I'm currently on a high, after having my service of recognition as an intern yesterday afternoon, and celebrating my first service of worship (including my first Eucharist) at Myrtleford church this morning.
Yesterday's service was great. The church was quite full, and in attendance were quite a lot of representatives of the Presbytery, as well as a significant number of friends who had come to celebrate the occasion and support me in the commencement of my ministry. (I calculated that there would have been at least 14 people who came up from Melbourne, and one from my home Presbytery of Tasmania, bringing with her the greetings of the Presbytery, and a tape of recorded messages from friends from the Sandy Bay congregation in Hobart).
It was a very joyful service, and the excitement of the folk from the Myrtleford-Beechworth congregations at finally having me here was palpable (as was my own excitement, but I think you would have already guessed that to be the case).
One friend from Melbourne commented that all the folk from the local congregations who gave speeches of welcome after the service spoke as if they already knew me and were genuinely glad to have me here, knowing all that I could offer, rather than the usual "welcome to the area" kinds of things one would expect.
In fact, one person who spoke on behalf of the Myrtleford congregation (who also happens to be one of the people who lost a home during the bushfires) expressed her thanks for all the support I have already given her and her husband since the fires ... and left me wondering, "what exactly have I done?" Not much, from my reckoning, but whatever it was, she obviously thought it significant. That's the funny thing about pastoral ministry, we can never really tell how significant what we do or say is to people.
After this morning's worship, as I did the 'meet and greet' as people went out to the hall for morning tea, a number of folk commented that they hope I will be around for a long time. So I guess that's encouraging (although I will wait until the 'honeymoon' period is over before I get too excited :-)
But in all, it's been a great start to my ministry in this place, and I'm excited (yes, still excited! :-) And this afternoon also marks the "two down, one to go" point of the three services in three days marathon that marks the start of my ministry (service of recognition yesterday, Sunday worship with Eucharist today and my first funeral tomorrow). I think I'll sleep well tomorrow night.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Typical...
Well, I haven't even officially started work yet (still in the first fortnight of "settling in" time) and I have been asked to conduct a funeral next Monday afternoon.
This will be the first funeral service I have ever led, and the prospect of it, as I listened to the message on my answering machine this afternoon, struck more than a little fear to my heart. I could have gotten out of it, by claiming either that Monday is my day off, or asserting that I am not supposed to be working till after my service of recognition on Saturday, and so could have fobbed off the responsibility to someone else in this strange interim time.
However, when I spoke to the family representative of the deceased man, I agreed to conduct the funeral, as I figured that this time of grief is not a time to be dithering about marking out boundaries. And even though we have been trained to be vigilant about self-care in ministry, and to watch out for things that eat into time off, I reckon that there are some things (and this is one) where a bit of flexibility is called for in the name of compassion.
So, now I find myself with two services of worship to prepare in the next few days, as well as some pastoral visiting of the family requesting the funeral. Such is life in ministry, and you know what? I'm loving it! :-)
This will be the first funeral service I have ever led, and the prospect of it, as I listened to the message on my answering machine this afternoon, struck more than a little fear to my heart. I could have gotten out of it, by claiming either that Monday is my day off, or asserting that I am not supposed to be working till after my service of recognition on Saturday, and so could have fobbed off the responsibility to someone else in this strange interim time.
However, when I spoke to the family representative of the deceased man, I agreed to conduct the funeral, as I figured that this time of grief is not a time to be dithering about marking out boundaries. And even though we have been trained to be vigilant about self-care in ministry, and to watch out for things that eat into time off, I reckon that there are some things (and this is one) where a bit of flexibility is called for in the name of compassion.
So, now I find myself with two services of worship to prepare in the next few days, as well as some pastoral visiting of the family requesting the funeral. Such is life in ministry, and you know what? I'm loving it! :-)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Movin, movin, movin...
I am very pleased (if somewhat exhausted) to say that I am almost ready for the arrival of the removalists on Monday morning (and it's only Saturday!). Mum and I have been working hard (Mum probably more than me, given that I had to spend a day at a Victorian Council of Churches training day on Thursday, whilst she stayed home and packed up the kitchen. What a woman!), and now it's almost all done.
In fact, today we ran out of boxes, so the nice man from Kents who estimated how many boxes I would need mustn't have looked in some of my cupboards (I am thinking particularly of my Nutrimetics 'warehouse' here).
But anyway, all of the hard work is done, and there is only some easy stuff like clothes and linen and some last minute things (like my laptop!) that need to go into the boxes that the removalists will bring with them when they come on Monday morning.
