by an armed gunman, is not a world away from us. His eventual slaying of two innocent hostages brings the issue into our part of the world where it starts to register. This is the backyard of some Cook Islanders. If it can happen in Sydney it can happen anywhere. Even America with the shooting or taking of lives of African-American citizens by police and the subsequent negative response by the authorities means that what is considered the civilised world has it problems too in maintaining peace. We are used to living in a peaceful, tolerant, secure society, free to go about our daily business as we choose, without fear. Further darkness in the pre-Christmas season was the mother who killed seven of her own children and a niece outside of Cairns in Queensland. And not all this violence is the work of terrorists. The harmful effect of drugs darkens normal life. Perhaps the incident in Otara in Auckland last weekend when someone lost their life as a result of a disagreement over music being played at a party talks loudest of the chaos darkness brings about. Our main street, Te Ara Maire Nui, is beautifully decorated with Christmas lights for Christmas. Outside our Catholic cathedral is a Christmas crib and a well-lit Christmas tree. On the Sunday night before Christmas, our youth entertained us for three hours with carols and acting out the Christmas story. Various ethnic groups making up our community participated, reflecting how Christmas is celebrated in other countries. And I am sure it would have been the same or better in other churches around the country. We did prepare for the arrival of the Light of Christ. The Mixture of Darkness and Light There is a mixture of darkness and light. That is though true to reality, as it often is, true also to the Gospel. In the middle of all the romance of Christmas, the astonishing good news of God made man for us, the angels, shepherds and wise men adoring, the Gospels report that all was not quite as it ought to be. There is suspicion about the pregnancy. The husband considers divorcing his wife. A mother nearing labour is required to travel a great distance and there is no room for them at the inn. The child is delivered in the squalor of a cave for animals. In the temple, the proud parents are warned of trouble ahead and the family must flee as refugees to a strange land. Meanwhile Herod’s henchmen kill the rest of the little children born at the same time as Jesus. So I should not be surprised that the backdrop to the light which dawned for us at Christmas is in fact darkness. The Way, the Truth and the Life come to people who often lose their way, to a civilisation sometimes more comfortable with lies than truth, to what is a culture of death more than a culture of life. The Christ is threatened from the moment of his birth until the violence of the world finally catches up with him on the cross. And our world today is every bit as mixed up as it was at the first Christmas. There is plenty of talk of human rights, the dignity of the person, equal respect and care. We have all the modern day resources and technologies and know how to help people through troubled times. Even here in the Cook Islands I am aware of people falling through the cracks despite the good resources available. We Christians do believe that the Babe of Bethlehem is the Prince of peace, the God who is with us, that God is one of us, God is saving us. So why, if the Prince of Peace has come, do these terrible things keep happening? My colleague the archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Fisher put it this way after the siege in Sydney. Perhaps the answer is in the first Christmas carol; when the angels sang ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those of good will.’ The God who saves still leaves men and women free. We choose whether to be of good will or not. The Christ child proposes peace, again and again. He gives us the wherewithal to be reconciled and live peacefully with our neighbours; but in the end we choose whether to live in his kingdom, by his values. There is something greater than hatred and violence. There is love, that humble self-giving love that comes in the shape of the Christmas Babe, the Prince of Peace. He can soften the hardest of hearts. He can convert the most hardened of sinners. Come Prince of Peace, Come, O Come Emmanuel. Bishop Paul Donoghue. (Catholic Church.)
Tarekareka 2015 - Our People, Our Music
Saturday 20 December 2014 | Published in Entertainment
Nukupure Park in Ngatangiia is without a doubt the only place to be on New Years Day with Cook Islands songstress (pictured) Annie Crummer among the star-studded Tarekareka 2015 - Our People Our Music concert.
Selfless missionary paid with his life
Saturday 20 December 2014 | Published in Church Talk
In this week’s church talk column, Rev Iana Aitau shares more about the early Cook Islands missionaries who served in Papua New Guinea.
« Previous 1 … 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 … 229 Next »