John Flynn Uniting Church Alice Springs

Tracy and the Todd

2007-01-22T13:55:00.000+10:00

When the River Runs, new life comes. We are swept clean, swept away with water's healing caress. For a while we can swim and marvel in it all. In the floods wake, we can reflect on the debris that has moved from our lives, and watch new growth spring forth before our eyes. A moment of grace, in a desert that nurtures us.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T16:01:00.000+10:00

To all of you who have found your way to this blog site during the year, I wish you a merry Chistmas, and a peaceful new year.
Sermons and worship only reflect one perspective on the life of the Uniting Church in Alice Springs this year: festivals, redeveloping Adelaide House, and exciting plans for developing the site in the Mall as an embracing heart for Alice Springs, have been just some fo the ways that the Church has engaged with its community, in ways that promote life, love and wellbeing for all people.
In our journey into 2007, we hope that you will also partner with us in prayer, in projects and in our thinking about what it means to be Gods church at the heart of a desert town. We look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers

Tracy Spencer (Rev)
tracyspencer@internode.on.net

Christmas Day liturgy by Tracy Spencer

2006-12-23T15:55:00.000+10:00

Christmas Day: Alice Springs 2006

Xmas bowl is the offering
No morning tea: just cut up watermelon on the way out

Crib in open area with hay in it and bundle of gift wrapped up (heart inside)

Need: present box for heart
Heart (Jenny)
Pitj hymn books for anangu
Hymns book on seats at back
All songs on pp
Hymn numbers up
Turkish carpet for under crib
Hay
Crib
All long colourful cloths – Tracy
Watermelons, cutting board, knife

Readings:

Luke 2: 1- 5 Traveling to Bethlehem (pitj reading too)
Luke 2: 6-8 Birth of the baby (pitj reading too)
Luke 2: 9-14 Angels sing to shepherds
Luke 2: 15-20 Shepherdds go and see baby (pitj reading too)

Songs: all on pp, and TIS on back pews

As with gladness men of old PHB 35 TIS 314 (5 vs, e/p/e/p/e)
Love came down at Xmas time TIS 317
Child in a manger (to tune Morning has broken) in PHB 32 TIS 319 (Vs 3 e/p/e)
As shepherds watched their flocks by night (in pitj in singing book) TIS 299
Away in a manger PHB 38 (4 vs: repeat last verse) TIS 318 (p/e/p/e)
Joy in the heart of Australia

************************************************************************
Setting: Crib and hay and gift lying wrapped up in it (box with heart inside) at bottom of stairs

No communion table
Sermon and bible readings from top lecterns
Mic also set for singers/activity on font side of church at bottom of stairs.

Preworship
Play music from TIS 314 plus other

Procession
Worship party Process in from outside: a child holding the star at the front, then Bible, then candle
All stand (child and advent candle party stay up top)

When they fix star in place, and open bible and candle on top table, Tracy welcome and announce first hymn…alternate in English and pitj, use screen or books.

Welcome – Tracy
Welcome to worship this Christmas Morning! We meet together in this place, the church built to memorialize John Flynn who hoped for an inland cathedral where people of all faiths might gather. And we acknowledge the Arrernte people, traditional owners of this land, who continue to care for this place, and have welcomed Christ’ church to it.
My name is Tracy Spencer and together with Murray Muirhead, one of the ministers of this church. You are all welcome here, because the Christ child is Gods gift of love, for everyone.

Song: As with gladness TIS 314 (E/A/E/A/E)

Lighting of Advent candles and getting out heart (Jenny and Bronwyn, based on Seasons of Spirit but a bit different)

Jenny: Through all these weeks we have waited and journeyed to this day.
On Sunday mornings we laid out a purple path on the floor to remind us of our journey, and lit the advent candles to remind us of our preparation for this day:
(light first candle)
Bronwyn: When we lit the first candle, we recalled our Hope for those we share this world with, in the symbol of leaves, signs of new life
(light second candle)
Jenny: When we lit our second candle, we recalled the cries of those around us in this world, in the symbol of flowers floating in a bowl of tears
(light third candle)
Bronwyn: When we lit our third candle, we recalled our own commitment to acts of kindness for others we meet on our life journey, in the symbol of stones built up into a cairn
(light fourth candle)
Jenny: When we lit our fourth candle, we recalled the surprising joy that other people have brought to our lives, in the symbol of a star that guided them to us, and us to them.

Bronwyn: Through Advent too, some of us have come here to light candles, to sing and to pray as we waited for this day when we celebrate the Christ child’s birth amongst us
(light Christ candle)

Jenny: And so we light our final candle, the Christ candle, recalling that the baby Jesus is given as a gift to us and to the whole world.
(open the gift lying in the crib: set heart in crib where easily seen)

Bronwyn: God’s gift to us this day and every day, is the gift of love.

Song: Love came down at Xmas time TIS 317

Prayer of confession
Leader one: Murray
O God is our lives have become blurred with cynicism so that we no longer feel the depths of joy, or if we hear the stories of Christmas and hand them over to children as though we have less wonder in our hearts;
Leader Two (Tracy): Forgive us
All: Gather us in and surprise us with new delight.

Leader One (Murray): If we have so exhausted our bodies and souls with preparations for this day that we have little energy left for coming near to the fullness of all that you bring to us:
Leader Two (Forgive us): Forgive us.
All: Gather us in and surprise us with new delight. We open our lives to your grace now, O God. Amen.

Assurance - Murray
Leader: Just as the Christ was born into our life, moving past all the barriers and traveling towards the people, so the love of God pursuyes us past our failings and guilts and brings us grace. On this day of all days, we are forgiven!
All: Thanks be to God. Amen.

Song: Child in the manger (AHB 241) sung in English and Pitj E/P/E

Readings and Actions

PP mary and jospeh traveling

Luke 2: 1- 5 Traveling to Bethlehem - Bronwyn
(pitj reading too…gordon on tape [explain and into who he is], or other?)
Action: Tracy lay out our path to advent between crib and up steps to table and set with with : leafs, flowers/water, stones/acts of kindness, love/stars

PP baby image

Luke 2: 6-8 Birth of the baby - Jenny
(pitj reading too)
Action: Tracy make 2 large colourful (orange, red, yellow) circles around the crib with material (like Indigenous art symbolism for camp/water place)

PP angels

Luke 2: 9-14 Angels sing to shepherds – Bronwyn

Song: While Shepherds watched alternating english and pitj (eng 1,3,5, pitj 2,4,6)

Pp: baby

Luke 2: 15-20 Shepherds go and see baby - Jenny
(pitj reading too)
Action: Tracy lay out green cloth from cong to crib and lay some sandals along it making a track towards the crib, and also two other arms of tracks.

Christmas Reflection: Tracy
The Christmas story centers on a baby, and so it should. That baby Jesus, that small soft skinned baby that cried and fed and fretted and kept his parents up half the night, just like our children do, just like we ourselves did, that baby Jesus was the most perfect expression of God the world has ever seen.

Pp cake jesus

Now, I have three children I love very much, but you can be sure I am not romanticizing babyhood. But all that aside, what could be a more fitting symbol of Gods love than a newborn baby…intricately wrought, so delicate that it draws awe and gentleness and great love from us in response.

This image of Jesus is actually part of the decoration from a Christmas cake…

PP whole cake

PP close up of flowers

PP with clancy

And you can imagine the care and attention to detail that goes into such a marvelous creation.

So it is with a baby. But, gift tho it is, a baby, or a cake like this, symbolizes far more than just itself.

For these are gifts that do something. This cake is a ‘thank you’ to David Marshman for the handy work he had done on his friends place during the year. This cake binds David and his friend together, in thankfulness and love.

This baby Jesus likewise, is a gift from God that does something. What we have made on the floor here, is a meeting place of many paths…the path that Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem, the path the shepherds took to come and see the baby, the path this congregation has taken towards Christmas through Advent, the path others take to come and gather round the heart of the Christmas season together. The birth of the baby Jesus at Christmas is a gift that does something to all of us: for once, we travel towards the same day, drawn together by the power of Gods love. Gods gift at Christmas is – yes - a baby, but as well as that Gods gift at Christmas is to bind us together in thankfulness and love.

Pp card tree small

But I must admit where my inspiration for this theme came from. Amidst the various Christmas cards we have been receiving – very gratefully I must say because I’m a terrible Xmas card giver – was one from the Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation, from here in Alice. I looked briefly at the cover and then read the inside, thinking, ‘nice Christmas tree’

PP card large

But then I looked at the cover again. What I had taken for tinsel were tracks, linking the gathering places, that I had taken for baubles. And at each gathering place, two people symbolized, sitting, facing each other. The Wiradjuri artist, Marromarra Darren Wighton, had incorporated into the traditional European fir tree design, Indigenous symbols of the tracks and gathering places linking across the shape, relinking perhaps stolen generations with their families.
Here in Alice, the idea of relinking families at Christmas time was only underlined by the many many conversations I was having: ‘Are you going away?’ ‘Yes, we’re driving to Melbourne, seeing my grandparents, then heading to Bundaberg to stay with my family and we’ll be back at the end of January’. Or any number of variations on that theme, including the reverse ‘the kids are all coming to us this year: the youngest arrives Thursday, then the other two on Sunday, and they’ll be here for the week.’
Now, knowing the distances and having had some experience of driving with a car full of kids, in my imagination the Christmas season seemed to be as much about the journey, as the destination! But the destinations are also important: those places that hold a welcome, and often memories, for us. In many ways, the travel at Christmas time for many of us is as much of a pilgrimage as it was for the shepherds traveling from nearby, or for the wise men, making their way over vast distances.
The point of Christmas, it seemed to me, was to get together with others – near and far, family, friends and sometimes strangers – in thanksgiving and love. And to reconnect also with country: places of origin, or meaning in our life journeys. We can think of Christmas as a celebration of connection, a celebration of those relationships that make us who we are.
In South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has famously used the traditional term ‘ubuntu’ to describe the Zulu concept that ‘people are people through other people’. We do not exist in isolation. None of us are ‘self made people’, or ‘self sufficient’. We have become who we are through the people who have joined us in our journey, and they have become who they are through us, and the others they in turn have known. It’s not so different to Indigenous concepts, like Anpernirrentye in Arrernte, that network of kinship that describes relationships with people, and relationships with country, a whole web of connection and meaning that tells you who you are, and where you belong. So ubuntu, anpernirrentye, the Christmas pilgrimages to family and places: A vast network of connections, relationships, tracks, trails, that bind humanity together in gratefulness, and love. And, scriptures tell us, where love is, there also is God.

For the root of the very word ‘religion’ – re – ligio – re: to do something again, ligio, like a ligament, joining two parts together. Religion in its very essence is about joining parts together again…people to people, people to place, and especially humanity to God. How appropriate that we meet today on this site of one of the earliest Christian buildings in Alice springs, a bush nursing hostel (still there) and where we stand now, a clubhouse, both centres of social life in the fledgling town, the place to come and have a chat and a cuppa, and where the whole population would come together for dances and other social and family activities.

And how fitting that next door to a place where many of the towns newborn babies were nursed, it should be the birth of Christ, Gods own gift to the world, that activates our impulse to reconnect with each other on Christmas morning. Gods gift to us in Jesus is a divine outpouring of love in the world, and love cannot help but seek out its beloved. Love orients us towards each other, so that gathered together around the manger, we see each other, and become bound together by the power of love in our midst.

This is what the gift of a baby does to us. May we take that gift with us, wherever we go. Amen.

Song: Away in a manger TIS 318 PHB 38 p/e/p/ then repeat vs 3 in English

Prayers for others: reaching out across the country to those we love – Murray

Lords Prayer

Offering: For the Xmas bowl appeal
Prayer: Murray and Tracy

Voice 1: You call and empower us to assist in emergencies
– to care for people suffering.

Response: In your Spirit of love we commit ourselves to care.

Voice 2: You call and empower us to respond to injustice - to be a voice for the voiceless, the oppressed, the forgotten.

Response: In your Spirit of truth we commit ourselves to listen, and to speak out.

Voice 1: You call and empower us to engage in development and poverty reduction - to be stewards of the earth, to work side-by-side with the peoples of your world for the long-term.

Response: In your Spirit of faithfulness we commit ourselves to take the risk and stay for the long haul.

Voice 2: Let us believe that through these gifts we give, and these lives we live, your love and justice will flow to the ends of the earth.

Response: In your Spirit of Hope, we pray these things to you, Creator of the universe who meets us again in a tiny child. Amen.

Blessing
All our journeys all our paths, have led us to this Christmas morning, gathered around the Christ child in the heart of Alice, in the heart of Australia. Gods gift of Love has found us here, and we have become one community. And now, as the shepherds and the wise men did so long ago, and as our banners leading out of the foyer remind us, it is up to us to travel on, seeking the son of God wherever he may be…down the road a bit, in someone’s back shed, beneath a star filled sky. God speed your journey, until we meet again.

Song Joy in the heart of Australia

( or God be with you till we meet again?)

Advent 3 Paul writes of Joy by Tracy Spencer

2006-12-23T15:53:00.000+10:00

Sermon: Paul writes about Joy -Tracy
The cell would not be luxurious: not even clean, I imagine. The ancient world was not known for compassion to criminals. And yet here is one who in the midst of the strained and dangerous community of convicted men, pens a letter to a community in another country.
Paul of Tarsus was in prison not far from his birthplace in the country we now know as Turkey. Ephesus was then a fine sea port, a fully fledged roman town on the Aegean sea. Paul, you might remember, made himself a menace to the population by putting the silversmiths trade at risk when he incited a riot in the Agora. And so he was imprisoned. And behind bars, he thinks of the band of Christians in Phillipi, another port town across the sea to the north, in Macedonia. And he writes to them a letter, or better a series of letters, preserved by the church throughout the ages. From his prison cell, he writes about…joy.
He addresses other issues too, but briefly. His over riding concern is the joy available to them in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does this mean Paul is choosing to ignore his physical circumstances, to focus only on his spiritual being, or even worse, on a pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die hope? No: he mentions his circumstances, and indeed that the fear of death does not overwhelm him. What Paul writes, balancing his writing things on his lap in his small space in the cell, is about the joy that exists in the very midst of whatever experience humans may endure. What he is doing, in a place where others are likely either scheming, plotting or despairing, is living within the realm of heaven, here on earth.

And so the letters of Paul to the church at Phillippi become markers of where heaven - the experience of the realm of Gods love – is found on earth.

PP map Paul

Imagine on a map a pin for each place heaven meets earth…Not just places of great epiphanies like Bethlehem in a stable, or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, or on top of Mount Sinai, just to choose a few moments from Christian history. But places like the Ephesus prison, the struggling and o so human house church of Philipi. We mark these places in our history like the early white surveyors marked this country with cairns, places to take our bearings from.

PP aim

Or, if you like, like the many maps that John Flynn drew up as his mantle of safety spread across the inland – in this case, through nursing hostels like AH - we mark the places where in the midst of a tough life, deprivations and often suffering, healing and new life took place.

In our era, we might mark places like Robbin Island prison in South Africa, where, as Desmond Tutu describes, Nelson Mandela spent 27 years locked up and yet growing the kind of moral leader who can invite his former jailer to his inauguration at President. Let me read from Tutu’s book for a moment: (p73, 74)

Tutu’s theology takes us beyond just finding joy in a prison cell. In fact he takes us necessarily into places of suffering from whence emerges new life and a source for good. It is not that we seek suffering. I am reminded of a phrase I used to have up on my wall from Shalespeares play King Henry v, taken from his preparation for the battle of Agincourt, where the French, on horseback, outnumbered the English, only footsoldiers and weary from recent battle, 5:1. It went something like: We do seek a battle as we are: nor as we are do we shun it…(and later)… we are in Gods hands, not theirs.’ Sometimes suffering finds us, and we can only meet with it. It is at these times – especially at these times - that Christians can recognise and trust the heaven that is born in the most unlikely places: the light that comes in the darkness, and which darkness cannot overcome. It is these places and times in our own lives that we might mark with a cairn in our memory, a site to take our bearings from, a memory of the joy, love or new life that emerged in the most surprising places.

Let me quote from Michael Leunig:

Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born: Love is always born.

Our faith is so radical. Just when we should give up hope, we claim it even more strongly. This peace from God, really does pass all understanding, and yet it guards our hearts and minds at all times.

What must we do then? Two things. Trust that joy is waiting for you even in the midst of trouble. And pass that joy onto others in the kindnesses you can do for them in the midst of their troubles: share, and be just. Like Paul, live in the kingdom in the midst of the world, and urge others to do so too. Amen

Advent 2 2006 sermon Tracy Spencer

2006-12-23T15:47:00.000+10:00

Sermon: prepare ye the way Tracy
This second Sunday of Advent asks a lot from us. We are head long into the Christmas frenzy, of parties and buying presents, decorating trees, and planning holidays. At least some of us are. This second candle of Advent reminds us that we are in a time of preparation…not preparation for a festival, but a time where we prepare ourselves to prepare the world, transforming it into the kingdom of love and justice.

I am reading a book right now lent to us by Leoni, that is all about the transformation of the world. It is called ‘God has a Dream’ by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and I couldn’t recommend a better Christmas gift for anyone. The title of course plays in Martin Luther King’s famous sermon, I have a dream…, preached at the height of the civil rights movement in America some 40 or more years ago. Tutu writes from a more recent time, his experiences during the apartheid regime of South Africa, disbanded only in the early 1990s. Both these eras immediately bring to mind for us the awful injustices perpetrated in these places, and other places in the world as well, where people discriminate against each other, refusing to recognise and respect Gods wonderful creation in each and every person, and treat them accordingly. But Tutu’s title says something more. God has a dream. And Gods dream is for Shalom, for the world to dance to the rhythm of Gods love, and not be captive to the drum beats of war. This is Gods dream, says Tutu, and we are the dancers. It is up to us to prepare ourselves and our world for the dance.

I had the privilege of seeing and hearing Tutu in the flesh at an NCYC at Ballarat, in the early 1980s. I was a youth group leader, and at about 19 years of age, in charge of a tribe of younger people intent on getting lost in the rain sodden tent cities. But Tutu was elecrtrifying. We had no sense that apartheid would tumble, and yet there he was, grinning and dancing away on the stage, the happiest little man you could imagine. He told us about South Africa, but it was his stories I remember. About the black man and white man in a pit, having to help each other out of it together. Because, he said, apartheid diminished the white South Africans as grossly as the black South Africans. It had dehumanised everyone. And then there was the story of the little angel…

It is up to us. And that’s what Advent 2 is all about. Preparing ourselves to make Gods’ dream for the world come true. And of course the first thing we do is look around Gods world and see the extent of the task. Huge. Overwhelming. And on Human Rights Day, with images of suffering fresh in our minds and our prayers, we may well feel overwhelmed at the impossible task. In the Australian context, it is salutary to remember the words of our prime minister on this day 14 years ago:

December 10 1992 Paul Keating’s Redfern Address: ‘And, as I say, the starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians. It begins, I think, with the act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the tradition lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the disasters. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us. With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds. We failed to ask – how would I feel if this were done to me? As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us. This is a fundamental test of our social goals and our national will: our ability to say to ourselves and the rest of the world that Australia is a first rate social democracy, that we are what we should be – truly the land of the fair go and the better chance.’

Paul Keating, Prime Minister of Australia 1991-1996

We know we still have so far to go in Australia. Let alone Peace and Justice for the entire globe, or Feed the world. We pray and pray this kingdom will come, but when?

I had an interesting conversation after the Taize service last Sunday, and you’ll read about it in my reflection in GO magazine. Basil Schild was leading it, and ended with the South African freedom song ‘Freedom is coming, o yes I know’. As I sang, I thought of Desmond Tutu, and of Morris Stuart and the choir he raised during the year that inspired us all with accapella songs, like the one about Nelson Mandela locked up on Robben Island, but not defeated. Brings tears to my eyes. So, I thought, singing away that I know freedom is coming, if black South Africans could write and sing this song in the midst of apartheid, then how much more can I believe in hope in m y own life and situation. There’s a lovely quote from Emily Dickinson that goes:
"'Hope' is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops—at all—."
Yes, hope keeps us believing something better will come. A very appropriate advent theme.

But outside the church in the evening dusk, a friend of mine said…But why do we always say freedom is coming? Doesn’t that just disempower the present? If freedom is always coming, then its never actually arrived!

It’s a good point. And its good theology. We can get so sucked in to the symbolism of the season, that we begin to see the ritual as reality. Advent is not a time before Jesus is born amongst us. Jesus was born into our world over 2000 years ago and has been with us ever since. No, Advent reminds us to look hard at ourselves and our world so we are prepared to see where Christ is being born…every day. In every child of God.

When we hear stories about those young women from Bronwyn, recognise that not only have they come from a situation of suffering, but that salvation has already come to them. They have jobs. When we hear Beth speak of those children who have known such terror, recognise that she can tell their story purely because they have already been saved from that situation and now live here, in safety. When we see pictures like this one of the shoes, recognise the human ingenuity that rises even in the midst of poverty. When we hear stories of Desmond Tutu talking about the faith that was honed through the injustice of apartheid, recognise the great miracle God wrought in that country to enable Tutu and Mandela to become the moral leaders that have led that country to democracy and through truth and reconciliation. Freedom is not just coming. It has already arrived. Prepare yourselves to see it, and celebrate it, even as you prepare yourself to be part of the coming of peace and justice for the whole world. Starting today. Starting now. Starting here.

In Advent, let us ‘wait’for Jesus in the same way John the Baptist did: loudly and actively calling on our world – and ourselves - to repent and be born again into the new life of Gods kingdom where Jesus meets us every day.

Amen.

The Widows mite/might by Rev Tracy Spencer 12th Nov 2006

2006-11-11T19:23:00.000+10:00

Sermon – Tracy.
Ah, this must be an easy one. Jesus sits outside the temple and compares the rich and the poor. There are two kind of rich people he notices: the scribes, religious men of status who swan about, and then the rich people paying their temple taxes, putting bulging planned giving envelopes into the temple coffers. And then there is the poor widow, who gives barely anything, maybe not even enough to clear her debt to the temple, or pay for decent sacrifices. But she puts in all she has, and we know she is the hero of this story.

Funny how often widows seem to feature as Biblical heroes. I could make comment on our own band of heroic widows in this congregation, but I wouldn’t want anyone scrutinizing their offering later! There have been orders of widows from time to time in the churches life, set aside for church work because of the holiness ascribed to the condition of widowhood. But that’s after the fact. The Biblical widows don’t get remarked upon for their holiness. Their ordinary holiness is remarkable because they are widows. It is hard for us to conceive the degradation, powerlessness and disgust towards widows in the ancient world, let alone the sorrow and grief they may have carried. I caught the tiniest glimpse of it earlier this year when Araluen showed an Indian film set in the time of Indian Independence from Britain, about a community of childless widows, condemned to an enclosed life bar for necessary prostitution to bring food to the community. Families would not receive them back, they would bring shame to any subsequent marriage partner, they could not be employed, they could only visit prescribed public places for necessities like shopping and washing. Having no children, and particularly no sons, they had no prospects of improving their situation through their child’s marriage. The main character was a young girl of 7, widowed on her wedding day, and now condemned to this social code for the rest of her life. The film ended when the child was whisked away to live with Ghandi, and then words came on the screen, telling of the thousands upon thousands of women still living under these social conventions throughout the world today.

We might be tempted to say what archaic practices, surely the world is gradually improving. But a saying from the Hebrew Talmud reminds us that there have always been voices against sexist practice:
It says:
"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears.
The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on.
Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal.
Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved."

This is the tradition Jesus placed himself in. And Mark shows Jesus in a particularly critical mood, observing the practises at the Jerusalem temple, the ultimate in sacred places. Observing the practices and perhaps wondering how that widowed women there experienced them. There is no doubt Jesus is unsettled by the behaviour of the priests, and scribes, and government officials. But the very last observation he makes before embarking on his own Passion, is of a woman, a poor widow.

We are used to seeing the scene, where a woman gives all she has in devotion and service to God. But is that really what Jesus sees, or the only way to see this passage? Some commentators that wrestle with the nature of these parabolic vignettes in the Gospels suggest that in them, we see not morality tales or even examples of piety, but practices from real life that Jesus wants to call attention to because the situation is fundamentally wrong, but no one has noticed. So lets try and hear the passage again, without our assumptions of piety filling in words that aren’t there.
[Reading Mark 12:41-44]
So perhaps, as Jesus sits there opposite the Temple treasury and in opposition to it, he observes a religious practice that leaves the poor destitute. That what he sees is the Temple stripping a poor person of what little they had. The woman had no choice but to make payment, and it left her with nothing to feed herself with, except what she might earn through her body or other menial and unwanted service. It’s a tough world Jesus is showing us, and our appropriate response is not to go and give all we have to the Treasury as well, but to rail against the whole system itself.

A Japanese poem says this about poverty… (Imaging Penniless…)

I could have used todays sermon to encourage you all to greater giving, and indeed the financial report in the GO magazine will give you the information you need to think about your level of financial support for the church. Or I could have made it an occasion to revisit that National Council of Cjhurches theme of Make Indigenous poverty history, although as Bruce Walker pointed out, and as many of us know, here in Alice the issue is not poverty as a lack of money, but, as Rose Kunoth Monks said the other week, it is poverty that cannot turn money into wealth. But through this simple observation of a widow making her tithe, Jesus is asking us to look at the bigger picture. What are the institutions or social conventions that are robbing our people blind? What are the pressures and addictions of our community that strip people of choices that might be better ways to care for their own and their family’s well being? On an even bigger scale, think of the cash cropping and third world debt that keeps the poorest countries poor and paying the wealthiest countries for the privilege. The action of one widow caught in her social circumstances demands action in all of that.

But that is not all. This woman, this figure of a victim of powerful forces, in one fell swoop, becomes for the Gospel writers a figure of God, a figure of the Son of God on his way to crucifixion. After seeing this woman, Mark has Jesus pour forth his furious sorrows for Jerusalem, before he is anointed for his death at Bethany and so begins the final act of his Passion. Borne by forces beyond his control, Jesus becomes victim to the confluence of circumstances that will ensure his death. He becomes the one who gives everything he has – his very life – not as a temple tithe, although the language of sacrifice evokes this interpretation. He doesn’t give his all to the Treasury: he gives it to us. In every way you can think of, Jesus gives his last 2 shekels worth to us. Not because it’s the law, or social code, but because he believes we are worth it.

Imagine that the widow lifts her eyes and turns around, and sees Jesus looking at her: does the pain of knowing she has condemned herself and maybe her children to another day of hunger? I doubt it. But maybe, just maybe, she can read the anger in his eyes, and perhaps she follows close enough to over hear his blasphemous conversation with his disciple as he leaves the Temple…’You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another, everything will be pulled down’ he says. And even if she doesn’t really believe that such as he could smash the entire state and religious apparatus, perhaps she feels a little stronger in the knowledge that someone has noticed how oppressive the system is, that someone cares that it hurts her. What Jesus gives to the poor and to us, is not money or bread, but hope. Let us do the same. Amen.

Ruth 1 Sermon 5th nov 2006 by Rev Tracy Spencer

2006-11-11T19:22:00.000+10:00

Sermon: Tracy
Do not urge me to leave you, or to turn back and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go;
wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die and be buried.

