He was once a heavy metal musican about to hit the big time when he put a rifle to his head and contemplated pulling the trigger.

But after "a radical encounter with Jesus," he put down the gun and picked up a bible instead.

He laughs as he recounts the day in his early 20s when he had long hair and eyes black with eyeliner.

That was decades ago and, while his life has changed, Eldred still hasn't put down his guitar.

Last Saturday Eldred performed with his band Good As Gold and cooked up some of his favourite recipes at The Ragin' Cajun Louisiana Hoedown in Featherston's Anzac Hall.

It was part of a fundraiser for the historic St Mark's Church.

It is the oldest Anglican church in the Wellington Diocese still in daily use.

Eldred moved to New Zealand with his wife Justine in 2003 to work as a youth pastor in Kapiti.

He was appointed to Greytown's St Luke's Church in 2009 and then to St Mark's in Carterton in May 2017.

His unique background gives him a somewhat unorthodox approach to his ministry.

He said he interpreted the bible in a way that related to the world as it is now.

"There's been a lot of parishioners who over the last few years have passed away and they were regular contributors.

"Part of my job was to come here and revitalise things, get some younger families and people involved, and try and build that core of support and resource back up."

Featherson, Greytown and Carterton are small rural towns in South Wairarapa.

Source

• times-age.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: times-age.co.nz

Matt will be joined by support acts, New Zealand performers, Grace Worship and Monique Holden. Since launching his 2008 major label debut, Maher has become a staple in the artistic and songwriting community.

A five-time Grammy nominee, he has had multiple radio successes writing and recording songs like "Lord, I Need You," "Hold Us Together," "Christ Is Risen," "All The People Said Amen" and "Your Grace Is Enough." This concert is suitable for families and all ages and will take place at Victory Convention Centre, Freemans Bay, Auckland.

If you buy 10 tickets or more you receive a discount of 20%. Follow instructions on the concert website and use the promotional code: MATTMAHER2017

To book tickets and for further details please visit www.MattMaherConcert.nz

Supplied: Amanda Gregan New Zealand Catholic Bishops' conference

Peter was born in England but travelled to New Zealand in 1958 to take up the position of Lecturer in Music at Auckland University, which he held from 1958-1973.

Later he became Professor of Music until 1982 (1974-1982). During this time he directed Auckland's Dorian Choir. He was then Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral in Wellington (1983-89) Continue reading

They go on stage wearing traditional black-and-white habits

The Sisters, who come from eight countries and range in age from 20s to 40s, insist they aren't rock stars. But they certainly act the part when on stage performing. Read more

The concert took place to launch Angel of the Forest, a new album by well known singer, Fr Chris Skinner.

A special feature of the concert was the performance of five songs with lyrics by another well known priest Fr James Lyons.

The album also contains Song for you co-written with John Matteson and four songs with both lyrics and music by Chris.

The title refers to the Kotuku (white heron).

One of the unique features of the concert was that both artists had time to explain how the words and music came about.

Mother of Mercy carried a message about how sorrow and pain might be met by compassion and mercy.

Lyons explained that the phrase thieves of innocence compelled him as he wrote it.

"'You hold seeds for the planting in the soil of our sorrow' was a line that spoke gently and powerfully to me, said Margaret Riordan, who was at the concert.

Another song Into my Life had lyrics by Lyons that spoke of thankfulness for precious friendships in our lives.

"As Fr Chris wove the beautiful melody with his voice, I was grateful for all those who came to my mind," said Riordan.

"One of my favourite songs had an ecological theme - Kotuku".

"I especially loved the way the words of the Maori proverb, ‘He Kotuku rerenga tahi' just flowed from Chris's voice into the air - as if the majestic kotuku was taking flight," she said.

The last song from the album was Mum and Dad which Chris wrote after looking at his parents' wedding photograph.

It was a gentle reflection on love, hope, dreams and memories.

The concert concluded with few audience requests.

‘Sons of Gallipoli' was sung with gusto by all, and was clearly a song that has been adopted with enthusiasm by the parish.

Chris says the album contains some very moving songs and some lively upbeat compositions.

"This is truly something quite different given the collaboration that has taken place and the arrangements have a real celtic flavour," he says.

• Click here for the titles and lyrics of the songs.
• Click here to order a copy of the CD.

Source

• Supplied Margaret Riordan
• Image Supplied

I listened to hundreds of hymns on Spotify; I interviewed a bunch of hymn experts.

What, I asked them, was the most successful contemporary hymn—the modern successor to "Morning Has Broken" or "Amazing Grace"?

Some cited recently written traditional church hymns; others mentioned songs by popular Christian musicians.

But one scholar pointed in a different direction: "If you're willing to construe the term ‘hymn' liberally, then the most heard, most successful hymn of the last few decades could be ‘I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,' by U2."

Most people think of U2 as a wildly popular rock band.

Actually, they're a wildly popular, semi-secretly Christian rock band.

In some ways, this seems obvious: a song on one recent album was called "Yahweh," and where else would the streets have no name?

But even critics and fans who say that they know about U2's Christianity often underestimate how important it is to the band's music, and to the U2 phenomenon.

The result has been a divide that's unusual in pop culture.

While secular listeners tend to think of U2's religiosity as preachy window dressing, religious listeners see faith as central to the band's identity.

To some people, Bono's lyrics are treacly platitudes, verging on nonsense; to others, they're thoughtful, searching, and profound meditations on faith. Continue reading

Source

• Joshua Rothman in The New Yorker

Joshua Rothman is The New Yorker's archive editor.