by tashmcgill | Nov 7, 2012 | Culture & Ideas, Love & Marriage
I’m currently in one of my favorite writing spaces; facing south west as the Pacific Surfliner cruises out of Los Angeles and towards San Diego.
The airport today was a flurry of businessmen rushing off the plane, followed by exhausted parents of small people giddy with dreams of stars on Hollywood Blvd and the theme parks of Anaheim. The NZ Maori rugby team were in transit to London. And I, a tapestry of weaving emotions felt like I was both leaving and coming home.
What is home, anyway? I’ve been defining and redefining home my entire life. I’ve found home in places, events, moments in time, music, bars. But home is people too, so maybe the old adage is true, home really is where the heart is and the heart can only be found with people. (more…)
by tashmcgill | Oct 25, 2012 | Prose & Poetry
I like to write; in that freeform manner where poems might be songs or just lilting prose. Sometimes I start and don’t finish for months, like this little piece about seasons, resources and trust. (more…)
by tashmcgill | Oct 25, 2012 | Writing Work
I have written on travel for a variety of magazines, newspapers and blogs.
Mostly by commission or as an invited guest, sometimes under my own steam so as to share the adventures. You can read my work for the NZ Herald or you can read some of my work on Blogger at Large at Megan’s site.
My natural love of storytelling, writing and travel has birthed a lifelong love of sharing my travel adventures and inspiring others to embrace experiencing the world.
Talk to me about travel, tourism, travel writing and the digital world.
by tashmcgill | Oct 25, 2012 | Writing Work
Over the course of 15 months during 2010 – 2012, I had the privilege of working with my dear friend Mark Oestreicher, on a refreshed edition of The Way bible, the original bible for young adults released in the 1970s’. As a child, my parents had a copy of the infamous green cover with black and white photography. It was a defining project to bring New Zealand stories to life with interviews and testimonies, as well as contributing to the book introductions, applications, laments and the photography elements within the final edition. It’s available online and in stores here in New Zealand.
If you would like to talk to me about The Way, contact me here.
by tashmcgill | Oct 19, 2012 | Culture & Ideas, Love & Marriage, Spirituality
This weekend, I’m going to be participating in a conversation about same-sex marriage, the various views on the subject and our response as a Christian faith community, as well as the implications. This is a subject I’ve been waiting on for years – because it’s a magnificent opportunity to redefine marriage at every level.
I first wrote about the definition of marriage as spiritual vs legal before it was even conceivable that the New Zealand government would move towards this legislation in the next 30 years. It was circa 1996 and reeling from the speedy marriage and divorce of some friends, I questioned the legal and civil process by which the dissolution of the marriage took place, in comparison to the associated impact on children, community and relationships.
The same-sex marriage debate raises those thoughts for me again, because I believe in order to have a reasonable discussion, you need to approach the debate with the right questions. So, I’ll quote from a piece I wrote for Christianity Today (bearing in mind that the last paragraph was edited externally) but here’s the quick summary.
- Marriage of any kind, is not the domain of the Church alone. Cultures throughout history have formed marriage rituals for the formalization of societal arrangements by which to raise children and manage property.
- Why should ministers of religion be charged with carrying out civil tasks?
- Can it be possible for the Church to decline to marry those with opposing beliefs around human sexuality, but not refuse those who decline any spiritual belief at all?
- Entering into the state of Marriage (legal) does not presume entry into any spiritual state of marriage, a holy union or otherwise. In it’s essence, the marriage licenses we sign are contracts, made with promises but they are not promises of spiritual intent and union.
(more…)