These words could have been those of our friend Davood, an Iranian refugee caught in Autralian Detention for 4 and a half years after fleeing his home and family, in fear of his life. The vessel that delivered him to Australia was detained off Christmas Island, and he was sent to Curtin Detention centre in NW WA. There, he met the Patrol Minister and member of our Synod, Andrew Watts, and through his experiences there, became a Christian. Andrew baptised him, and others, in the Detention centre. When Curtin was closed and he was transferred to Port Hedland, Rev Bev Fabb, another Patrol Minister, continued to teach and pray with Davood and her growing congregation of Christians in detention. They even formed a choir. Davood was again relocated when Baxter Detention centre opened in Port Augusta, and that’s where we got to know him, while we were living in Hawker and patrol ministers in SA. Gus has already told you the rest.
During this time, our federal government policies towards people like Davood hardened into a position of suspicion and punishment…imprisoned for the crime of seeking asylum. Davood, like the vast majority of people in his situation, was eventually granted release…on a limited form of permit to stay in Australia – but this assessment by the government processes absolutely validates his claims…by every measure he was determined to be a genuine refugee fleeing threat to his life, and entitled to asylum according to UN treaties.

Do not urge me to leave you, or to turn back and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go;
wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die and be buried.

This first speech on Ruth’s lips is axiomatic for the entire book. It is a beautifully balanced piece of poetry, confirming it as the iconic motif of the book. We take it as a statement of loyalty, and moreover loyalty to what we in the church think of as our faith, although of course it wasn’t, it was loyalty to ancient Judiasm. So it’s an easy story to embrace, when we read it as someone different, wanting to become like us. We feel validated as a superior religion or culture when others seem to assimilate to us, our ways, our faith, our culture.

But this speech in the Book of Ruth was not spoken just to Naomi. In fact the Book of Ruth was mostly composed in the post-exilic period of Israel’s history, after both the time of Judges, which opens the book, and the time of Israels monarchy, with which the book closes, had both been smashed to pieces by the Babylonian defeat of Israel in the C6th BCE and the deportation of Israels leaders and ruling classes to Exile in Babylon. Only the poor and peasants were left in Israel, those too insignificant for the Babylonians to feel they needed to disempower. After 70 years in exile, Israel’s leadership and ruling classes – including the middle classes – returned…but to what? The temple in Jerusalem, the very home of Yahweh, was ruined, the monarchy – appointed by Yahweh - had been slaughtered: both pillars of religion and governance were gone.
In the meantime, those peasants left behind had got on with surviving and feeding themselves…and over those several generations, had taken up the properties and homes that once belonged to others. A bit of a social crisis, you must admit…one we still stuggle with in Israel where only 40 years later, Palestinian families can point to the homes they grew up in, now said to belong to the Jewish families that invaded the country in the 6 day war of 1967. One we still struggle with here, where we both acknowledge traditional owners of this very land we claim as private property. ‘Co existence’ has become a handy way to avoid the contradictions of legitimate land ownership in Australia.

There was not only a social crisis over land ownership for the nation of Israel…there was also a religious and cultural crisis, as Babylonian traditions mixed with Jewish traditions, both intellectually and through the many mixed marriages made during that 70 years. And it was a governance crisis…the royal families in ruins, and no obvious successors, nor an agreed system of appointing them. No doubt various factions and tribal arrangements had proliferated in both Israel and Babylon in the political vacuum of the Exile.

And so, as most social crises do, this situation bred multiple documents analysing the situation and proposing solutions for future cultural cohesion and stability. What’s known as the Exilic literature of the Hebrew Scriptures represents responses to these events; earlier traditions reinterpreted to address exilic issues, or a retelling of events to support arguments for varying actions of the people during and after the exilic period.
You see, for Israel in exile, the questions were:
is Yahweh still a living God after being defeated by the Babylonian Gods, and if so, should we continue to worship Yahweh?
Or did they get defeated because Yahweh abandonned the people, and if so, why did Yahweh do that?
And in Babylon, how should the Jews keep themselves a pure people, when intermarriage and adopting other cultural ways was possible?
Or should they try to retain cultural purity?
How could they continue to be a faithful people when they had no temple?
And when the richer classes returned, to find that the poorer classes left behind had taken over some of their property, who could say which bit of land now belonged to who?

And so the Exilic literature, which includes the book of Ruth tries to answer some of these questions, in various ways.

For instance Jeremiah offers a causal interpretation of how Israel’s sin led Yahweh to abandon them, and then advice to those in exile to settle down, marry and build houses, and work for the wealth of Babylon (ch 29).
But Ezekial focusses on the hope of a return and restoration of Jerusalem in the future;
But the book of Esther opposes the emphasis to return by being a story about making exile your home, and the politics of multiple identities that requires.[1]
Joshua is not interested in settling elsewhere, and reinterprets the Exodus tradition as a narrative of violent conquest, providing an ideological basis for those returning to repossess their land;
But then Chronicles represents the claims of those who remained in the land.[2] Lamentations are poems of grief at the loss and destruction of Jerusalem;
And second Isaiah offers comfort to those mourning.
Tobit is another one that urges constant hope of return.
And the book of Ezra elaborates this theme with detail about how a return to the idealised religion of the past – through rebuilding of the temple after exile, and enforcing the strictest version of the Yahwist temple cult – would create national unity again. Importantly, Ezra’s reforms included the instruction to ‘put away foreign wives’ so they could return to a racially pure mono-cultural Israel.

But then there is the book of Ruth. And not just of Ruth, but Ruth the Moabite. Her ethnicity is mentioned frequently throughout the book, the point being that she is not an Israelite. And the point behind that – and some would say the whole point of the book and its inclusion in scripture – is to remind that nation that even their greatest King, David, was of mixed racial heritage. To Ezra’s proposal that Israel be rebuilt into a mono-cultural nation – the ancient easts version of a white Australia policy – the Book of Ruth says: Don’t kid yourself. We are all hybrids. We all have multi-cultural heritages. Embrace ethnic diversity…no, even more than that, celebrate it, because from the example of diverse cultures, we all learn more about what it means to be fully human. Ruth the Moabite – not Naomi the Israelite – shows us what loyalty means. And through her example, we finally understand what it means to be loyal to each other, and loyal to God.

Do not urge me to leave you, or to turn back and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go;
wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die and be buried.

Those of you who know a little of my research work, know that both my research subjects, an English wife of a tribal Indigenous man, and a white missionary, found their way into belonging in the Adnyamathanha community of the Flinders Ranges, early last century. And in my research, I reach back over time and across continents, to a Moabite woman, to interpret the kind of loyalty their lives displayed. In the same way, I reach out to a man of Iranian culture, to understand what loyalty to my own nation means, in a time when I am frequently disgusted with our national leadership. You see, through 4 and a half years of waiting, Davood never gave up his faith in Australia to be a just, compassionate and tolerant nation. Davood’s faith in us, reminded me of who we are at our best, and who we are called to become again.

And in case you’re wondering where God is in all this, you might like to remind yourself that the Book of Ruth refers to Yahweh only very slightly, in an exclamation of joy over the birth of the mixed race child Obed, the grandfather of King David, and incidentally 16 generations later, the direct ancestor of Jesus. God’s lessons are there for us to learn in the lives of all the saints, wherever they come from.
[1] Michael Goonan, A Community of Exiles: Exploring Australian Spirituality St Pauls Publications, Homebush NSW, 1996.
[2] Norman C. Habel, The Land Is Mine: Six Biblical Land Ideologies, Overtures to Biblical Theology Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 1995. P55

Mark 10:2-16 (Receive the Kingdom as a child….) by Murray Muirhead

2006-11-11T19:18:00.000+10:00

Mark 10:2-16 (Receive the Kingdom as a child….)
· Talk about our journey through Turkey - overland via public bus with a 13 month old and 5 year old. Cannakale story - shrapnel
· Place of children in this society. Contrast between Australian society and Turkish society that we experienced in day to day travel.
· Helped me to understand that children are valued differently in different cultures and allowed to participate at different levels in different cultures.
· We don't often think consciously about the place of children in our society. We simply react towards them in ways we are socially conditioned to do.
oo000oo
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of belongs. Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will never enter it.' And he took them in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them.
This is the second time in a few chapters of Mark's Gospel that Jesus drew attention to children. In Chapter 9:36 Mark tells us that in the midst of an argument between the disciples about who should be the leader, Jesus took a small child and placed it among them. Then he took the child in his arms and said to the disciples "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.
In contrast to modern day Turkey, in the ancient Mediterranean world children were at the very bottom of the social scale in terms of status and rights. Age and tradition were revered in that society and early childhood training was characterised by harsh discipline. It was not until early adulthood that a young person began receiving serious consideration as a member of the family group, let alone as a member of the wider society.
So it is quite remarkable that Jesus drew attention to children so directly on at least two occasions. And his assertion that they were somehow central to our understanding of the kingdom of God was quite a radical idea.
In shooing away the parents who were bringing their children to Jesus, the disciples were simply acting according to the "rules" of their culture. They were not doing anything out of the ordinary. They were not being particularly mean. They were simply making a reflex reaction to children that had become embedded within their social etiquette. It must have caught them unawares when Jesus suggested that the way that they treated children was somehow parallel with how they received or rejected the Kingdom of God.
So why was Jesus so indignant about their behaviour if they were just following established social norms?
The two stories in Mark's Gospel about Jesus and children can easily be trivialised or romanticised. Many interpreters of the stories have emphasised the "innocence of children" or their "trusting nature" and suggested that we need to become childlike in our innocence and trust if we are to receive the kingdom of God.
But I don't think that Mark intends us to hear think them as stories about us needing to be "childlike". If Jesus was just saying that we need to have a childlike innocence or trust why was he so cranky with the disciples for turning the children away? There must be something else going on in these stories! I think the real sting in the tail of these stories is that Jesus was placing the "class" of people with the lowest status, and the least rights, of any in his society at the very centre of his teaching about the Kingdom of God. I believe these stories are much more about the dignity and worth of children as human beings than about some romanticised ideal of childhood.
Given the worldview of those who witnessed his actions at first hand, it is very likely that they would not have thought Jesus was using the child as metaphor for innocence, or trust, or unquestioning love and acceptance. They are modern categories, not ancient ones.
What those first witnesses would have seen was a social reversal. What they would have heard was a challenge to their hierarchical systems of power, which, Jesus said, were at odds with the reign of God. And unless they renounced such power they would have difficulty receiving, or even recognising, the reign or kingdom of God.
Throughout the world today children as young as 5 or 6 are used a soldiers, sex slaves and enforced labour. In Australia they are physically, sexually and psychologically abused and exploited. And they are often excluded from full participation in the community or the Church.
Last week as we celebrated the baptism of a child we recognised that God does not accept us on the basis of how much theology we understand, or whether we follow all the proper liturgical protocols, or whether we respond with a maturity beyond our years. God simply accepts and loves us as we are and challenges us to treat all human beings as equals within the family of God, So that all might flourish and each one of us, infant, child or adult, might reflect the image of God in God's world.
Jesus was directly challenging his closest disciples concern for power by turning the social-order upside down. He was linking their acceptance of those within their community who had the lowest status and least power with our reception or rejection of the kingdom of God.
It was a political and social challenge that cut right to the heart of the tendency in all societies to marginalise some groups of people. And in our modern, sophisticated society children are still amongst the most powerless and abused people in the world.
We need only think of the Federal Senate's inquiry into "The Forgotten Australians" which was released last year. That report emerged from extensive public hearings around Australia and detailed the widespread physical, sexual and emotional abuse that many Australian and English children experienced in some church and government institutions in the 1930's to 1970's.
Or we need only think of the millions of children who are still enslaved, or forced to work in grossly inhumane conditions across the world. Or the hundred of thousands of children, some as young as 5 or 6, who are used as child solders in civil wars in Africa and the Middle East. Or children who die from malnutrition everyday in a world where you and I can slowly eat ourselves to death.
In this sort of world we cannot reduce the stories of Jesus response to the children to trite words about childlike innocence and trust. On the contrary, God calls us to dismantle all value systems which undermine the equality of all human beings in the eyes of God. For it is as we receive the most lowly members of our community that we somehow - mysteriously - also receive and make real the kingdom of God in our midst.
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of belongs. Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will never enter it.' And he took them in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them.
Amen.

Everyday Saints by Rev Murray Muirhead

2006-11-11T19:16:00.000+10:00

Everyday saints (Hebrews 11)

NOTE: This sermon is an extensively modified version of a sermon first written by Rev Ross Bartlett (United Church of Canada) and taken from Richard Fairchild’s website. It also includes material from Miriam Therese Winter’s WomanWitness (Pt II).

The book of Hebrews is populated with all sorts of incredible people. In fact it can be a little intimidating at points and we might be tempted to think "I could never be like one of those people!" The chapter I read this morning is the roll-call of the faithful of Israel and includes all sorts of people who did great things. Among them is Noah, who spent years building an ark before it rained. Enoch, who was so holy that he didn't die but simply went for a walk one day and ended up in heaven. Then there’s Abraham, who picked up lock, stock and barrel and moved simply because God said “go”. The list includes Moses, perhaps the greatest figure in the Old Testament; the one who did God's greatest work before the time of Jesus. Then there’s Joshua, leading the people across the river Jordan, and dropping the walls of Jericho with trumpets. These are the people we often remember as we recount the stories of our spiritual ancestors.

But then intriguingly, given the pre-eminence of others in the list, there is Rahab the prostitute. Did you notice that when we heard the reading? I wonder how many times people have simply read over that bit as the stream of “heroes of the faith” has been read out. Rahab was a harlot; a common prostitute, who sheltered two of Joshua’s men when they came to spy on Jericho. And yet here she is in a list of great people of the faith. Rahab deified the King’s orders, deceived the town soldiers and helped the Israelite spies escape to safety. For this act she and her family were spared by Joshua during the destruction of Jericho. She was cunning and quick witted woman. But she appears in this list because she acted on her faith in God and became instrumental in Israel’s eventual entry into the promised land of Canaan.

The inclusion of Rahab in a list of great people of faith reminds us of God’s freedom to upset our neat predictable boundaries. To offend our sensibilities. To choose people who would never have occurred to us. To make saints of the most unlikely individuals. This is a God who reaches out to a prostitute inside an enemy city and invites her to become part of the people of God. Rahab is a most unlikely saint. And yet, saint she is. And what makes her such is not the specific action of hiding the spies, but the strong faith in the God that lead her to do so.

For the writer of Hebrews to have such faith is to be sure that the things we hope for in God will come to pass, even when things look uncertain, and to be convinced of the reality of the invisible dimensions of life, even when there is no tangible proof.

But sometimes it‘s hard to hold to those convictions. Sometimes it’s hard to believe without some sort of tangible proof. Sometimes our faith may seem to fail us. We may be tempted to think of saints as having some extra-special capacity for faith that we will never have, or as being special people in unique situations. We might occasionally think “well, if I was in their place I might do something wonderful too", although I suspect we are more likely to say "Well, I'm just a teacher”, or, “I just balance the books”, or, “I’m just a common housewife", “what opportunity do I have to be great, or saintly or heroically faithful?” But what this passage from Hebrews seems to be saying, is that true greatness comes through us finding a place to live out God's will in our life and actually doing it. Not because we know how it will turn out, and not because we know all the answers before we start, but simply because God has called us to be part of the people of God. It does not necessarily involve grand acts, but rather a day-to-day commitment to live by faith in the service of God and our neighbour.

The Australian folk singer, Pat Drummond, sings about a taxi driver named Harcoran, who struggles to find the courage to drive his taxi again after he is robbed and stabbed by a passenger. Pat sings
….. “Most of us have little courage, compensating for that fact, we often hope to find redemption in one grand heroic act, focused in one fleeting moment to prove trustworthy and sure we overlook, beyond the plot, the greater courage to endure…..”
He concludes that Harcoran is a hero, every single night he drives. For he overcomes, each day, the fear within.

Whilst their heroic deeds often distract us, it was their day-to-day trust in God, and their service of other people, that made the “heroes of the faith” great. It was the constant willingness of Jesus’s disciples to let God pick them up, dust them off and start them on their way again when they stumbled and fell, that eventually made them saints. Faith and service, lived out one day at a time.

I suspect very few of us will ever be called to make big sacrifices all at once or to perform great feats of faith or love. That would almost be easier I think. To go to the bank, mortgage our home, take all we have and spend it on one grand act of nobility and sacrifice. But I think God would say something like this: "Good for you. Now take those life savings back to the bank and change them into five and ten dollar notes. And I want you to use them a bit at a time, day by day, in acts of love and service to me, and to your neighbour." Be willing to stand for what is right even though it may be unpopular. Be willing to oppose the prejudice that what is different is automatically wrong, or inferior, or bad. Be willing to give of your time and love to people, to causes and to prayer. Believe in what you hope for and have certainty in what you cannot see. And over the long haul, as you run with perseverance the race set before you, you’ll become an unlikely saint. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Job: God Talk and suffering by Murray Muirhead

2006-11-11T19:13:00.000+10:00

Job: God talk and human suffering

The book of Job is an extended exploration of some of the most painful and challenging questions that can arise in our lives. How do we make sense of the suffering of innocent people - whether it be ourselves or others? How do we talk about God when people suffer misfortune through no fault of their own? How do we sustain faith and belief in God, when appalling events overtake our lives, and in the silence that follows, God seems to be totally absent. How can our lives have meaning when catastrophe can so rapidly tear the tenuous threads by which our lives hang? How can we maintain a sense of hope if we are suddenly diagnosed with a degenerative or terminal illness, or deep depression or psychosis?

oo000oo

There is no historical evidence that Job existed as a real person, or that God had a wager with Satan to make his life miserable. But that doesn't alter the insights contained in the Book of Job, or its place within the canon of the Old Testament, because the human experiences that it explores, and the questions its wrestles with, touch most of our lives in very real ways. And its insights into the nature of human life, and God, and suffering have resonated with believers down through the centuries. The Book of Job, more than any other book in the Bible, has been studied by atheists and adherents of other faith traditions, all of whom grapple with the same universal experience of human misery and unjust suffering.

oo000oo

The wager between God and Satan that sets the scene for the dialogues that follow is a literary device to explore the question of whether faith in God can be "disinterested". Can we continue to trust in God if God does not reward the righteous and punish the unrighteous? What answers are we left with if God is not actually a God of retribution as many of our assumptions presuppose?

The opening scene in the Book of Job does not provide a particularly attractive portrait of God as he brags to Satan about Job's integrity. Satan cannot deny that Job is a good and devout man but he argues that it's very easy for Job to remain faithful to God as his life is so blessed with material possessions and family. So God lets Satan take those things away from Job by killing his children and taking away his vast flocks of animals. Job is pretty upset but he refuses to curse God. So God brags to Satan again. Then Satan says that's all well and good but if Job himself is afflicted physically with illness and pain he will not be able to retain his faithfulness and integrity any longer. So once again God lets Satan inflict Job with horrendous sores from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, the only condition being that he not kill Job. In anguish, Job sits among the ashes of a fire and scraps his sores. His wife chides him "Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God and die!".

Then, just when Job thought that things couldn't get any worse, his friends turned up to comfort and console him. Initially they sat alongside him in silence for seven days awestruck by the depth of his misfortune. It was a powerful act of solidarity as they connected with his deep pain and sense of abandonment. But they could not stay with it. They had to speak. And when they did, they slowly but surely began to blame Job for his suffering and to suggest that the only way to reverse his fortunes was to repent and submit to God.

If you believe in a God who punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous then you can only conclude, when you see someone is suffering, that they must have done something wrong. But in consistently maintaining his innocence, Job rejects such a theology of divine retribution.

His friend's responses are mixed. They echo some of the prophetic literature in their concern for the poor and dispossessed. But they distort that tradition by failing to see there is no evidence that Job had acted inappropriately with regard to those who were poor. And they sought an explanation for his misfortune in his own behaviour. In the face of such pressure Job shows an immense strength character in not succumbing to an idea that has continued to influence human conscience for centuries.

Hymn 674 (vs 1-3) Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by need and pain…

In a famous poem called the 'Masque of Reason', Robert Frost explored the meaning of the Book of Job and grasped something quite profound about the theology that emerges from it. In a conversation between Job and his wife and God, Frost has God say to Job….
(God to Job) …..I've had you on my mind a thousand years to thank you someday for the way you helped me establish once for all the principle there's no connection man can reason out between his just deserts and what he gets. Virtue may fail and wickedness succeed. 'Twas a great demonstration we put on. I should have spoken sooner had I found the word I wanted. You would have supposed One who in the beginning was the Word would be in a position to command it. I have to wait for words like anyone. Too long I've owed you this apology for the apparently unmeaning sorrow you were afflicted with in those old days. But it was of the essence of the trial you shouldn't understand it at the time. It had to seem unmeaning to have meaning. And it came out all right. I have no doubt you realise by now the part you played to stultify the Deuteronomist and change the tenor of religious thought. My thanks are to you for releasing me from moral bondage to the human race. The only free will there at first was man's, who could do good or evil as he chose. I had no choice but I must follow him with forfeits and rewards he understood - unless I liked to suffer loss of worship. I had to prosper good and punish evil. You changed all that (Job). You set me free to reign. You are the Emancipator of your God, and as such I promote you to a saint.[1]
In these inspired words Frost points out that the idea that God must operate through punishment of the wicked and reward of the righteous confines God and tries to create God in our image. It confines the gratuitous nature of God's love which, can transcend evil and unjust suffering in this world and break down the barriers between those who suffer and those who unconsciously believe that unjust suffering is somehow deserved and that we have no obligation to rail against it.

Job's theology suggests that such ways of thinking and talking about God lack depth and authenticity and have something satanic about them. The expectation of rewards that is at the heart of the doctrine of retribution and contemporary "theologies of prosperity", debases our relationship with God and limits our recognition of the many different ways in which God works in the world.

The doctrine of retribution does contain a valid principle in that we are called by God to behave in ethical ways and to live in solidarity with all who are marginalised and dispossessed. But the principle became distorted when it was forced into the narrow framework of "reward and punishment" by the Deuteronomic writers of the Old Testament and many other proponents of this belief.[2] God calls us to live ethically toward one another because of the innate value of each and every person, and to live in solidarity with all who suffer, for in doing so we express God's deep solidarity with each human person. He does not call us to live this way in order to be rewarded.

When Job's friends first appeared they sat alongside him in silence sharing the depth of his pain. And that silence was a much deeper expression of their understanding of what he was going through than any words they later spoke. In the silence of empathy they were present to Job in ways they could never be once they started to blame him for his own suffering.

Throughout the course of the dialogues with his friends, Job moved from a narrow focus on his own experience of unjust suffering to a wider awareness of the unjust suffering and needs of others. In doing so he abandoned the idea that people's misfortune is a result of God's punishment. When the arguments he heard from his friends proved to be so inadequate to address his own suffering, Job abandoned any attachment he might have had to such ideas and experienced a sense of brotherhood with all people who have suffered unjustly throughout human history ; those who are oppressed by unjust regimes, those who experience severe illnesses or natural disasters, and those excluded from society for belonging to a particular ethnic or social class or racial group. Job discovered that he could no longer blame the victims for their poverty, or exclusion, or disease or failure to thrive. Nor could he attribute his previous good fortune to any sense of superiority. He discovered that good things and bad things happen in life, and they will continue to happen. And the reasons "why?" are lost somewhere in the mystery of God.

But in the midst of this harsh awakening Job also discovered that despite his experience of "deep depression" and despair he had not been abandoned by God, either in the depths of his suffering or the peaks of his joy. He then moved beyond the impulse of blaming the victims of unjust suffering and entered into solidarity with all who challenge oppression or live through the pain and isolation of illness and natural disasters.

In the end the Book of Job is a story of hope. It doesn't really give an answer to the "why?" of unjust suffering, but it does undermine the distorted Old Testament image of a God of retribution.

It suggests that if our primary motivation for remaining faithful to God is a desire for rewards, or a fear of punishment, we have been sadly mislead. But it does suggest that as we enter more fully into relationship with God through the good times and the bad times in our lives we will discover ways to move beyond such a limited view of God and find rest from all the unanswered questions of our heart in God's mysterious embrace.

Then we may be more able to live by the words that Lorna used in our call to worship. Words spoken by eighth century Sufi mystic Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya (c713-801) who echoed the insights of Job when she said….

"O my Lord, if I worship you from fear of hell, burn me in it; if I worship you in hope of paradise, exclude me from it. But if I worship you for your own sake, then do not hold me back from your eternal beauty."[3]

Amen.

HYMN 674 (4 -6): To God, who through the prophets proclaimed a different age….
[1] Extract of 'Masque of Reason' in Hamilton, I (Ed). Robert frost: Selected Poems. Penguin Books, 1964, p232 - 233.
[2] See Gutierrez, G. On Job: God-talk and the suffering of the innocent. Orbis Books, 1988, p 64.
[3] Bowker, J (Ed) (1997) The Oxford dictionary of world religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press (p 789)

Remembering the Desert

2006-09-02T22:48:00.000+10:00

A parable for Worship with reference to the Exodus and Deuteronomy 8

By Rev Tracy Spencer
030906

Remember the desert.

Remember…. how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years. Remember. Remember, because this is the way God disciplined you, this is the way God taught you how to truly live. Remember. Remember the desert. Remember how to live as God’s people.

Remember at the beginning of todays service I read a poem, called ‘The Desert’, written in 1908 by an American woman called Minnie Louise Haskins.
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'
That’s all I knew of it at first, when I came across it quoted in one of RM Williams books, ‘Beneath whose hands’, where he describes travelling through the Musgrave ranges with a missionary, Bill Wade, in 1927, who quoted this to him. He describes Bill as naïve and fearless, walking up to groups of Indigenous people he had never met with his arms wide open for embrace and singing out ‘Hallelujah!’ In fact, Anangu this days remember him, and call him ‘Hallelujah Wade’. This poem, with the rest of it, was later made famous when King George the fifth read it in his Christmas address to his empire on the eve of WW2. Even the recent Queen Mother had it read at her funeral. The poem ‘The desert’ is fundamentally about an orientation to life that dares to embrace the desert. Fundamentally about what we might call a spirituality that embraces the unknown, believing it will be life giving. A spirituality of complete trust.

That’s what forty years in the desert – two generations of desert living – might teach you. But that spirituality did not come easily for whitefellas in Australia. Around 1860, a gentleman explorer to ‘central Australia’, William Jessop, stood atop a hill and described 'the great western desert": "The sight that burst upon me was fearful: a complete and unbroken semicircle of red, glaring, parched, and cracked earth started from my feet as a centre and was bounded by the horizon and by nothing besides…It weas a lurid yellow everywhere, tormenting the eyes; above it was a canopy of blue, as uniform and as wearisome as the ground itself; through all and over all rolled the glowing sun in all his fiery might. I had at last met a palce on earth where no life was, but death rather lived."[1]
The irony is he was only standing on Mt Remarkable in South Australia’s mid north. He hadn’t seen anything yet! Around that same time, John McDouall Stuart was at what he believed to be the centre of Australia, where he erected an English flag, and gave a speech, not to the two other men in his meagre party, but to the Indigenous people he assumed were around, although he could not see them. The speech he gave to the people who had lived, survived and thrived in this place for thousands of years, went something like ‘give three cheers for the flag, the emblem of civil and religious liberty, and may it be a sign to the natives that the sawn of liberty, civilisation and Christianity is about to break upon them.’ (Mr Stuart’s Track p143) Like so many other settlers, he brought with him the idea that this desert was empty, and in need of his resources to make it a place able to sustain life. And then he feasted on parrot and native seed damper in celebration that night.

How do you travel in this desert? Is it a place to be feared? Is it a place to be changed into something else? Is it a place that nurtures you from its abundant life?

And even more fundamental is the question: what are you doing here anyway?

All life is a journey, and yours has led you here. There is a mystery in that, although we could each map out the twists and turns of our years to this point. There is a mystery in the future, no matter how confident we are of where we think we might be headed. The point of the desert is to teach you, so that whatever happens next, you remember your lessons here, and carry them with you.