One of the 'hardships' about having everything packed is that it's not possible to cook meals any more, so Mum and I just have to go out to the pub for dinner tonight... it's such a hard life, especially when the local Bridie O'Reilley's does such a great steak :-)
In fact, today we ran out of boxes, so the nice man from Kents who estimated how many boxes I would need mustn't have looked in some of my cupboards (I am thinking particularly of my Nutrimetics 'warehouse' here).
But anyway, all of the hard work is done, and there is only some easy stuff like clothes and linen and some last minute things (like my laptop!) that need to go into the boxes that the removalists will bring with them when they come on Monday morning.
One of the 'hardships' about having everything packed is that it's not possible to cook meals any more, so Mum and I just have to go out to the pub for dinner tonight... it's such a hard life, especially when the local Bridie O'Reilley's does such a great steak :-)
Friday, February 20, 2009
After the funeral...
Now I'm home in Melbourne, I've been reflecting a bit on the last few days, and although it's been sad, and was a bit hard being in New Norcia, knowing that Glenn wouldn't be there (as spending time with him had been a significant part of all of my previous visits there), I do feel a sense of peace, and am glad that I went over for the funeral.
I met up in Perth with a friend called Peter, from Sydney, who I had met through Glenn on a previous visit to New Norcia, and we travelled up together in a hire car. When we arrived in New Norcia, Abbot John was waiting for us in the guest house and spent a good hour or so with us, talking about what had happened, and sharing some of the things Glenn had written in the long letter he left for him before he died. That conversation effectively answered most of my questions about Glenn's death, without the need for me to actually ask anything.
Our time in town was a fairly subdued time, but there was something about the inherent peace and sacredness of New Norcia that was very healing for me. Peter and I did some therapeutic polishing of brass in the church vestry on Tues arvo in preparation for the Requiem Mass on Wed, and had an Abbey Ale in the hotel each afternoon we were there. (Sorry BB, I didn't bring any back for you ;-)
The funeral Requiem Mass itself was a beautiful event. Abbot John presided, and his liturgy and homily were stunning, from all angles: liturgical, theological and pastoral.
I thought his most masterful and astute stroke was to make a very firm and unequivocal statement right at the outset about the unconditional love of God, firmly asserting that even though Glenn had committed suicide (and he did use the "S" word a number of times throughout the service, not shying away from it, as happens in some funerals for suicide victims) there was no question of Glenn's standing with God.
After the eulogy, Glenn's sister-in-law, who has suffered from depression for the past couple of years, spoke quite powerfully about the issues surrounding depression, and how important it is for people to talk about it, and get the support of those around them to help them fight it.
All in all, it was a very positive time, even though experienced through tears and sorrow. Abbot John asked Peter and I to participate in the mass by bringing up the bread and wine for the Eucharist. He said that he was wanting to involve as many people from various areas of Glenn's life as possible in the service, but thought it best not to ask us to read, or actually say anything, given how emotional he thought we'd be, and I was grateful for that.
It all went well, and there was a procession from the church to the cemetery a few hundred metres away, and a brief graveside committal. I think the event was a good tribute to Glenn's life, an opportunity to mourn his death, and also a chance to worship and give thanks to God. The church was full to overflowing, with a huge diversity of people there, showing how widely known and loved Glenn is.
Peter and I left New Norcia on Thurs morning, after the usual morning offices and 7:30am mass, which Abbot John dedicated to us, sending us on our way with the prayer and blessing of the community, which was very touching and special. From what John said to us the previous night, I think the community was moved and thankful that we had made the effort to come from the east to stand with them at this difficult time.
Before we left town, we went by the cemetery to say a final farewell at Glenn's grave. So it's been a very intense time, but the overall experience has left me feeling quite at peace (although not looking forward to all the work of packing up and organising myself for the big move).
I met up in Perth with a friend called Peter, from Sydney, who I had met through Glenn on a previous visit to New Norcia, and we travelled up together in a hire car. When we arrived in New Norcia, Abbot John was waiting for us in the guest house and spent a good hour or so with us, talking about what had happened, and sharing some of the things Glenn had written in the long letter he left for him before he died. That conversation effectively answered most of my questions about Glenn's death, without the need for me to actually ask anything.
