This weekend, starting tonight, the Uniting Church Assembly's Ministerial Education Committee is meeting at the CTM here in Melbourne. So, members of this committee, (including principals of all Uniting Church Theological Colleges) from around the country, started arriving in Melbourne this afternoon.
It was great to see some familiar faces like Bronwyn from my home congregation in Hobart, Peter Gunn (also from Hobart in the past, but now working at Parkin Wesley College in Adelaide). It was also great to meet some people for the first time who I had heard of (and read their books).
So some of these folks were around today for our usual College Worship and then during drinks after worship, more of them arrived. Over drinks, I had a couple of really delightful conversations with principals of two different colleges- Andrew Dutney from Parkin Wesley College, and Lee Levett-Olsen from Coolamon College (UCA's distance education college) also based in Adelaide.
As I was talking to Andrew about how excited I get over my studies (something that regular readers will be quite familiar with!) the conversation also wandered onto how my interpretation of Scripture has changed since I commenced study, and especially the buzz I got from my very first unit of study, back in Hobart that I did through Coolamon College as part of my Period of Discernment.
This unit was an introduction to the Old Testament, and was designed and written by Lee Levett-Olsen, and at the point when I started waxing lyrical about how significant it was for me to do that unit of study, and how it opened my eyes to a whole lot of aspects of Scripture interpretation that I had never heard about before, Andrew dragged Lee into the conversation so he could hear what I was saying. It was rather special to be able to share with Lee how significant his course had been for me, and how much I appreciated the insights I gained from it, and the discoveries I made.
I think this experience brings me back again to dwell on the sense of privilege I have mentioned before, and feel so strongly, to be in the position to be studying theology full time- engaging my faith with my intellect- and having conversations like this with teachers and scholars who are highly regarded in their fields of study.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Gotta love those Benedictines!
I am conscious that I have not blogged for a while, and that I have promised to write more about my New Norcia experience, and am still yet to do so. Hopefully this will stop the gap just a little (but only a little, as I have other writing - of a study nature- to which I need to attend more urgently and diligently).
One of the things that I really loved about my time in New Norcia was joining with the monks in their daily Holy Offices (times of communal prayer). In New Norcia, there are 7 Offices observed throughout the day, which are: Vigils (5:15am), Lauds (6:45am), Mass (7:30am), Midday Prayer (12pm), Afternoon Prayer (2:30pm), Vespers (6:30pm) and Compline (8:15pm).
The style of prayer, which consisted mostly of psalmody (Gregorian chant of the Psalms) as well as some other readings, anthems and canticles for the different liturgies, took a little while to get used to, but once I started to recognise and feel comfortable with the rhythm of it all, there was a lovely sense of just relaxing, and letting the words ascend to God.
There were five UCA candidates in the group who went to New Norcia, and when we returned to Melbourne we were all keen to share some of the prayer we had learned with our community here at the theological college. So the first Friday of second semester, we led morning prayer as a group, and set up the CTM chapel in 'choir formation' (two rows facing each other) and used the Friday Lauds liturgy from New Norcia (which Fr John kindly emailed to me with advice on how we might adapt it to our circumstance.).
That was well received (although with only a single experience, it was probably less than ideal for those who had never experienced such prayer before... after all, those of us who went to New Norcia felt that after a week, we were just starting to get the hang of it). Hopefully we will have the opportunity to do it again sometime.
Tonight, I had another reason the thank the Benedictines. I was asked to lead Evening Prayer at Queen's College Chapel tonight (I was asked this last Sunday, when it became evident that the person who had been lined up to preach and preside had pulled out at short notice, and the chapel coordinator was going to be away). It was suggested that instead of working on a sermon for the night, that we have a service of readings- from Scripture and selected poetry. Then one of the choir suggested that it would be nice to do a Lectio Divina style reading in lieu of a sermon, and this is what I ended up doing.
I basically followed the standard Evening Prayer order of service that is used each week at Queen's, but before the Gospel reading, I gave a brief introduction to the method and aims of Lectio Divina (sacred reading), and then had two sizeable chunks of silence after each of the two readings of the Gospel passage, finishing up with a blessing. After this, I resumed the standard order of service.
The feedback I received from people was that most had appreciated the opportunity to be silent and meditate on the reading (because, let's face it, in the Uniting Church we really don't do silence enough... or well). A number of people also suggested that it would be good to do something similar again sometime.
So once again, I find myself indebted to Fr John from New Norcia, who led our group in two sessions on Lectio Divina whilst we were there; the first to outline the hows and whys of Lectio Divina, and the second to actually DO it in the group. This experience was invaluable for me in preparing to lead tonight's service.
