My Easter Experience

Easter came a little earlier this year and it intrigues me how many folk don't seem to realise that this Christian event should be a time of reflection and not just an opportunity to have a long weekend off work or an extended lie-in or even waste time trolling a shopping Mall!

My Dad was basically a "Sunworshipper" although I know he came from a Christian background. His mantra was "If the Sun doesn't come up in the morning, the World is doomed and we might as well go back to bed!" Dad told us that we weren't all baptised as children because he preferred us to make our own decision and not be basically forced to take any particular religion. My Mother was a baptised Anglican although she was born in Scotland and she often regaled us with stories of her time in the choir at St Mary's Cathedral in Parnell. As children we often attended Sunday School bible classes in a building at the top of the Parnell Rise and I remember always enjoying singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" with gusto! A  lady by the name of "Mrs Peel" played the organ and ran the services. This small Mission was assisted by my Grandfather, who had attended a similar set-up in Oldham in the UK and a small Boystown group was formed there as well, probably inspired by his involvement as a child in the Salford Lads Club in Manchester. I believe my older brother attended St Josephs Catholic school in Parnell for a short period, before we all attended Parnell Primary School in Gladstone Rd.



Knox Church & Hall Parnell.

 As a preschooler I attended Kindergarten at the Knox Presbyterian hall in Parnell and remember walking up Parnell road with other little folk, while hanging onto a long rope. This is what is known as a walking bus today (sorry all you young folk, we had this in the 1940s already, it ain't new!) I was also a member of the Parnell St Mary's Cub and Scout troop and our activities all took place at the rear of St Mary's church. My Sister was also christened in the Anglican church, but as we grew up, religion was never forced on us as individuals and I believe this made it more interesting. Even today, I don't enjoy being harangued about Religion by any person in a pulpit either at a funeral or a wedding. Over the years I have met many Ministers/Priests who have impressed me with their dedication to their cause and I have enjoyed their company and their ability to communicate their position on religion as they understand it. All in all I had a good grounding in a variety of religious organisations, including the YMCA as a teenager and in my opinion the youth of today are missing a valuable experience and are not being taught the basic principles of Christianity which have stood the test of time until the recent downgrading of our Christian Society. (Here Endeth the Rant!)

Holy Cross Church Henderson

Other notable religious events occurred in my life, including my first purchase of land in Henderson a suburb of West Auckland for a deposit of 30 pounds. The property was part of a small cul de-sac that was owned by the Catholic Church and my deed of ownership shows that I purchased this section from the Catholic Archbishop of Auckland, Archbishop Liston who was very famous in his day and had been a very loyal supporter of the Irish State. He was widely regarded as this country’s Catholic “patriarch”. The only artifact I ever dug up was a small piece of pottery, but no fancy expensive gold crucifixes. Further down the next street was Holy Cross Catholic church and school and in a Convent next to the school a group of Nuns lived. Later on, they moved out and a number of Capuchin Friars arrived and it was wonderful having these pleasant young men from a society founded by St Francis of Assisi walking around, dressed in cassocks and sandals, and they gave the district a rather nice "Old World" atmosphere.

St Mary's Church Avondale NZ

My most notable experience was when I was formally baptised at the age of 24 into the Roman Catholic Faith. I had decided that I would marry my then fiancee' in the church and in those days it was insisted that both should be Catholic. I met with a Father McGrath at St Mary's Catholic church in Avondale Auckland and began a series of instruction in the Faith and over a period of months I became a convert to the Faith. I loved the services I attended and especially as a lot of it was in Latin and I also enjoyed the lesson in self denial each Friday where fish replaced meat for dinner. Just before Easter, I was baptised and shortly after Easter we were married. I had always worn a St Christopher medal for good luck, but I swapped this for a lovely gold crucifix which I then wore for many years. Some years later we had a major family crisis and my marriage failed and after my wife left our home I became a solo parent with three children, 7,5 and 10 months. In the beginning I was a bit of an emotional wreck and one night I decided I would go to the church I was baptised in and speak with Father McGrath. The Church was some miles away and it was quite late when I knocked on his door and I was greeted by his housekeeper who told me he wasn't available and to come back another day. I was a bit stunned by this remark and I felt rather flat on the way home. Some months later I went to Holy Cross for some private prayer and the church was locked! I was told the next day that the church would be closed "after hours" as there had been some vandalism. My faith was dented and over the next few years I closed my mind to religion except for official occasions, such as weddings, baptisms etc. (I note in the UK news today, that many churches have had to be locked because of vandalism)

12 years ago I was diagnosed with Melanoma cancer and after a number of tests, I had a large cancerous growth removed from my back. 5 years later in a routine check, my surgeon was devastated to find another melanoma under my left arm pit. I then had more surgery and my lymph nodes were removed. I now have a 3 monthly check at the local hospital to keep an eye on more appearances. (Fortunately, there have been no more to date.) Then 6 years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had major surgery to remove this cancer. I was beginning to wonder if I was being punished in some way for my lack of faith.

St Johns Catholic Church Parnell

A couple of days before I had the surgery, we had our last meeting with our Volunteers who assist us in folding and collating our fortnightly print production. We make a donation to this Baptist Church group and this money is used to assist their overseas Missionaries who do charitable work in a number of countries. When the group gathered for our usual extensive"after work" afternoon tea, they asked me to sit in a chair next to Lyn and then they spontaneously gathered around us and enquired if I would agree to them saying a prayer for my successful surgery and a quick return to good health. Without any hesitation I agreed and the Leader of their prayer group began to speak, while the rest of the group occasionally murmured assent during the spoken prayer, which lasted possibly two minutes. It is difficult to explain a sudden feeling of relaxation that came over me and in fact I can remember a slight feeling of electric type stimulation that enveloped my whole body. I had never experienced anything quite like it (and I have not experienced it since) You can call it my "epiphany" but I could not explain this wonderful feeling that was so strong and yet it left me feeling very calm and suddenly untroubled! (I have not spoken to anyone about this before.) Perhaps there is something about the power of prayer and I will always remember this moment with amazement and even gratitude for their support.

Celtic Cross

I had the surgery and although the surgeon did not clear the cancer 100% I am still alive seven years after. I continue to see specialists every three months and I am having hormone treatment which is keeping me on a steady course. I remember well the night Father McGrath explained that "Religion was 100% about believing and if you didn't believe, well you might as well not bother at all." I BELIEVE!

I hope you have had a rewarding and peaceful Easter.








Paul Thomas from the NZ Herald writes in his column that Easter should be a time to "shop till you drop" if so desired.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10798699
I wouldn't want to try and dissuade anyone from doing what they want to do, but Easter IS a religious celebration and we should remember that in our so called "secular society"