While Sunday Sanctuary is on a break, we want to share episodes from podcasts that we think you'll really like. This week: Ngā Here - The Many Connections.

This episode is the first from season four, of which all the episodes are out now! If you like what you hear, then go and find Ngā Here wherever you listen to podcasts. Big thanks to James for letting us share this episode.

Follow Ngā Here on Instagram

Kia ora! Sunday Sanctuary is on a break until mid-October. Petra's schedule is VERY busy, and so it was decided that Sunday Sanctuary could take a back seat for a little bit. While we are taking a break from releasing normal episodes, we still have different blessings, and episodes of other podcasts that we think are great that we will be sharing with you!

This week, a blessing for what makes us us, from The Lives We Actually Have by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Read by Rev Frank Ritchie. The music is Old Peel by Aldous Harding.

Kia tau te rangimārie ki runga i a koutou. As-salamu alaykum. Shalom. Peace is so often something that we wish upon others, and even seek for ourselves. But what do we mean when we talk about peace? Can peace be more than just the absence of conflict, whether that is conflict within us or between people?

In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, producer Sam talks to spiritual director Shannon Mawdsley, activist Adrian Leason, and the Lead Chaplain of the NZDF, Dave Lacey, to hear how their perspectives on peacemaking align....and how they don't.

Petra then talks to Sunday Sanctuary regular Rev Frank Ritchie. They unpack what St Francis of Assisi meant when he prayed asking God to make him "an instrument of your peace".

Music:

- Mesa Redonda by Hermanos Gutierrez (played between Shannon's and Adrian's interviews)
- Hanoi 6 by Unknown Mortal Orchestra (played between Adrian's and Dave's interviews)
- Nouh Al Hamam by Maryam Saleh (played between Dave's and Shannon's interviews)
- TUMUTUMU MAUNGA by Sanguine (played to end the first half)
- We Got To Have Peace by Curtis Mayfield
- Las Petits Gris by Khruangbin (played during the candle segment)
- Peace Piece by Bill Evans Trio
- Hope by Fat Freddy's Drop (played at the end of the episode)

Kids play all the time. So do animals in fact. But adults… much less so. Why do we lose our passion for play when we get older? And what else do we lose in the process? We go on a journey to explore the importance of adult play (not that kind). Come with us!

Sacred Texts:

• Stephen Nachmanovitch’s Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art
• G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009)

Music:

• Sweet Release by Common Saints
• My Boy by Marlon Williams
• We Move Lightly by Dustin O’Halloran
• Reflections from Rocky Soundtrack
• Happy by Pharrell Williams
• Play with Me by The Album Leaf

There seems to be a sea of things that we can find overwhelming these days. How do we move through it all without becoming bogged down? In this episode, producer Sam talks to Phoebe Atkinson, Lissy Cole, and Rudi Robinson about the ways they see and approach overwhelming circumstances. Later on, Petra sits down with Rachel Kitchens, a spiritual director, to talk about her own experiences and a handful of practical tips. To be clear, this episode doesn't address the overwhelming nature of serious physical or mental health issues. The sense of overwhelm focussed on applies to otherwise healthy people who find either personal or global circumstances to be just too much at times. Wherever you're at, feel free to join us.

Haere mai!

Sacred Texts:

• Michael Leunig's poem
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (pages 102 to 104)

Music:

• Come and Play in the Milky Night - Demo by Stereolab (played to open Phoebe's interview)
• Huia by Aro (played to open Lissy and Rudi's interview)
• Cumbia Sobre el Mar y Quantic (played during Sam's bike ride)
• Those Days by Dal and Leah Yager (played during Michael Leunig's poem)
• You Got The Love by Candi Staton and The Source
• Space 1 by Nala Sinephro (played during Tuesdays with Morrie reading)
• Sun Rays Like Stilts by Tommy Geurero (played to end communion)
• Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
• FTA by Whitney (played to end Rachel's interview)
• Space is the Place by Ezra Collective (played during the benediction)

Are we living in an age that's ugly by design? This question arose after Petra and producer Sam read an article by the writer Andrew Shamy. The second in a series called "The Museum of Things We've Lost", Andrew unpacks the role of beauty and the consequences of its absence. In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra is joined by both Andrew and architectural design lecturer Abby Temby-Spence. As always, space is made for reflection alongside great waiata/music. Haere mai!

Sacred texts:

• Andrew Shamy's article. His whole substack is well worth looking through, and maybe even subscribing to....
• This edition of Nick Cave's Red Hand Files

Music:

1. You are the Gold by Terrible Sons (Intro song)
2. Climb by Laura Misch (played at the end of the into)
3. 100% by Boycrush (played at the end of Andrew's interview)
4. Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole
5. Moon Age by Duster (played underneath Nick Cave's Red hand File)
6. Slider - Lorenzo Saxophone Dub by This Is The Kit (played during the time for contemplation)
7. Wash by Bon Iver (played at the end of communion)
8. I Love My Leather Jacket by The Chills
9. Two Fish and an Elephant by Khruangbin (played to end Abby's interview)
10. Caja de la Sala by Khruangbin (played under Petra's poem)

Mānawatia a Matariki!! Producer Sam has a brief thought to share tied to Matariki weekend. We hope you find space to embrace the themes of Matariki this year.

We'll be back next week with a new episode.

Music:

- Ruru by Aro

Prayer is something found is almost every culture and society in the world. It's so ubiquitous that even some of those who descibe themselves as non-religious or atheist have resorted to prayer at times. In this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, Petra goes looking for answers about the different forms that prayer can take, and what role it can play in our lives. Along the way, she talks to broadcaster and champion of the Māori language, Stacey Morrison, about karakia and inoi. After a short chat with producer Sam, Petra ropes in Strahan Coleman to ask about the role of prayer in deepening our relationship with God.

Haere mai (come along)!!

Sacred Text:

• This scene from the film It's a Wonderful Life

Music:

• A Calf Born in Winter by Khraugbin (played at the end of the intro)
• Instrumental by The Fuzzy Robes (Played at the end of Stacey's interview)
• 2516 by Luna Li (Played just before the ad break)
• I Say a Little Prayer For You by Aretha Franklin
• Wichita Lineman (Instrumental) by Fatback Band (Played during community life)
• Solar Gap by Hinds (Played during communion)
• Come Ye by Nina Simone
• The Guitar is Dead 3 by Horsegirl (Played to bridge the conversations with Sam and Strahan)
• Just Saying by Jamie xx (Played to end Strahan's interview)
• Those Days by Dal (Played at the end of the episode)

Big thanks to St Paul's here in Auckland for letting producer Sam book a spot in their 24/7 prayer room!