One of the things that I really loved about my time in New Norcia was joining with the monks in their daily Holy Offices (times of communal prayer). In New Norcia, there are 7 Offices observed throughout the day, which are: Vigils (5:15am), Lauds (6:45am), Mass (7:30am), Midday Prayer (12pm), Afternoon Prayer (2:30pm), Vespers (6:30pm) and Compline (8:15pm).
And yes, I did attend all of these each day, AND coped with getting up at 5am each morning!
The style of prayer, which consisted mostly of psalmody (Gregorian chant of the Psalms) as well as some other readings, anthems and canticles for the different liturgies, took a little while to get used to, but once I started to recognise and feel comfortable with the rhythm of it all, there was a lovely sense of just relaxing, and letting the words ascend to God.
There were five UCA candidates in the group who went to New Norcia, and when we returned to Melbourne we were all keen to share some of the prayer we had learned with our community here at the theological college. So the first Friday of second semester, we led morning prayer as a group, and set up the CTM chapel in 'choir formation' (two rows facing each other) and used the Friday Lauds liturgy from New Norcia (which Fr John kindly emailed to me with advice on how we might adapt it to our circumstance.).
That was well received (although with only a single experience, it was probably less than ideal for those who had never experienced such prayer before... after all, those of us who went to New Norcia felt that after a week, we were just starting to get the hang of it). Hopefully we will have the opportunity to do it again sometime.
Tonight, I had another reason the thank the Benedictines. I was asked to lead Evening Prayer at Queen's College Chapel tonight (I was asked this last Sunday, when it became evident that the person who had been lined up to preach and preside had pulled out at short notice, and the chapel coordinator was going to be away). It was suggested that instead of working on a sermon for the night, that we have a service of readings- from Scripture and selected poetry. Then one of the choir suggested that it would be nice to do a Lectio Divina style reading in lieu of a sermon, and this is what I ended up doing.
I basically followed the standard Evening Prayer order of service that is used each week at Queen's, but before the Gospel reading, I gave a brief introduction to the method and aims of Lectio Divina (sacred reading), and then had two sizeable chunks of silence after each of the two readings of the Gospel passage, finishing up with a blessing. After this, I resumed the standard order of service.
The feedback I received from people was that most had appreciated the opportunity to be silent and meditate on the reading (because, let's face it, in the Uniting Church we really don't do silence enough... or well). A number of people also suggested that it would be good to do something similar again sometime.
So once again, I find myself indebted to Fr John from New Norcia, who led our group in two sessions on Lectio Divina whilst we were there; the first to outline the hows and whys of Lectio Divina, and the second to actually DO it in the group. This experience was invaluable for me in preparing to lead tonight's service.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The last, and best!
Woo-hoo! I think I can die happy now... I am my idol! :-)
| You Are Miss Piggy |
 A total princess and diva, you're totally in charge - even if people don't know it. You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won't settle for anything less. You're going to be a total star, and you won't let any of the "little people" get in your way. Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift! |
The Muppet Personality Test
and, in the words of the pink and porky one herself:
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
damn... I knew I shouldn't have started with the blog quiz thingies
The academic snob in me couldn't resist this one:
| Your Vocabulary Score: A |
 Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person. |
More silly blog quiz thingies
Ok... I probably should set the scene here. It's late. I had a class tonight, and am not quite wound down enough to go to bed yet, so I thought I would look in on some friends' blogs.
Of course, I headed to Louise's blog - mainly to see if she has put up any more pics of her little "Peanut" (well, Lou, you did insist on naming him Linus! ...although my Benedictine novice friend was quite excited that he was also named after St Benedict :-)... unfortunately, all I found on Lou's blog was another quiz that she had done, on "What colour should your blog be?"
So I tootled on over to that site to see what it would say about my blog (blue and calming, but not really interesting enough to post the details)... then I saw another quiz "Can you make anyone fall in love with you?" (it claimed I should have a 70% hit rate of making my 'crushes' fall in love with me ... well, we all know that's bullshit, so I didn't bother to post that one on the blog either)..
But then I found it.... the quiz that is made for ME!
Of course, I headed to Louise's blog - mainly to see if she has put up any more pics of her little "Peanut" (well, Lou, you did insist on naming him Linus! ...although my Benedictine novice friend was quite excited that he was also named after St Benedict :-)... unfortunately, all I found on Lou's blog was another quiz that she had done, on "What colour should your blog be?"
So I tootled on over to that site to see what it would say about my blog (blue and calming, but not really interesting enough to post the details)... then I saw another quiz "Can you make anyone fall in love with you?" (it claimed I should have a 70% hit rate of making my 'crushes' fall in love with me ... well, we all know that's bullshit, so I didn't bother to post that one on the blog either)..
But then I found it.... the quiz that is made for ME!
