Blessings and Family Stories

This week we continued the theme of blessings/karakia and whakapapa/family connections. Mainly because we had a bunch of people who hadn't done it before. We tried out using the pepeha/personal introduction as inspiration for a creative or family story. One is included here, hopefully more in future.


BLESSINGS FOR FOOD

Bless this gift of food
Prepared by many hands
Many cooks won't spoil this broth
Enjoy
May your belly swell with pleasure

- Robert


God of wild berries and cultivated kumara, god of freshwater trout and seafood gathered from the beach, god of barn and chickens and free roaming deer; by the hand of the hunter, the farmer and the fisherman, this food has come to us. As we eat, let us acknowledge their work and Your provision. Let us eat to satisfaction, but not to excess, mindful of demands on earth and sea; let us strive in gratitude to return to You what You have given us.

- Helen Ledger


We all came together the same way
Mother nature bless us today
Thank you for the kai to make us strong
From young as babies as we carry on
Let us enjoy this meal for all
And help our talents big or small
Bring us luck and enjoy our kai
Thank you Lord, kapai
In Jesus' name, Amene

- Vincent Clayton



THE JACKSON FAMILY

The 'Bangalore' left England in 1853 with the Jackson family on it. They sailed over to New Zealand which took about three months. After the boat landed in Lyttleton, they got off and looked around in dismay. Only a couple of houses and a long walk over the Port Hills greeted them. Struggling up the hill they saw the Canterbury Plains stretching into the distance, covered in bush with only a small settlement of houses in Christchurch. The family consisted of mother, two daughters, six or more sons, a son-in-law and grand daughter. My great-great-grandfather, Ambrose Jackson, was about eight at the time. The family settled in Papanui where the elder boys worked with bricks. Ambrose eventually lived in Waimate by the Hunter Hills where he was a fruit grower.

- Gail Palmer



THE FLYING MIST

The 'Flying Mist' arrived on a windswept rainy day. William, Helen and baby Euphemia looked out at this new land. Their new home. They had travelled across the oceans for three months to arrive to weather that was all too familiar to this young Scottish family. Well, at least it can't get worse they thought. As they got closer to land they saw it looming up ahead - the monro they later learned was called 'Bluff Hill'. They looked at their possessions and wondered how they were going to get themselves up and over this monster.

- Christine Philp

Blessings

Today we tried our hand at writing a blessing with the thought that these could be used at Artsenta or events. In Maori tradition there are three main blessings or karakia - one for opening an event or meeting, one for closing and one for food. The first below is for an opening and the other three are blessings for food.


Our Father we thank you for your kindness
We uphold your name in this place
Great and mighty God of this place
Bless us
End all hostilities as we gather together
Let us gather together and remember
Those who have gone before us
Let us gather together and remember
Those who are alive
We pray your blessings on us and our children
May the God of peace guide us
For these blessings we pray
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen

- Haki Davis



Mother nature brought us here today
We give thanks and praise
Acknowledgement of our weaknesses and strengths
For the well being of this kai
Keep us safe together
For the enjoyment of all walks of life
We are truly thankful
Arohanui
Arohamai
Go forward with strength, honour and respect
For all of our talents
Amen

- Vincent Clayton



Lord God,
Give us this day our daily bread,
To fill us up from our toes to our head.
We give thanks to those who made our food,
Once we're all fed, we'll have a good mood.
We also give thanks for the land and sea,
Meat and veges, oh let it be.
Bless this food we are about to receive,
We hope it's yum so we don't all leave.
Amen

- Katie-Rose McRobbie



Shakespeare said:
'If music be the food of love - play on!'
      I say:
'If food be the music of love - dig in!
But enjoy it slowly
Savour each mouthful
Have enough, but not too much
Share the bounty with your friends
Give and you will receive
Good karma
     Utu
Fulfillment.

- Paul Smith

Artsenta Writer, Recent Works

A Collection of Recent Works by Eleanor Harrison


How to Define Oneself
A Collector of Found Objects,
A listener, a reflector, A Gazer
A Woman, A writer! A maker,
A Polymath! An opener, A Potter,
An Unconditional Leo Lover,
A Capricorn Moon, An Observer,
A Cancer Sun with Libra Rising,
The Balancer,
The Passive yet Stern.,
I finally know what I want and how to speak,
How to be productive,
How to be Alone.
How to treat others consistency with love and respect,
A Giver of Time,
An abundance of Ideas,
A survivor of Cruel Experiences,
that did not come close to shattering my essence;
for I have learnt to greet suffering with a smile,
and oh how our emotions are so fleeting,
They will always pass and so will the pain.
For my words have always been pushed aside
and so I hesitate to speak,
and they only care for your appearance,
But I have found true light and strength within myself
and only I know the true power of my words;
for that is how I have healed myself, time & time again,
and if only you could see me now.

Tearing
Tearing off my Personality
When you are born, two individuals exist under one.
Your personality - which is ever changing,
From Birth, your personality is affected by the family you are born into,
place, time, circumstance. Your essence is your true divine nature.
Your constant stable I. Your true consciousness that always exists within you.
From Birth we are taught to suppress this.
Our divine, all encompassing, unconditionally loving nature until
we all become truly mechanical beings without any sense of ourselves but falsehood.
Tear off your personality!
Tear off your false ideals!
Humans may say they like something one day, then the next say they despise that same thing.
Humans do not know themselves.
What we think we are is not what we rationally are.
To become truly closer to oneself - one must remove all these made up selves.
To see what is true outside of us, we must be able to see what is true within us.

Desperation
Only I can know how much I can Endure
Only I can bite my tongue for so long
Only I try to never complain
Try to be always grateful
Only I can fend for myself & those around me
Only I know how to love my family despite I am invisible
Only I care for my Mother and siblings,
Only I compromise,
Only I know how to make myself happy,
Only I know how to take care of myself
Only I know the extent of my past,
Only I know how much I have grown,
Only I know how to truly care for others,
Only I know how to smile while blood is trickling down me,
Only I wake up everyday and demand I do something productive,
Only I demand a future for myself,
Only I walk 11km to the nearest waterfall to dunk my head after being without a shower for two weeks. Only I can pretend I have my reality together.
Only I know the extend of my pain, and despite that,
Only I know to persevere.