In the OT, the desert has been all these things – fearful, needing transformation, nurturing, a place of learning. But it is this last that the book of Deuteronomy emphasises. Of all the Biblical books, Deuteronomy has the most signs of an author who had really experienced the real desert. It names places, describes conditions, and most of all, sees the desert time as a very positive experience for God’s people. Remember the desert! Is its message. Ian Robinson, who some of you know from the Desert Journeys argues Deuteronomy was written by authors who intimately knew the desert, and write from their experience of living as God’s people in a desert environment. The idea of the promised land is still there, but it is secondary to the concern to live, survive and thrive as God’s people in the desert. This is where they encounter God, are tested or taught, are kept safe and nurtured, and learn complete trust in the God who dwells with them there. It takes forty years. They get beyond culture shock. They get beyond conquest. They learn to twist and turn their wanderings to avoid entering others territory where they were not welcome; and when they did enter the territory of Amalkites and other –ites, they negotiated peaceful passage. This people of God were in no mood for war. They were just learning how to live, survive and thrive in the desert where God was found in fire and cloud and law, where water sprang from rocks and food appeared with the dew.

We are the church in the mall in the desert. We think perhaps our lawns are too green to be desert, our houses too comfortable. But its not the case. Every day, we see God’s radiance glowing on the ranges, and feel the touch of God’s mercy in the warmth of winter sun and the chill of summer evenings. Every day, just walking across our lawns, we negotiate our passage through Arrernte territory, making peace or detouring as the situation demands. Every day, we are learning how to live, survive and thrive in this place where God is teaching us about who God is, and who we are.

Last weekend I saw a film reminding me again about who Australians have been in this desert country. ‘Kanyini’ is a word meaning something like connection, and Bob Randall described Anangu life with connection to country, family, law and spirituality. And then through black and white archive footage of our past, he showed how settler Australians cut the connections of Anangu to law, to country, to family. Settler Australians like John McDouall Stuart, themselves disconnected from families overseas, home countries far away, and even from their own law as they killed people, coveted other men’s women, and stole possessions. That’s our past, and Bob, smiling and speaking evenly and carefully, reminded the audience of it. But he reminded us, for the purpose of teaching us. Towards the end of Kanyini, an image is shown of a whitefella, wearing the headband, and Bob saying something like ‘why didn’t they come to us and say can we share this place with you, and we could have taught them how to live in our good ways, and they could have taught us about their ways too.’ The connection that remains unbroken for Bob is the connection to spirituality, an orientation to life that believes in adapting to the world as it presents itself, that everything in the world is meant to be there for the good of all. A spirituality of trust, and hope.

In this desert, God’s word to us is ‘remember’. I was reminded that at the beginning of the year, I preached just the opposite, ‘Remember not the things of times past’ although I wanted to argue for the value of history then. And there is a time for remembering. The experience of the last 150 years in the central deserts teaches us many lessons. The experience of people in the central deserts more than 150 years ago teaches us many lessons too. What we might learn from these is a fundamental orientation to face the unknown not with fear and control but with humility and trust and faith in the Spirit who preserves life.

‘Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep Gods commands?’ Remember? That’s why you’re here. Amen.

Works Cited

William RH Jessop. Flindersland and Sturtland; or the inside and Outside of Australia. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington St publisher in ordinary to her majesty, 1862.
John Milton. "Paradise Lost." (1667).

[1] William RH Jessop, Flindersland and Sturtland; or the inside and Outside of Australia (London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington St publisher in ordinary to her majesty, 1862). P259

Go Magazine August 2006

2006-08-24T21:48:00.000+10:00

Minister’s reflections

Last weekend members of the Church Council, along with other key leaders of the congregation including our Sunday School teachers and the Adelaide House Caretaker, attended a Presbytery Workshop entitled ‘Called to Care’.

The Presbytery’s purpose in running these workshops throughout the Northern Synod is to inform congregations about the work being done across the Uniting Church to ensure that Church agencies and congregations are safe places for all people. This not only includes physical safety but emotional and spiritual safety also.

Whilst the Uniting Church has worked hard over the past decade to ensure that it has adequate policies and procedures to prevent physical, sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse occurring whilst people are participating in congregational life we recognise that this is not sufficient. Whilst policies and procedures are important we also need to build and sustain a culture of safety and respectfulness within our congregations. This means that we must take care about the ways in which we interact with each other. This is especially so during times of change when people are experiencing a range of heightened emotions.

Over the past few weeks, since the Congregational Meeting decided to renew our worship services, some cracks have begun to appear in our congregation which had seemed to be drawn more closely together by the anniversary celebrations and the reinvigoration of our financial and governance structures.

The changes that many people in the congregation have embraced have been difficult for others. And a few people are wondering whether they will remain with us or seek out another faith community which might provide more satisfactorily for their needs. Some people are angry about the changes, some are disappointed or angry that change has not been equally embraced by all. Some people are hurt by the behaviour of others, some feel confused or isolated and some feel more hope and energy than they have for many years. Some people feel unsettled but are deeply committed to staying. Others are reassessing where they belong.

All of these emotions have been expressed to Tracy and me and the Elders over the past few weeks and it’s okay because that is part of how human life unfolds in any community with more than one member.

In the midst of all that is going on it is important that we not lose hope or confidence in the presence of God’s Spirit. And it is important that we treat each other in ways that will enhance our life together and make space for those who choose to, to leave well, or to have the freedom to explore other places for a time before returning to once again share fellowship with us.

We have a duty of care towards one another, for each person is created in the image of God. And we have a duty of care because love is a “mark” of an authentic Christian community – something that distinguishes it from other human groupings.

During August the lectionary readings include a couple of passages from the Book of Ephesians that are particularly relevant at this time. The writer of Ephesians begins by reminding his readers of the unity that we have in Christ. He then reminds them of their call to be a community characterised by gentleness, humility, respect and love. And he let us in on what was actually happening in the life of the early church with these words….

“So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another…. Be angry, but do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not make room for the devil…. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear… Put away all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”.

It appears that the Church in Ephesus had become a place where people did not tell truth about one another, but were selective with that truth in a way that was slanderous of others. It had become a place where gossip was the currency of communication. And it was causing division and concern that was evident to people beyond the congregation.

The Ephesians were not speaking to one another in ways they could be proud of, or in ways that reflected their mutual belonging to the community of faith. They were expressing their anger in destructive ways that failed to resolve their differences and turned them into ongoing feuds. And bitterness, malice, anger, wrath and wrangling had come to characterise their life together.

That is why the writer of Ephesians wanted to remind them of their calling to be imitators of God, who live in love, just as Christ loved them. That is why the writer reminded them of the distinctive call of the Church to be a fellowship marked by gentleness, humility and love.

We are also called to be that sort of community, because that is the only authentic way we can claim to be a Christian community, not just a group of people. Wherever the sort of behaviour that characterised the Ephesian Church is allowed to flourish, the community will self destruct and individuals will be damaged.

So I encourage each one of us to take special care during this period of transition in the life of the congregation. Speak the truth to one another in love - simply, openly, and honestly. Resist the temptation to pass on the latest gossip without checking its accuracy with someone who has the full story. Because the gossip whirlpool has caused unnecessary distress to members of our congregation in the past couple of months.

Resist the urge to defame people if you are angry or hurt by them. Instead, ask them for an opportunity to talk through with them how you are feeling. Or approach an elder or minister you trust to help such a conversation happen.

A couple of years ago the congregation developed an exciting new vision of becoming a church that cares for its community, a sanctuary for pilgrims, and a reconciling community. There are exciting times ahead as we embark on the journey of making that vision a reality. In the process a lot will be asked of us. And there will be points of tension and inevitable change. But we will realise that vision if we continue to work together and allow God’s Spirit to lead us.

May God guide us, and strengthen us, as we respond again to the call to be the Church of Jesus Christ in this time, and this place.

Murray Muirhead
August 2006

Living Simply
On July 31, the Congregation raised $534.00 for the Matthew Rusike Children’s Home in Zimbabwe, at its ‘Living Simply’ meal. This has been our fourth ‘Living Simply’ meal since October 2005, and so we have now-raised $1,534, which is not a bad effort. We hold the fund-raising event on the fifth Sunday of the month. At the ‘Living Simply’ meal, we have been selling a Vegemite or Peanut Butter Sandwich, an orange and a cup of tea for a cost of $10.00. Indeed it’s hardly a bargain, but this simple Sunday lunch helps to remind participants that there are so many who go hungry in our world.

The Matthew Rusike Children’s Home is a project that has been supported by Uniting Church Overseas Aid since 1995. Information that we have been sent relates how Zimbabwe is currently facing enormous social and economic problems that are having a great impact on children. 70% of the population are unemployed and are living below the poverty line. An increase in urban and rural poverty, and especially the impact of HIV/AIDS, has meant the number of children in need has increased dramatically.

The Home has provided a safe haven for abandoned, orphaned, abused and disadvantaged children since it was founded in 1950. A hundred and twenty children between the ages of 3 and 18 are currently being cared for. As well as providing the children with a loving and safe home, they are given an opportunity to gain an education and participate in vocational training.

“After the children have been in the home for a few months, they improve physically and emotionally, they learn to laugh and cry, they become bright, they develop a sense of hope and purpose, they discover life again.” Mr Mangobe -[former superintendent]

Our next ‘Living Simply’ meal will be on October 29.

My experience with the East Timorese Police.
When we spent 6 weeks in East Timor in 2005, I was only dimly aware that there was a Police Force there. They were more of a presence when we arrived this year. Groups of them, in their bright blue uniforms, were regularly stopping vehicles to check on registration papers.
On 28th April a middle aged Police Officer was admitted to Dili Hospital with severe head injuries after he had been assaulted by a mob. He had been liberally sprayed with tear gas, and his blue police jacket had been ruined when he had been dragged along the road. It was the first time that I had treated a Police Officer who had been severely injured while on duty.
For the first 2 months of our time in Dili there had been several demonstrations after 600 Members of the 1400 Defence Force personnel had been dismissed by the Prime Minister. There had been some references to this in the Australian press.
After 28th April East Timor featured regularly in the Australian news. As well as the Police Officer, an estimated 5 -7 people were killed that day and there were 16 men, mainly members of the Defence Force admitted to hospital with gunshot or grenade injuries.
Ten days later members of the rapid response unit, an elite group of members of the police, went to the hills behind Dili aiming to disarm rebellious members of the Defence Force. They were unsuccessful, and ended up being surrounded in a compound by members of the Defence Force. A truce was negotiated, and it was agreed that if they surrendered their arms they could leave. They did this, but as they were leaving two of the Police Officers were stabbed, one fatally.
His body was bought to the hospital later that afternoon accompanied by about 40 other members of the police rapid response unit. They looked incredibly angry, and as well as their pistols they had machine guns (enough weapons to kill everyone in the hospital very quickly). For no obvious reason they were running up and down the hospital walkways in groups fully armed.
The other Police Officer had a small wound which was sutured. He could have been discharged, but it seemed a good idea to admit him for the night He ended up staying for a further six days, in a cubicle with usually 4 -6 heavily armed police for company.
On 18th May, during the afternoon when we went to town for an hour, our bungalow was broken into, and some money, our laptop computer, and camera stolen. East Timorese are small, but the teenager who did this was very small. He removed one louver, bent a security bar, and got through a gap of 16cm.
The hospital staff were very upset about this. It was the first time that the bungalow that surgeons sponsored by the College of Surgeons stay in had been broken into in five years. It was largely due to their persistence that the thief was caught. I ended up going to the police station with them on the night of the break in, and on three other occasions, for a total of about four hours, after which I was getting the feel of Dili Central Police station. Badly in need of paint: a lot of fairly young police moving around in their distinctive, brighter than average blue uniforms; and a lot of patient East Timorese waiting to have their problems listened to.
My last visit there was on the 23rd May, when I finally got a police statement for insurance purposes written in Tetun. When I left Dili Central Police Station at noon on that Tuesday there was nothing to suggest that in 48 hours time the East Timorese police force would not be functional.
That afternoon there was a lot of shooting as Defence Force personnel and their supporters came down from the hills, and we did not leave the hospital for more than a week, and our only knowledge of things that were happening in town came from the radio, or internet. To quote from the press:-
“On Thursday (25th) things turned very nasty. The Dili district Police Headquarters was under attack from the military and the police were holed up in their barracks in the city, fearful of coming out. The United Nations intervened, negotiating for the police to lay down their arms, and leave their barracks to walk several blocks to the UN compound. The UN had been given assurances that the police would be able to surrender in peace. However, the column of unarmed police, accompanied by unarmed UN guards had walked less than 100 meters when two soldiers opened fire on them, killing nine of them.”
Shortly after the shootings, the scene in the emergency hospital was one of the worst I have ever seen. I found multiple Police Officers in their blood stained blue uniforms, particularly young female officers who had been severely injured, very distressing. We operated on 14 seriously injured, mainly police, that afternoon and evening, and a further 10 the following day. We were able to evacuate 10 of them to Darwin three days later.
We left Dili as planned on the second of June, and some members of the Police Force were still in hospital when we left, but I did not see any police in uniform in the hospital after Thursday 25th May. They were not seen in the streets either. East Timor did not have a functioning police force after the shootings to help control the rioting and house and shop burning that continued in spite of the presence of the Australian Defence force.
From David & Julie Hamilton

THE UC ADULT FELLOWSHIP organised a get-together at Elsa Corbet’s on the 29th to share in a pooled lunch and listen and see a presentation first hand from David and Julie Hamilton of their recent time in East Timor. About 25 attended and enjoyed the time together - having lunch outdoors, doing an activity identifying countries from photographs from around the world and then the excellent insight from the Hamiltons. (If you missed out another is to be arranged so let Julie know)

THIRTY EIGHT SOFT TOYS were sent to Adelaide mid-July, as the Alice Springs contribution to the U.C.A.F. National Appeal for “1000 Cuddlies for Children in Zambia”. Greyhound Bus Lines kindly took two cartons free-of-charge, so a big THANK YOU to those who knitted, along with the freight company.

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
Tues 15th Aug Church Council meet at 7pm Mission House

Friday 18th Aug Australian Christian Women Fellowship Day Service 7pm Anglican Church – Theme is “I Am The Bread of Life”

Sunday 20th Aug ‘White Men are Liars’ – Margaret Bain Conversations about her book 4.30pm at Adelaide House

Friday 29th-30th Sept. CWCI Retreat for ladies at Yirara College – theme “It’s Time to take Time”

The next edition of Gospel Outback is scheduled for Sunday 9th September therefore deadline date Sunday 2nd September – email contributions or leave in box in church foyer
PS With the changes to technology, we are now able to post sermons, liturgies, GO and comments on a web site, for you to visit at your leisure and leave comments to create some online dialogue. Visit our blog site at
http://unitingchurchalicesprings.blogspot.com
Kindness in words creates confidence,
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness
Kindness in giving creates Love
CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN SHOW REPORT:
Although the 2006 Alice Springs Show is history, we should be aware of the number of Church family members who participated.

While inspecting the cakes and biscuits, it was great to see the name of Ruth Lamb-Carlsen and Pat Hood. Elsa Corbet’s name appeared in the floral arrangement section.

Grace Darling’s entries did not quite fill a whole display case – knitted articles made from different yarn and in another cabinet a crocheted cardigan. Jean Thurgood is also a “crafty” person with her tapestry contribution. We want to check out Jenny Marshman’s vegie garden after seeing her broccoli and pumpkin. Nathaniel and Lochlan Carlsen were also contributors. Charles and Laurel Butcher’s grandchildren would have kept the judges busy - children are so innovative these days.

Old Timers residents, three or four of them, were represented also. St. Philip’s College would have had some of the Station kids busy with animals. Warwick Marsh entered many caged birds in the aviculture section and spent some time reassuring attendees that a certain parrot was not going to die but was just moulting! We were represented for the first time this year in the arena events with Mady Muirhead riding “Sharni” and Gus Muirhead on “Brutus”. To others who may have entered but weren’t identified, continue to be involved, by participating we inspire and encourage one another to give of our best in whatever we do. Can’t wait for the 2007 Show

LECTIONARY READINGS:
August 20th
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Psalm 111 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58
August 27th
1 Kings 8(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69
September 3rd
Song 2:8-13 Psalm 45:1-2,6-9 James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
September 10th
Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23 Psalm 125 James 2:1-10 (11-13),14-17 Mark 7:24-37

PILGRIMAGE IN THE HEART:
Are you interested in exploring ideas and activities about pilgrimage and desert spirituality in the Heart of Alice Springs? Alice Springs is a point of arrival or departure for many many pilgrims of all types, yet many journeys overlook the spiritual gifts and inspiration of Alice Springs itself. As the Church in the Mall in the heart of Alice Springs, the Uniting Church has identified engagement with ‘pilgrimage’ and ‘pilgrims’ as part of its congregational vision, and we are keen to grow a network of people who would like to explore what this might mean in Alice Springs, together. Our first ‘gathering’ of the network will be on Sunday 27th August. Be part of walking from the Church along the river to the Telegraph Station directly after church (have a cuppa first!), or meet us at the Telegraph Station for a BYO BBQ about 11.30am. Please feel free to invite friends who are interested to join us. If you need food taken on ahead for you, please hand it to Murray on the day. I look forward to sharing the journey with you! Contact – Tracy Spencer 8952 1126

GO magazine July 2006

2006-08-24T21:47:00.001+10:00

Minister’s musings
In the midst of all the fireworks, festival and fancy preparations for the Show this month, have you noticed that the dead jacaranda has been cut down from out the front of Adelaide House? This was the tree I spoke about at Easter, wondering what we would choose to replace it. A whitewood has been suggested, because it was such a versatile and useful tree for Indigenous people; or a sapling Jacaranda, to retain the look we have grown accustomed to. Members of the community have even suggested we cut down the remaining Jacaranda, or at least pave the garden area, to make a patio and outdoor cinema! But we as a Church community have not made a decision yet, and so we live with the space, which is both a sign of death, and an opportunity for growth.

This month too, the Alice Springs News will run articles about the state of the Christian Churches in Alice Springs. Across the country, the trends are for a decline in members and attendees of Sunday worship, particularly in the mainstream denominations. It is obvious to us all that things have been changing for the Churches for a long time. But right now in our Church, we are particularly conscious of living in the space between what has been, and what could be.

When the Presbytery and Synod representatives, Rev Felicity Amery and Julie Watts, visited us in late March, it was to work through with us the way our governance and finance arrangements had led us into a major financial crisis. One Church Council, and then the Congregational Meeting, were in no doubt things had to change for us to become solvent again. And after hard work by One Church Council, and everyone tightening their belts a little, this congregation has pulled itself out of crisis and has fashioned strategies to continue to appropriately steward our resources for the ongoing future. Things have changed: the Congregation voted for a governance structure that reflects the congregational vision developed eighteen months ago, and ensures oversight, support and accountability between the congregation and its projects, like running Adelaide House and the Op shop.

And each of those have changed in some ways too: One Church Council agreed to the request from the Op shop that they relocate into Mission House, and this seems to be working well. Adelaide House has embarked on a Conservation and Management Plan, incorporating the Church as a heritage building also, and is working with Heritage NT to achieve a draft plan by the end of the year. This will ensure forward planning for the upkeep of our heritage buildings. The Congregation also voted to proceed with planning for redevelopment of the church site, and you will hear more of this in months to come. When Felicity and Julie meet with One Church Council at the end of this month to see how we’ve responded to the challenge, we will have a strong and positive story to tell. And I think they will be impressed with the grace and sensitivity with which we have all listened and worked with each other during this most difficult process.

Governance and finance are not the only changes. After years of discussion (according to Parish review documents) the three Sunday Services have been brought together into a new Sunday Worship service, reflecting the shared needs and desires expressed in a series of discussions with each of the previous congregations, and careful deliberations by Elders. Finally, a Congregational Meeting made a clear decision to move in this way. And at Old Timers, after discussion with the worshippers who meet there, and staff, the monthly service is being reoriented to offer old time hymn singing in the nursing home, amongst those who cannot otherwise access Worship services.

We know that in the midst of all this change, we celebrated the amazing variety that has been the life of this congregation over its fifty years of life. In fact, I’m fairly confident that nothing we’re doing now has not been done at some time in this congregations rich past! But knowing that the congregation has always responded to its changing circumstances over the years does not make change any easier for some of us to bear. Some of us are hurting, and disoriented. Some of us are angry. Some of us have withdrawn, or are considering it. So take care with each other during this time. Listen to each other, and listen to God’s call upon your heart.

Some of us are relieved with the changes: rosters for the new Worship service, once they are filled in the coming weeks, lighten the load for many. Some of us are experimenting with the new situations we find ourselves in: be tolerant of the flow of ideas and enthusiasm change can bring to some! Expect the church seating arrangements to shift from time to time, as different worship teams use the space to reflect the themes for worship, although preserving the emphasis on reflection on the end wall Cross, and a sense of fellowship amongst worshippers.

For some, this is an uncomfortable and unfamiliar space we find ourselves in: we would rather have it filled up the way it was and carry on as if nothing had changed. And indeed, much is still familiar. But like the space of the dead Jacaranda, even a new sapling planted in the middle of the familiar garden would not be the same. It would be new and small for a long time yet, and need careful nurturing to reach maturity. So would a young whitewood, and we’ve yet to know what shape such a tree might take in that spot.

To be in a space between the old and the new, where the familiar is unsettled and the shape of things to come is unclear, is akin to living inside one of Jesus parables. Jesus enters the familiar scene, and then turns it inside out to show the new vision of what the kingdom might look like.

In reply to the Alice Springs News reporters questions about the changes in Uniting Church membership over the years, I said that while our Sunday attendance is lower, there are still 2000 people in Alice Springs who list themselves as belonging to the Uniting Church in the Census. The expression of being a member of our church is changing – Sunday observance is not as significant for a number of Christians – but that does not mean Christian faith is in crisis. Rather, it means that Christian communities must configure themselves in new ways to meet the needs of their scattered members. Like Jesus, we go out again to meet people where they are – in the crowds, in their homes, on mountains and plains – to heal their pain, speak blessing, and be an incarnation of the new kingdom of God in their midst.

The space in which the congregation has been able to make changes this year is God’s blessing to us all. Let us give thanks for it, and wait expectantly for the signs of God’s kingdom growing up amongst us.
From Rev Tracy Spencer

PS With the changes to technology, we are now able to post sermons, liturgies, and comments on a web site, for you to visit at your leisure and leave comments to create some online dialogue. Visit our blog site at http://unitingchurchalicesprings.blogspot.com

YES , THE OP SHOP HAS M O V E D ! ! !
* The entry now is from Todd Mall.
* We enjoy assisting the community and meeting people.
· New volunteers are very welcome.

Did you know the Op Shop was operating back in the early 70's? It was in a very dilapidated iron shed, opening onto the footpath in Hartley St. in front of Griffiths House (close to the position of Dr Lim's Office).
There were several adjacent rooms, one where Rev Jim Downing and Yami Lester worked together on the needs of aboriginal people, the other contained sewing machines for op-shop sewing sessions. Meg Williams remembers these; she began her op shop career in the early 70's. Lorna Stevenson also worked in this old building. Helen Davison worked some weekends in 1976 when Peter would mind the girls. Elsa Corbet was manager for eight years at the end of the 80's. Did you know that before the days of the 'garage-shed' Op shop was in a demountable near the Hall area! Lorna Walker also worked in the old garage and Sheila Bizley way back when her children were little. This is just a short history, so if you also have a history connected with the shop please let us know.
The present volunteers join with me to thank our dear friend Beth Cardona for her great commitment to the job as manager for 8 or 9 years. But who started the op shop and when, in the 60's presumably?? Maybe Margaret Bain or Virginia can tell us! Please come and visit us in our new location!
Helen Davison & Leoni Read

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

REFLECTIONS ON SERVING IN DILI:
At the end of February David, who had been recruited by the Royal Australasian College of surgeons, started a three month surgical appointment at Dili National Hospital. Julie joined him 2 weeks later.
For the last 5 weeks of out time in Dili there was civil unrest, rioting, and killings. We were aware when we were there, and also since returning, that our relatives, friends, and members of the Uniting Church were concerned for us and remembering us in their prayers. We thank you for this.
We have many experiences to share. The following describes some of them.
Julie has written about our Easter in Dili, and David about his dealings with the police (David’s article will be printed in August edition of GO – attend the Adult Fellowship meeting at Elsa Corbet’s on Saturday 29th to hear of their experiences first hand)

EASTER 2006
As Timor Leste is very much a Catholic country, David and I decided to participate in a Catholic Easter. This began for us on Good Friday when we got up early and in the cool of the morning drove the few miles east to Cape Fatucama. There on top of the hill is the 27 meter high Christ statue which can be seen from all parts of the Dili foreshore. Surprisingly, it was built by the mainly Muslim Indonesians and unveiled by Suharto in 1988. The 27 meters represented the 27 provinces of Indonesia. Fortunately the statue was not reduced to 26 meters during the 1999 post referendum violence when Timor Leste voted for independence, and much of the city was destroyed.
We took our time climbing up the shallow steps that lead to the statue. On the way we paused often to take in the Stations of the Cross which are pictured as large copper beatings, protected by concrete shelters. Unfortunately, these works of art have had some exposure to the weather and have lost much of their gloss. Every now and then we passed small groups of reverent Timorese people, meditating at a station. As they moved on they would quietly sing together is very lovely harmony. We wondered what suffering they themselves had experienced, and how that would deepen their appreciation of the meaning of Easter.
On a flat area near the top of the hill is an altar. Above this is a copper picture of the risen Christ. Here we found a worshipping congregation from one of the suburban Dili Catholic churches. Dave climbed up the steep steps to the base of the statue, while I was quite happy to view Dili from a little lower down and talk with some of the English speaking locals. On our return journey we again met several small worshipping groups making their way to the summit.
Sunday morning we were up with the birds to attend a service at the Catholic cathedral, a massive white building, also visited and opened by Suharto in 1988. We were told to be there at 7am but found the church almost empty. The pews were hard and we were badly in need of a stretch by the time the service started more than an hour later. However, during worship the congregation frequently stood up, and we were happy to follow! Between 7am and 8am we watched with interest as the cathedral (said to be the largest in S.E.Asia) gradually filled to overflowing. Dave estimated about 2000 people present.

The dress the women wore reflected the different cultural influences we see here. Some of the older women wore Portuguese black or coloured lace head scarves, together with Indonesian sarongs and long sleeved blouses. The younger generation wore modest Western type dress, and the little girl’s pastel party frocks of satin and flimsy materials.
One small tot in a pretty lemon dress was shod in red sneakers several times too big. The same little one refused to put her silver centavos (donated by her grandfather) in the collection bag. I wonder if she wanted to buy sweets afterwards!
The service was conducted in Tetun, but as it was Easter Sunday we could picture what was being said. The singing was wonderful with a choir harmonizing and a young soprano soloist. A slim young women, dressed in white with long flowing sleeves, conducted, her hands dancing gracefully to the music.
Most probably by now, most of the congregation have either fled Dili or are living in refugee camps scattered around the city.

MARGARET BAIN'S STORY (Cont.)
In the May issue of 'Go' Part 1 of the story was printed. Next month Meg Williams will give us Part 2 where we will discover more of Margaret's connections with Ernabella, Finke and Alice Springs. She returned here in year 2000 to live at a cottage at Old Timers and to worship with us.
Recently I asked Margaret why she had made this decision. Her words to me were 'For unfinished business'! On Sundays she assists Rev. Raymond Bandicha with Christian worship, drives people around town, visits the gaol, just to name a few things. Last year she completed and had published a small booklet 'WHITE MEN ARE LIARS' which is another look at Aboriginal-Western Interactions. Margaret had become a Pitjantjatjara speaker, so had been able to hear, to analyse and to write down what aboriginals had been teaching her, particularly among the families trying to live on the sandhills near the Finke railway town. At Monash University Margaret took out a postgraduate degree in Anthropology, then had her first book printed; this booklet is a summary of her findings. I quote 'for cultural reasons, Aboriginals and Westerners use significantly different abstractions.' Most enlightening are the illustrations in the booklet of conversations which show this. Books are available from Margaret for a small donation.