What Your Latte Says About You |
 You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever. You are a very serious person. You don't have time for silly antics. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are exotic and cosmopolitan, but you are never a show off. |
What Does Your Latte Say About You?
How true... it seems my work here is done. I think I need to go and have a coffee now and think about going to bed!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Sorry BB! :-P
Ok, just remember you asked for it!
| You Are 20% Evil |
 You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want! |
How Evil Are You?
Sickening, aren't I? :-)
(and that's even giving myself the benefit/disadvantage of the doubt, by ticking some of the boxes where I thought "I can't actually remember ever doing this, but reckon I must have at some stage or other")
(and that's even giving myself the benefit/disadvantage of the doubt, by ticking some of the boxes where I thought "I can't actually remember ever doing this, but reckon I must have at some stage or other")
Weather- we've had a lot of it lately
... so I got sucked into doing another one of those blog-quiz thingies (thanks heaps Brendan! :-)
So in answer to: What kind of weather are you? here followeth my descriptor:
So in answer to: What kind of weather are you? here followeth my descriptor:
| You Are Sunshine |
 Soothing and calm You are often held up by others as the ideal But too much of you, and they'll get burned You are best known for: your warmth Your dominant state: connecting |
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
One for the Jesuits!
Today is the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola, one of the founders of the Jesuit order.
The Jesuit boys in my Theology of the Human Person class brought cake to tonight's class, so we all shared in the celebration of the Feast day with a bit of a feast ourselves.
And just so we know who and what we are celebrating, the following information, for our mutual edification, comes from here.
Also known as Inigo Lopez de Loyola
Memorial 31 July
Profile Spanish nobility. Youngest of twelve children. Page in the Spanish court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Military education. Soldier, entering the army in 1517, and serving in several campaigns. Wounded in the leg by a cannonball at the siege of Pampeluna on 20 May 1521, an injury that left him partially crippled for life. During his recuperation the only books he had access to were The Golden Legend, a collection of lives of the saints, and the Life of Christ by Ludolph the Carthusian. These books, and the time spent in contemplation, changed him.
On his recovery he took a vow of chastity, hung his sword before the altar of the Virgin of Montserrat, and donned a pilgrim's robes. Lived in a cave from 1522 to 1523, contemplating the way to live a Christian life. Pilgrim to Rome and the Holy Land in 1523, where he worked to convert Muslims. In 1528 he began studying theology in Barcelona, Alcala, and Paris, receiving his degree on 14 March 1534. His meditations, prayers, visions and insights led to forming the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus on 15 August 1534; it received papal approval in 1541. Friend of James Lainez, Alonso Salmerón, Nicholas Bobadilla, Simón Rodriguez, Blessed Peter Faber, and Saint Francis Xavier, the group that formed the core of the new Society. He never used the term Jesuit, which was coined as an insult by his opponents; the Society today uses the term with pride. He travelled Europe and the Holy Lands, then settled in Rome to direct the Jesuits. His health suffered in later years, and he was nearly blind at death.
The Jesuits today have over 500 universities and colleges, 30,000 members, and teach over 200,000 students each year.
Born 1491 at Loyola, Guipuzcoa, Spain as Inigo Lopez de Loyola
Died of fever on 31 July 1556 at Rome, Italy
Beatified 27 July 1609 by Pope Paul V
Canonized 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV
The Jesuit boys in my Theology of the Human Person class brought cake to tonight's class, so we all shared in the celebration of the Feast day with a bit of a feast ourselves.
And just so we know who and what we are celebrating, the following information, for our mutual edification, comes from here.
Ignatius of Loyola
![[Saint Ignatius statue]](http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sti01009.jpg "26kb jpg detail of a statue head of Saint Ignatius of Loyola by Juan Martinez Montanez, c.1610, Seville University, photographer unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
On his recovery he took a vow of chastity, hung his sword before the altar of the Virgin of Montserrat, and donned a pilgrim's robes. Lived in a cave from 1522 to 1523, contemplating the way to live a Christian life. Pilgrim to Rome and the Holy Land in 1523, where he worked to convert Muslims. In 1528 he began studying theology in Barcelona, Alcala, and Paris, receiving his degree on 14 March 1534. His meditations, prayers, visions and insights led to forming the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus on 15 August 1534; it received papal approval in 1541. Friend of James Lainez, Alonso Salmerón, Nicholas Bobadilla, Simón Rodriguez, Blessed Peter Faber, and Saint Francis Xavier, the group that formed the core of the new Society. He never used the term Jesuit, which was coined as an insult by his opponents; the Society today uses the term with pride. He travelled Europe and the Holy Lands, then settled in Rome to direct the Jesuits. His health suffered in later years, and he was nearly blind at death.
