Down to Earth Conversations

Music by Strahan:

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Monday Sep 20, 2021

36. Mataio Brown - Hair, Healing, and She is Not Your Rehab

Monday Sep 20, 2021

Mataio Faafetai Malietoa Brown - a.k.a. Matt Brown - is known for his business, My Fathers Barbers, and for the global movement that he started with his wife Sarah, She is Not Your Rehab, inviting men into a journey of healing and wholeness.

Matt and Sarah recently released the best selling book, She is Not Your Rehab, unpacking the kaupapa of the movement with insights from Matt's journey and their journey together.

Matt is a sought after speaker all around the world due to She is Not Your Rehab, yet still has a very grounded focus on family and friends. See his TedX talk that started the movement on YouTube.

We kōrero about hair art, barbershops, vulnerability, anger, healing, empathy, doing the internal mahi, and so much more.

Find My Fathers Barbers on Facebook or Instagram

Find She Is Not Your Rehab at sheisnotyourrehab.com or on Facebook or Instagram and find the book wherever books are sold.

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Music by Strahan:

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Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Sep 06, 2021

35. Courtney Manu - Followers, Finance, and Showing Up for Family

Monday Sep 06, 2021

Courtney Manu is your typical mum, wife, and business owner who just happens to have 13,000 Instagram followers. She built the following around helping people become aware of ways to become financially confident, beginning by sharing her and her husband's own journey out of debt.

We talk about social media, debt, vulnerability, investment, generosity, and how family fits into all of this.

Follow Courtney on Instagram at @themanuss

Find Manawatu Home Budgeting Service at mhbs.org.nz

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Aug 23, 2021

34. Dietrich Soakai - Knowing Yourself, Speaking Your Truth, and Being a Voyce

Monday Aug 23, 2021

Today we hear from Dietrich Soakai. A beautiful man with a huge heart, especially for rangatahi, or young people. Currently working for Voyce Whakarongo Mai in youth advocacy, Dietrich has spent a lot of time with young people helping them feel heard.

We talk about growing up in New Zealand as a Pacific Islander, how he discovered poetry and got into youth work and what he saw when those two things were held together, and what he is doing now in the area of child advocacy.

Some te reo Māori, or Māori language terms Dietrich uses include te āo Māori, meaning the Māori world or way of engaging with the world; rangatahi - young person; tamariki - children; pēpi - baby; and mana, which Dietrich uses in a way that loosely means worth or value as a person.

Look out for the challenge he leaves for us at the end of the kōrero.

Check out Voyce Whakarongo Mai on Facebook at facebook.com/VOYCEWhakarongoMai

Hear some of the Word the Frontline poets on Action Station's YouTube channel here

And hear some of Dietrich's own poems here

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Aug 09, 2021

33. James Harris - Human Dignity, Chess with Asylum Seekers, and Healing in the Australian Outback

Monday Aug 09, 2021

James Harris is passionate about people and has given his life to helping those less privileged than himself. This has led him around the world to a number of places that many of us would never dream of going.

We talk about his passion for youth work, justice, and doing good in the world, and hear how this has been outworked while living and working in Nauru with those in Australian detention centres, influencing the Prime Minister of New Zealand while working for World Vision NZ, and now serving youth in the outback of the land we now call Australia.

This conversation blew my mind and melted my heart, as I'm sure it will yours too.

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Jul 19, 2021

32. Lis Rate-Smith - Art, Addiction, and Printing in Prison

Monday Jul 19, 2021

Today's guest is Lis Rate-Smith from Drug-Arm, who heads up their Art East initiative.

Lis is an amazing human being who is using art to help people with addictions and/or poor mental health, and to support and upskill men in prison.

Art East recently received the Creative Space Award at the Te Putanga Toi Arts Access Awards, recognising the way that creativity is being used to make a difference in people's lives.

As well as the Art East space, Lis goes into Christchurch Men's Prison as part of the Navigate initiative, started by Pathway Trust (See episode 1) and teaches screen printing.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Lis and kōrero about how she got into this work, what it looks like, and where she can see it going. It's another fantastic tale of using who you are and what you have to make a difference in the world.

Find out about Drug Arm's Art-East at drugarm.co.nz/what-we-do/art-east/

Facebook: facebook.com/DrugArmChch

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Jul 05, 2021

31. Joel McKerrow - Creativity, Spirituality, and Seeking Justice

Monday Jul 05, 2021

Joel McKerrow is an award winning writer, speaker, educator, artist, and one of Australia’s most successful, internationally touring, performance poets. He is the artist ambassador for Tearfund Australia, and a big part of The Justice Conference in Australia.

In this conversation we talk about his creativity, how that connects with his spirituality which has changed over the years, how he got involved in issues of justice, and so much more. We even listen to one of his poems, released earlier this year.

