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====McConnell====
====McConnell====
My grandfather on my maternal side, Dr. W. F. McConnell, practiced as a [[General practitioner|general medical practitioner]] in [[Mount Albert, New Zealand|Mt. Albert]] for nearly 50 years, and a returned serviceman from [[World War II]], and is now retired and still in Mt. Albert. He studied [[medicine]] at [[Otago University]] before serving with the [[Maori 28th Battalion|28th Maori Battalion]] in [[Italy]], [[Crete]], [[Egypt]] and [[New Caledonia]]. His father William McConnell owned a number of pubs around [[Thames, New Zealand|Thames]], including the [[Puriri, New Zealand|Puriri]] and a hotel in [[Whitianga]], and also owned the peak of the [[Moehau Range]] and the old [[granite]] [[wharf]] below. However he went bust when a [[Kauri]] logging venture failed and a business partner ripped him off, and lost many of his assets.
My grandfather on my maternal side, Dr. W. F. McConnell, practiced as a [[General practitioner|general medical practitioner]] in [[Mount Albert, New Zealand|Mt. Albert]] for nearly 50 years after serving as a medic in [[World War II]], and is now retired and still in Mt. Albert. He studied [[medicine]] at [[Otago University]] before serving with the [[Maori 28th Battalion|28th Maori Battalion]] in [[Italy]], [[Crete]], [[Egypt]] and [[New Caledonia]]. His father William McConnell owned a number of pubs around [[Thames, New Zealand|Thames]], including the [[Puriri, New Zealand|Puriri]] and a hotel in [[Whitianga]], and also owned the peak of the [[Moehau Range]] and the old [[granite]] [[wharf]] below. However he went bust when a [[Kauri]] logging venture failed and a business partner ripped him off, and lost many of his assets.


His grandparents John & Rebecca (nee Colgan) McConnell emigrated to New Zealand from [[Northern Ireland]] during the Maori Wars and [[Central_Otago_Gold_Rush#Previous_gold_finds_in_New_Zealand|gold rush era]] of the mid-19th century.
His grandparents John & Rebecca (nee Colgan) McConnell emigrated to New Zealand from [[Northern Ireland]] during the Maori Wars and [[Central_Otago_Gold_Rush#Previous_gold_finds_in_New_Zealand|gold rush era]] of the mid-19th century.

Revision as of 22:18, 1 December 2008

A. J. Chesswas is a Wikipedia editor from Stratford, New Zealand, with a particular focus on the fields of history, geography, anthropology, sociology, theology, philosophy, religious studies, politics and environmental planning. He is a 5th generation Taranaki hill country sheep and beef farming British New Zealander (Kiwi), a qualified (Massey University BRP) Environmental Planner, an evangelical Christian, and a committed member of his local Anglican parish.

Autobiography

Date and Place of Birth

I was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, on August 20, 1980, to J. A. and C. A. Chesswas (nee McConnell), the descendants of British settlers. My parents named me after New Zealand missionary to India and director of the New Zealand arm of WEC, Allan Shadbolt.

With my younger sister I grew up on the family farm The Makuri in Tututawa, approx. 20 minutes east of Stratford. This 324 Ha farm was part of a block purchased by my grandparents in 1963, on the heels of the New Zealand wool boom. The original block was later subdivided between sons.

Family History

Chesswas

My grandfather, W. A. Chesswas, was a third generation Taranaki hill-country farmer himself, having grown up at “Mahoe” near Ngamatapouri in the Waitotara Valley, where his emigrant grandfather John Chesswas had settled in 1898. John’s son Walter had taken over the farm upon his death in 1916, and when Walter fell sick two decades later it was W. A. Chesswas’ turn to step up, at just 15 years of age. After two and a half decades of land development in the Waitotara Valley, then 6 years at Okoia next-door to the Haden family, W. A. Chesswas & Sons moved to Tututawa, Stratford district, in 1963, where they purchased a block from John Arkwright, a descendant of Richard Arkwright of industrial revolution fame. Here they transformed a run-down wasteland full of scrub and swamp into the lush and productive pasture which J. A. Chesswas and family continue to farm today.