The Jesuits today have over 500 universities and colleges, 30,000 members, and teach over 200,000 students each year.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Reflections on New Norcia: 1- First Impressions
As promised, I will share some reflections on my week at the Benedictine Monastery in New Norcia, WA. Because the week was so full and rich, I will do this over a few entries, under different categories.
I went to New Norcia as part of a mid-year intensive unit, called Prayer and Hospitality: Benedictine Spirituality and Australia with the United Faculty of Theology (UFT) as part of my B.Theol. degree.
Our group consisted of 15 people, including Katharine and John, our two lecturers, and the 'students' among us included people like myself, who were taking the unit as credit towards a degree, as well as others who were 'auditing' the unit (ie participating in the unit for enjoyment/personal interest, and not required to do the assessment tasks).
We all met at Perth airport on the Friday afternoon, and travelled the 130km to New Norcia by bus, arriving around 4pm. We were accommodated in the Monastery guest house, and because of the size of our group, we completely booked out the guest house for the week, and had most of the visitors' facilities there to ourselves. The guest house was quite comfortable, and I was one of the lucky ones who was accommodated alone in a twin room with private en suite bathroom. Some of our group were in the lower guest house which had single rooms and shared bathroom facilities (and the fact that these shared facilities were unisex, caused surprise -and mild consternation- for some members of our group, and great amusement to the rest of us).
After we arrived and settled into our rooms, we had time to wander around the vicinity of the Monastery before our first scheduled activity, which was Vespers in the Oratory. As the sun began to set, I was struck by the sense of quiet that wrapped the place like a blanket. As I stood with one of the guys in our group outside the front gate of the Monastery, gazing at the line of bare trees along the road, and then across at the Abbey church and the buildings beyond in the rest of the town, we just stood, with mouths open ... and he commented: "wow," which summed it all up, really.
At that stage, I really didn't have much idea of what the week would hold (despite having a relatively detailed schedule for each day, I didn't quite know what to expect). But there was an overwhelming sense of "place" here. Peace and quiet (despite the regular road trains thundering through the middle of town up the highway) and a strong feeling that the whole town is a sacred space.
Later, a few of us had a cuppa in the guest house loungeroom (which would also be our classroom for the week) before having our first Benedictine prayer experience at Vespers. I'll talk more about the prayer, worship and Daily Offices in another post.
After Vespers comes dinner. Because of the early start to the day (the bell rings to wake the community at 5am most days... but on Sunday we got to 'sleep in'... until 5:45am) the midday meal is the main meal of the day, and the evening meal is known as 'tea' or 'supper' and is lighter. When we entered the dining room, there was a large pot of soup, and a goodly supply of the famous New Norcia bread awaiting us. After being told by Katharine about lunch being the main meal, I was expecting that soup and bread would be the total of the meal... but then noticed other cutlery on the table. When I mentioned this to Katharine, her comment was, "Oh yes, there's main course to come after this". When I then queried about this not being the main meal, she replied: "At lunchtime there are three courses. You may find that your spirit is not all that grows whilst you're here!"
And so it went on... at every meal we had a range of delectable fresh New Norcia Bread, lovely soup and a main course, with a bonus dessert at lunch. There was also wine on the table at every meal, and bowls of fruit available to munch on at any time. I seriously doubt that anyone has ever starved whilst experiencing Benedictine hospitality (or at least not in New Norcia!).
I went to New Norcia as part of a mid-year intensive unit, called Prayer and Hospitality: Benedictine Spirituality and Australia with the United Faculty of Theology (UFT) as part of my B.Theol. degree.
Our group consisted of 15 people, including Katharine and John, our two lecturers, and the 'students' among us included people like myself, who were taking the unit as credit towards a degree, as well as others who were 'auditing' the unit (ie participating in the unit for enjoyment/personal interest, and not required to do the assessment tasks).
View of the frontage of the monastery and guest house 
We all met at Perth airport on the Friday afternoon, and travelled the 130km to New Norcia by bus, arriving around 4pm. We were accommodated in the Monastery guest house, and because of the size of our group, we completely booked out the guest house for the week, and had most of the visitors' facilities there to ourselves. The guest house was quite comfortable, and I was one of the lucky ones who was accommodated alone in a twin room with private en suite bathroom. Some of our group were in the lower guest house which had single rooms and shared bathroom facilities (and the fact that these shared facilities were unisex, caused surprise -and mild consternation- for some members of our group, and great amusement to the rest of us).
After we arrived and settled into our rooms, we had time to wander around the vicinity of the Monastery before our first scheduled activity, which was Vespers in the Oratory. As the sun began to set, I was struck by the sense of quiet that wrapped the place like a blanket. As I stood with one of the guys in our group outside the front gate of the Monastery, gazing at the line of bare trees along the road, and then across at the Abbey church and the buildings beyond in the rest of the town, we just stood, with mouths open ... and he commented: "wow," which summed it all up, really.