You may well ask, ' Well, just where is Finke? Do you mean Ernabella?' The latter is in South Australia, near the Everard Ranges, a pretty place, commenced by Presbyterian missionaries. On the old railway route via the wide, sandy Finke riverbed, is the railway town of Finke where the steam train needed to take on water and coal. Most foodstuffs and items for cattle-stations and communities were off-loaded at Finke and goods to be transported were taken away by train. Then the population expanded when aboriginal families were put off some cattle stations with no work. To get to Finke, vehicles travel by the new South Rd as far as Kulgera, then turn east along a dirt road. However according to the map of the track for the big Desert Race, Finke is 265 km by the old South Rd. directly south of the Alice.
Written by Helen Davison

LET'S SMILE!
MY NAME IS . . . .
A teacher had just given her second-grade class a lesson on magnets. Now came the question session, and she asked a little boy, 'My name starts with an "M" and I pick up things. What am I? The boy replied instantly, 'A Mother'.
From Illustrations Unlimited (Acts Encounter May 2006).

The next edition of Gospel Outback is scheduled for Sunday 13th August 2006 therefore deadline date Sunday 4th August – email contributions or leave in box in church foyer
UCA BARBECUE AT FINKE DESERT RACE:
Brian and Judy Cogan used their initiative and resources and organised a team to run a barbecue food stall manned by a number of UCA members with about 40 hours valuable assistance from visitors to town. There was a great behind the scenes support team preparing vegetables for coleslaw salad, spreading bread and rolls in the church hall kitchen – thanks muchly! Prologue day on Saturday started at 5am with bacon and egg rolls for breakfast ready to serve at 6am. By 9.30am the menu changed to sausages, steak and rissole sandwiches with coleslaw and onion and continued to about 3pm having raised enough to cover costs! Sunday and Monday were quieter but what was received was profit – all in all $2,900. The venue was an ideal spot to see the start/finish line and the dust!! Hands up for 2007.

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
Rev. Felicity Amery from Pilgrim Presbytery and Julie Watts from Northern Synod will visit at the end of the month for meetings. On Thursday 27th 7.30pm One Church Council will meet re church governance and finance arrangement. On Sunday 30th from 4.30-8pm (including a shared tea) for all treasurers, those handling finance, workers with children, youth, Sunday school, church leaders and any others interested.

The next Adult Fellowship gathering will be on Saturday 29th at 12 noon at Elsa Corbet’s home, Lot 336 Palm Circuit (next door to the Windmill Restaurant). We anticipate Julie and David Hamilton will be able to talk to us about their experiences in East Timor. Please bring a plate of food to share for lunch. Everyone welcome.

Old Timers Fete – Saturday 12th August – helpers will be needed with sorting of Work Stall goods and preparing & serving satays. Contact Lorna Walker re work stall and David Marshman re satays

CWCI Retreat for ladies Friday 29th-Saturday 30th September at Yirara College

Northern Synod Sunday 1st October–Thursday 4th October at St. Philip’s College

THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM FOR BUSY PEOPLE
The Lord is my pace-setter,
I shall not rush,
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,
He provides me with images of stillness
Which restore my serenity,
He leads me in ways of efficiency
Through calmness of mind
And His guidance is peace
Even though I have a great many things
To accomplish each day
I will not fret,
For His presence is here,
His timelessness,
His all-importance
Will keep me in balance,
He prepares refreshment and renewal
In the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility
My cup of joyous energy overflows
Such harmony and effectiveness
Shall be the fruits of my hours
For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,
And dwell in His House, forever.
Written by a Japanese Christian,Toki Hiyashiro

It has been proposed by our Council of Elders that in a few months time Margaret's booklet be officially launched: Margaret will be there to answer questions and talk about her book.

My experience with the East Timorese Police.
When we spent 6 weeks in East Timor in 2005, I was only dimly aware that there was a Police Force there. They were more of a presence when we arrived this year. Groups of them, in their bright blue uniforms, were regularly stopping vehicles to check on registration papers.
On 28th April a middle aged Police Officer was admitted to Dili Hospital with severe head injuries after he had been assaulted by a mob. He had been liberally sprayed with tear gas, and his blue police jacket had been ruined when he had been dragged along the road. It was the first time that I had treated a Police Officer who had been severely injured while on duty.
For the first 2 months of our time in Dili there had been several demonstrations after 600
Members of the 1400 Defence Force personnel had been dismissed by the Prime Minister. There had been some references to this in the Australian press.
After 28th April East Timor featured regularly in the Australian news. As well as the Police Officer, an estimated 5 -7 people were killed that day and there were 16 men, mainly members of the Defense Force admitted to hospital with gunshot or grenade injuries.
Ten days later members of the rapid response unit, an elite group of members of the police, went to the hills behind Dili aiming to disarm rebellious members of the Defence Force. They were unsuccessful, and ended up being surrounded in a compound by members of the Defence Force. A truce was negotiated, and it was agreed that if they surrendered their arms they could leave. They did this, but as they were leaving two of the Police Officers were stabbed, one fatally.
His body was bought to the hospital later that afternoon accompanied by about 40 other members of the police rapid response unit. They looked incredibly angry, and as well as their pistols they had machine guns (enough weapons to kill everyone in the hospital very quickly). For no obvious reason they were running up and down the hospital walkways in groups fully armed.
The other Police Officer had a small wound which was sutured. He could have been discharged, but it seemed a good idea to admit him for the night He ended up staying for a further six days, in a cubicle with usually 4 -6 heavily armed police for company.
On 18th May, during the afternoon when we went to town for an hour, our bungalow was broken into, and some money, our laptop computer, and camera stolen. East Timorese are small, but the teenager who did this was very small. He removed one louver, bent a security bar, and got through a gap of 16cm.
The hospital staff were very upset about this. It was the first time that the bungalow that surgeons sponsored by the College of Surgeons stay in had been broken into in five years. It was largely due to their persistence that the thief was caught. I ended up going to the police station with them on the night of the break in, and on three other occasions, for a total of about four hours, after which I was getting the feel of Dili Central Police station. Badly in need of paint: a lot of fairly young police moving around in their distinctive, brighter than average blue uniforms; and a lot of patient East Timorese waiting to have their problems listened to.
My last visit there was on the 23rd May, when I finally got a police statement for insurance purposes written in Tetun. When I left Dili Central Police Station at noon on that Tuesday there was nothing to suggest that in 48 hours time the East Timorese police force would not be functional.
That afternoon there was a lot of shooting as Defence Force personnel and their supporters came down form the hills, and we did not leave the hospital for more than a week, and our only knowledge of things that were happening in town came from the radio, or internet. To quote from the press:-
“On Thursday (25th) things turned very nasty. The Dili district Police Headquarters was under attack from the military and the police were holed up in their barracks in the city, fearful of coming out. The United Nations intervened, negotiating for the police to lay down their arms, and leave their barracks to walk several blocks to the UN compound. The UN had been given assurances that the police would be able to surrender in peace. However, the column of unarmed police, accompanied by unarmed UN guards had walked less than 100 meters when two soldiers opened fire on them, killing nine of them.”
Shortly after the shootings, the scene in the emergency hospital was one of the worst I have ever seen. I found multiple Police Officers in their blood stained blue uniforms, particularly young female officers who had been severely injured, very distressing. We operated on 14 seriously injured, mainly police, that afternoon and evening, and a further 10 the following day. We were able to evacuate 10 of them to Darwin three days later.

We left Dili as planned on the second of June, and some members of the Police Force were still in hospital when we left, but I did not see any police in uniform in the hospital after Thursday 25th May. They were not seen in the streets either. East Timor did not have a functioning police force after the shootings to help control the rioting and house and shop burning that continued in spite of the presence of the Australian Defence force.
From David & Julie Hamilton

GO June 2006

2006-08-24T21:47:00.000+10:00

Minister’s musings
As we move into the season of Pentecost, a time when the Christian Church traditionally reflects on the presence of God’s Spirit in the world, I have been re-reading a book called ‘Jesus in the power of the Spirit’ by the Taiwanese theologian Choan-Sen Song. To my mind Song is one of the most insightful, challenging and exciting theologians in the world today. I suspect this is partly because he was born in a country where Christianity has always been a minority religion and into an Asian culture whose worldview is significantly different from the one that I inherited being born into a Western culture. Song has an uncanny knack of turning my pre-conceptions upside down in the same way that many of Jesus’ parables do. This often leads to new insights that mean I have to rework the way I understand God and the world. At other times I find Song’s insights shed light on situations that affect me personally or those around me.

Just a few days ago the following passage caught my attention. In a section entitled ‘Church at the crossroads’ Song writes….

“The Christian Church today is at the crossroads, the church in both the East and the West. It finds itself in the world rich and complex with human diversities. That world challenges and beckons. But the Christian Church by and large stands still in the busy intersection of the traffic bedazzled, confused, and defensive. In a world like ours not to move is to be left behind. Not to stir is to grow immobile, and not to venture is to become de-spirited. A de-spirited church, however, is not church, at least not the church of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. It betrays its own nature. All it can do is cling to tradition once alive and well but now exhausted and introspective.”

Tracy and I, along with the Elders and Church Councillors, are very conscious that there is a lot of change happening in the life of the congregation at the moment. The congregation has adopted new governance structures and a revised budget that has necessitated letting go of some things. It is currently discerning the way forward in relation to our worship services. There have been changes in the operation of our congregational projects at Adelaide House and the Op Shop, and there are two new ministers whose style and approach will inevitably be different in at least some ways from previous ministers. Some people who have been in leadership positions for a long time have stepped aside and other leaders are emerging to take their place.
We know that some people are excited by the change and movement. Others feel they have seen it all before. And others are finding change difficult or wondering why it is necessary. For some it feels like the congregation is “in charge of its own destiny”, for others it feels like change is being forced upon us by forces we do not fully understand.
I’d like to suggest that what we are experiencing are the effects of the movement of the Spirit of God in a church that has chosen to not be “de-spirited”. A church that, as Song puts it, does not want to be left behind or to grow immobile. A church that wants to remain as a church of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. That doesn’t mean it will be easy. In fact it means the opposite. For it will mean “letting go” of some things that are comfortably familiar and adjusting to things that are unfamiliar. It will require courage, discernment and sacrifice. But it also holds open the possibility of new life in ways we never imagined.

Murray Muirhead
June 2006
Social Crisis in the Alice
15 people have been murdered in Alice Springs in the last 16 months.
I’m not sure that this demonstrates a crisis. Conditions for some of our Aboriginal compatriots have been awful for a long time. The Aboriginal people of Alice Springs have suffered from extraordinary death rates from homicide, accidents, heart disease and alcohol excess for decades. What is new – “the crisis” - is the sudden increase in media attention.
Concerned people – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal together - called a public meeting. This was held on the Church lawns on 13th May. There were speakers from Lhere Artepe (the Traditional Owners of Alice Springs), from unions, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Irrkelenge Learning Centre, also the Mayor Fran Kilgariff and our own Rev Murray Muirhead. They described the issues facing Alice Springs from a range of perspectives. Many more speakers from the floor (grass) spoke spontaneously, and a wealth of ideas and solutions was presented. The mutual support at the meeting was impressive, and although people did not agree on everything, they agreed to disagree and address what mattered. Resolutions from the meeting will be published soon, but here is what I can remember.
· We need to control the supply of grog, not just try to make drinkers control the demand. This can be done by raising the price of alcohol which is amazingly cheap in casks, and also by the government buying back liquor licenses
· Social disarray in Alice Springs requires responses from all of our governments – Alice Springs Town Council, Northern Territory Government, and Australian Commonwealth Government. But governments must respond to the communities that they are governing, and especially the people most affected. The meeting demonstrated how thoughtful people who daily confront social breakdown can be, when addressing the issues that are damaging them
· Paradoxically perhaps, Aboriginal people need educational opportunities in their own language and with their own culture, to improve their lives in the 21st century
· Young people of all backgrounds in Alice Springs need recreational opportunities. They are turning to grog, petrol sniffing and chroming out of boredom and frustration
· Remote communities, as well as Alice Springs, need more support to address social issues. This will enable remote area Aboriginal people to be able to thrive in their homelands rather than drifting to town
· Community Development Employment Programs (CDEP) were developed to support Aboriginal people to work in their communities doing jobs that their community councils decided. CDEP was not intended to prepare people to obtain commercial employment, and it doesn’t. For people who are unlikely to ever find commercial employment there is no point in preparing them for work. CDEP provides employment and achievement for the people, and it does work for the community. It should be strengthened for this.
· The United Nations Millenium Development Goals were developed to direct and inspire the world towards reducing poverty by half by 2015. Poverty affects some Alice Springs Aboriginals, so these Goals are appropriate for our own community. They provide milestones to ensure the lives of the indigenous people of Alice Springs are making progress to eradicating poverty.
The Dry Town proposal – which would prohibit public drinking - was very unpopular at the meeting. The meeting saw this as a simplistic attempt to move public drunkenness out of sight. The town may appear grog-free but if people are sitting at the edge of the town intoxicated, they may be at greater risk of violence. Banning drinking in town will increase the already high numbers of Aborigines in prison, but do nothing to reduce alcohol consumption. The Dry Town proposal neglects the reasons for excessive alcohol consumption.
The meeting established a working group consisting of mainly Aboriginal leaders. The working group will work on solutions to the problems identified by the meeting, guided by the meeting resolutions. A further public meeting was planned so we can mark our progress in 6 weeks.
I feel excited and inspired by the sense of communal ownership and responsibility for the problems raised.
The generosity of Alice Springs people following the Tsunami in December 2004 was amazing. I hope that we can demonstrate the same generosity to support those in our midst.
from Rosalie Schultz
One of many stories of SAMMY STAMP –
Leitangie Solomon was born in Vanuatu in 1962. She had no hands or legs. Over the years she had many trips to Melbourne so as she could be fitted with artificial limbs. At the age of 13 she attended a special school in Fiji where she learnt to type and operate a switchboard. She now works as a receptionist for the Ministry of Health in Vila.
The P.W.M.U. Stamp Fund has helped financially over the years, maintaining Leitangie’s special wheel chair as the humid climate causes the metal parts to deteriorate rapidly.
Our Stamp Box is placed at the entrance of the church. Please save your used stamps from envelopes. When removing the stamp please leave 1/8” around the stamp, cut rather than tear. When sorted and trimmed we send the stamps to both Sydney and Melbourne where they are sold to dealers by the kilo. Melbourne sales to the end of April $6,100.00
Good news – there are a number of new sets of stamps on the way!
Vi Wilson and Nancy Lamb

FAMILY NEWS:
Trypena and Tim Cochran are parents, since the 24th May 2006, to Michaela Ruth Cochran – first grandchild of Isabel Thomas and another great grandchild for Grace Darling
Nail in the Fence
Author: Unknown
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had drive 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence...
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry,' the wound is still there."
"A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."
"Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole in your fence...."

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but reveal to them their own”
Benjamin Disraeli

The next edition of Gospel Outback is scheduled for Sunday 9th July 2006 therefore deadline date Sunday 2nd July – email contributions or leave in box in church foyer

GO magazine May 2006

2006-08-24T21:46:00.001+10:00

MINISTERS’ REFLECTION
In thinking of the THREE WORDS that I was asked to give to describe the John Flynn Memorial UCA congregation as we knew it, I turned to Scripture. As we were asked to place stones I thought of some verses that spoke of stones. Some came to mind but the one that stuck there was from Luke 19:39-40
“Some pharisees, who were in the crowd said to him (Jesus) ‘Master, reprimand your disciples’. He answered, ‘I tell you, if my disciples keep silent THE STONES WILL SHOUT ALOUD.”
It is my experience that the stones of this country shout aloud of the creative love of God. And we, God’s living stones, cannot be silenced. A line from your Vision song – FOR YOU, FLAME RED OF THE ROCKS AND STONES.
For those ministers at the Anniversary weekend who have served at JFMC, three words to describe the congregation –
Bev Ham – commitment, dedication, love
Doug Turnbull – compassionate, challenging, creative
David Manton – growth, Christian community, harmony
Lindsay Faulkner – spiritual, pilgrimage, reconciliation
Tony Davies – courage, resilience, warmth
Murray Muirhead – seeking, embracing, palya (good)

- Lindsay Faulkner

Ray’s Record Run

Long term members of the congregation will remember Ray and Verity Smith. Some may recall that Ray was seriously into running. He still is. On Saturday 3 June Ray is running a solo 50 miles (80 kilometres), the Harry Smith Memorial Ultra-Marathon to raise money for the Peter Nelson Leukaemia Research Fellowship and/or The Bible Society in Australia. Both these funds are tax deductible. Harry, who died with acute myeloid leukaemia was Ray’s father.
If you wish to donate, let Ray know (PO Box 1068 Mount Barker SA 5251) and he will send you the relevant form(s) so that you may donate directly to the Peter Nelson Fund and/or The Bible Society. Please see me if you have any questions.
Ray concludes with a quotation with which I must agree, “Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon.”

Neil Bowey

ABOUT PEOPLE -
We rejoice with Tom & Rachel Uren and the family, at the birth of their baby girl, Amanda.
We are sad to hear of the passing of Joy Taylor aged 89. She was wife of Harry and our much loved oldest church member.
We ask prayers for Barney Brown still in hospital after a stroke. Barney came to work here in the mid 60's and at one stage in the life of the church was caretaker, living in the tiny Traeger Hut.
Grace Darling reports the birth of another great-grandson. Congratulations!
Jan Capp is living at Mt. Liebig (350km west of Alice) this term, mentoring a group of women to help them manage the Child Care Centre and Preschool. She is well known among the older generation there as she was a school teacher in the area in the ‘70’s.

This paper can also be found on the Eleventh Assembly website (http://assembly.uca.org.au/11thassembly/)

The task of theological reflection is the responsibility of all Christ’s people. If our life is to be grounded in a living faith then our beliefs and actions must be the result of careful reflection. While “the Uniting Church lays upon its members the serious duty of reading the Scriptures” (The Basis of Union, Para 5) and thanks God for the way in which the living Word of God can come and change people’s lives through that process it has never believed that this is a process that is adequate for discerning the will of God in all things.
In paragraph 11 of The Basis of Union, the UCA states: “the Uniting Church acknowledges that God has never left the Church without faithful and scholarly interpreters of Scripture, or without those who have reflected deeply upon, and acted trustingly in obedience to, God's living Word. In particular the Uniting Church enters into the inheritance of literary, historical and scientific enquiry which has characterised recent centuries, and gives thanks for the knowledge of God's ways with humanity which are open to an informed faith.”
This commitment to an informed faith was evident in the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches that came into the Uniting Church. Each of these traditions relied upon more than a bald reading of the scriptures when it came to “faithful thinking”. For example the four fold schema of Wesley – scripture, tradition, experience and reason was well established.
In the last few years there has been much discussion about the way in which the Uniting Church determines what is the will of God on important matters, and in particular the place that the Bible is said to be given in the life of the Uniting Church. The Assembly Working Group on Doctrine has produced a paper that presents a Uniting Church way of engaging in faithful “faithful thinking”. The ASC received and approved the document ‘Guidance for the Church’s Faithful Thinking’ as a helpful statement of a Uniting Church approach to theological reflection” (ASC minute 06.15.01).
The document below is commended to the church as a resource to assist us in understanding how the Uniting Church undertakes theological reflection, and as a resource to the theological endeavour in the life of the Church.

Terence Corkin
Assembly General Secretary
April 12 2006

GUIDANCE FOR THE CHURCH’S FAITHFUL THINKING
A STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WORKING GROUP ON DOCTRINE TO THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY

Discerning God’s will
The Uniting Church confesses faith in the triune God, and seeks to obey God’s will in our life together. The Uniting Church is currently faced with some complex issues. The way the Church deals with contentious issues is by engaging together in responsible, prayerful, thoughtful theological reflection and sometimes rigorous debate. As a church we deal with disputes differently from other organisations.
Some current controversial issues include:
· Who should be regarded as a member of the church? · How should the servant-leadership of the church be exercised? · What is the mission to which Christ calls us and how do we share the good news? · What is the place in the Church of people in committed same-gender relationships?
The task of the National Working Group on Doctrine is to advise the Assembly on the doctrinal dimensions of these and other issues. The Basis of Union points us to the way to do this. We therefore offer the following considerations to the Assembly.
Built on Jesus Christ
The Basis of Union first points us to Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, the embodiment of the Good News of God’s Reign. “The Uniting Church acknowledges that the faith and unity of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church are built upon the one Lord Jesus Christ. The Church preaches Christ the risen crucified One and confesses him as Lord to the glory of God the Father” (BoU, par 3). Our faithful task must always be then to address the question, “Who is Jesus Christ for us today?”
The faithful use of Scripture
Secondly, we are called to a responsible use of Scripture. The Bible is witness to Jesus Christ as God’s living Word; it is “unique prophetic and apostolic testimony, in which the Church hears the Word of God” (BoU, par. 5). This always involves more than quoting a few verses or appealing to one or other theme in the Scriptures.
Other sources
Thirdly, the Basis reminds us of other sources which inform the Church in interpreting Scripture: the ancient Creeds, the Reformation witnesses and Wesley’s sermons, and contemporary thought through “literary, historical and scientific enquiry”. Furthermore, the Basis recognises the place of “scholarly interpreters” (par. 11) in helping to guide the councils of the church as they discern the leading of the Spirit. This work should always be conducted with prayer and in humility.
The heritage of the Church’s doctrine reminds us that Jesus Christ addresses the Church through Scripture, tradition, experience and reason. While Scripture is primary, the Church necessarily makes use of the other sources as it seeks to be faithful to Jesus Christ in its worship, witness and service.
The Catholicity of the church
“The Uniting Church lives within the faith and unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church: (BoU, par 2). In considering particular issues, we therefore need to take into account how other parts of the Church have understood the issue and how other parts of the church currently understand it.
Within our system of “inter-related councils” (BoU, par 15), there are also times when the Assembly needs to speak authoritatively.
People in committed same-gender relationships
When it comes to the issue of people in committed same-gender relationships, we would respectfully remind the Assembly that the Uniting Church, along with many other churches, has done much prayerful, thoughtful, scholarly work over a 25 year period. The available publications include:
· Homosexuality and the Bible (1985) · Responses to Homosexuality and the Bible (1987) · Looking Beyond the Fig Leaves (1993) · Sexuality: Exploring the Issues (1996) · Uniting Sexuality and Faith (1997) · Unique Prophetic and Apostolic Witness (2000) · Sexuality and Leadership (2004).
Taking time
In discerning God’s leading, members of the Church may disagree with some of the things that have been said, but may not ignore them. It is not unusual in the life of the Church, in contention over issues of doctrine, that considerable time is taken to listen to each other and the Spirit in order to discern the will and purpose of God. For example, it took several centuries for the church to agree on statements about the two natures of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, and several decades to agree on the ordination of women and the sinfulness of apartheid.
Our new humanity in Christ
The church trusts that in Jesus Christ God makes a new beginning, by grace acquits the guilty, and calls men and women to share in his new humanity through baptism. (BoU, paras 3, 4 & 7). The present discussion on sexuality poses profound questions about our humanity. From the apostolic confession in Scripture, Creeds and the Basis of Union, we confess God as three distinct persons in community who creates and redeems us as different and unique persons in community. The Scriptures proclaim Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word, the beginning of a new creation and a new humanity. Through his obedience we receive our true humanity. By the Holy Spirit, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, we learn to trust God’s sovereign grace and receive our new personhood, learning to love God, our neighbour and our enemy (BoU, par. 3).
Our unity
We also wish to remind the Assembly of the nature of the Church’s unity. We are one because Jesus Christ is Lord and Head of the Church, and it is he who graciously reconciles us to the Father and to one another. We are one not because we all agree on every point of theology, nor because we all worship the same way, or witness and serve in the same way. Our common baptism unites us to Christ and to one another as a pilgrim people on the way to God’s promised goal. This is not a result of human achievement or choosing, but the work of God’s Spirit.
On the way
The Church lives between the time of Christ’s death and resurrection and the final consummation of all things which he will bring. The Lord constantly challenges us and calls us beyond our cultural and personal convictions to costly discipleship. Through human witness in word and action, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ reaches out to command people’s attention and awaken faith; he calls people into the fellowship of his sufferings, to be the disciples of a crucified Lord; in his own strange way Christ constitutes, rules and renews them as his Church. (BoU, para 4)
We pray that we may be obedient to God who constantly corrects what is erroneous in the Church’s life as it moves on the way to the promised end which he will bring and we have the gift of the Spirit so that we may not lose the way (BoU, par 3, 18).

National Working Group on Doctrine
(28 February 2006)

Report of Anniversary Celebrations at John Flynn Memorial Church 5-7 May 2006

‘We acknowledge that we are gathering on Arrernte Country…’ began the first service of the weekend, a Memorial Service at John Flynns Grave on the 55th Anniversary of his death. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, and around 100 of the visitors had caught the bus and made their way out to the gravesite at the foot of Mt Gillen. Earlier, visitors and locals had met and mingled at the Uniting Church site in the Todd Mall, being treated to drummers, flautists and choirs in the church, and an art and craft Exhibition by members of the congregation in the Hall, and of course refreshments and hospitality at Adelaide House.

With the McDonnell Ranges glowing orange, Rev Tracy Spencer (Deacon) continued the Memorial service…

‘A man is his friends…’ said John Flynn, and he gathered them to him in his enthusiasm, slow drawling yarns, impossible visions, and capacity for ‘practical Christianity’. He believed in the bush: and the bush believes in him.
We are here because we are his friends, and what better way to start than hearing again the words of one of his closest friends, Skipper Partridge, spoke by Skippers daughter, Grace.

‘There was a man from God whose name was John…Here he dreamed his dreams under many a starlit sky. Here he worked with pride and joy in a task well done. So here he lies where he longed to be. He is not dead; his work abides; his memory is forever eloquent. For across the lonely places of the land he planted kindness, and from the hearts of those who call those places home, he gathered love.’ (Skipper Partridge quote from interring ashes 23rd May 1951 after he had died 5th May 1951.)

A student from St Philips sang, while David Marshman, RFDS pilot and member of the congregation, performed a stunning fly over. The service traced the continuing story of Flynn, through his vision of ‘practical Christianity – seeing a need and meeting it’ to the story of the exchange of the rocks on his grave, now a symbol of reconciliation that enabled Kaytetye people to have their sacred stone returned to their own country, while Arrernte people made available a sacred stone of the Yeperenye story to be removed from its original location to Flynns grave. Local Arrernte people remember Flynn for the healing his nursing hostel offered, and that he was a better white person than some others who passed through.