As well as his success in farming, W. A. Chesswas was something of an inventor, featuring in the 1999 publication "Inventions from the Shed"[1] shortly before his death. His most important invention was the tumblewheel, also known as the walking fence, used in rotational grazing. The tumblewheel device is a fence standard with legs, which enables a one-wire fence to be moved from one end in a matter of seconds. W. A. Chesswas also created a number of variations on the "dagging plant", and was a successful entrant at the National Agricultural Fieldays competition, going on to serve as a judge.

W. A. Chesswas was also prominent in local politics, and in Presbyterian church leadership. He served on the Patea County Council from 1956-1959, and on the Stratford County Council from 1974-1983. He was an elder at both St. James Presbyterian Church, Wanganui East, and Toko Cooperating parish, Taranaki East, and was a representative at the national synod on a number of occasions.

English Origins

The Chesswas family trace their English ancestry back to John Chessowes of Whitchurch, Shropshire (b 1608), and possibly to Thomas Chessewes of Wrenbury, a yeoman farmer in Cheshire c1560. The original meaning of the name is not known. Alternative meanings include cheese farmers (from chesse (cheese) and worth (farm), or chesse and wisse (knowledge)), and cheese farmers of the swamp (from chesse and waesse (swamp)).

The family lived around the borders of Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire for at least two centuries, and for a number of generations in the 18th century were hatmakers in Newcastle-under-Lyme. In the early-mid 19th century William Chesswas and his wife Ann Chesswas (nee Ellen) moved to greater London, where they had eleven children, and William worked as an ironmonger.

Colonial Pioneers

John (“Jack”) Chesswas was born to William Chesswas in 1861in Twickenham. There he completed a building apprenticeship before emigrating to Oamaru, New Zealand, in 1884. He married Emily Bignell (nee Foy) in 1887, and worked with her brother Arthur Bignell. After working on the Oamaru Railway, Bignell & Sons won a bridge-building contract for the Midland Line, and then continued as bridge-builders on the West Coast, before moving to Wanganui in 1892 where they built the original Wanganui Hospital. Bignell went on to serve as Mayor of Wanganui from 1904 to 1906, while Chesswas with his growing family of boys opted to purchase a block in the new settlement of Ngamatapouri.

Notable Chesswas Men

Notable Chesswas men descended from Jack Chesswas include Luganda language orthographer and educational evaluation theorist J. D. Chesswas (author of Essentials of Luganda (1954) and An explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda (1976)), his son Dr. Roger Chesswas, also a leading educational evaluation theorist and sociologist, and Roydon Chesswas, a missionary and food technologist with United Mission to Nepal. Jack's uncle James Chesswas was a leading pioneer of Penshurst, Victoria, where a street was named after him, and counted among James' descendants is leading software developer Mike Chesswas, Managing Director of Ascend Business Solutions. Another Australian branch of the family produced Harold "Bottles" Chesswas, a representative Australian Football League player for the Collingwood Football Club in the 1920s.

Wilson

Through my paternal grandmother B. Chesswas (nee Wilson), I trace my ancestry to a number of interesting characters, including: the first New Zealand-born European couple to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary – Scottish settler George Morris (Wellington, 1841) and his wife Agnes Morris (nee Turner) (Akaroa, 1845) who had been baptised by Bishop Pompallier; their daughter Agnes Ann Wilson (Auckland, 1868) who lived most of her 105-year life in Hunterville, Rangitikei; Zachariah Meads, born in Te Aro in 1843, whose English father claimed to have seen a moa near Mt. Egmont and who is also the shared ancestor of Colin Meads; William Gray (1818, Ireland), an Irish missionary who served in Mauritius educating freed slaves after the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was passed, and married a French Creole Mauritian (an ancestor shared with Kristen Williams); and great-great-great-great-great grandmother Jean Wilson (nee Duff), Scottish daughter to James Duff, 2nd Earl of Fife, by his maid Margaret Adam. Through the Earls of Fife I am related to the acting sisters Haylie Duff and Hilary Duff, and can trace my ancestry to the royalty and nobility of Great Britain and Europe, and inevitably back to Adam and Eve.

B. Chesswas’ father, Vivian Wilson, served in the New Zealand forces in World War I.

McConnell

My grandfather on my maternal side, Dr. W. F. McConnell, practiced as a general medical practitioner in Mt. Albert for nearly 50 years after serving as a medic in World War II, and is now retired and still in Mt. Albert. He studied medicine at Otago University before serving with the 28th Maori Battalion in Italy, Crete, Egypt and New Caledonia. His father William McConnell owned a number of pubs around Thames, including the Puriri and a hotel in Whitianga, and also owned the peak of the Moehau Range and the old granite wharf below. However he went bust when a Kauri logging venture failed and a business partner ripped him off, and lost many of his assets.