At that stage, I really didn't have much idea of what the week would hold (despite having a relatively detailed schedule for each day, I didn't quite know what to expect). But there was an overwhelming sense of "place" here. Peace and quiet (despite the regular road trains thundering through the middle of town up the highway) and a strong feeling that the whole town is a sacred space.
Later, a few of us had a cuppa in the guest house loungeroom (which would also be our classroom for the week) before having our first Benedictine prayer experience at Vespers. I'll talk more about the prayer, worship and Daily Offices in another post.
The Abbey Church in the morning light
After Vespers comes dinner. Because of the early start to the day (the bell rings to wake the community at 5am most days... but on Sunday we got to 'sleep in'... until 5:45am) the midday meal is the main meal of the day, and the evening meal is known as 'tea' or 'supper' and is lighter. When we entered the dining room, there was a large pot of soup, and a goodly supply of the famous New Norcia bread awaiting us. After being told by Katharine about lunch being the main meal, I was expecting that soup and bread would be the total of the meal... but then noticed other cutlery on the table. When I mentioned this to Katharine, her comment was, "Oh yes, there's main course to come after this". When I then queried about this not being the main meal, she replied: "At lunchtime there are three courses. You may find that your spirit is not all that grows whilst you're here!"And so it went on... at every meal we had a range of delectable fresh New Norcia Bread, lovely soup and a main course, with a bonus dessert at lunch. There was also wine on the table at every meal, and bowls of fruit available to munch on at any time. I seriously doubt that anyone has ever starved whilst experiencing Benedictine hospitality (or at least not in New Norcia!).
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The results are in...
Yes folks, the results for semester 1 classes were in the mail today.
For one of my subjects I had an extension past the end of semester, so won't get a result for that until next semester's results come out, but for the others, I was quite pleased with the results.
I ended up with a Credit for Making, Housing Feeding Christians (only 2% short of a Distinction!)
and Distinctions for my other two subjects, Christology and Ethics.
Those of you, dear readers, who remember my angst-ridden and somewhat incoherent ranting about Ethics a few weeks ago, will not fail to see the irony in the fact that my overall mark for Ethics was only 4% short of a High Distinction, and therefore the highest mark I have received for any subject to date.
But, alas, the holy grail of the HD still eludes me... perhaps next semester!
For one of my subjects I had an extension past the end of semester, so won't get a result for that until next semester's results come out, but for the others, I was quite pleased with the results.
I ended up with a Credit for Making, Housing Feeding Christians (only 2% short of a Distinction!)
and Distinctions for my other two subjects, Christology and Ethics.
Those of you, dear readers, who remember my angst-ridden and somewhat incoherent ranting about Ethics a few weeks ago, will not fail to see the irony in the fact that my overall mark for Ethics was only 4% short of a High Distinction, and therefore the highest mark I have received for any subject to date.
But, alas, the holy grail of the HD still eludes me... perhaps next semester!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
BRRR!!
Today in Perth, the temperature was 21C, and as I ventured forth from my hotel in search of breakfast (because after waiting for the silly tart serving in the hotel cafe to get off the phone and finally look like serving me, she informed me that breakfast finished at 10am- despite the fact that it was then only 10:05, the breakfast buffet was still all set up, and if she had served me when I first walked in, it would actually have been before 10am... but I digress... needless to say, Maccas got a visit... and now I'm making you ill, gentle readers, aren't I? :-)
Anyway, as I was saying... as I ventured forth from my hotel in the Perth CBD in search of breakfast, the sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining and I was wearing a Tshirt.
(and even a text message from Avril, saying that it was snowing in Romsey didn't dampen (or chill) my generally warm mood :-)
The shuttle bus trip later in the morning was also very pleasant, with the sun sparkling off the river as we meandered around in the general direction of the airport, and things were generally rather lovely.
The plane trip home to Melbourne was cramped (what is it about men on public transport? Is there something programmed into the Y chromosome that gives them a genetic need to spread their legs as widely apart as they possibly can, totally invading the personal space of the person next to them?) but pleasantly uneventful. And the return trip unfortunately lacked the excitement of the wild turbulence we experienced on the way over to Perth.
When we landed in Melbourne, the cabin steward did the usual, "Welcome to Melbourne Airport, where the time is 7:10pm, and the current temperature is 4 degrees." Needless to say, a communal groan arose from all in the plane at this news.
One of the groovy things about Virgin Blue is that even at big airports like Melbourne and Sydney, they still have the facility to disembark from the rear door, which means if you are lucky enough to be seated in the back half of the plane, you get to walk across the tarmac for a bit, and then walk up an external staircase, to join the front half of the passengers halfway along the tunnel-thingy (air bridge?) before entering the arrival lounge. Tonight, it was so cold outside that my hands just about stuck to the stainless steel hand railings as I walked up the external stairs (and my breath was visible as I huffed and puffed up the stairs).