The sun was gone before people had left the grave, to find their dinner before returning to the church for the official ceremony of Welcome. In a wave of welcomes, we were first welcomed by Arrernte Elder Betty Pearce, who offered the symbol of water to Henry Douglas of Finke, as a traditional form of welcome. Pat Miller, Deputy Administrator, told of her gratefulness to the church in Tennant Creek, where the minister married her parents and thus prevented the children being removed from the family. Pat presented a symbol of layers of stone and dirt and concrete dust, representing the many layers involved in building this church. Moderator Steve Orme responded to her, accepting her welcome, and reflecting that water in the centre comes up from deep places below us, as does our spirituality. Mayor Fran Kilgariff made her welcome, with confessions that as a child on her way home from school, she would sneak into this church to sign her name in the visitors book! Mady Muirhead, one of the youngest and newest members of the congregation, accepted Fran’s symbol of a book of her parents life in Alice Springs, ‘They started something’. The President of the UCA, Rev Dr Dean Drayton then took the stand, recalling Flynns vision with warmth and enthusiasm. We all responded to him singing a hymn in both English and Pitjanjatjara languages. Rosemary Young, director of Frontier Services also gave a welcome, and presented a very appropriate symbol of Flynn in a data projector for the congregations use. Rev Dr Murray Muirhead, one of the ministers of the church, accepted it. Then Eric Neil, Chairperson of the congregation , made a welcome to all the visitors, and introduced the Travelling Cross, a mulga cross to be given to someone to take back home at the end of the weekend, and then pass on again from them, with the only requirement being that letters be sent back to us in Alice Springs telling us of the Cross’ travels, before it returns to us in five years time. And finally, the children of the congregation welcomed us, teaching us all the words and actions of the song that was to be a repeated blessing over the weekend,
For you deep stillness of the silent inland
For you deep blue of the desert skies
For you flame red of the rocks and stones
For you sweet water from hidden springs
From the edges, seek the heartlands
And when you’re burnt by the journey
May the cool winds of the hovering spirit soothe and replenish you
In the name of Christ
(c. Julie Perrin; music Robin Mann.)
By the time we got outside, the fire buckets were glowing and the hot damper was waiting for us.

Saturday began early with a pilgrimage around sites associated with the church, including the site of the Methodist church, and Griffiths House. In the church itself, the pews were pulled back to reveal the Cross design of the floor itself, and Joy McDonald was able to share with many of us her fathers deep passion for the building and its symbolism, as well as original architects plans of the design. Morning tea at Adelaide House and Mission House, followed, and began our progressive meals through the Uniting Church Museums of Alice Springs. Old Timers hosted lunch at their Traeger Museum, after members of Arch Grants family celebrated with Rev Tony Davies and Rosemary Young the interment of their parents ashes in the rose garden there. St Philips students conducted tours of the school and Fred McKay Centre, before people enjoyed afternoon tea in the library. And by evening, everyone gathered yet again – for dinner this time – at the Golf Club, where we had a fantastic meal, and fabulous entertainment hearing strange tales of peoples associations with the church, watching 50 year old (approx.) fairies dance and sing, and an audio visual show of the past 25 years of the church community, from the vaults of the Walker’s photo and video collections.

After gathering on the forecourt in the Sunday morning sun, and being arranged into a map of Australia, Ron Ross and his son Neil piped the congregation into the church for the final service. Sen Nigel Scullion for the Prime Minister read the reading that we are built of living stones (1 Peter), and during a time of reflection on our own journeys and experiences, Sen Trish Crossin read from Genesis 28 Jacob’s dream in a place that was the gateway to heaven. Dean Drayton inspired us to think about what is good news for Australians…and suggested Flynn’s answer got it right, to do something people could understand. The symbolism of water, fire, and stones, against the backdrop of magnificent banners depicting the colours of the ranges in evening and morning lights, created deep spiritual context for this worship. Communion was followed by lunch on the lawns, much conversation, and a strong feeling of community and peace. Many still came out again that evening, for the final event singing songs and viewing slides of the people and events of times past. Many of those who had ‘come back’ commented on the strong sense of belonging they still felt to the place, the church and the people.

After all, it was, and still is, all about people.

MARGARET BAIN

Born in Melbourne in 1923, one of a family of three girls , Margaret studied science at Melbourne University, where, she says, she was taught to think. She worked as a bio-chemist in Melbourne and London.
Margaret first encountered aboriginal people in 1956 when she visited the Presbyterian Mission Community at Mornington Island in Northern Australia. She applied to the Presbyterian Board of Missions and was sent as a staff member to Mornington Island.
Here, although she felt called to be an evangelist, she recognised a real need for a teacher. Untrained for teaching, she taught herself from a text book as she worked with several assistants from the local community with about one hundred children. She enjoyed the work but after three years knew that God had more for her to do.
Margaret applied again to the Board of Missions and went to the Ernabella Community in Central Australia, nominally as an evangelistic assistant. On taking up the position she found that they really wanted her to work as a general assistant to the superintendent. This was frustrating, but at night she was able to go to the sheep camps and talk with the people there, an experience not available in the mission. She also applied herself to learning the Pitjantjarra language.
Once a month Margaret joined the truck going to the railway siding town of Finke. The day was spent on business, obtaining stores and getting to know the Aputula people. These people lived very basic lives, sleeping on the sand hills in humpies made from corrugated iron or anything they could gather from the rubbish dump. Margaret taught them the catechism in their own language. She sat down with them and they listened to the Christian message and what she told them of the wider world. This continued for the years between 1961 and 1968.
During this time, legislation for equal pay was brought in. Aboriginal stockmen also had to be given the same accommodation as white and the families of the aboriginal stockmen were no longer able to live on the stations, obtaining rations and able to live off the land in the old way. In the same decade the prohibition on cohabitation between white and black was lifted. As a result white men were able to visit the camps bringing alcohol with them, sitting down with the women and creating many problems. As the camps were on crown land there were no boundaries and the police had no powers to remove trouble makers. Domestic violence became common.
Toby Ginger, an aboriginal Christian who grew up at Ernabella returned to Finke from Oodnadatta. He was delighted to find Margaret working with his people and after some years asked her to come and live with them.
At the Presbyterian General Assembly when Margaret was on furlough, the topic of the Finke people was high on the agenda for the Board of Missions and Frontier Services. No money had been allocated for a staff position, but because Margaret was ready to go, the Board agreed to pay half a salary and the AIM the other half. The Reverend Edwards, superintendent at Ernabella was advised that Margaret was transferring to Finke to plant a church and be Community Development Adviser/Evangelist.
Margaret was a member of Scots Church, Melbourne and when the women of that PWMU (Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union) group heard there was no money for a suitable vehicle they offered to pay for a 6 cylinder LandRover. The Victorian branch supplied a 2 way radio and a Bacchus Marsh member said she would provide a spare, spare tyre. Margaret’s parents provided a 17 foot caravan. Margaret says, ‘This really was God’s provision to go.’
(Margaret’s story and an account of the Finke years will be continued.)

Compiled by Helen Davison & Meg Williams

GO magazine April 2006

2006-08-24T21:46:00.000+10:00

MINISTERS’ REFLECTION
When Tracy and I served as Patrol Ministers in outback SA one of our
regular routes was along the Oodnadatta Track. From 1880 through to 1980 the old Ghan railway line ran alongside this track. It took 50 years to build the rail link from Port Augusta to Alice Springs and then, fifty years later, shifting sands and numerous floods made it impossible to maintain the line so it was moved to the west and now runs alongside the Stuart Highway.

As we travelled along the Oodnadatta Track I was often fascinated by the signs of the old Ghan line that still remain. The raised banks and piles of weathering sleepers, the abandoned towns and rail sidings, the old bridges and the ruins of buildings. Some places, like Beresford, have been totally abandoned. Others, like Curdimurka, have been partially preserved by the Ghan preservation society. But perhaps most striking of all is the towns that continue to survive because they were able to transform themselves into something new when their original reason for “being” disappeared.

At Oodnadatta the Dunjibar Council bought up the railway houses and other buildings when the rail line closed and the town continues to be significant centre for Arrente, Antikirinya, Arabunna, Loritja and Pitjantjatjara people and a tourist stop-over for those travelling north or south. Marree continues to thrive at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks and Lyndhurst is re-inventing itself at the junction of the Strzelecki Track. New camping grounds are being developed by the Arabunna people at Alberrie Creek as a base for cultural tours and by a family at Farina to diversify their pastoral business.

There were a variety of responses made to the closure of the railway line. For some towns it was a time to die, for others a time to remain faithful to what they had known, for others it was a time to reinvent or transform themselves, for yet others a time to move to where the new railway was developing.

Significant shifts in the place of the Church in society, and in the demographics of church membership, in the past couple of decades have raised new challenges for many congregations. As many of their taken-for-granted “railway lines” have disappeared, congregations have made a range of responses to these new challenges. Where is God calling our congregation at this time? Is it a time to build, a time to transform, a time to “live steadily”, or a time to let go? Or perhaps there will be elements of all these responses.

Murray Muirhead

CHRISTIAN BOOKWORLD
A ministry of CLC International

Is the new Christian bookshop open at Polana Centre 5/10 Smith Street
Open Monday – Friday 9am-5pm and
Saturday morning 9am – 12 noon
Telephone or Fax: 8952 6689

INDUCTION SERVICE
26 MARCH 2006
Friday 24th – Saturday 25th saw a number of people from Alice Springs congregation (about 14) heading northward to Tennant Creek to celebrate the appointment of Rev. John Flaherty to Frontier Services Tennant/Barkly Patrol, Rev Elizabeth Warschauer to Tennant Creek Uniting Church and Rev. Mitch Fialkowski to Frontier Services Katherine Patrol. Frontier Services were well represented with Rosemary Young, National Director and Rev David Thiem Associate National Director, both from Sydney office, Sharon Davies the Regional Manager of Aged & Community Care Services from Darwin, Pauline Wardle Regional Assistant Manager NT Frontier Services Central and Rev Tony Davies Centralian Patrol both from Alice Springs. The Northern Synod was represented with Rev. Felicity Amery Chairperson of the Pilgrim Presbytery and Rev. Tracy Spencer from Alice Springs, and of course our own congregational members.

The visitors gathered at 6.30pm on Saturday evening at the UCA grounds for an outdoor barbecue hosted by the members of the Tennant Creek congregation and resulted in a gathering of 30 plus people. Daryl, Phil and Kay the Mobile Mission Maintenance team that were in town to renovate the UCA manse garage in to an office, erect a shed for the patrol vehicle and other maintenance jobs, were also present. It was a perfect evening in every way. Time to meet and share together and enjoy an ample meal.

Sunday morning at 9am the service of Induction commenced led by Rev David Thiem and Rev Felicity Amery, and preaching of the Word by Mrs Rosemary Young. Mitch, John and Elizabeth had opportunity to share with the congregation. Mitch, from Western Australia, is living in rented accommodation in Katherine, and with no UCA congregation in the town has the challenge to go out and meet the people and assess how to minister in the wider community. John and Elizabeth had a number of years in the Territory as school teachers on communities about 22 years ago to the day having left in March 1984. For them it was an unexpected Calling. Elizabeth had been in the parish from where she was called, for eight years and John three years. However they are receiving great support from these churches in South Australia as the people see them as members who have been sent out on a mission and had boxes and boxes of rugs and quilts made up for the UCA Frontier Services nursing home at Tennant Creek forwarded on with John and Elizabeths personal effects. John will be responsible for the Patrol and Elizabeth the town congregation but they will support each other in these positions and Elizabeth will go out on patrol with John from time to time. Many members of the local congregation participated in the service too and all joined in heartily singing the songs of praise – without musical accompaniment!

Following the service we all stayed for an early fellowship lunch in the church hall before heading homeward after a memorable weekend.

Update – word from Felicity is that Mitch has survived the floods in Katherine. He put possessions upstairs in his home and spent time out at Tindal where he has a ministry at the Base. With roads closed because of flooding he is not able to go out on patrol. His vehicle is still being set up too, so prayer for patients at this time would be good: Mitch is a man who likes action. The UCA property at Katherine is rented out – the manse to Somerville Community Services, the church building to a day care centre and the demountable to the toy library. We have not heard how they went in the flood.

The Tennant Creek team are enjoying cooler weather, finding people open and warm to the Patrol, have met a number of the town folk and the local MP and the manse garage is developing in to a great office. The MMM team will be leaving on Thursday prior to Easter after achieving much.

A parable from Heavitree Gap, a week after reading the story of the Paralysed Man in Mark 2.
Tracy Spencer

A woman is walking down the road that passes through a narrow gap in the mountain range. The wind channelled between the rocks pulls strongly at her clothes, which billow like bright white clouds around her. Strips of material, the tags to hold the loose robes together, flap in the wind. Kerluff! Kerluff! Hems crack around her, whipping the small pink lettering along the seams that reads ‘Alice Springs Hospital’. Her legs are dark and thin beneath the starched white material, and her feet are bare. She walks with her chin up, her hair cropped short, and she is looking neither to left or right. She is walking away from the town behind her, with its hospital, where her own clothes – brightly coloured skirt, and dark loose T-shirt – are still wrapped tightly in a brown paper bag in a shelf in a large cupboard.

She has got up, and walked, all the way down Gap Rd, south. She has had enough of being patient, being a patient. She has discharged herself, and she is free. Free to follow her own way, heal her own way, die her own way, live forever, her own way. I think we should call her Gabrielle, because in her image we see the announcement of God’s kingdom, where before we only saw the world of a suffering patient.

WANTING TO EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS?
· For Year 10, 11, 12 Students
Do something of lasting value this mid year break!
Aviation Camp July 3-7, 2006

Mission Aviation Centre: Coldstream Airfield, Killara Rd. Coldstream 3770

Contact: Ph. 97390612 Fax 97390922
e-mail: ba_mac@ihug.com.au

Cost: $220 – includes one joy flight, accommodation, meals, info pack, transport to and from activities plus pick up & return from Lilydale station

Why: Interested in a career in aviation as a pilot, aircraft maintenance engineer, stores person, accountant, administrator, etc. Interested in mission work using aviation.

Then: This camp is for you!
(see leaflet on church noticeboard)

OR
The Leprosy Mission has a trek in Nepal 29 Oct – 13 Nov 2006
Supporting Anandaban Hospital, Nepal
Cost $3,650p.p. ex-Melbourne
Plus a minimum of $2,000 sponsorship for Anandaban Hospital,
Leprosy Mission Nepal
In addition to this memorable trek, participants will spend time at Anandaban hospital. There will be opportunities to participate in a variety of medical and healthcare activities, as well as meeting and interacting with the staff and patients. It will be a life-changing experience!
Ages have ranged from 12yrs to 74yrs
Limited to 20 people
Contact Graham Peck 03 9890 9577 or email graphamp@leprosymission.org.au

(see leaflet on church noticeboard)
Report on Meetings and Decisions this last month.

Around mid-March, the congregation’s deficit exceeded $10,000, a mark at which the Presbytery had indicated they would need to intervene. Rev Felicity Amery (Presbytery Minister) and Julie Watts (Synod Property and Finance Officer) were able to visit with us, and a Special One Church Council meeting was held on 27th March. This was a very careful meeting, where Felicity ensured people dealt respectfully with each other over the sensitive matters, and where all affirmed that the financial crisis we were in was not an occasion to lay blame.

Julie Watts presented a financial report after having many conversations with people in the congregation about finances over the weekend. If we kept going the way we had been, we would achieve a debt of nearly $40,000 by the end of the year. Something had to change.

In fact, some analysis of factors leading to this included several trends that have impacted our income, some of them over some time, including the changing attendance at Worship (a national phenomenon), the change in Op Shop opening after losing its shade, the capital expenditure on the manse, loss of income after bookshop moved, the general practise of members doing work for the church and presenting bills for reimbursement, without having authorisation through a budget prior the work. It was also suggested Adelaide House could be run on a more commercial basis.

The ways forward from this situation were to review and improve our Governance –that is, the way our committees work, report and communicate with each other and the church membership. All areas of the church’s life would need to have a detailed budget, and report against it their year to date income and expenditure. The church would need to consider whether it could generate more income through its activities, while at the same time, decreasing its spending. This meant the Op Shop, and Adelaide House would need to commence trading as soon as possible.

For the next three months, the One Church Council would need to authorise all expenditure before it was made. Once authorisation was approved, Ian Darling, as Treasurer, would need to sign off on all requests for payment from our accounts in Darwin before they would be made. This included expenditure for Adelaide House, Op Shop, Anniversary Planning, and wages for cleaning and caretaking, since none of those staff were on contracts. Only the stipend could be guaranteed for the next two years. To make this requirement a little easier, the OCC would need to meet fortnightly to process these requests. By the end of three months, the OCC, with help from Presbytery and Synod, would need to be able to present new Governance structures and financial systems and strategies which would assure a way out of debt.

A number of proposals were passed along these lines, including that a full report of the meeting be made available to the Congregation AGM to be held the following week.

At the AGM, these decisions were explained and discussed. It was pointed out that the previous AGM had noted a likely deficit: this was not a new problem. It was also clarified that neither the Op Shop nor Adelaide House were intended to be separate from the Congregation. Adelaide House is a sub committee of OCC under its Constitution, and the Op shop was until recent years paying into the general Congregation account. Both were required to submit budgets to the AGM and OCC so the congregation could oversee financial management of its subcommittees work.
The meeting agreed that a Special Congregation meeting would be held before May 22nd 2006 to consider OCC proposals for new Governance and Finance structures that would lead us out of this situation.

The meeting also elected Kevin Rockemer and Jenny Brisbane to the OCC, and Heather Krakouer as an Elder (also member of OCC). Eric Neil was re-elected as Chair, David Marshman as Congregation Secretary.

The One Church Council met for the first time after the Special OCC on 11th April. In preparation for that, a smaller group had met to prepare an agenda and draft some ideas about Governance models and financial systems. These were presented to the meeting, along with a diagram showing how the activities of the Church fit into the Vision of serving Pilgrims, Covenanting and Chaplaincy in the community. Members of OCC have been encouraged to discuss these widely: they are only drafts at this stage, and the next OCC in a fortnight will work hard with these to come up with proposed models that can be brought back to the Special Congregational meeting before May 22.

Several decisions to authorise expenditure were made: all outstanding accounts were authorised for payment. The budget from the Anniversary Planning group was also authorised for payment, recognising that monies donated through the ’bag’ appeal were enabling money to be released for this purpose. Adelaide House made a submission for running costs, as well as for major maintenance works and employment of a cleaner/caretaker (Coordinator). The running costs were approved, while the OCC wanted further discussion between the Facilities and Resources Group and Adelaide House Committee regarding the major maintenance works at this time. These discussions will happen in the coming weeks and the submission reconsidered in light of those.

The OCC also decided to authorise the employment for three months of a caretaker/cleaner for Adelaide House, but with some significant changes. It was recognised that current payment rates were below industrial awards, contrary to UCA practice. It was agreed to increase the hourly payment to award levels. Cleaning needs across the site were also discussed, as we have had three cleaners engaged in different parts of the site. The meeting decided to explore the possibility of engaging one cleaner across the site, and asked that this role be negotiated with the same person being approached for caretaking/cleaning Adelaide House. A recommendation about this would need to come back to the next OCC meeting in a fortnight.

As you can see, there have been a lot of changes, and a lot of extra work for people to keep things rolling while these changes are being made. Please continue to uphold each other in prayer during this time, so that together we can embrace new ways of being a community together.

Tracy Spencer

WORDS OF WISDOM

Don’t speak when you are angry, or you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret

Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of WAIT

Courage is fear that has said its prayers

(selected from ‘The Herald of Hope’)

BOOK REVIEW:
'Dear and Glorious Physician , The Enthralling Life of St. Luke', is a unique historical novel by Taylor Caldwell. It was first printed in 1957; 7th impression l976, Fontana Books."This book has been 46 years in the writing" states Ms Caldwell. "The first version was written when I was twelve years old." She had discovered Greek legends about the early life of Luke in Antioch, Asia Minor. After reading around 1,000 books about his life, and then spending time in the Holy Land, the author could complete her book. She states that the book is not about the life of The Christ, but as I was reading this book during Lent I realized anew just how difficult it was for the world to accept that a lowly dressed Galilean could really be the promised Messiah. I realized again the might of the Roman world, the amount of cruelty meted out, and the amount of dissatisfaction with lives of both wealthy and poor.

"This is a novel, full of living people, not historical puppets, while all the time the dominant note is one of reverence and respect for so mighty a theme", states the Irish Independent Paper. The theme, as I see it, is one of searching, searching for the true God, not only on the part of Lucanus, but his teacher, Keptah, who carried a symbolic gold cross from Babylonia and who was waiting for a bright star in the East to appear. The story begins with the 10 year old Lucanus watching his father, a Greek slave of the Roman Governor, perform a reverent ritual when red wine was poured out "To the Unknown God". It seems to the lad that divine blood is being sacrificed. Set in Syria, Luke becomes the adopted son of the Roman Governor, who sends him to the University of Alexandria to study medicine. Lucanus knows he has been gifted with great wisdom as a physician , but is quite amazed when miraculous healings take place such as the galley slaves with the plague. Lucanus, unlike the Romans, cares for each individual; for many years he is extremely angry against the gods who seem to allow so much suffering. Lucanus spends time with a beautiful Jewess, Sarah, who gives him an insight into the God of the Jews and realizes that the True God has his Hand on Lucanus and his future. Working as a physician, Lucanus hears of Jews who have met Jesus, including a rich young man who is mentally disturbed because he did not follow Him. Lucanus, who has not met Jesus, is able to heal the man by assuring him that Christ has pardoned him. Lucanus' own Roman step-brother, Priscus, experiences the crucifixion: as the story is told, Lucanus himself believes that Jesus truly is the Messiah.As a Christian, Lucanus, is determined to speak with the disciples and Mary. The book closes with Lucanus' conversation with her, and his awe and wonder at the events of her life. Of course we, who have the Holy Bible, realize that the Gospel according to Luke is the only one which includes the Magnificat. It is noticeable that both Lucanus and his father in their own way are seeking to right the wrongs in the world. Diodorus dies, but Lucanus' search is over; he sees people's lives changed and he has even more purpose. The author directs us to read more in the Bible, St.Luke's Gospel. As for you, the reader, I'm sure that you will find the book very gripping; you will feel that you were with the Captain of the Galley ship; that you were there with Priscus, the young Centurion; that you have a new understanding of the times in which God sent His own Son into the world.
- thanks Helen Davison – a paperback copy of this novel is in the collection of books in the back room of the church – available to be borrowed.
If you have read a book that inspired you and would like to share it with others please forward a review for GO.
Gospel Outback has been put together by interim editor – Jenny Marshman. The next issue is scheduled for 20th May therefore deadline date Sunday 13th May – email them to
Marshman@austarnet.com.au

Go Magazine March 2006

2006-08-24T21:43:00.000+10:00

MINISTERS’ MONTHLY Lenten Reflection
by Rev Tracy Spencer

Picture this: a somewhat Baroque woman painted in sepia tones, gazing over her shoulder into a mirror. We the viewers cannot see her face, and the glass of the mirror is too dark to reveal a reflection, apart from that of the candle burning a strong gold between the woman and the mirror.
This is an image that introduces us to Lent, the period in the Christian year when we reflect on who we are. It’s an image that invites introspection, a consideration of all we have been. Not unlike the work a number of us are doing preparing for the Anniversary weekend in May. We have been compiling lists of names and addresses of those we recall have been part of the life of the church here. We have been hunting out our old photos and slides and pieces of memorabilia that remind us who we have been, and on whose shoulders we later comers are standing. We believe we have much to celebrate, and we recognise that we are part of a much bigger family that spans eras and the continent.
Traditionally, though, Lenten reflection does not issue in celebration, or an archive of achievement. The period of Lent takes us along the path of Jesus’ walk to Jerusalem. It is a walk into the heart of struggle, where the world threatens to overwhelm the promise of God’s kingdom.
When we look in the mirror this
Lent, we can see reflected there
all sorts of struggles, all sorts of
disappointments, all sorts of ways in which the world, or time, is defeating our best efforts. When we look in the mirror, we can feel overwhelmed by the chaos we see there. But if we peer into the glass darkly, a different image might emerge from the same patterns of light and dark.
You see, following one of Murray’s children’s talks, Grace Darling got busy with her craft, and presented us with a blue and red embroidery. At first glance, you’d swear it was some kind of Hebrew lettering making an unintelligible jumble. We tried not to show our dismay at this disappointing gift. ‘Have another look!’, said Grace, and so we did. The same red and blue shapes seemed to swim for a moment, and then their pattern was clear. ‘JESUS’ read the embroidery. Suddenly we saw Jesus where before we had only seen chaos.
Lent is a time to look at the stuff of our lives, but not in order to despair. We look at our lives – as individuals, as a church, as a community – in order to see the pattern of the kingdom of God emerging in the midst of struggle, not only when we think struggle is over. God’s covenants – a rainbow in the midst of flood, a child in the midst of barrenness, rules for founding a nation in the midst of desert wandering – can be trusted. God’s salvation erupts in the time of trial; the kingdom is always close at hand. My hope is that in this period of Lent, we will look at ourselves and get distracted by neither our great achievements nor our miserable failures, but be able to watch closely enough to see the pattern of God’s kingdom that is among us.

BOOK REVIEW
A small book that was published in 1997 and still inspires - “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” by Richard Carlson was recently shared. It is a ‘pick up and put down’ book with 100 snippets, ones that can be read over a cup of coffee or while waiting for that appointment! Topics such as Make Peace with Imperfection, Look Beyond Behaviour and the one we shared Remember that Everything Has God’s Fingerprints on It. “Rabbi Harold Kushner reminds us that everything that God has created is potentially holy. Our task as humans is to find that holiness in what appear to be unholy situations…..When our life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in
everyday things, something magical begins to happen. A feeling of peace emerges. We begin to see….” Buy your copy from a local book shop and be encouraged to live a life transformed.

Report from Church Council Meeting on
21st February
The Church Council received a number of reports and made a number of decisions at its February meeting.
The key decisions included:
1. The establishment of a Facilities and Resources Advisory Group
This group will assist the Church Council in its role of overseeing all property and resource issues in a coordinated manner across the whole church site. It will provide…
Advice and recommendations to Church Council on the best ways to manage our various facilities and resources (e.g. Op Shop, Mission House, Office, Finances, Adelaide House, Mission House, Church Building & Hall).

Coordinate the development and implementation of a Conservation Management Plan for our two heritage listed buildings.

Manage the day-to-day maintenance of the congregations assets (eg. Buildings & equipment).

Develop and progress plans for the re-development of our site.
The group will include the Minister(s), the Chairperson of Church Council, the Property Officer and the Treasurer. In addition the group will coopt people from the congregation and the community with the necessary expertise and experience to ensure sound management and planning occur.

An interim Advisory group has been asked to develop ‘Terms of Reference’ for consideration and approval by the Church Council. It should be noted that Church Council will continue to be the decision making body and the Resources and Facilities Advisory Group will operate as a task group of the Council.

2. Re-allocating space in Mission House

After consideration of two detailed written proposals, and consultations with a number of stakeholders, the Church Council agreed to a request from the OP Shop to relocate the Op Shop into Mission House due to problems with heat and lack of shade in its current location.

The Church Council also agreed to provide a worship, teaching and meeting space for the growing Pitjantjatjara Congregation that has been meeting at the back of Adelaide House. This will be located in the space previously used by the Christian Bookshop.
The OP Shop move is subject to the relocation of the congregational office and meeting room to make way for the Op Shop and we are currently examining the logistics of such a move. It is likely that the congregational office will be relocated to the middle room in Mission House and the meeting room will be relocated into the space that was previously used by the Prison Fellowship and will be available for meetings (eg. Church Council, Bible studies, etc) and as a private interview space for the Congregational and Patrol Ministers. The Prison fellowship are happy for this to happen as they rarely use the space anymore and we will provide them with access to our congregational office, when needed, and a space to store their filing cabinet.

In making these decisions the Church Council recognises that these arrangements will be interim arrangements if substantial redevelopment of the site goes ahead as hoped. This gives us an opportunity to more clearly identify the sort of facilities that we will need in any new building.