His grandparents John & Rebecca (nee Colgan) McConnell emigrated to New Zealand from Northern Ireland during the Maori Wars and gold rush era of the mid-19th century.

John McConnell was the son of Joseph McConnell of Clougher, County Antrim, and the brother of property developer Sir Robert John McConnell who went on to become Lord Mayor of Belfast and receive a baronetcy from Queen Victoria. The Parliament Buildings of Northern Ireland are built on what was once family land. The McConnell baronetcy is now held by Sir Robert Shean McConnell, 4th Baronet McConnell, who incidentally is a leading environmental planning theorist in the UK in the tradition of Radical planning, and author of the book Theories for Planning (1981). Brian McConnell, Baron McConnell, Ulster Unionist MP in the Northern Ireland House of Commons from 1953 to 1966, Minister of Home Affairs from 1964 to 1966, and active member of the House of Lords, was also descended from Sir Robert John McConnell.

Rebecca Colgan was the sister of Harriette Adelaide McCathie, who moved to Australia and made a name for herself in late Victorian fashion with her hat shop and drapery on King Street and latterly Pitt Street, Sydney.[2]

Hosking/Butler

My maternal grandmother E. D. McConnell (nee Hosking) was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1921, moving to New Zealand with her parents Arthur Hosking and Sarah Hosking (nee Butler) as a child. Sarah was the daughter of Richard Butler and Sybella Butler, cockney immigrants from London, and the brother of James Butler, a pioneer in the Bible College movement in Adelaide at the turn of the 20th century. A sister of James and Sarah, Laura, married Sam Barrett, another member of a prominent evangelical family in Adelaide. James Butler and Sam Barrett were the founding joint Superintendents of Adelaide Bible Institute, now the Bible College of South Australia. Many of the Butler family were involved in various roles with the Church of Christ, Adelaide. James’ son Rowland was a missionary to China with the China Inland Mission in 1928.

Parents

My mother, C. A. Chesswas (McConnell), studied English and Classics at Auckland University, the latter under Professor E. M. Blaiklock, a leading Christian apologist who engaged in debate with Presbyterian controversialist Lloyd Geering. She taught Aboriginal children at Collarenebri, New South Wales, and traveled around Australia, and was converted to a saving faith in Jesus Christ while hitch-hiking from Adelaide to Darwin. She attended Metropolitan Baptist Church in Sydney under Pastor Marvin R. Matthews, a graduate of the Baptist Bible College of Springfield, before returning to New Zealand to study Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland. While in Auckland she became involved in the Charismatic Renewal under the leadership of Father Ken Prebble at St. Pauls Anglican Church, and latterly at Sandringham AOG. Other influential figures in this time included Wyn Fountain and Bill Subritzky.

In 1978 McConnell attended a Christian camp run by WEC in Ngaruawahia, where she met my father, J. A. Chesswas. He, too, had come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, under the preaching of Billy Graham during his 1959 crusade, and had played a prominent role in the Presbyterian Bible Class movement in Taranaki in the 1970s. During this time the Presbyterian Church was feeling the disruptions that had arisen from the liberal ideas of Professor Lloyd Geering, which had turned many congregations away from evangelical convictions and isolated those who like Chesswas remained in the fold. McConnell’s parents followed the Catholic faith, and this too resulted in a sense of isolation for McConnell as for Chesswas. Their evangelical convictions and their experiences of living out those convictions served as the common ground for a friendship that in 1979 became a marriage.

J. A. & C. A. Chesswas continue to farm in Tututawa to this day, and C. A. Chesswas is an accomplished artist in the impressionist tradition. Both are members of a local Vineyard church.

Education

I received my pre-school education at Toko Playcentre and Avon Kindergarten, my primary education at Douglas Primary School, and my high school education at Stratford High School. I then moved to Palmerston North where I studied a Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning (BRP) at Massey University, followed by a Diploma of Biblical studies at Bible College of New Zealand (still to be completed).