Welcome home indeed!
(can I go back to Perth now, please? :-)
Anyway, as I was saying... as I ventured forth from my hotel in the Perth CBD in search of breakfast, the sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining and I was wearing a Tshirt.
(and even a text message from Avril, saying that it was snowing in Romsey didn't dampen (or chill) my generally warm mood :-)
The shuttle bus trip later in the morning was also very pleasant, with the sun sparkling off the river as we meandered around in the general direction of the airport, and things were generally rather lovely.
The plane trip home to Melbourne was cramped (what is it about men on public transport? Is there something programmed into the Y chromosome that gives them a genetic need to spread their legs as widely apart as they possibly can, totally invading the personal space of the person next to them?) but pleasantly uneventful. And the return trip unfortunately lacked the excitement of the wild turbulence we experienced on the way over to Perth.
When we landed in Melbourne, the cabin steward did the usual, "Welcome to Melbourne Airport, where the time is 7:10pm, and the current temperature is 4 degrees." Needless to say, a communal groan arose from all in the plane at this news.
One of the groovy things about Virgin Blue is that even at big airports like Melbourne and Sydney, they still have the facility to disembark from the rear door, which means if you are lucky enough to be seated in the back half of the plane, you get to walk across the tarmac for a bit, and then walk up an external staircase, to join the front half of the passengers halfway along the tunnel-thingy (air bridge?) before entering the arrival lounge. Tonight, it was so cold outside that my hands just about stuck to the stainless steel hand railings as I walked up the external stairs (and my breath was visible as I huffed and puffed up the stairs).
Welcome home indeed!
(can I go back to Perth now, please? :-)
Monday, July 16, 2007
East meets west
I've been a bit quiet in the past week or two, as I am currently in the Wild West - Perth! I spent last week with a group from the UFT at the Benedictine Monastery at New Norcia- what an amazing experience! But I will write more about it later (when I am home and not using a laptop with slow dialup connection).
Tonight, myself and Susan (another candidate from the Vic-Tas synod) had dinner with a group of ministry candidates from the WA Synod. It was great to meet up with Ivan, Cathy, Elaine and Toby, and to share some stories about what life is like for ministerial candidates in our respective synods. We compared notes about various aspects of our training courses, and various experiences of theological college, field ed placements and general life. (and now you can see the evidence of the visit, in the pic above- including Maggie, the four-legged fiend :-)
In recent times I have been a bit inspired to find a way to create networks among candidates in all states, and I think this was a good first step. Hopefully we will be able to have similar get-togethers (both in body, and virtually, via email) with candidates in other places as time progresses.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Greetings from Sunny Perth!
I arrived here in Perth on Tuesday afternoon, with mixed feelings- it was great to be here again after 20 years, and lovely to see my old Fusion friend Rose, and her daughters, but a problem with my eye meant that I wasn't exactly up to my usual bubbly standard, and wasn't really able to fully enjoy being here because of that.
Fortunately, the eye issue is now pretty much resolved, after seeing three different eye specialists (2 in Melb and one here in Perth), but in the course of the 6 days between when I first noticed the problem (fri), as it got progressively worse, and then finally resolved (wed night) it was a pretty emotionally draining time for me, partly due to the pain (felt like I had ground glass in my eye) and also fear that it would get worse and might have some long-term effect on my sight, and also the appallingly bad timing for this to happen just before I was due to leave for my trip to WA. (although I am very grateful that it happened after all my assignments etc were completed for first semester!).
I am sure that there is a lesson from God in this all somewhere.
I am very grateful to the small group of friends who upheld me in prayer during this time, and especially grateful to God for leading me to the right doctors here in Perth (a very conscientious and lovely GP who referred me to an equally competent and lovely specialist), so that my eye is now pretty much back to normal in time for my trip to New Norcia.
So, this afternoon, I meet up with others from my UFT course, and we will all head to New Norcia, where we will spend a week living in the Benedictine monastery, fitting into the daily rhythm of the monastic community, as well as doing some historical research as part of our church history unit, making use of the extensive archives at New Norcia.
I don't expect to have any internet access during my week there, and my mobile phone will be out of range, so it will be a truly delightful 'retreat' from the rest of the world, to experience the solitude, quiet and prayerful atmosphere of the monastery.
Fortunately, the eye issue is now pretty much resolved, after seeing three different eye specialists (2 in Melb and one here in Perth), but in the course of the 6 days between when I first noticed the problem (fri), as it got progressively worse, and then finally resolved (wed night) it was a pretty emotionally draining time for me, partly due to the pain (felt like I had ground glass in my eye) and also fear that it would get worse and might have some long-term effect on my sight, and also the appallingly bad timing for this to happen just before I was due to leave for my trip to WA. (although I am very grateful that it happened after all my assignments etc were completed for first semester!).