He is inspiring, thought provoking, and is a totally relatable, down to earth human being.

Check out Joel's creativity at joelmckerrow.com including his exhibition 'Human'.

Find him on Facebook or Instagram

For Joel's poems head to Spotify or Youtube

And find "The Deep Place: On Spirituality and Creativity" podcast on Spotify or where you listen to podcasts.

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Jun 21, 2021

30. Naomi Nicholas - Waitangi, Four Eyes, and Learning Without Consuming

Monday Jun 21, 2021

Naomi Nicholas works for Karuwhā Trust. She is part of helping facilitate learning and understanding about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a.k.a. the Treaty of Waitangi, particularly amongst non-Māori. For those of you overseas and unfamiliar with it, Te Tiriti is the treaty that was signed between the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the British Crown in 1840. It is also a treaty that was then repeatedly breached by the colonisers, resulting in much pain and loss for Māori. Yet, understood well it is a great platform from which to work towards reconciliation and even justice.

Naomi shares about what she does in her role, what she notices about the revelations people have on their journeys, how non-Maori can appropriately learn the true history of this nation without simply consuming and taking all over again, and what hope she sees for the future of this country.

To read more about Parihaka Pā or to watch The Children of Parihaka documentary, head to https://nzhistory.govt.nz/occupation-pacifist-settlement-at-parihaka

There are a few Māori terms in the episode today - I've tried to capture them below with basic translations (with the help of maoridictionary.co.nz). In order of their mention in the episode the following terms are used...

Awa - river
Maunga - mountain
Pākehā - non-Māori (usually Caucasian)
Kaupapa - reason for being
Kaumātua - adult, elder - a person of status within the whānau (family), family group (hapu) or iwi (tribe).
Kuia - elderly woman
Haerenga - journey
Whānau - extended family
Whakapapa - genealogy
Tangata Tiriti - person of the treaty.
Tangata whenua - people of the land (indigenous people)
Tūrangawaewae - a standing, a place of standing
Te Pūtake o te Riri - a day commemorating the beginning of the land wars in Taranaki, New Zealand
Parihaka - a settlement in Taranaki that was the site of violent assault by the Crown, met with non-violent response by the Māori residents.
Hīkoi - walk
Whenua - land
Karuwhā - literally 'four eyes'. The nickname given to missionary Henry Williams who helped write the Māori version of the treaty.
Whaea - mother, aunty, sometimes for a woman simply as a term of endearment
Rōpu - group
Whakaiti - belittle, disparage, diminish, cheapen
Kāinga - home
Hapu - sub-tribe
Iwi - tribe
Hui - meeting, gathering, assembly
Ngā mihi nui ki a koe - thank you

Find Karuwhā Trust at karuwha.org.nz or at:

Facebook: facebook.com/Karuwha

Instagram: @karuwha_trust

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday Jun 07, 2021

29. Shane Claiborne - Mother Teresa, Beating Guns, and Holy Mischief

Monday Jun 07, 2021

Shane Claiborne is such a beautiful human being and it was a privilege to speak to him. As you will hear in the conversation he has his finger in many interlinking pies.

Shane is just so humble and relatable - just an ordinary guy - yet he has learned that his life can make a difference and has given himself to that.

Some of you will have listened to episode 17 with Caz Tod-Pearson from the Simple way. Shane is one of the founders of the Simple Way and is still part of that community in Philadelphia. We don't go into this so much because there is so much else to talk about but if you want to hear more about that go back and listen to that chat with Caz.

We cover his time with Mother Teresa, his activism and civil disobedience, his pacifism, including his time in Iraq during the war, and his fight against gun violence and the electric chair.

It's action packed and sure to leave you inspired

Find Shane at shaneclaiborne.com or at:

Facebook: facebook.com/ShaneClaiborne

Instagram: @shane.claiborne

Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

And check out redletterchristians.org for articles, resources, links and more.

Shane's books include Jesus for President; Red Letter Revolution; Common Prayer; Follow Me to Freedom; Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream; Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers; Executing Grace; Beating Guns; and his classic The Irresistible Revolution.

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Music by Strahan:

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Monday May 24, 2021

28. April McLennan - Equipping Youth for Lives of Passion and Purpose

Monday May 24, 2021

As an 18 year old, fresh out of school, April McLennan formed a charitable trust called Limitless to assist teenagers in finding a career path that fits their strengths and values. A few years in, four conferences down and she has learnt a lot. It was a privilege to hear some of that journey.

We talk about how and why it started, what opportunities or barriers being 18 was to getting it going, practicalities of starting a charity, and where she has seen her journey making a difference.

Check out Limitless at limitless.org.nz

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