Work

Having completed my BRP at the end of the 2003, and most of my DipBS, I found employment as a planner with Harrison Grierson Consultants Ltd in Wellington. I worked there a year in 2004, but after a year in the capital decided to return to the rural lifestyle of the Stratford district. Following a stint of casual agricultural employment, as well as part-time work with New Plymouth District Council, I spent two years driving the District Plan review at Stratford District Council, my home town. I continue to manage a small flock of ewes on my parents' farm in my spare time, and also have interests in property development.

Christian Faith and Ministry

Childhood

I was raised in Taranaki East Co-operating parish, based in Toko. My Presbyterian grandfather W.A. Chesswas had been a leading elder in the ministry of that parish. Although it had suffered during the liberal movement of the 1960s and 70s, by the early-mid 1980s it had taken on a much more evangelical, even charismatic, character under the leadership of Revs. Wilson Orange and Graeme Turnbull. Family life centred on church, as well as bible reading and Scripture in Song at home. The music of charismatic Christian artists such as Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts, the Bill Gaither Trio, Dave and Dale Garratt and Randy Stonehill was a prominent feature in family life, as were the TV ministries of Oral Roberts and Benny Hinn.

Conversion

Although raised in the church, I moved away from church life as I grew older, abandoning the faith altogether in my teenage years. I made a commitment at Eltham Easter Camp in my final year of school in 1998, after hearing the preaching of Dave Mann and the worship leading of Craig Jones. I wrote my seventh-form history project on Martin Luther, but it wasn't until I reached Massey University, Palmerston North, that I came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. I consider May 3, 1999, to be the date that I was born again. The ministry of Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF) on campus, and that of All Saints Anglican church under Steve Chitty and university chaplain John Marquet, played a formative role in my spiritual growth, and I regularly attended both All Saints Church under John Wilson, and Palmerston North New Life Church under John Walton.

Over the summer of 1999-2000 I attended New Plymouth AOG, and after hearing itinerant Third Wave preacher Kristen Williams was drawn to the Pentecostal expression of church life. I joined Christian Community Church in May 2000 as a result, and was baptised in August that same year. I remained with CCC for the rest of my time in Palmerston North under the pastorates of Fraser Hardy and Nigel Dixon.

Student Ministry

Following my conversion I quickly became involved with Massey University Christian Fellowship. I served as a Bible study leader in 2000, Evangelism Coordinator 2000-2001 and President 2001-2002. Following the cue of fellow TSCF members at Victoria University, Wellington, I organized the first Massey University “God Week” (now known as “Jesus Week”) in 2001. I emphasised the importance of placing mission and evangelism at the centre of TSCF ministry, always advocating the vitality of unity and prayer in this task. Formative influences at this time included the works and historical examples of John Wesley, Charles Finney, William Booth, Smith Wigglesworth, Keith Green, Winkie Pratney, Rick Joyner and Philip Yancey. Worship music was also an important part of the journey, particularly the songs of Graham Kendrick, Hillsong, United Live, Delirious?, Solace, Form, Redline, Matt Redman and Tim Hughes.

Reformation

Following my time at the helm of Massey University Christian Fellowship, I spent a period of time investigating the claims of other religions and closely scrutinising and re-evaluating the validity of the Christian religion. In 2003 I attended the Palmerston North branch of the Bible College of New Zealand, and undertook a Diploma of Biblical Studies which I have not yet completed. While in Wellington in 2004 I attended The Street City Church, an Open Brethren church with a contemporary flavour, led by Pastor Nick Field. While there I led a Bible study group in my home. Upon returning to Stratford in 2005 I spent a year visiting all of the churches of my home town, before committing to the Anglican Communion of New Zealand in 2006. Over this time I also found spiritual sustenance in the form of various Christian agrarian and Reformed theology blogs and websites. I count as spiritual influences during this time the works and historical examples of St. Augustine, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, C. S. Lewis, Brian Tamaki, Chuck Missler, John Eldredge, Ray Comfort, Charles Colson, Howard King, David and Tim Bayly, Doug Wilson, John Piper, John Hendryx, Mark Noll and Peter Jensen. Music such as that of Vineyard Music and Stuart Townend also helped to shape my spirituality in this time.

Politics

Formative Influences

Raised in one of the safest National seats in the country, Taranaki-King Country, held by Jim Bolger from 1972 (National party leader 1986-1997, Prime Minister 1990-1997), and Shane Ardern from 1998, I quickly learnt to prefer blue to red. My grandfather W. A. Chesswas was a local body politician, serving on the Patea County Council from 1956 to 1959, and the Stratford County Council from 1974 to 1983.