I am sure that there is a lesson from God in this all somewhere.
I am very grateful to the small group of friends who upheld me in prayer during this time, and especially grateful to God for leading me to the right doctors here in Perth (a very conscientious and lovely GP who referred me to an equally competent and lovely specialist), so that my eye is now pretty much back to normal in time for my trip to New Norcia.
So, this afternoon, I meet up with others from my UFT course, and we will all head to New Norcia, where we will spend a week living in the Benedictine monastery, fitting into the daily rhythm of the monastic community, as well as doing some historical research as part of our church history unit, making use of the extensive archives at New Norcia.
I don't expect to have any internet access during my week there, and my mobile phone will be out of range, so it will be a truly delightful 'retreat' from the rest of the world, to experience the solitude, quiet and prayerful atmosphere of the monastery.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Life is like a pack of jelly beans...
Another fun blog quiz thing, thanks to BB (who seems to be avoiding something at the moment, because he has been doing lots of these blog quiz things today)
But if truth be told about the jelly bean thing... cherry is only my second option, as my favourite flavour is in fact pink grapefruit, but that wasn't an option in the quiz.
| You Are a Cherry Jelly Bean |
 Sweet yet strong, you have a distinct personality without being a weirdo. You're the most normal of all flavors - but you're never boring. |
Monday, July 02, 2007
Blog rating
Another interesting blog thing courtesy of Louise, although her blog rating was much less child-friendly than mine.... interesting :-)
This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
- steal (1x)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Having a scrap!
When I was on placement in Launceston, Lilydale and Queenstown during summer, I took lots of photos. I was also introduced to the art of scrap-booking, and bought an album and various bits and pieces at a Creative Memories party that was held at the house where I was staying (at times it seemed my whole placement was about partyplan... but that's another story!)
Today (yes folks, it only took 7 months!) I got together with a couple of friends (one of whom has been an avid scrap-booker for a number of years); each of us had photos we wanted to put into albums, and so we set to work scrapping. It was a very pleasant day (with mandatory breaks for coffee and lunch) and the time flew by (we started at 9am, and it was 3pm when I left).
At the end of the day's scrapping, I had made a good start on a pictorial record of my field ed placement, which I hope to be able to finish off sometime soon (but will probably need to get more pages for my album to fit in all the pictures, and complete the album properly).
I suspect this won't be the last album I do in this way.. it was fun, (and I have a whole box of stray photos in my study cupboard, so it might be good to get some of them into albums too).
Today (yes folks, it only took 7 months!) I got together with a couple of friends (one of whom has been an avid scrap-booker for a number of years); each of us had photos we wanted to put into albums, and so we set to work scrapping. It was a very pleasant day (with mandatory breaks for coffee and lunch) and the time flew by (we started at 9am, and it was 3pm when I left).
At the end of the day's scrapping, I had made a good start on a pictorial record of my field ed placement, which I hope to be able to finish off sometime soon (but will probably need to get more pages for my album to fit in all the pictures, and complete the album properly).
I suspect this won't be the last album I do in this way.. it was fun, (and I have a whole box of stray photos in my study cupboard, so it might be good to get some of them into albums too).
Sunday, June 24, 2007
I think I'm channelling the Beatles
Today is a crisp, sunny winter's day in Melbourne.
After the rather dreary, grey and slightly moist days we have had for most of this week, it is kind of refreshing and invigorating to see the sun shining...
So as I sit at my desk, looking out the window, the words of the Beatles' song Dear Prudence have been running through my head:
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play
(full lyrics can be found here)
Kind of makes me want to go out and play in the sunshine... so I think I will!
(of course, after putting on a load of washing, which may well just get dry today! :-)
After the rather dreary, grey and slightly moist days we have had for most of this week, it is kind of refreshing and invigorating to see the sun shining...
So as I sit at my desk, looking out the window, the words of the Beatles' song Dear Prudence have been running through my head:
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play
(full lyrics can be found here)
Kind of makes me want to go out and play in the sunshine... so I think I will!
(of course, after putting on a load of washing, which may well just get dry today! :-)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Something light and fluffy to take us into the weekend
This picture came in an email today from a friend in Hobart.
It just tickled my funny bone, so I thought I would share it. Enjoy! :-)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Will we lose heart?
The recent, tragic shooting in Melbourne has made me think...