Our time in town was a fairly subdued time, but there was something about the inherent peace and sacredness of New Norcia that was very healing for me. Peter and I did some therapeutic polishing of brass in the church vestry on Tues arvo in preparation for the Requiem Mass on Wed, and had an Abbey Ale in the hotel each afternoon we were there. (Sorry BB, I didn't bring any back for you ;-)
The funeral Requiem Mass itself was a beautiful event. Abbot John presided, and his liturgy and homily were stunning, from all angles: liturgical, theological and pastoral.
I thought his most masterful and astute stroke was to make a very firm and unequivocal statement right at the outset about the unconditional love of God, firmly asserting that even though Glenn had committed suicide (and he did use the "S" word a number of times throughout the service, not shying away from it, as happens in some funerals for suicide victims) there was no question of Glenn's standing with God.
After the eulogy, Glenn's sister-in-law, who has suffered from depression for the past couple of years, spoke quite powerfully about the issues surrounding depression, and how important it is for people to talk about it, and get the support of those around them to help them fight it.
All in all, it was a very positive time, even though experienced through tears and sorrow. Abbot John asked Peter and I to participate in the mass by bringing up the bread and wine for the Eucharist. He said that he was wanting to involve as many people from various areas of Glenn's life as possible in the service, but thought it best not to ask us to read, or actually say anything, given how emotional he thought we'd be, and I was grateful for that.
It all went well, and there was a procession from the church to the cemetery a few hundred metres away, and a brief graveside committal. I think the event was a good tribute to Glenn's life, an opportunity to mourn his death, and also a chance to worship and give thanks to God. The church was full to overflowing, with a huge diversity of people there, showing how widely known and loved Glenn is.
Peter and I left New Norcia on Thurs morning, after the usual morning offices and 7:30am mass, which Abbot John dedicated to us, sending us on our way with the prayer and blessing of the community, which was very touching and special. From what John said to us the previous night, I think the community was moved and thankful that we had made the effort to come from the east to stand with them at this difficult time.
Before we left town, we went by the cemetery to say a final farewell at Glenn's grave. So it's been a very intense time, but the overall experience has left me feeling quite at peace (although not looking forward to all the work of packing up and organising myself for the big move).
Sunday, February 15, 2009
... on the hop...
I arrived home in Melbourne from my Tassie holiday tonight, noting the colour of the sky around Melbourne, heavier than the usual Melbourne smog, thanks to the bushfires still burning just out of the city.
Since arriving home I have collected my mail from my next-door neighbour (a huge bundle for only 2 weeks away!), eaten some yummy ( but not very diet- friendly) takeaway fried rice for dinner and have packed another bag for my quick trip to WA for Glenn's funeral.
I will be on the plane at 6:05am tomorrow, and will meet up with Peter, a friend from Sydney, in Perth, and we will drive up to New Norcia together. Glenn's funeral is on Wednesday morning: a Requiem Mass in Holy Trinity Church at New Norcia, followed by a burial in the NN cemetery, and a light lunch afterwards.
Arriving on Monday afternoon, will mean that Peter and I will have the chance to settle into the place, and prepare ourselves emotionally for what will be a very difficult funeral. We'll then stay on Wed night and head back to Perth on Thurs morning.
This means I will be away from Mon morning till Thurs night, which will probably have an impact on my packing and "preparing to move house" program, but it's important to me to go to this funeral of such a dear friend, and I'm sure things will all get done eventually, so I'm not particularly stressed about it (after all, Mum is coming to help with the final stages of moving and packing, so she will certainly whip me into shape!
Since arriving home I have collected my mail from my next-door neighbour (a huge bundle for only 2 weeks away!), eaten some yummy ( but not very diet- friendly) takeaway fried rice for dinner and have packed another bag for my quick trip to WA for Glenn's funeral.
I will be on the plane at 6:05am tomorrow, and will meet up with Peter, a friend from Sydney, in Perth, and we will drive up to New Norcia together. Glenn's funeral is on Wednesday morning: a Requiem Mass in Holy Trinity Church at New Norcia, followed by a burial in the NN cemetery, and a light lunch afterwards.
Arriving on Monday afternoon, will mean that Peter and I will have the chance to settle into the place, and prepare ourselves emotionally for what will be a very difficult funeral. We'll then stay on Wed night and head back to Perth on Thurs morning.
This means I will be away from Mon morning till Thurs night, which will probably have an impact on my packing and "preparing to move house" program, but it's important to me to go to this funeral of such a dear friend, and I'm sure things will all get done eventually, so I'm not particularly stressed about it (after all, Mum is coming to help with the final stages of moving and packing, so she will certainly whip me into shape!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Double sadness
I am currently on holidays in Tasmania, but am aware that people may be wondering about what's happening re the current Vic bushfire situation.