After a brief flirtation with Socialism during my introduction to environmental planning and sociology, I became drawn to a more centrist position and supported the United Future party at the 2002 election. During this time I became acquainted with the Maxim Institute, and became more involved and engaged with political issues, particularly as the Fifth Labour Government passed into law the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 and the Civil Union Act 2004. Over this period, while completing my studies in environmental planning, sociology and theology, participating in Christian Community Church, and working part time for Child, Youth and Family, I began to develop agrarian, localist and communitarian convictions, integrating these within a right-wing and voluntarist paradigm rather than the coercive left with which they are often associated. As well as the Maxim Institute, I count as formative influences the works of Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, Jean Baudrillard, John Friedman, John F. Forester, Howard King, Wendell Berry, Charles Colson and Christopher Alexander.

Blogging

At the beginning of 2005, coinciding with my return to Stratford, I began "Agri-Christian NZ",[3] a blog providing comment and discussion on theology, politics and current events from a Christian fundamentalist perspective, with an agrarian slant. Being election year, I used this blog to support and promote the National Party under Don Brash for the 2005 election, on the basis that a vote for National, together with mobilised community-level action, would better strengthen families and community-based institutions for the good of civil society.

In early 2006 I took some time away from blogging to reconsider views on biblical literalism and feminism. I closed Agri-Christian NZ in March, and in July 2006 created a new blog "Put up thy Sword!"[4] Although retaining Christian and agrarian ideals, I moved from Christian fundamentalism to a paleoconservative position, continuing my support for the National Party on this basis. However the blog focuses more on theology, while the emphasis of Agri-Christian NZ had been on politics.

The Arts

I am an enthusiastic supporter of arts, culture and heritage, with a particular affinity for realism and impressionism, Shakespearian and New Zealand theatre and film, classical literature, classic New Zealand literature, classical piano, orchestral music, opera, hymnology, liturgy, gospel, jazz, country music, classic rock, praise and worship music, New Zealand hip hop and New Zealand dub, ballroom dancing and ceroc dancing.

Fine Arts

My mother, C. A. Chesswas, graduated with a Bachelor degree from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland. Her artistic talents, painting in the impressionist tradition, made a lasting impression on me, although I never put my hand to paint myself. I continue to support initiatives in the arts, particularly via Stratford’s Percy Thomson Gallery.

Theatre and Literature

Growing up in Stratford-on-Patea, and being a top English student, meant a soft spot for the works of the bard would be inevitable. However my interest in theatre, film and literature did not truly develop until leaving Stratford for university.

Counted among my favourite theatre productions are Shakespeare's Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello. Of other literature, I take a particular interest in historical works, especially those of early New Zealand settlers, and also theological works. Childrens' books favoured in his youth included those of Dr. Seuss, Kiwi books Footrot Flats and Hairy Maclary, Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and Famous Five series, the works of Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and the Hardy Boys series.

Film

Films that have featured as favourites for me, through childhood and beyond, include: The Sound of Music, The Jesus Film, Hamlet, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Saving Private Ryan, Independence Day, Armageddon, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, The Truman Show, The Patriot, The Hurricane, The Green Mile, Notting Hill, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Kate and Leopold, Signs, Ice Age, The Count of Monte Cristo, About a Boy, Mr. Deeds, Catch Me if You Can, Two Weeks Notice, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Nemo, The Passion of the Christ, The Terminal, 50 First Dates, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Napoleon Dynamite, Madagascar and Blood Diamond.

Television

I was brought up on the television of the 1980s. My parents’ tastes were old-fashioned, with British programmes Dad's Army, Hogan's Heroes, M.A.S.H., Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, The Good Life, Last of the Summer Wine and To the Manor Born, and Australian programmes Flying Doctors, A Country Practice and Mother and Son, counted as family favourites. Later tastes moved to American sitcoms such as Growing Pains, Full House, Benson, Charles in Charge, Diff'rent Strokes, Alf, The Bill Cosby Show, The Nanny, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Sledge Hammer, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Home Improvement, Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away, Funniest Home Videos, and, of course, The Simpsons.