3. Reviewing our current needs in relation to the Congregational Office.

The Church Council recognises that, with a new Ministry Team now in place, it is timely to reassess the support provided for congregational activities through the church office. This will ensure that the office continues to provide essential support for the congregation’s life and mission.

Stewardship embraces the whole of our lives in a faith journey ...On this journey we can see how God calls us into an experience of stewardship that can bring much joy, harmony and a sense of wholeness to our lives and the lives of others.If every one of us prayerfully considers how they should respond as a steward of God's gifts we will be well on our way. God has given us many gifts - we are being challenged to "give to God what is RIGHT, not what is LEFT". One of the ways in which we can "give to God what is RIGHT", is in the giving of our resources back to him. We can do this through the tithing of our weekly income and placing it in the offertory envelopes provided. Our regular 'weekly offerings' provide the basis of the financial resources needed to maintain and develop our church's ministry and mission. For further information or to obtain a set of offertory envelopes please contact Margaret Marsh on 89525950.

2006 LENTEN APPEAL
The Lenten Appeal is an invitation to sacrificial giving and is not intended to replace the regular Sunday offering. These are special projects above and beyond our normal giving. It is hoped that the Appeal will receive enthusiastic support.

The Appeal commenced on Sunday 5th March and runs over 5 Sundays concluding on Sunday 2nd April.
Week 1 – 5th March Somerville Community Services – supported accommodation program Somerville’s mission statement is ”To enhance the dignity and quality of life of people most disadvantaged in and damaged by our society.” (Somerville is an agency of UCA Northern Synod operating in Darwin, Palmerston & Katherine) Somerville are seeking funds to upgrade the bedrooms of two clients living in supported accommodation – one lives in Katherine and the other Nightcliff. Your gifts will help improve the surroundings and quality of life for these people.
Week 2 – 12th March Indonesian Youth – a year of vocational study Indonesia has suffered a decade of violence, poverty, and natural disasters. This has had a devastating effect on its youth with 53% not receiving an education and 25% unemployed. Partner churches in Papua, Maluku, West Timor and Nias provide opportunities for young people to develop their potential and gain an education. The highest priority is to equip them to make a useful contribution in rebuilding and stabilising their communities. A gift of $300 will provide a young Indonesian with training in community development, health, and education. Our target is to assist ten students.
Week 3 – 19th March – Covenanting Connections
Living (LW) Uniting Church, Humpty Doo seeks to establish an exchange program with the youth of Croker Island. The aim is for LW youth to visit Croker, and Croker youth to be invited to LW, with adult mentors to work on projects, explore faith cross-culturally, make friends and have fun with local youth. Your gift will enhance LW’s commitment to covenanting and gives the youngsters involved opportunities to explore issues together while enjoying another culture.
Week 4 – 26th March – East Timor – Education for leadership The Methodist University Centre in Brazil has offered eight, four year scholarships to E.Timorese students to study law, community development and health care through a Memorandum of Understanding with the E.Timor Indonesian Protestant Church. The program will benefit the church and the community by preparing young people to be future leaders and to be advocates for justice and peace. The University is contributing $34,146 to the project; extra funding needs to be found for airfares, local transportation, weekend food and accommodation. Through the Lenten Appeal we can assist these students to achieve their goals.
Week 5 – 2nd April 2006 – National Disaster Relief Fund During 2005, the Disaster Fund was able to grant funds in response to requests for material aid. It allocated funds to school principals to assist students to enable them to participate fully in the life of the schools in drought-inflicted areas. The Fund also allocated funds for bushfire relief in Eyre Peninsula S.A. The Fund is administered by Assembly, being disbursed as needed.

GLEANINGS FROM PRESBYTERY:
One of the many sources of information at PPNA (Pilgrim Presbytery of Northern Australia) is the sharing done by congregations.
Broome has plans to open their property to more activities. They see it as ‘taking down the walls’, an easy physical activity when you consider the tropical architecture. Their vision is to install pool tables, table tennis facilities and make the church building a place where people are welcome to come and engage in recreational activities. Broome is so isolated when one visits and feels the distances.
Nightcliff has surprised itself. From three different people in the congregation the vision has come – why don’t we relocate from our church building to that empty shop in the Nightcliff shopping centre, and conduct worship each Sunday as a shop front church? There are weekly Sunday markets in the precinct. The congregation is digesting it’s own surprising vision!
Alice Springs report surprised me – yes me! Our delegates recalled the past five years ‘history’ of efforts to minister to Aboriginal people. The whole story starts to gather impetus with the coming of Rev. Raymond Bandicha (for medical reasons), then Margaret Bain. Now a new ministry couple have arrived causing us to re-assess our use of existing property. Suddenly the small Aboriginal congregation have room space they can call their own. I confess I had not focussed on the gathering speed at which our ministry in this area has travelled. And there is much more to be decided and achieved in the immediate future.
Every congregation had a story to tell. These are just three of them.
Lorna Stevenson

PRESBYTERY MINISTERS’ RETREAT

Following the recent Presbytery meeting in Darwin 18 ministers gathered for a 3 day retreat at Lake Bennet, 80km south of Darwin.

Rev Dr Jenny Byrnes from Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide led the retreat which focused on the Uniting Church’s Code of Ethics and Ministerial Practice.

All ministers (lay and ordained) in Uniting Church Placements are bound by the Code which covers such areas as
The responsibilities of Ministers within the “Pastoral Relationship” that exists between ministers and those in their care,
Appropriate self care,
Sexual misconduct,
The use of power,
The relationship and responsibilities of ministers to various Councils of the Church,
Professionalism in ministry,
Receipt of gifts and fees,
Respect for colleagues in Ministry.
We explored a number of case studies of “common” situations in ministry in order to draw out some of the principles that underlie ethical behaviour within a Christian framework.

It was recognised that whilst the UCA has a Code of Ethics for Ministers we increasingly need to find ways in which congregations as a whole can become “ethical communities”.

It was also noted that some of the requirements of the Code, such as appropriate self care by Ministers, can be assisted if members of congregations are aware of the requirements.

Ministers also spent two hours each day in silence to allow space for contemplative prayer and reflection and a couple of hours walking, swimming, chatting and resting to help “recharge the batteries” and listen for God’s voice.

Over meals we continued to build the strong collegial relationships that characterise Ministry within the Northern Synod.

On the last morning of the retreat Rev David Thiem from Frontier Services led a study on The ‘bush’ and historical European factors that impinge even today on ministry in remote areas: A theology of patrol ministry’. Unfortunately I was unable to stay for that session but if you are interested in what it was about have a chat to Rev Tony Davies or ask me for a copy of the notes that David handed out.

If anyone is interested in seeing a copy of the Code of Ethics and Ministerial Practice please talk to Tracy or Murray.

In September this year Rev Felicity Amery and Ms Julie Watts from the Pilgrim Presbytery will conduct workshops in Alice Springs to assist us to implement the Assembly’s ‘Called to Care’ package. These workshops will help us think through how the congregation can ensure that all people are treated appropriately when they share in our communal life.
Murray Muirhead

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
After a hectic month or a not so busy week a prayer time with others, outdoors in the quiet of early morning at the Desert Park picnic area, is a wonderful way to start the month. At the moment five meet regularly at 7.30am for a light breakfast to enjoy the peace and awesome beauty of God’s creation. To share, encourage and ponder on the lectionary reading for the day and pray – leaving at about 8.45-9.00am. If you’d like to join us on the first Saturday of the month call Jenny or David Marshman (89525776) so we can provide enough food to share. See you there.

Life Celebrations
Thank-you to everyone who has said they like having birthdays acknowledged a month in advance – so we continue.
If your birthday is not acknowledged and you would like it to be, then please see me. If there are any other celebrations that you would like acknowledged in this column, such as an anniversary or baptism, then please submit it in writing to me (at the Op-Shop, office or wherever you can catch me), a week prior to the GO magazine deadline (the GO editor has a thing about late copy). If there are any mistakes or omissions then please also see me.
Beth Cardona
Birthdays coming up in April are:
13th Margaret Petherick
18th Nathaniel Carlson
24th Athol Blyton
25th Ken Braun
26th Mark Wilson
Memories and Memorabilia Evening
Friday 10th March saw some thirteen or so congregation and community members gathered in the lounge at Adelaide House to watch the video ‘Deep in the Heart’ showing the opening of the John Flynn Memorial Church, and later to see some of Barney’s slides from Griffiths House days. Unfortunately, we lost the sound part way through the video, but it is available for people to borrow from Tracy and play on their own machines, where it should work properly!
‘Deep in the Heart’ tells the story of people making their way from near and far to Alice Springs for the star studded occasion, when the church was opened with much pomp and ceremony, its contents dedicated, and the next day hosting the first worship of the United Church in Northern Australia in Alice Springs and inducting its Ministers from both Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
Barney’s slides featured mostly scenic views from around Alice Springs…we still have more boxes to go! Elva brought some photos along, as did Elsa showing the early church musicals, and Peter Davison had scanned news articles sent up by the McNeils showing some of our church members in younger days!
I was able to scan several of the photos on the spot, and make some sound recordings too, to add to our store of material that Murray will make into a powerpoint audiovisual show for the Anniversary weekend.
The evening finished a bit after 9pm, with several promises being made to come along to the next Memories and Memorabilia evening on Friday 31st March, 7.30pm. and to bring along more of those old albums and boxes of slides tucked away in cupboards at home! We hope after this taste, that the next Evening will see even more images from throughout the 50 years of this church’s life, so we really can put together an Anniversary show that shows who we are and who we have been. All Welcome! And bring your albums!
Hop into the Op-Shop sometime soon (I hope)
Just a reminder the Op-Shop is still part of this congregation. No we haven’t opened yet – but we will! The weather has been against us and also there are discussions on where we go for this year. There are many balls in the air - I am looking forward to see where they fall.
Don’t forget us! Please remember us in your prayers as we discern the best place for our reopening.
Shalom - Beth Cardona

Keeping in touch with the wider church:
· Overseas Aid News – shares news of the aid and development division of the Uniting International Mission
· Net Work – the UCAF magazine for Christian small groups with articles from Synod of Victoria & Tasmania
· Crosslight – monthly newspaper again from UC in Vic/Tasmania
These are all available from either the foyer or office of our church

UC Adult Fellowships General Committee is challenging groups to get out left over wool scraps, knitting needles & crochet hooks and make toys – 1,000 ‘UCAF Cuddlies’ to be made for Fiona Dixon-Thompson working in Mwandi Zambia in the Orphaned and Vulnerable Child Project. From a recent edition of “KUCA News” explains “…in villages such as Mwandi …the children generally don’t have dolls and teddies and other toys in their homes. The pre-school includes a specific play time in each day’s program to give the children an opportunity to learn how to play with dolls and teddies…”
Cuddlies will be sent to Fiona for use in the pre-school or to be given to children who have to go to hospital. Fiona’s dream is to have a soft toy to put on the bed of every child who is admitted to the hospital. If you have a favourite toy pattern please feel free to use that. If you don’t wish to knit perhaps you could help out with the costs of buying the filling.
Maybe groups could get together to finish faces, sew up and fill together.
Keep the finished article until late July when they will be sent to Adelaide West UC for forwarding on to Fiona.
Copy of a toy pattern is available from our church office – open Mon.,Wed.,Frid. Pm.

Report from the National Deacon Continuing Education Conference
During the first week of February, I attended the week long National Deacon Continuing Education Conference held in Perth. Apart from meeting up with fellow deacons from across Australia, former mentors and students and long distance friends, it was a time of exploring our diaconal theology, and visiting a number of sites where innovative diaconal ministries were occurring.
Several themes were striking. Deacons do their theology from their lived experiences with those around them, rather then from a set of philosophic statements applied to various situations. This approach is called ‘contextual theology’, and assumes that if God is present in creation and the lives of the people God loves, then we should look carefully for the signs of God around and within us, so that our understanding of God will be enriched in our own particular contexts.
And it did seem that God was doing some new things in the ministries we saw there.
W The Warehouse Café at Subiaco was purchased by the Subiaco congregations after they sold their previous church buildings. A Management Board runs the café, which employs professional staff, and the Minister helps out in the kitchen, is a chaplain to the café, conducts counselling in private rooms at the back of the building, hosts functions for groups, and conducts worship for the congregation within the café complex on Sundays. For more information, see:
http://www.missionresourcing.net.au/pages/00000036.cgi The conference had its conference Dinner there, amidst balloons and gourmet dishes!
W Another Deacon spoke about her shopping centre ministry, where a quiet lounge available for shoppers in a shopping complex provided opportunities for chaplaincy encounters and supporting those who sought friendship and faith. Her regular loitering around the coffee shops gave her a profile amongst the retail staff that developed into a chaplaincy model to meet their personal and faith needs as well.
W Discussions with deacons ministering in rural congregations reaffirmed the role of landscape and country in nurturing a spirituality to sustain them in their demanding work amongst people.
W My friend Mark Boyce from South Australia is expanding his mental health chaplaincy yet again to incorporate the establishment of a congregation specifically friendly and welcoming to those living with mental illness.
W In a growing outer suburb of Perth, Armadale/Kelmscott congregation is redeveloping their church site in conjunction with a UnitingCare Families agency, hoping to create a residential village around the welfare and faith centre. Their minister, Rev Willie Pickett, is an Indigenous man, and his presence on the site is attracting particularly young Indigenous people to their jam sessions and youth activities, while Willie’s wife is involved in in-home ministries with these families.
During the week, I led sessions on A Spirituality for the Diaconate with deacon candidates where we explored the shape of our lives against the shape of lives such as St Francis of Assisi, Che Guevara (after watching the DVD ‘The Motorcycles Diaries’) and Jesus. I also facilitated a workshop for deacons exploring how our ministries with Indigenous people are or are not conforming to the vision for Ministry of Deacon set out in the 1991 Report on Ministry in the Uniting Church. If anyone would like to know more about deacons in the Uniting Church, just let me know!
Rev Tracy Spencer (Deacon)

“Love in our hearts wasn’t put there to stay, Love isn’t love ‘til we give it away, Give it away…”
words by Rod Boucher – God Gives..Songs for Kids Book 3

Gospel Outback has been put together by interim editor – Jenny Marshman with contributions from many! This March edition is double in size due to no publication for February and a number of happenings. Please do keep the articles coming in, next issue is scheduled for Sunday 16th April therefore deadline date Sunday 9th April – leave them at the UCA office or email to marshman@austarnet.com.au.

Unity of the Spirit - Murrays Sermon

2006-08-24T21:42:00.000+10:00

The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-16)

The passage that we heard from Ephesians contains a powerful image of the Church as a unique community, established by God through the work of Jesus Christ and the Spirit.

In it the author paints a picture of the sort of community that we are called to be as members of the Uniting Church in Alice Springs.

As a congregation engaged in a process of change that is unsettling some people and challenging many of our assumptions, it is particularly timely that this passage has come up in our lectionary readings. For it’s a passage that gives some important guidance on how we are called to treat one another if we are to be the Church of Jesus Christ.

It is also timely because members of the Church Council and other key leaders participated in a workshop last weekend that focused on the important work the Uniting Church is doing to ensure that congregations are safe places where each member exercises an appropriate level of care and respect for every other member.

Participation in any human group is challenging and the Church is no exception. Because we come from a diversity of backgrounds and bring a diverse range of experiences and values, and understandings of what it means to “be the Church” there will be inevitable tensions and frustrations along with moments of joy and new insight.

Over the past few weeks, since our decision to renew our worship services, some cracks have begun to appear in our congregation which had seemed to be drawn more closely together by the anniversary celebrations and the reinvigoration of our financial and governance structures.

The changes that many people in the Congregation have embraced have been difficult for others. And a few people are wondering whether they will remain with us or seek out another faith community which might provide more satisfactorily for their needs. Some people are angry about the changes, some are disappointed or angry that change has not been equally embraced by all. Some people are hurt by the behaviour of others, some feel confused or isolated and some feel more hope and energy than they have for many years. Some people feel really unsettled but are deeply committed to staying. Others are reassessing where they belong. All of these emotions have been expressed to me in the past few weeks and it’s okay because that is part of how human life unfolds in any community with more than one member.

In the midst of all that is going on it is important that we not loose hope or confidence in the presence of God’s Spirit. And it is important that we treat each other in ways that will enhance our lives together and make space for those who choose to, to leave well, or to have the freedom to explore other places for a time before returning to once again share fellowship here.

We have a duty of care towards one another for each person is created in the image of God. And we have a duty of care because this passage from Ephesians suggests that such care is mark of the Christian community – something that distinguishes it from other human groups.

So let’s listen again to some of that passage….

I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The writer emphasises that as Christians we are called to live in a particular way in our communal life together. A way characterised by love and patience and gentleness. He does not say we all have to agree. He does not say we all have to be happy with everything. The gracious unity that comes from the Spirit of God does not create a group of homogenous individuals – thank God! – the unity comes in the way in which we treat and respect each other. In this way peace is maintained in human community without the need to all be like-minded.

We are called to live in this way. There are times when we will fail to do so. There will be some times when it seems harder than others. But we are not left to do it on our own – indeed we cannot do it on our own. For true unity is a gift of the Spirit.

But that unity is not an end in itself. The writer of Ephesians goes on to talk about the purpose of that unity and the purpose of the congregation.

Let’s listen again….

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists , some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints (that’s all of us) for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

After setting out the ways in which we should care for each other the writer’s focus shifts to the ministry that all members of the congregation are called to participate in to ensure that the body of Christ grows.

This is a vision of the congregation as a collective of people whose primary purpose is to engage in ministry, not to be cared for and nurtured. Of course that doesn’t need mean we should neglect looking after each other but it suggests that is only part of our calling as a congregation.

In other words its not a vision of a community where all our personal needs and preferences are catered for at every juncture. We are actually called to put aside some of our own desires and preferences and to use the gifts and talents that God has given us to contribute to the building up of the body of Christ of which the congregation is just one manifestation.

Now I know this passage from Ephesians will be very challenging for some of us to hear at this time. It certainly is a challenge for me. If I was creating a congregation that met all my needs and desires it would look very different from any congregation I have ever been in, or expect to be in. I’d love to be in my “imaginary congregation” but unfortunately, that’s not a mark of the Christian Church. So I, like all of us, need the graciousness of God Spirit’s to continue to work with others to grow the body of Christ with all its compromises and rough edges.

I believe that this congregation took some courageous and selfless decisions to renew our communal life so that the Uniting Church will not just have a presence in Alice Springs next year or the year after but for many decades to come.

As with any change there is loss and grief, and anger and uncertainty, and energy and hope, and relief and ambiguity. But in the midst of it all, let us trust in God to sustain our unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace. And let us commit ourselves to the way of humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love.

And remember that those whom you have elected or appointed to leadership positions in the congregation are also members who require the same care, love, trust and respect as everyone else.

Next week we will be exploring in more depth the ways in which we are called to behave within the Christian community by reflecting on the later part of chapter 5 of Ephesians. And I’d encourage you to take some time in coming week to have a look at that passage. Amen

Speaking the truth in love - Murrays sermon

2006-08-24T21:41:00.000+10:00

Speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2)

Last week we focused on a passage from Ephesians that reminded us of our calling to be a community characterised by a spirit of gentleness, humility and patience, where we support one another in love.

And we were assured of God’s promise that the Spirit will help to sustain a sense of unity in the midst of the changes we are experiencing in our life together.

Today’s passage follows on from last week’s and the writer deals in more detail with behaviours that were disrupting the congregation in Ephesus and other places in the early church.

This morning I want us to explore the impact of those behaviours on the life of a Christian community. But before we do, I’d like to share with you some of the history of the Uniting Church’s concern for how people in our congregations treat one another.

o000oo

The Christian Church has always held to the ideal that the Christian community should be a community of love. It would be very hard to find someone who would openly argue against such an understanding. The Church has also taught that God’s Spirit guides and strengthens us to live righteous lives and to fulfil the ideal of Christian community.

But at times through the centuries, congregations have often fallen far short of this calling. And it has become clear that reliance on the work of the Spirit in individual lives is not sufficient to ensure appropriate behaviour from all people. So Churches need to create and nurture a culture in which the values of care and respect are embedded in people’s attitudes and in the structures of the Church.

One of the most disturbing phases in the Church’s more recent history has been the emergence, in a number of denominations, of widespread sexual abuse of children. And whilst the issue has come to more prominence in some denominations than in others, it would be foolish believe that it cannot happen anywhere we are not vigilant.

Sometime ago, the Uniting Church Synods and the Assembly embarked upon a process to ensure that all Uniting Church Agencies and Congregations have appropriate mechanisms to ensure the safety of our children in the future and processes to support those who have been abused in the past.

As these processes were developed we became aware that the potential for abuse is not limited to children, and that there are many people within our fellowship who are vulnerable to abuse by unscrupulous people. So the Uniting Church began to broaden the focus of its “Duty of Care” concerns to include other vulnerable groups.

Of course as we developed policies for our agencies, and sexual misconduct procedures for Ministers and others occupying positions of power where abuse can potentially occur, we became aware that abuse can happen at a number of different levels and that the Christian tradition has strong things to say about any behaviours that diminish other people.

So the Uniting Church adopted an approach to our “duty of care” that is not just about rules and regulations but about creating a culture within our congregations where we deal with each other, at all times, in ways that are respectful and honest and safe.

This approach recognises that abuse happens on a continuum and that whilst it is critical that we prevent severe abuse, it is also important to provide a place where people are safe emotionally and spiritually, as well as physically.

So the Uniting Church across Australia is continuing to work on some of the same issues as the writer of Ephesians. And as I said last week, as we work through the implications of the change process we have embarked upon as a congregation, there will be challenges for us in maintaining a culture of respect and unity and peace.

oo000oo

The writer of Ephesians began by reminding his readers of the unity that we have in Christ. He then reminded them of their call to be a community characterised by gentleness, humility, respect and love. And then in the passage we heard earlier this morning he let us in on what was actually happening in the life of the early church with these words….

“So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.

Be angry, but do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not make room for the devil….

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear…

…. Put away all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…”

The Church in Ephesus had become a place where people did not tell truth about one another, but were selective with that truth in a way that was slanderous of others. A place where gossip was the currency of communication. And it was causing division and concern that was evident to people beyond the congregation.

The Ephesians were not speaking to one another in ways they could be proud of, or in ways that reflected their mutual belonging to the community of faith.

They were expressing their anger in destructive ways that failed to resolve their differences and that turned into ongoing feuds.

And bitterness, malice, anger, wrath and wrangling had come to characterise their life together. Indeed they sound a bit like the Federal Liberal Party at the moment.

That is why the writer wanted to remind them of their calling to be imitators of God, who live in love, just as Christ had loved them.

That is why the writer reminded them of the distinctive call of the Church to be a fellowship marked by gentleness, humility and love.

oo000oo

We called to be that sort of community, because that is the only authentic way we can claim to be a community, not just a group of people. Wherever the sort of behaviour that characterised the Ephesian Church is allowed to flourish, the community will self destruct and individuals will be damaged.

So I encourage all of us to take special care during this period of transition in the life of the congregation. Speak the truth to one another in love - simply, openly, and honestly.

Resist the temptation to pass on the latest gossip without checking its accuracy with someone who has the full story. Because the gossip whirlpool has been causing unnecessary distress to many members of our congregation in the past couple of months.
Resist the urge to defame people if you are angry or hurt by them. Instead ask them for an opportunity to talk through with them how you are feeling. Or approach an elder or minister you trust to help such a conversation happen.

It does matter how we treat each other. And it does matter what we do, or do not accept, as appropriate behaviour in the Christian community. It is not just what we believe but how we behave that marks us as a Gospel community.

May God guide us, and strengthen us, as we respond again to the call be the Church of Jesus Christ in this time, and this place. Amen.

2006-08-21T21:43:00.000+10:00

2006-08-21T21:34:00.000+10:00

Collective Wisdom - Solomon's demise Sermon by Murray Muirhead August 2006

2006-08-21T21:25:00.000+10:00

Collective Wisdom
(1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14/ Ephesians 5:15 20)
Earlier this week I had a conversation with Eric and Julie about King Solomon and we were speculating about the things that people associate with his name. Fof many people Solomon’s name is most likely associated with wisdom. Others might recall the extensive building program that he undertook during his 40 year reign; including construction of the famous Temple in Jerusalem. Some may recall that he was the son of King David. Others might think of the splendour of his personal attire, which Jesus alluded to in one of his parables. And some will call to mind his exhausting role as husband to a thousand wives and concubines.

Today’s passage from the 1st Book of Kings tells the story of Solomon’s succession to the throne of David and his choice, as a young monarch, to ask God for “… an understanding mind to govern (God’s) people” and an ability to “… discern between good and evil”.

In this account Solomon is praised by God for his choice of the gift of wisdom and is promised other blessings as well. A few stories demonstrating his acclaimed wisdom follow. One of my favourites is the story of the two women who come before Solomon to settle a dispute over who is the real mother of an infant. One claimed to be the infant’s mother, whilst the other claimed that this was not true and that the child had been stolen from her whilst she slept. Solomon decreed that the child should be cut in half so that each woman could retain half. Then when one of the women objected to his solution and said “no, let the other woman keep the baby” he declared that she must be the real mother – because she was not prepared to see the child killed even if she could not have him.

Later in 1st Kings there is an account of a visit to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba who questioned him extensively before concluding that his reputation for wisdom was indeed justified.

But if you read a little further in 1 Kings, or read the alternative version in 1st Chronicles, you will discover that Solomon ultimately gets very mixed reviews for his 700 wives and 300 concubines, his tolerance and patronage of “shrines” to gods other than Yahweh, his harsh tax regimes, his militarizing of the economy, and his creation of a privileged upper class at the expense of the vast majority of his subjects.

Solomon’s initial request to be endowed with wisdom by God may have been spot on, but somewhere along the way he seems to have lost the plot!

Whilst his name has continued to be associated with the wisdom literature and traditions of the Old testament, embodied in books like Proverbs and Song of Songs, he was ultimately judged by the Deuteronomic writers as the leader who was responsible for the demise of Israel, the breaking up of the Kingdom and the effective end of the monarchy as a credible institution. As people looked back, with the hindsight of their later experience of exile in Babylon, and tried to make sense of how it all happened, they saw the seeds of their nation’s demise in the corruption of Solomon’s reign.

So how did this widely acclaimed wise man get it so wrong?

For a time Solomon demonstrated a sharp intellect that was tempered by compassion and sound judgment about Godly ways of living. But as the grandeur and extent of his empire began to grow he entered into numerous marriages and liaisons to cement political alliances and shore up his power base. He not only used his wives and concubines as a means to political ends, but he began to use the non-Israelite residents of his kingdom as slaves to sustain his extensive building program. He opened up economic links with the Pharoanic dynasty in Egypt which had previously enslaved the Hebrew people. He imposed burdensome taxes on people who could not afford it and diverted resources that could have maintained good living standards for all into his military and infrastructure programs. And finally, he abandoned any fidelity to the God of his father David.

In essence he succumbed to the seduction of “empire” and the belief that wisdom is a quality rather than a practice. He appears to have believed the acclamations about his wisdom but to have forgotten his reason for asking for wisdom in the first place. In order that he might have “… an understanding mind to govern (God’s) people” and an ability to “… discern between good and evil”.

It is a trap that many political leaders and monarchs fall into today in the on-going pursuit of “empire”. You need look no further than the conflicts in the Middle East, the conflicts in Iran and Afghanistan, and the tensions on the Korean peninsula to see the devastating consequences when wise leadership is subverted by the desires of “empire” on both sides of the world.