In our society people already seem to be fairly reluctant to get involved with anything that might be a bit risky. How often do we hear of someone in need of assistance who is just ignored? Someone being assaulted on a street, calling for help, and people peering out from behind the safety of their curtained windows, but not doing anything to assist - often not even calling the police, because there is this interesting phenomenon I heard about in a social psychology class (it seems like decades ago now!), like a perverse group mentality where everyone assumes that someone else has already called for assistance (Douglas Adams would have called it a classic case of SEP- Someone Else's Problem).
For a Melbourne lawyer and Dutch backpacker who didn't think the assault of a woman in broad daylight on Monday morning was Someone Else's Problem, things didn't work out well for them. Were they heroes? Or did they just do what any 'decent' person would have done? I wonder what I would have done if I were there at the time; and can't honestly say I know what I'd do. It's interesting that there seemed to be lots of people who witnessed the shooting (and so presumably also witnessed the man assaulting the girl before he pulled the gun) and yet, it seems that only these two guys actually tried to help. Maybe there are other people, who like me, weren't really sure of what they should do. (Does that make us cowards?)
So does this mean that people will now be even less likely to help a fellow human being in need? I really hope not... but sometimes it's hard not to lose heart. At times like this, I can really relate to the Psalms of lament:
O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
In our society people already seem to be fairly reluctant to get involved with anything that might be a bit risky. How often do we hear of someone in need of assistance who is just ignored? Someone being assaulted on a street, calling for help, and people peering out from behind the safety of their curtained windows, but not doing anything to assist - often not even calling the police, because there is this interesting phenomenon I heard about in a social psychology class (it seems like decades ago now!), like a perverse group mentality where everyone assumes that someone else has already called for assistance (Douglas Adams would have called it a classic case of SEP- Someone Else's Problem).
For a Melbourne lawyer and Dutch backpacker who didn't think the assault of a woman in broad daylight on Monday morning was Someone Else's Problem, things didn't work out well for them. Were they heroes? Or did they just do what any 'decent' person would have done? I wonder what I would have done if I were there at the time; and can't honestly say I know what I'd do. It's interesting that there seemed to be lots of people who witnessed the shooting (and so presumably also witnessed the man assaulting the girl before he pulled the gun) and yet, it seems that only these two guys actually tried to help. Maybe there are other people, who like me, weren't really sure of what they should do. (Does that make us cowards?)
So does this mean that people will now be even less likely to help a fellow human being in need? I really hope not... but sometimes it's hard not to lose heart. At times like this, I can really relate to the Psalms of lament:
O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
Psalm 88:1-5
Gotta love it...
... when people pay you to do something that you love.
Today I noticed that my bank balance seemed higher than I thought it should be, so thinking it was something mundane like a deposit from the real estate agent for rent on my Hobart flat (which I would need to transfer into my mortgage account), I had a closer look at my account details.
Woo-hoo- it was a deposit from Queen's College for my first semester choir honorarium.
I still think it feels a bit weird to be paid for being part of a congregation that worships God (which is effectively what the choir does), but hopefully I'll get over that before I finish my training to be a minister (where that is exactly what I'll be paid to do!)
Whilst the choir honorarium is not a huge amount (and certainly a pittance by professional standards, so it's a good thing I'm not a professional singer... for all kinds of reasons! :-), all things are relative, and as a student, this little extra bit of 'pocket money' has come at a very opportune time - to cover the cost of the books and other bits and pieces I bought during Wisdom's Feast. (and unlike income I receive from preaching and leading worship services, I have no qualms about spending this income on myself! :-)
After hearing Jana Childers speak about embodied preaching, I am very keen to get into one of her books I bought, Performing the Word: Preaching as Theatre (even signed by the author! :-).
Ahh... about to enter a brief period when I will have time to read for pleasure! :-)
Today I noticed that my bank balance seemed higher than I thought it should be, so thinking it was something mundane like a deposit from the real estate agent for rent on my Hobart flat (which I would need to transfer into my mortgage account), I had a closer look at my account details.
Woo-hoo- it was a deposit from Queen's College for my first semester choir honorarium.
I still think it feels a bit weird to be paid for being part of a congregation that worships God (which is effectively what the choir does), but hopefully I'll get over that before I finish my training to be a minister (where that is exactly what I'll be paid to do!)
Whilst the choir honorarium is not a huge amount (and certainly a pittance by professional standards, so it's a good thing I'm not a professional singer... for all kinds of reasons! :-), all things are relative, and as a student, this little extra bit of 'pocket money' has come at a very opportune time - to cover the cost of the books and other bits and pieces I bought during Wisdom's Feast. (and unlike income I receive from preaching and leading worship services, I have no qualms about spending this income on myself! :-)
After hearing Jana Childers speak about embodied preaching, I am very keen to get into one of her books I bought, Performing the Word: Preaching as Theatre (even signed by the author! :-).
Ahh... about to enter a brief period when I will have time to read for pleasure! :-)
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