Cartoons enjoyed in my childhood included Hanna-Barbera classics such as Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Scooby-Doo, Smurfs, Top Cat, Wacky Races, The Snorks, The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, Hong Kong Phooey and Popeye. Sooty and Sweep, Postman Pat, The Wombles, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show were also childhood favourites, as were New Zealand childrens’ programmes Play School, After School, What Now, 3:45 Live and Son of a Gunn.

Other New Zealand shows enjoyed by the whole family included Country Calendar, It's in the Bag, Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune. Chesswas’ sister Debbie had the privilege in the early 1990s of starring with Bull Allen on Ansett New Zealand Time of Your Life. Leading the country in news, current affairs and entertainment from the screen were Richard Long, Judy Bailey, Angela D'Audney, Ian Fraser, John Hawkesby, Paul Holmes, Jim Hickey, Simon Barnett, Fred Dagg, Selwyn Toogood, Philip Leishman and Mark Leishman. The British Lions tour to New Zealand in 1993 sparked a keen interest in following both international and national rugby, and for a number of years I barely missed a weekend’s football on television, as Keith Quinn, John MacBeth, Geoff Bryan and Grant Nisbett provided commentary on the game.

During my teenage years, my television consumption moved from sitcoms and soaps to rugby, cricket and music television. Upon leaving home, moving to university, and becoming a Christian, television as a feature of life all but disappeared. British comedy The Office is the only 21st century show of note I have counted as a regular and a favourite.

Music

I learnt piano in my youth, achieving 5th grade of the Royal Schools of Music. The family’s taste in music was largely governed by our Christian faith, and Jesus Music such as Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts, the Bill Gaither Trio and Dave and Dale Garratt were popular sources of inspiration.

While a youth my tastes in music were comprehensively broad and inclusive. After a hip-hop phase featuring the likes of 2PAC and the Wu-Tang Clan, my tastes matured to prefer modern rock, particularly The Verve and Sublime.

Upon my conversion to Christianity, praise and worship and Contemporary Christian Music became priorities, particularly international artists such as Delirious?, Third Day and Jars of Clay, and New Zealand artists such as Solace and Form. Parachute Music Festival was a regular venue for the appreciation of Contemporary Christian Music and oratory. I retained an affinity for classic rock such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dire Straits, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and U2, and also appreciated the contributions of modern rock acts such as Jack Johnson. During this time I also learnt some skills on the guitar and the harmonica.

Towards the end of my university years I boarded in the summer with my grandfather, where I picked up a greater appreciation for classical and jazz music, and for classical literature. My taste for jazz was further amplified when I moved to Wellington in 2004, particularly for the classics; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.. While in Wellington I also acquired a taste for New Zealand hip hop and New Zealand dub, such as Scribe, Rapture Ruckus and the Black Seeds. Over this time I also developed a fondness for John Denver, and country music in general, as I looked to my immanent return to the country roads of Taranaki.

Dance

Upon returning to Taranaki I took up ceroc dancing for a time. I also enjoy ballroom dancing and hip-hop dancing when the occasion permits.

A. J. Chesswas Today

I continue to worship with the parish of Holy Trinity, Stratford, where I serve on vestry. I also chair the interdenominational Eltham Easter Camp Committee. I often write on Christian topics in my blog “Put up thy Sword!”,[5] and I take an academic interest in the fields of history (particularly local and family history), anthropology (New Zealand identity, British identity), sociology (agrarianism, localism, communitarianism), theology (Reformed), philosophy (existentialism), religious studies, politics (paleoconservatism) and environmental planning (urban design, participatory planning).

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This user is interested in the
Middle Ages
This user enjoys philosophy.
This user is a Christian.

User:Danbarnesdavies/Userboxes/Religion/User saved

This user is a Born Again Christian.
This user is an evangelical or conservative adherent of Anglican Christianity.
Gutenberg Bible owned by the US Library of CongressThis user is a Bible reader.
This user is a Calvinist.
This user is a Pentecostal or Charismatic Christian.
♂This user is male.
BM This user is repulsed by most forms of body modification.
This user is interested in environmentalism.
This user is interested in Peak Oil Theory.
This user supports recycling.
This user believes in logic.
This user is interested in moral realism.
This user is interested in
Neo-Tribalism
This user is interested in existentialism.
This user is interested in politics.
This user doesn't believe in the ownership of culture and knowledge.
This user is Pro-Life.
This user is interested in Nature.
This user prefers that the death penalty be used far more often.


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