The gift of wisdom that Solomon sought was essentially a gift of discernment; the capacity to discern right from wrong. The wisdom to make the right choices and decisions in a position of power. The wisdom to discern where the boundaries of appropriate behaviour lay. And the wisdom to perceive what was in the best interests of the most vulnerable members of his community. But he failed to exercise that gift consistently. He lost touch with his community, and lost sight of the humanity of people over whom he exercised power. And he lost touch with his God and countenanced the worship of things other than God to enhance his own power and further his political aspirations.

Solomon’s unwise behaviour undermined any sense of legitimacy of the monarchy. And it ultimately led the Deuteronomic writers to reject a system of governance that centred around an individual who was not structurally and morally accountable to the communities they served. They perceived that no matter how wise a person appeared to be they could easily succumb to the seductions of power, or wealth, or fame, or empire.

Their insights remain relevant today. Wherever “wisdom” is claimed to be the sole preserve of an individual leader there is likely to be trouble. “Wise leadership” in international or national politics, in community organisations, and in the local Church is only sustainable when it is understood to be a communal responsibility and where there are appropriate processes of accountability.
oo000oo

But what about wisdom in our personal lives?

Someone who I know very well was recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. It was rather unexpected as there was no previous evidence of it in his family and he’d always eaten a healthy and balanced diet. After the initial shock and depression that the diagnosis precipitated, he reverted to his usual way of dealing with challenges and began to amass all the information he could about diabetes. He dusted the cobwebs off the medical textbooks he had once been familiar with, surfed the diabetes sites on the internet, talked to a nutritionist, bought recipes books for diabetics and generally became well informed. By the time he spoke with a diabetes educator he knew more about the disease and its causes and consequences than she did.
As the reality began to set in that he now had a heightened probability of cardiovascular disease, and the possibility of longer terms issues with his eyes and circulation, he became more conscientious in taking regular exercise, eating well and eliminating unnecessary and unhealthy stress from his life.

For a time he made wise choices, based on his new found knowledge. The two things were not the same. The knowledge told him what would happen if he did (a), or (b), or (c). But it was “wisdom” that helped him to make the choices that were best for his health and longevity. He translated his new found knowledge into “wise living”, and for a time he felt better physically and psychologically. And he also felt better spirituality as the fatigue and depression associated with the diabetes lifted.

But slowly, he noticed that he was making less wise choices about food and exercise and sleep. Of course there were always good reasons why, and as very few people knew about his diabetes they were unable to support him in his choice to live wisely.

I have shared this story because it illustrates just how difficult it can be for us to “live wisely” on our own. Whether it be in the choices we make about our health, or the choices we make about the ways in which we live out our faith in God. To “live wisely” as followers of Jesus is not impossible on our own but it is much easier to sustain if we support one another in that aspiration. That is why God calls us to into community.

It is difficult to make consistently wise choices about the way we live because complete wisdom does not reside in any particular individual; whether it be wisdom about living with diabetes, or wisdom about living a life in accordance with the Gospel of Christ.

No individual, whether they be the King, the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, the Mayor, the Church Council Chairperson, the Elders, the Congregational Minister or any member of the congregation will act wisely on each and every occasion. So we need to help each other if we are to persist in living wisely in God’s world.

At the end of that great passage about love in 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul speaks of a time when what we now know in part, we will then know in full. We will, in essence, become “wise”. He concludes that “… in the meantime faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.”

For Christians, love, more than anything else, illuminates “wise ways of living” in response to the good news we encounter in Jesus Christ.

But until that time when we all see clearly I’ll need your support to live wisely with my diabetes. And we will need our “collective wisdom” to continue “living wisely” as disciples of Jesus in a post-modern age. Amen.

John Flynn Uniting Church Alice Springs

2006-07-25T22:34:00.000+10:00

John Flynn Uniting Church Alice Springs

A pilgrim people. Liturgy and sermon from 23rd July 2006

2006-07-25T22:22:00.000+10:00

WORSHIP
Alice Springs 23rd July 2006
Prepared by Tracy Spencer with the Worship group

Worship group:
David Young
David Marshman
Elsa Corbet
Emily Hunt

Note: ask people to ‘share’ about justice/pastoral concerns through their work and then use these as basis for intercessions

How to use the pre-service time creatively: silence, quiet, cuppa beforehand

NEED:
Bun and jug and cup for kids to use.
Coffee table under communion table
Anangu cd
Cd player
Dp and computer
Print out of flower roster

Readings

2 Sam 7:1-14a
Eph 2:11-22
Mark 6: 30-34; 53-56

Theme: A pilgrim people

Songs:
TIS 52 Let us sing to the God of salvation, let us sing to the Lord our Rock
‘Walking down the road’
TIS 459 In Christ there is no east or west
God be with you till we meet again
For you deep stillness

Organist Bruce

NEED:
small separate plate for communion ie those not with us
Athol bringing bread and juice
Pat miller bottle
2 cups juice
2 plates of bread (cover with cloth)
CD player
Bruce Springsteen Eyes on the prize
Wilderness cd
Tent (put up in back room)
Camping box with kids bible in it (law of the covenant through which God speaks), and bicky box (manna)
Lolly snakes, dry bicky box, kids bibles
Swag
Bristol house statue

Setting
Data Projector set up
Flynn lamp candle burning; and also candle before the open Bible.

Time of Quiet Reflection – Play wilderness

Opening Song: TIS 52 let us sing to the God of salvation, let us sing to the lord our rock!

Gathering and Welcome
God is like the McDonnell Ranges, rock in our midst whose presence frames and cradles all we do. It is not a rock on which we stand like on an island surrounded by the wide world, or a particular spot on which we stand and no others, like the rock of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, fought over for centuries by Jews and Muslims. The Lord our rock, in Alice Springs, is a range of rock that encompasses us all, reminding us never to fall into the sin of exclusion, or division. Even this place cradled by rock becomes the house of God.

Welcome to worship this morning, from the many different journeys we have traveled this week. My name is Tracy Spencer and I am one of the ministers of this congregation. I wonder if some of the visitors might like to also introduce themselves, and receive our welcome.

There are a few changes to worship this week, as we fine tune this new service we have created out of the three old services. We did not open Adelaide House this morning for tea and coffee, since it has not been needed for the past three weeks for people coming to socialize early, apart from the Christian bus tour that came for an early pilgrimage service around our church last week. Nor has it been used by people leaving the service before the communion, so it will not be open after church for that either, and while people are still free to leave the service before communion if they wish, we will no longer be announcing that but leaving it to each persons discretion. Morning tea will continue in the hall, and locals will help direct visitors to where that is located. And for those of you finding smaller people something to adjust to in this service, like I do at times! – a reminder that Sunday School will recommence with the school term next week, and the children will be invited to go to the hall for this during part of the Worship service. And for those many people who have commented to me or the kids how much they have enjoyed and appreciated the children’s participation in the service, thank you. I know my kids have felt very welcome, loved, and are learning all the time about being part of this church community. The quiet time before the service remains, from quarter to 9, instead of 8.30am. I and this months worship group of Elsa, Emily, the two Davids and myself appreciate your forebearance while these changes are fine tuned, and encourage you to pass on any suggestions you have to ourselves, or any of the elders, who oversee this worship process.

But the reason we gather together for worship is to celebrate being part of the community of God’s kingdom, living in this place, this community, at this time. Because it is…

The living god
The living moving spirit of god has called us together
In witness
In celebration
In love

We reach out toward each other (take each others hands in a sign of peace)
Our God reaches out toward us
Let us worship God
Celebrating the gift of this day.
Amen.

Reading: 2 Sam 7:1-14a – Elsa

Kids Talk
David had a great idea. He used to be a shepherd boy, camping out all the time (get them to sit on the swag), but now he was king, he had a really nice house to live in, and he liked that (show little house statue). And he thought God would too. See, God didn’t live in a church. There weren’t any. Long before David, when Gods people were wandering around with no homes in the desert, their leader Moses used to talk to God at a special box called an Ark. Which was handy, because when they packed up camp and moved on, the ark could easily be carried with them.

This is one of our camping boxes. It has to be tough to go in the back of the ute or be put out on the ground when we camp. And its easy to pick up and carry around with us (give them a try) The ark was a bit prettier. And they used to put it inside a special tent when they made camp. But even so, David thought that the ark, where he talked to god, should be in a better place, so show how really important and special it was.

What do you prefer? Camping out? Or living in a house? What do you think God preferred?

Yep, God got the message to David not to build a permanent house, or temple, or church for the box. Why? Because God is the sort of God who wants to keep traveling with Gods people, wherever they go. If God’s stuck in one place, God might get out of touch with us when we have to go over here, or over there.

Here’s a picture of John Flynn, who this church was built to remember. He had the crazy idea that since people living in the outback didn’t have churches where they were, he’d send out Patrol Ministers to go and have church with them, wherever they were. And just to be with them and send time with them, to remind them that the church, and God, cared enough about them to travel to be with them.

Do you think he had God packed in a box with him in his truck? No…cos its not really God who was in that box Moses talked to anyway.

Inside the ark were the two stone tablets on which were written the 10 commandments that Moses heard from God on Mt Sinai, and sometimes there was some of the special manna food that God provided for Gods people to eat in the desert too, and a walking stick that had turned into a snake for moses.

But if God wasn’t in the box, where was God? [everywhere]

That’s right. Wherever we go, God is there with us, because our God can’t be tied down or wrapped up in one place. John Flynn knew that. When his ministers went to people outback, and here in Alice Springs, they got together with people to celebrate that God was already here, in the remotest places, ready to guide God’s people on their life’s journey.

After the song, I’m going to let you guys take this camping box with you to the back room, where you’ll find a tent to put it in, and where you can have a peep and find out what’s inside it this time!

Song: Walking down the road

Sharing: Emily Hunt

Our Gospel reading shows us Jesus the healer, coming close to where people are, so that they can reach out and touch him, and be healed.

Gospel reading: Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56 (Elsa)

Confession
Jesus, you come close to us
We confess the times we have ignored your presence, or failed to reach out to you for healing and wholeness.

In our families, you are close to us. We confess the daily hurts and failures we make with eachother, and ask your forgiveness that we did not reach out for your healing touch on the pains we inflict on those closest to us.

In our church, you are close to us. We confess the ways we weaken the fabric of our community, with judgements and criticisms and gossip about others, and ask your forgiveness that we did not reach out for your healing word to soothe our neighbours and strengthen our life together.

In our community, you are close to us. We confess the hardness of heart, and ignorance, we carry towards our neighbours, quick to condemn a brother or sister without even knowing their name or situation. We ask your forgiveness that we did not reach out for your healing power to break down barriers and build a united community of love and justice.

We say together:

We reach out for you Jesus
Heal us!
And we find for each of us that you are standing closer to us than our own shadow.
Thanks be to God.

Reading: Eph 2:11-22 (Elsa)

Reflection: Tracy Spencer

(Read as if own words and dramatically)
The Church as the fellowship of the Holy Spirit confesses Jesus as Lord over its own life; it also confesses that Jesus is Head over all things, the beginning of a new creation, of a new humanity. God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church's call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself. The Church lives between the time of Christ's death and resurrection and the final consummation of all things which Christ will bring; the Church is a pilgrim people, always on the way towards a promised goal; here the Church does not have a continuing city but seeks one to come. On the way Christ feeds the Church with Word and Sacraments, and it has the gift of the Spirit in order that it may not lose the way. (BOU para 3)

Did you recognize that quote? Basis of union, para 3. My favorite bit.

It’s got everything from todays lectionary readings in it: the mobility of God’s people, and God’s pledge in the Holy Spirit to be with them, sustaining their journey; the accessibility of God to us, with the Spirit always within our reach. And that God’s goal in the Church is the reconciliation and renewal of all people, in fact all of creation.

And what better imagery to illustrate this than pictures of our forebears in faith, pilgrims of the AIM, and Indigenous and outback travelers of this land, pilgrim people, who learnt to live the journey not just the destination, to care for and heal the country and its peoples under the most incredible circumstances, who didn’t bring God into Godless territory, but found God already there in country, and celebrated Gods mystery and grandeur and faithfulness under a gum tree, beside the track, at the ceremony grounds, in the shadow of the ranges whose presence broods over us all.

It’s not just our forebears of course who carry this image of pilgrimage. It is our visitors with us every Sunday this time of year. Or, as I reflected sitting with Jean Maltby in her caravan the other day, its the people who become sojourners amongst us, perpetually traveling this country, carrying their faith with them, meeting their God in each new place, who continue to image a pilgrim faith for me.

Because the Uniting church is in essence a church on the move, and we could only be confident to do that, if we believed in a God who travels with us, into new places, new terrain, new cultures, new ways of thinking, even new ways of being church.

It’s that spirit, I believe, that is behind the Assembly decisions we heard about last week: decisions not to definitively decide what God does or doesn’t say about homosexual Christians in leadership, but to be willing to travel with the Holy Spirit into a new landscape of sexuality never even glimpsed in the Old Testament travels, and to see what God might be doing there, and to celebrate it. The Assembly decisions are about reconciliation and renewal of the church’s relationship with those previously judged separate and excluded from our ecclesiology. They recognize, as they have before, but in a more affirmative way this time, that the laws with which heterosexual people kept homosexual people excluded from some roles in the church, have been broken down by Christ, who draws those who have been far off, near to each other in peace. The small group protesting against the Assembly decision, will not even meet with the Uniting Church President, but prefer to threaten to erect new divisions within the church but setting up parallel structures.

The impetus for humans to erect barriers to keep Others out and those like ourselves In is familiar to us all. Whether division is based on who is, or isn’t circumcised, or who has, or hasn’t got white skin, or who is, or isn’t behaving like we want them to, this passage from Ephesians is an unequivocal challenge to the very notion of division and exclusion itself. It’s not concerned to debate the rights and wrongs of the distinctive conditions. It’s not concerned to encourage one side to assimilate to the other, or even one side to cross over into the other side. It is concerned about removing that which ahs come between people, or has kept them far from each other, and replacing it with the peace of Christ. In my translation it reads at vs 19 ‘So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow citizens with the holy people of God and part of God’s household.’ We belong together, we live together, under the same roof. In the same house. Intimate relations.

Many who attended Assembly talk about a moment of grace in the decision making about homosexuality and leadership, when Congress asked for time out to discuss together what they were hearing and their response. When they returned to the conversation, they strongly reaffirmed their previous position – which was believing that both traditional Law and Biblical law condemned homosexuality – while also equally strongly affirmed that they woulod remain within the followship of the
Uniting Church whatever decision the Assembly made. Difference within community, not division.

This is what the UCA doctrine commission is calling ‘strong tolerance’ within our community, where we can express our opinion and discuss our concerns with the people involved in a respectful and sensitive way. As I have said to several people this week, when someone is expressing something to you about another person that threatens to create a wedge in the community, our response needs to be to encourage them to pass their concerns back to the person in question. Pass it back, don’t pass it on. Talk to the person concerned and do not let silence become a barrier between you. Let us engage in strong tolerance with each other, in a way that preserves our relationships, and does not undermine them.

We know that the theological debate about whether God’s law required circumcision or not from adherents was no trivial matter in the early church. It is one that has become irrelevant for us now, showing in fact how the Christian community does move on over time. But it was deadly earnest in Ephesus then. And yet the word to them was not ‘well, this side is right and that side is wrong.’ Instead, the vision of a community united by something much more important and powerful was held out to them.

All of you, can knit together the household of God, the kind of living breathing growing dwelling place God’s Spirit wants. It is not a spirit that can be tied down, remember, or put in a box, or pinned down. It’s not a Spirit that lives behind fences or is hemmed in by walls. If any of you remember my Gate project installed during the Anniversary weekend, then I think this Spirit is the kind who leaves open gates swinging on their hinges in her wake, so others may enter and move on too. It’s a Spirit that dances through creation, and is on the move with us as we move through our lives, guiding us on, sustaining us on the way, our companion on the journey.

Song: TIS 459 In Christ there is no east or west

Intercessions: David Young

Offering

Notices:

1. Conversation after church today in Hall re conservation and management plan for heritage buildings: what you remember has changed in the buildings over the years and why, and what you think might be useful changes in the future that we can foreshadow in the plan.

2. Called to Care and Treasurer/finance handler workshops Sun 3oth 4pm-5pm Money, 5-8.30pm those working with people (SS, OCC, op shop/ah vol workers) Bring a plate of finger food.

3. That lunchtime join Leoni and others for fundraising lunch after church: vegemite sandwiches and an orange!

4. Reactivating the Desert Spirituality/pilgrimage network in the congregation…so anyone who is interested, please let me know. We’ll kick off with a picnic somewhere towards the end of August

5. Margaret Bain Conversations about her book: see flier.

6. Adult Fellowship meeting at Elsas to ehar from Hamiltons

7. Special One Church Council with Synod and Pres reps meeting Thurs 27th 7.30 Blue Room

8. Need to fill some spaces in the Flower roster: please see board, and let Beth know

Communion
[communion elements unveiled]

Gus says:
Blessed are you Lord God of all creation.
Through you we have this bread to offer
Which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God forever

Gus says:
Blessed are you Lord God of all creation
Through your goodness we have this wine to share
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands
It will become for us our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God forever.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

I’m going to ask you to share a sign of peace, not with your immediate neighbour, but with someone sitting on the other side of the church from you today. And having crossed from one side to the other, I would then invite you to find a place to stand around the outside of the pews, so that together we can all form one big circle, a symbol of our unity and community in Christ.

18 Invitation

Because there is one bread,
we who are many are one body,
for we all partake of the one bread.

In Christ, God breaks down the walls
that make us strangers to ourselves,
and divide us from one another.
We are the body of Christ.

At this table we bear witness to our faith.
At this table, God brings wholeness out of brokenness,
and healing to our world.
Let us break bread together.

I Corinthians 10:17
One night Jesus and his friends gathered around a table to break bread together, as a reminder of the liberty God had bought for them when God’s people escaped from slavery.

They reminded eachother, and us, that God is holy, and has endless mercy. That God has filled all creation with light and life, and that God's glory stretches through the heavens. That it was God who led Abraham and Sarah to the land of promise, who saved the people from the desert of bitter tears, who called them to the land of the living. That it was God who blessed Miriam and David when they danced and sang in holy places.

Jesus and his friends shared this story, as do we, and yet each had their own story to tell.

John’s story tells us how they all washed eachothers feet – even Jesus washed his friends feet, saying ‘If your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for others. I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you.’ John’s story tells us how to serve each other in this one community of faith.

Mark’s story tells us: ‘During the meal, Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed it the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said ‘Take this, it is my body.’
Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples and they all drank some. Then he said: ‘This is my blood, which is poured out for many people, and with it God makes Gods new covenant. From now on, I won’t drink any wine until I drink new wine in God’s kingdom.’ Mark’s story reminds us that God’s kingdom is coming, and that we have covenanted to live together under God’s rule.

Paul, hearing the story of that evening from others, tells the story to the church at Corinth like this;
He took some bread in his hands. Then, after he had given them thanks, he broke it, and said This is my body which is given for you. Eat thisd and remember me.
After the meal, Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and said ‘This is my blood and with it God makes his new agreement with you. Drink this, and remember me.’
Pauls story is our story, as we do this, in remembrance of Jesus, who is calling us to reach out to him, and to each other, in one fellowship of love.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Holy God, we praise you for your Creation, ever groaning in its labour pains to give birth to your kingdom. May we be your midwives, bringing this new thing to life in our midst, nurturing our fledgling efforts to be a community of love and care for each other, and for the whole of creation.
We praise you for your son Jesus, the first born of the new creation, who though he died, lives anew to gather us and all people into the kingdom of love and justice.

At this table, we are mindful of those who are not with us, out of hurt and anger, or illness, or distance, and we symbolically set aside bread from our meal in remembrance of them, and as a sign of our commitment to continue to uphold them in our community. We remember silently the names of those not with us this morning, and pray for them. (set aside some of roll on separate plate.)

And so God of all creation, we praise you
with the faithful of every .time and place,
joining with choirs of angels and the whole creation
in the eternal hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We pray you, God of love,
send your Holy Spirit upon us and what we do here;
that we and these signs, touched by your Spirit,
may be signs of life and love to each other
and to all the world.
Come, Holy Spirit.

The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
The cup we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

[and serve each other by intincture]

23 Prayer after communion

Song: God be with you till we meet again.

Blessing/Word of Mission
‘You are being built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.’
Wherever you go, know that your God goes with you.

(Ask kids to come and join with singing group in leading the song and the actions)
Song: For you deep stillness

Murray's sermon Redeeming Nicodemus (John 3:1-17)

2006-07-06T14:44:00.000+10:00

Redeeming Nicodemus (John 3:1-17)
As I read through a number of Biblical commentaries this week I couldn’t help thinking that Nicodemus has been dealt with pretty harshly in the exegetical press.

Commentators have tried to impugn him for coming to Jesus “in secret”, for being obtuse or just plain stupid, for being a literalist or for having a rigid set of preconceptions that were not open to challenge. There were even those who wanted to write off his later defence of Jesus, in the council of the Sanhedrin, as being “lukewarm” or to dismiss his assistance to Joseph of Arimathea as an attempt to ensure that Jesus’ body was so securely interred that it could not reappear later.

In these interpretations Nicodemus serves as the fall guy who allows Jesus to expound his teaching about being born anew and to “endorse” the anti-pharisaic stance of some parts of the early church. But I suspect there is more to Nicodemus than he is usually given credit for.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish Council known as the Sanhedrin. He was steeped in the tradition of his own religion. He was a rabbi, a teacher, and a theologian, charged with the burden of interpreting the Torah (or the Law). A law that by the time of Jesus had become the basis of a policy of separateness between the Pharisees and the common people. Nicodemus was a representative of the old order that was being challenged and superseded by Jesus.[1] And yet, the fact he approached Jesus suggests that some doubts may have begun to emerge for him, and he was curious, honest and open enough to pursue new answers when the old ones did not ring true anymore.

Given his status and role on the Council, Nicodemus would have been well informed of the following that Jesus was generating amongst the common people. And he would have participated in debates within the Council about what should be done about it.

He would no doubt have been aware that Jesus was scathing at times in his critique of the teachers of the law and Pharisees like Nicodemus. He called them blind fools, and snakes and vipers. He likened them to whitewashed tombs that were clean on the outside but full of death and corruption on the inside. And Nicodemus would no doubt have heard about Jesus sharing meals with outcasts and sinners, crossing social and religious boundaries with impunity, and telling those who were destitute or marginalised that they were at the heart of the Kingdom of God.

Despite such knowledge, Nicodemus was not prepared to just write Jesus off on the basis of his preconceived religious framework. He was a thinker. He was a questioner. He was curious. So he went to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God”.

It’s interesting, in view of the negative “press” he has received, that John doesn’t say that Nicodemus came to Jesus in secret? That’s a later interpretation. He simply says he came to Jesus at night!

If any of you have tried to have a decent conversation with me after church, you’d be aware that more often than not my kids turn up wanting something, or someone needs to speak to me “just for second” to organise something for later in the week. That’s just how life is. If you want to have a sustained conversation, it would be best to catch up with me one evening after the kids are in bed, or after everyone else has headed home for lunch on Sunday, or when I’m alone in the office. The same was true in Jesus’ day. And the rabbis actually had a saying that the best time to study and debate about God was at night when there were fewer disturbances. So Nicodemus coming at night may actually indicate a deep desire to take Jesus seriously, and to find answers to a million unanswered questions that were forming in his heart and mind. Far from slinking along in the shadows, as he is often portrayed, ashamed of his visit to Jesus, Nicodemus may well be a model for all of us….

… a pilgrim…. a genuine seeker of truth that will set us free. A person who makes the effort to expand his search beyond the standard texts and answers of the day. A member of the religious institution who is nonetheless a mover of theological boundaries. Someone willing to risk leaving behind the so-called 'truth' as he and his contemporaries have known it, in order to explore something new.[2]

Nicodemus came to Jesus with a generous openness, acknowledging that Jesus was credentialed by God. Sure he appeared befuddled and confused by what Jesus had to say. Sure he struggled to get his head around a new way of thinking. But he didn’t argue with Jesus or depart in protest. He simply threw up his hands, asking, "How can this be?" But that question opens up an on-going faith conversation rather than closing it down with words like “That can’t be!” Is Nicodemus then the patron saint of the curious?

Let’s go back to the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3: 2-10). Nicodemus went to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God”. Then, before he could get to his inevitable “but….”, or ask his burning question, Jesus gives the somewhat enigmatic reply “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above”.

Nicodemus hadn’t even mentioned the Kingdom of God and he was clearly thrown by the metaphor of being born from above, “or born anew”, or “born again”, as its rendered in many translations.

What Jesus did, as the two of them began to talk, was to shift the focus from “spectacular” or “miraculous” aspects of his ministry, to his teaching about the Kingdom of God. Because if the primary evidence of God in Jesus is miracles, as Nicodemus implied, then miracles will form the focus of faith and religious experience. And that easily leads to a theology which only finds God in the “extraordinary” and not in the ordinary things of life. And judging by the frequency with which New Testament writers address the issue, it must have been a common aberration in the early church. It’s not difficult to find the same phenomenon today. And if miracles do not keep coming, people make them up or generate them within…..[3]

Instead of focusing on the miraculous, Jesus points out that the way to the Kingdom of God is through a complete transformation of one’s heart and mind and worldview, akin to being born a second time.

After a somewhat humorous conversation about whether one can re-enter their mothers’ womb and be born again, Jesus spells out that the second birth he is referring to is not the birth signalled by the breaking waters of a woman’s labour, but a birth in the Spirit of God. A birth that immediately sets one on an unpredictable journey.

“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Says Jesus.

“How can these things be?”, asks Nicodemus. Surely understanding the truth about God will bring certainty and stability, and clear direction, and visible signs of affirmation. Sorry says Jesus – it’s just not like that!

It can be unsettling to accept that on-going relationship with God is always about change and not about stability. It’s about following the call to unexpected places. It’s about noticing things that others have disregarded as unimportant. It’s about moving when the Spirit says move, as we sang last week. And it often entails a significant shift in how we understand the world, or the church, or our own lives.

A couple of nights ago I heard the ABC broadcaster Adam Spencer saying that he cannot remember anymore what attitudes he had to things before the birth of his first child 14 months ago. He was describing what philosophers call a paradigm shift. When we step into a whole new conceptual universe that seems almost discontinuous with all that has gone before, to the extent that we cannot even remember how we used to think about something. Like the shift from believing that the world was flat to understanding that it is actually spherical. That is the sort of paradigm shift that Jesus is talking about in the metaphor of being “born anew”. A shift in our thinking and in our behaviour. A shift in what we value, and in what we devote our energy to.
That can be scary, but it can also be immensely liberating. Think about it for a minute. If we are born anew, we can make different choices. What would you choose to do differently? How would you re-edit the story of your life, or the life of this congregation? What would it look like if this congregation was born anew and blown about by the wind of the Spirit?
The story of Nicodemus is an invitation to be curious about life. To rethink our assumptions and explore alternative perspectives. Not to conduct an autopsy on our past, but to look to the future through the lens of new possibilities. To be born anew! To consider how life might be different?[4]

Prayer
Lord Jesus, we give thanks for curious and courageous Nicodemus who re-thought his life, seeing his past and future through your eyes - the One who loved him. Dizzy with the possibility of it all. Born again! The mere thought of it sweeps through us and sends us reeling. You mean to tell us that our lives might be different? Amen.
[1] Adapted from C.S. Song. Jesus in the power of the Spirit, p 8f
[2] . Adapted from sermon b y Rex Hunt (St James, Canberra)
[3] . Adapted from Bill Loader – Reflections on John 3:1-17
[4] . Rex Hunt sermon

Jesus calms the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

2006-07-06T14:43:00.000+10:00

Jesus calms the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

‘If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him!’

No, its not the cry of Christian or Hindu fundamentalists, but a Buddhist saying, as ancient as Buddhism itself.

If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him!

Today I want to suggest that there may be a strange resonance between this ancient saying and the story of Jesus calming the storm.

Perhaps it’s a big leap – but let’s have a look anyway!

oo000oo

The Sea of Galilee is not a sea at all. It’s a relatively shallow inland lake in the northern part of Israel. It’s notorious for storms that can quickly whip up the shallow water into a boiling frenzy of waves. And it’s a characteristic of the Lake that fishermen have lived with for centuries.

(Data projector photos of Lake Galilee)

So why were a bunch of disciples, who included some very experienced fishermen, so intimidated by a storm that they became helpless bystanders who wanted Jesus to deal with the challenge for them?

At least that is the way Mark tells the story.

oo000oo

Last Sunday we explored the parables of the sower and the mustard seed which Jesus told to a large crowd gathered on the shore of the lake. And because the crowd was so large, and it was pressing in upon him, he spoke to them from a boat moored slightly offshore.

Mark concluded the section on Jesus’s teaching with these words…

“With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples”.

The disciples were given “inside knowledge”. They had the key to unlock the parables and were best placed to understand the truths that Jesus sought to convey to the crowd and to grasp who he really was. And perhaps the warm glow of belonging to that “inner circle” boosted their confidence in Jesus and their sense of invincibility. So at the end of the day when he said to them, “let’s go across to the other side of the lake” they took charge of the boat and set off without any apparent concern for the weather.

Jesus was exhausted from a day of teaching and he quickly fell asleep in the boat. And he continued to sleep soundly as a storm suddenly flared and threatened to inundate the boat. In the end it was not the wind and the waves, or the water already sloshing in the bottom of the boat, that woke him. It was the distressed disciples, who angrily accused him of not caring if they were perishing.

It’s a strange response from fishermen who must have coped with many such storms in the past. Asking Jesus to get of his backside and help bail is one thing. But why the anger? And why accuse him of being indifferent to their plight simply because he slept?

oo000oo

If you see the Buddha on the road kill him!

Spiritual directors and mystics from various faith traditions have known about the dangers of people putting their spiritual mentors on pedestals for centuries.

The danger is at least two-fold. Firstly it can blind us to their human frailties and limitations. And secondly we can become so dependent upon them that we forget about our own abilities, and insights, and spiritual resources.

That danger was recognised long ago by the more insightful practitioners of Buddhism. If they met the Buddha on the road, they might become so overwhelmed by his wisdom and goodness that they would give up their own quest to follow his path. In that sense meeting the Buddha was a peril and hence the saying, “If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him!”. It was a metaphorical way of saying don’t become so besotted with the Buddha that you give up trying to follow the same path for yourself.

And that is why I suggested at the start that there may be a strange resonance between this Buddhist saying and dynamics described in the story of Jesus calming the storm.
oo000oo
If you read Mark’s Gospel in its entirety, it is fairly clear that as his fame grew some of Jesus’ followers began to project a whole lot of messianic expectations onto him, as well as a load of personal needs and longings.

He began to appear in their minds like superman. The one who always had the answer to every question. The one who would always “bail them out” in times of trouble. But the trouble began when he wasn’t there to “bail them out”, because he was asleep in the back of the boat. And suddenly, sensing his “absence”, they lost touch with their own competence and capacity to cope with the storm and became frightened and disempowered. So much so that his peaceful response of the one who was supposed to solve all their problems sparked a sense of anger. Don’t you even care about us anymore? How dare you just keep sleeping and leave us to sort this out with our own resources!
In their rebuke of Jesus the disciples personalize the storm, almost as if he has sent it against them spitefully. They address him not as another available hand in a crisis but as their spiritual superior who must sort it out for them. They become frightened and disconnected from the inner resources to deal with the storm themselves; these weathered fisherman and experienced sailors. They lost touch with their courage by entering into a dependency on Jesus and therefore experienced the storm not as a challenge through which he would accompany them, but as an evil threat.
Jesus responded, perhaps reinforcing their sense of awe and dependency, by speaking words that invited a sense of calm in the midst of the turbulent waves. But there is a hint in his words that he was annoyed with them and amazed at them dropping their bundle. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Have you forgotten that you have the courage to see you through these sorts of situations without becoming paralysed by fear?

Have you become so dependent on me that it is now a threat to your spiritual strength and courage?

oo000oo

Over the centuries a boat has commonly been used as a symbol of the Church. Many Church buildings from bygone eras have wooden ceilings shaped like the inverted hull of a boat. When the World Council of Churches was inaugurated in the aftermath of he second world war, it adopted the symbol of a cross on a boat as its logo.

(Data projector image of WCC logo)

The use of the boat to symbolise the church is rooted in the story we have heard today. Early interpreters of the Gospel understood the story allegorically, with the boat full of disciples in the storm symbolising the church, tossed to and fro by the turmoil of persecution and threatened with extinction but for the saving power of Jesus Christ. Later interpreters saw the inclusion of this story in Mark’s Gospel as an extension of his concern to show that Jesus is more powerful than any demonic or natural force. And that the story is there so that we too might ask “Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?

There are many ways of understanding the meaning of this story. In a scientific age where there is no convincing evidence of God twisting the laws of nature to avert meteorological catastrophes, a literal interpretation of the story is far from compelling and far, I suspect, from the intention of the storyteller.

So today let us ponder what the story might suggest about the perils of relying blindly on our faith in others – even Jesus – if it causes us to step aside from our responsibility to use every gift and ability we are given in this life.

Jesus stayed with the disciples in the boat and he promised that he would always be with us. But sometimes he lets us bail for ourselves, so we don’t become so helplessly dependent that we are paralysed to act without absolute certainty of the outcome beforehand. Amen.

Murrays Sermon ‘Land’ and ‘Co-existence’ in the Abraham narratives in Genesis

2006-07-06T14:42:00.000+10:00

‘Land’ and ‘Co-existence’ in the Abraham narratives in Genesis
[Some of the Biblical material for this sermon is inspired by Chapter 7 of Norman Habel’s book “The land is mine: Six biblical land ideologies” and from page 92-93 of his book “Reconciliation: Searching for Australia’s soul”]

There are a number of traditions in the Old Testament that seek to justify the Hebrew invasion and conquest of the land of Canaan, and the slaughter of its indigenous inhabitants. These “post-Exodus traditions” center around the historic figure of Joshua so I will be referring to them this morning as the “Joshua traditions”.

But as we have heard, the Book of Genesis contains an alternative tradition about the entry of the Hebrew people into the “promised land” that centers around one of the great Hebrew Patriarchs, Abraham whose sojourn in Canaan historically pre-dates that of Joshua. And it’s the tradition that centers around Abraham that I wish to explore with you this morning.

According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham’s father, Terah, and his family set off on a voluntary migration from Babylon towards the land of Canaan. But when they reached Haran, near the border of modern day Turkey, they decided to settle there and Terah eventually died in old age. Sometime later the God YHWH appeared to Abraham and told him to continue the migration journey to Canaan. This call was accompanied by a promise that YHWH would bless Abraham, make his name (or his reputation) great, create a nation from Abraham’s descendents and make Abraham a “blessing” to his household and to the prior inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3). So Abraham set out on a journey with this wife Sarah and his nephew Lot (Gen 12:4-9) and when they reached the land of Canaan, which was occupied by a number of indigenous family or tribal groups, they stopped at a place near Shechem called the oak of Moreh. It was only then, once they were in the land, that YHWH appeared to Abraham and made the promise that this land would be inherited by Abraham’s descendents.

This marks one of the first significant differences between Abrahamic traditions and the later Joshua traditions. The Abraham narrative is not a story whereby the land is promised to Abraham and then he goes into the land to conquer and possess it. He is already in the land when God makes the promise that his descendants, not Abraham himself, will inherit, not conquer, the land.

After leaving Shechem Abraham pitched his tents for a while at Bethel where he built another altar to the Lord before traveling on to the Negeb. When a famine occurred in Canaan Abraham headed down to Egypt to sit out the famine (Gen 12:10-20) and then later re-commenced his journey through Canaan (Gen 13:1-4) returning to Bethel. At Bethel, he and Lot decided to separate from one another as their flocks and households had become too big to be supported on the same piece of land. And Abraham generously offered Lot the richer, more fertile land and they went their separate ways on peaceful and friendly terms. Abraham’s impulse was to share the land that his descendants were to inherit; not to possess it exclusively. And in the case of Lot he was sharing with a person who was a descendant of the Moabites and Amorites, a different ethnic group from Abraham’s own people.

Lot and his household settled near the town of Sodom and some time later they were caught up in the fights between various kings in the region. Eventually the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated and their conquerors took all of their goods and provisions and took Lot and his family and his possessions captive also. Upon hearing of this Abraham raised a small army and went in pursuit of Lot’s captors, liberating not only Lot and his family but also all the goods that belonged to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. These two Kings went out to meet Abraham and took with them Melchizedek, the King of Salem, who was also a high priest of the local indigenous religion; a religion that belonged in the land of Canaan. Melchizedek blessed Abraham in the name of El Elyon – the God of the land, or the creator God of Canaan. And in receiving this blessing from Melchizedek, Abraham acknowleded Melchizedek’s authority and in response gave him one tenth of all his possessions as a tithe. Then Abraham, along with the other kings from Canaan, worshipped El Elyon at the shrine of the indigenous people of the land. And in so doing Abraham recognised the indigenous God of the land as his own God – the God YHWH who had called him into the land of Canaan and who had promised to give the land to Abraham’s descendents.

In contrast to the “Joshua traditions”, Abraham recognised the indigenous religion of Canann and accorded respect to its’ priest. He acknowledged Melchizedek’s authority as a rightful priest of a sacred site in Canaan, and his right as King to rule the territory of the Jebusites.

This is a profoundly different approach to occupation of the promised land than the approach articulated in the Joshua traditions. In some ways it is remarkable that this story has survived in the Hebrew Scriptures as Abraham and Sarah, the first Hebrew immigrants in the land of Canaan, worshiped El Elyon as the host deity of the land who welcomed them through an indigenous high priest. And the deity who called Abraham to leave his father’s house in Haran and to leave the Gods of Babylon behind, is recognised as the creator God of Canaan. This must have been a very uncomfortable story for those who later tried to justify their invasion and conquest of the land of Canaan.

After his encounter with Melchizedek, the Lord appears to Abraham and promises him that his wife Sarah will bear him a son through which the promise to make Abraham’s household a great nation will be delivered. Abraham, who by then is quite old and whose wife Sarah has been unable to conceive, is somewhat skeptical about this promise. In response YHWH reiterates that he is the God who called Abraham forth from Ur and who will give his descendants the land of Canaan to possess. Abraham then experienced YHWH’s overwhelming presence…

“When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between these pieces (carcasses brought for sacrifice). On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites (Gen 15:17-21)”

Now the surrounding narratives suggest that this covenant is to be fulfilled by Abraham living peacefully and respectfully amongst the indigenous inhabitants of the land and not through conquest or expulsion of those inhabitants. He is portrayed as someone who can overcome the potential conflicts of co-existence in the land and mediate blessing to the original inhabitants of the land. The indigenous inhabitants in turn welcome Abraham as a migrant in their midst showing their willingness to co-exist. To maintain peace Abraham recognises the entitlement of the peoples of Canaan to their respective territories in the land and he respects their spiritual insights and connection with the land.[1]

The unconditional gifting of the land to Abraham’s descendants by God, and the promise that Abraham will mediate blessing to those already in the land, is in stark contrast to the later narratives of invasion and conquest developed in the more militant Joshua traditions. In the Abrahamic narratives there are no warnings against the Canaanite Gods and no “holy mandate” to eliminate the indigenous culture or religion.

The final part of the Abraham narrative that I want to explore this morning is the purchase by Abraham of a burial site for his wife Sarah. This story, which we heard earlier (Gen 23:1-20), occurs after YHWH has promised the land to Abraham’s descendants. And yet Abraham insists on acquiring the land according to the local economic customs and he pays four hundred shekels of silver for it. Thus he comes to possess this part of the “promised land” by buying it! The purchase of land is a mechanism for coming to possess the land that God has promised to Abraham’s descendants. Again this is in stark contrast to the Joshua narratives of conquest and dispossession.

Today we are in the middle of “Reconciliation Week” which runs from the 27th May to 3rd of June each year. Next Friday will be the 13th anniversary of the historic High Court decision in the Mabo land case which challenged the previous legal justification for the European colonisation of Australia. So it is no accident that I have been some studying some of the biblical texts about land this past week and that I have chosen to explore the Abraham narratives this morning.

When Captain James Cook departed England in 1768 on the voyage on which he was to “discover” Australia his instructions said “You are also, with the consent of the natives, to take possession of convenient situations in the country… or if you find the country uninhabited, take possession of it.”

As we now know, Cook did not find that the country was uninhabited, indeed he had a number of encounters with Aboriginal groups along the East coast of Australia. Yet he made no attempt to negotiate as his instructions from England had urged. Instead he simply planted the British flag on Australian soil and claimed sovereignty in the name of the King of England. This acquisition of Australia, without negotiation with the indigenous inhabitants, was later justified by reference to the legal doctrine known as terra nullius which meant “empty land”. According to this doctrine, which is recognised in international law, unoccupied land could be acquired by simply proclaiming sovereignty over it.

Despite constant protests throughout the last two centuries about the false claim that Australia was unoccupied when the British arrived, it was not until 1992 that the High Court of Australia rejected the doctrine of terra nullius and overturned the legal fiction on which our nation had been founded. At the time Justices Gaudron and Deane, who was later to become Governor General, said:

“The doctrine of terra nullius… provided the legal basis for the dispossession of the Aboriginal peoples of most of their traditional lands. The acts and events by which that dispossession in legal theory was carried into practical effect constitute the darkest aspect of the history of this nation. The nation as a whole must remain diminished unless and until there is an acknowledgment of, and retreat from, those past injustices… The lands of this continent were not terra nullius.”

This huge shift in how Australian’s must understand their place in this continent has lead to a decade of debate and struggle as competing voices have vied to be heard. At times this debate has been fruitful and informed, at times it has been destructive and manipulated. Alongside the entrenched opposition to new realisations about our history a strong grassroots movement for reconciliation has grown which will ensure the questions now being asked will not go away.

As I have explored the Abraham narratives this week I couldn’t help wondering how Australia might look today if the early colonisers had carried out Britians instructions to negotiate with the indigenous inhabitants of Australia and if Abraham’s approach to taking up residence in Canaan had guided the early and later colonisers of this land.

In a book called “Reconciliation: Searching for Australia’s Soul” which I would recommend to anyone wanting to look at this issue from a Biblical perspective, the Lutheran Minister and Old Testament Scholar Norman Habel from Adelaide suggests that…
The precedent of Abraham and Sarah recognising the God of the land and Abraham respecting an indigenous priest of Canaan provides a biblical alternative to the way immigrating Europeans treated the indigenous peoples of Australia and their cultures. These immigrants did not ask about the God of the land, the Spirit in the land, the sacred sites of the land, or the spiritual beliefs in the land.

Norm goes on to ask..
“Is it too late to ask the question now? Who is the God of the land? What was the spirituality of Australia before Europeans arrived? How was the Creator experienced in traditional Aboriginal communities? Does that same spirit connect Aboriginal – and non-Aboriginal – people today?”

As we know such questions were not widely asked at the time of colonisation and we have inherited a two hundred and twenty year legacy to deal with in our generation. How do we address the issues of the past and present in ways that are just? What does God ask of us who profess the Christian faith? I have some of my own ideas but each of us must decide for ourselves. How we deal with the many issues raised by the growing desire for reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Australia, will be a crucial question for us as a nation.

Terra Nullius was the legal doctrine used to justify the colonisation and possession of Australia by the British. In the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament there are a number of ideologies that sought to justify the invasion, conquest and dispossession of the land and people’s Canaan. Indeed some of these biblical ideologies were drawn upon at times by those wishing to justify the colonisation of Australia.

But the Abraham narratives that we have considered this morning provide an alternative biblical tradition that may be more helpful as we seek to address these issues two centuries later. They speak of respect and co-existence, of negotiation and sharing of insights. Of listening to the God of the land and of sharing resources.

May God grant us the courage and wisdom to explore the implications of this alternative tradition as we seek to make a contribution from a faith perspective to the wider debate that is going on in our nation at this time. Amen.
[1] . Habel. The land is mine, p 125

Murray's Sermon A SOWER WENT OUT TO SOW

2006-07-06T14:40:00.000+10:00

A SOWER WENT OUT TO SOW
(Meditation & Confession)

NARRATOR
This is a story of Jesus:
A sower went out to sow….

VOICE 1
And the first seed fell on me.
and I am a path.
I am easily walked over;
people do that all the time.

I have no identity of my own.
and should anything fall on me,
others will pick it up,
like birds scrambling for crumbs,
and I am left bare and fruitless.

SILENCE (1 Minute)

NARRATOR (Prayer of Confession)

Loving God, we confess that there are times when we are the ones who walk over others. And there are times when we allow ourselves to be trampled upon.

We acknowledge that neither of these responses respects the dignity of human beings created in your image.

Help us to live lives full of purpose and energy. Help us to live lives that model respect for all people. Lives that sow seeds of justice in our inter-personal relationships and seeds of love in our community. Seeds that do not lie bare and fruitless upon the ground.

NARRATOR
This is a story of Jesus:
A sower went out to sow….

VOICE 1
And the second seed fell on me.
and I am a rock garden,
attractive but shallow.

People admire me all the time.
They say how good I look
and I like looking good.

They say what novel ideas I have
and I like having novel ideas.
The trouble is they are always novel,
always new.
Here today, withered tomorrow,
no root… no depth….
but admirable in a shallow way.

SILENCE (1 Minute)
NARRATOR (Prayer of Confession)

Loving God, we confess that there are times when our yearning to be accepted or admired means we deal in shallow generalities and do not ask the hard questions or express the doubts that may lead others to think less of us.

And there are times when we seek the admiration of others through our cleverness, or our looks or our personality.

Help us to live lives of integrity. Lives open to deeper understandings that emerge over time. Lives that sow seeds of wisdom and truth. Seeds that do not wither and die.

NARRATOR
This is a story of Jesus:
A sower went out to sow….

VOICE 1

And the third seed fell on me.
And I am the waste land
On which weeds thrive.

I am filled with ‘isms’:
Commercialism, materialism,
Consumerism, industrialism,
Capitalism, communism.

I am full of theory
And barren of life,
Choking to death everything real.

I am the waste land,
Full of ‘isms’,
None of them working.

SILENCE (1 Minute)

NARRATOR (Prayer of Confession)

Loving God, we confess that there are times when we are swayed by the latest fashion or the easy solution.

And there are times when we adopt ideologies that dim our senses to the plight of people whose lives are diminished by our privilege.

Help us to live lives that break free the systems that limt our thoughts and ideas and visions. Lives that cross the boundaries that separate people from one another. Lives that sow seeds of liberation, inclusion and acceptance. Seeds that do not lie barren of life.

NARRATOR
This is a story of Jesus:
A sower went out to sow….

VOICE 1

And we are the fertile soil
to whom he gives much,
from whom he expects much

SILENCE (1 Minute)

NARRATOR
And on the good soil
The seed fell and produced plants.
And the plants ripened and produced grain…
Thirtyfold
And sixtyfold
And a hundredfold.

And Jesus said,
‘If you have ears to hear,
Then hear’.

VOICE 1 (Prayer of Thanksgiving)

Sower of Seeds of the Kingdom, we give thanks for the times when the fruits of our collective labours have far exceeded the efforts we have put in. (Pause)

We give thanks for the times when fertile ideas have not only burst forth, but have taken root in our community as your Spirit has moved among us. (Pause)

Help us to live lives of courage and hope. Lives that surprise the people we encounter. Lives that sow seeds of possibility, and new life, in the most surprising of places.

NARRATOR
And lest we disown the past or forget the future and covet the present,
Jesus also said, ‘What someone else sowed you are reaping.
And what you sow someone else will reap.’

And that is the way the Kingdom comes:
the seed from God
and the cooperation from God’s people. Amen.

Liturgy entitled ‘A sower went out to sow’ taken from ‘Present on Earth: Worship Resources on the life of Jesus’. Wild Goose Worship Group, p 165.

Prayer of Confession & Thanksgiving written by M. Muirhead June 2006

Christianity in Alice Springs

2006-07-03T22:45:00.000+10:00

July is school holiday time, but far from the town being deserted, it is full of people, colour, and sound – just visit Beanie Central, or try to get some sleep on Territory night, or look at the trucks congregating at the Showgrounds. Even our first congregation of the new 9am Worship Service was bulging, with crowds of visitors and work party people too.

So what is the Church in the midst of all this?

The Alice News has been interviewing Christian clergy about their view on the state of Christianity within Alice Springs. Beyond the calculations of how many go where on Sundays, is the deeper question of the role and service the Churches play in the Alice Springs community. On Sunday, Eric Neil handed me the new copy of Quarterly Essay, Voting for Jesus: Christianity and Politics in Australia written by the secular journalist Amanda Lohrey. Leaving aside the public statements of Church leaders, she interviews young Christians and discovers that the main game is not about doctrine or preaching or even worship. In fact, the trappings of Church carry unmarketable baggage, she reports. Christianity’s single attractive feature is the figure of Jesus. That’s why the marketing firm engaged for the interdenominational Church advertising campaign has settled on the slogan ‘Jesus. It’s all about Life.’

In light of this, it’s worth spending time in the Gospel of Mark this month for your own devotions. Take time to meet the Jesus Mark paints for us. And be prepared to be surprised, and challenged. Like the reading of Jesus healing the woman and the girl on Sunday, few stories of Jesus do not rock to the core common social values and expectations. Jesus is all about life: but not just any sort of life. Jesus is all about life in the Kingdom of God. And Jesus followers are challenged to live within that Kingdom, even in the midst of the kingdom of powers and principalities. We see through two eyes: we see both the world and the kingdom at the same time. Where they overlap: we celebrate. Where they differ, we become involved in transformation.

So when we affirm our Congregation’s vision, we are not just offering to be any sort of place for people to meet: we offer our community - and visitors to it - sanctuary, welcome, hospitality. In other words, a place in the Kingdom. We are not talking about just any kind of reconciliation, but one where the first become last and the last become first, like Jesus says happens in the Kingdom. We are not talking about the kind of care that maintains things as they are, but care that cultivates fullness of life, even for situations that have been given up for dead.

It is easy to lose sight of the kingdom in the midst of all the activity of our community, and all the changes in our congregation. New governance structures, new budgeting processes, new location for the Op shop, new partnerships for Adelaide House, changes to staffing around the property, new 9am Worship Service, new Old Timers Worship service in the Nursing Home – what have these to do with Jesus, who is all about life in the kingdom? Of course, we have to organize ourselves to be able to represent Jesus to our community. None of us can do it alone, although we can point the way to it. But together we are the body of Christ, alive in Alice.

When Rev Felicity Amery and Julie Watts, from the Pilgrim Presbytery and Northern Synod visit at the end of July to see how the church has responded to its financial and governance crisis earlier in the year (Thursday 27th for Church Council and Sunday 30th for a Called To care workshop), we will certainly be able to report that we have our house in order. We will even be able to report that we are moving towards redeveloping the Church site in the near future. But most of all, we want to report our passion to promote Jesus, and all that life in the Kingdom means, from this space which is a ‘sanctuary to pilgrims’, from this ‘reconciling community’ and with all the care we can muster for the community of Alice Springs.

To the lost Christ shows his face
To the unloved he gives his embrace
To those who cry in pain or disgrace
Christ makes, with his friends, a touching place.
(Together In Song 677)

reconciliation Sunday

2006-06-29T14:11:00.000+10:00

Here's one of Murray's liturgies from a couple of weeks back. I'll post the sermon that went with it soon. Please let us know if you've been to this church, or to Alice.
We'd love to get your feedback.

28th May 2006 – Reconciliation Sunday
8am, 9.30am, 7pm

Call to worship

We are the children of God
In the land of the Dreaming
Where the voice of our Lord
Strikes with flashes of lightening
Which brings fire of cleansing
And the rain of regeneration and new life.

The voice of our creator
Shakes the desert of this land
The voice of our Lord
Shakes the trees of our forest
The voice of our Saviour is in this place

Let us open our minds and ears and hearts
In worship and say
“Lord, here I am”

Lighting of the candle

Prayer of Invocation
O God who gave this land its shape and colour,
Who has walked in it from the beginning of time,
Who moulded its mountains and valleys and rivers and levelled out its plains.
Who gave the eucalyptus their bark and their oil,
Who paints the wattles yellow and the desert peas scarlet. We come to worship and adore you.
You who spoke in the dreaming to the elders of this land and journeyed with their descendents through sixty thousand years, we worship you.

In the process of history you brought to this great land people from many nations to live together. We give thanks for those indigenous and other Australians who during the last two centuries have tried to coexist with justice, compassion and respect. And we give thanks for those who have walked lightly and gently on this land.

Guide us this day as we seek to be your agents of reconciliation in challenging times. Amen.

Hymn: Creator God, you made this land (DP) [Tune 375 TIS -4 verses]

Welcome (Visitors book/card & morning tea)

Theme
Each year between 27th May and 3rd of June, members of faith communities across Australia offer prayers for reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. This annual observance of the ‘Week of Reconciliation’ offers an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to reconciliation and to actively help end the injustice, prejudice and exclusion that still exist in many parts of our nation.

Singing group: We are sorry

Children’s talk (9.30am)
Jenny Marshman

Prayer of confession (written by Lorna Stevenson)
8am – Lorna, 9.30 Jenny Neil, 7pm - Murray

Introduction to readings
Today we will be exploring the stories of Abraham’s wanderings in the land of Canaan as they are recounted in the book of Genesis. These stories reflect one of the biblical traditions about the interaction of indigenous and non-indigenous people in a land where God called them to dwell.

Readings: Genesis 11:31 - 12:9 and 23:1-20
2 Corinthians 5:16-20

Readers: 8.00am Angus Duguid
9.30 David Marshman
7.00pm Margaret Marsh

Sermon: ‘Land’ and ‘Co-existence’ in the Abraham narratives in Genesis.

Hymn TIS 629 When I needed a neighbour…

Intercessions

Sing verses of Kumbayah interspersed with stanzas of intercessory prayer.

Kumbayah my Lord…
Someone’s crying Lord..
Prayer
Someone’s dying Lord…
Prayer
Someone’s shouting Lord…
Prayer
Someone’s praying Lord…
Prayer

Offering
Notices
· Worship proposal & Cong meeting 18th June
· 7.30am – Prayer Breakfast Desert Park 3rd June
· 9.00am Working bee (Op Shop move) 3rd June
· Next week - removal of crosses at 9.20am
· Encourage distribution of Go Magazine

COMMUNION (8am)

Hymn: TIS 647 Comfort, comfort, all my people…

Words of mission

Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”.

Go as peacemakers and ambassadors of the Gospel of Reconciliation. Do those things that bring about a just basis for peace and safety and wholeness of life.

The candle is extinguished

Words of blessing
Go in peace with God,
with the earth, and with one another.
Walk with confidence in the knowledge that you are held
by the covenant love of God;
May Christ Jesus take you by the hand;
and the Spirit be a cloud of grace around you.
Amen.

Song: Deep stillness

John Flynn Uniting Church Alice Springs

2006-06-29T14:10:00.000+10:00

John Flynn Uniting Church Alice Springs

welcome

2006-06-29T13:53:00.000+10:00

Welcome to the Blog for the John Flynn Memorial Church in Alice Springs, Australia. We hope this can be a place to keep connected with the community in Alice, and those who are part of it but travel or live elsewhere.