I am due to commence my placement in Myrtleford-Beechworth in early March, and so expect to hit the ground running when I get there. At this stage I am conscious that the fires have affected pretty much all of my future parish, with Beechworth, Yackandandah and Stanley especially affected, and I think, still at risk from the current fire situation.
I am also aware that one couple from the Myrtleford congregation have lost their home. I'm not sure if there have been any other losses, but guess I'll find out soon enough.
I am feeling a tad frustrated, as if teels a bit obscene to be here in (Raining) Tassie, having a holiday, whilst my future parishoners are facing such terrible things in the face of the bushfires; but as a wise Presbytery Minister pointed out to me, the time for caring action will come when I get there, so until then, I am keeping the people of the parish (and other fire affected areas) in my prayers, and trying to enjoy my holiday, and recharge, relax and recreate so that when I get up to Myrtleford, I will be of use to the folk there.
On a different, but also sad note, I heard today the tragic news that my dear friend, Dom Glenn Swallow, a monk of New Norcia, took his life over the weekend. This came as an utter shock to me, and to others who knew and loved Glenn. At this stage funeral details are not known, but I am hoping that it will be sometime next week, and am hoping to get to WA for it.
I will write more once I get home and things settle down a bit.
I am due to commence my placement in Myrtleford-Beechworth in early March, and so expect to hit the ground running when I get there. At this stage I am conscious that the fires have affected pretty much all of my future parish, with Beechworth, Yackandandah and Stanley especially affected, and I think, still at risk from the current fire situation.
I am also aware that one couple from the Myrtleford congregation have lost their home. I'm not sure if there have been any other losses, but guess I'll find out soon enough.
I am feeling a tad frustrated, as if teels a bit obscene to be here in (Raining) Tassie, having a holiday, whilst my future parishoners are facing such terrible things in the face of the bushfires; but as a wise Presbytery Minister pointed out to me, the time for caring action will come when I get there, so until then, I am keeping the people of the parish (and other fire affected areas) in my prayers, and trying to enjoy my holiday, and recharge, relax and recreate so that when I get up to Myrtleford, I will be of use to the folk there.
On a different, but also sad note, I heard today the tragic news that my dear friend, Dom Glenn Swallow, a monk of New Norcia, took his life over the weekend. This came as an utter shock to me, and to others who knew and loved Glenn. At this stage funeral details are not known, but I am hoping that it will be sometime next week, and am hoping to get to WA for it.
I will write more once I get home and things settle down a bit.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Melbourne is melting
Melbourne is currently experiencing some kind of record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures the past two days soaring close to 45C (according to the BOM, today's maximum temperature in Melbourne was 44.3C at 4:43pm. Cool, eh? Well... perhaps not... :-/ )
It's days (and nights) like this, that a science geek grrl such as yours truly gets to experience first hand the principle of Physics that hot air does indeed rise. As I climb the stairs of my flat, I can feel the temperature gradient go from "mildly uncomfortable, but quite tolerable" downstairs, to "Hell may not really be physically located in Brunswick, but it sure feels like it," by the time I get to the top of the stairs.
For example, at 11pm last night as I sat at my computer briefly, I noticed that the temperature in my upstairs study was still 35C. The BOM predicted that the minimum temp overnight last night would only get down to 29, but according to the actual readings, it actually got down to 28.7 at 3am- woo-hoo!.
Tonight, as I sit in my study (very briefly) at 11:30pm, I see that the temperature is now 37C, and I can feel the sweat start to trickle down my back. I think it's time to go to bed, and try to sleep... with a heavy duty fan aimed at the bed, in the hope that it won't actually feel like 37 degrees.
If you don't hear from me again, you'll know I melted away (either that, or our area has had to take its turn for the power cuts that are plaguing significant parts of th city).
As I watched a bit of the late news on TV, with a story about the heatwave conditions in Melbourne and Adelaide, bushfires around the state of Victoria etc... immediately followed by an equally dismal story about a snow storm somewhere in the US, I couldn't help but find these conditions to be reminiscent of the apocalyptic situations that were to be found in the plethora of 'beyond the end of the world' kind of movies that came out back in the 70s and 80s (remember the Mad Max movies?).
Maybe life is finally imitating art; or maybe the movie makers really were prophets.
It's days (and nights) like this, that a science geek grrl such as yours truly gets to experience first hand the principle of Physics that hot air does indeed rise. As I climb the stairs of my flat, I can feel the temperature gradient go from "mildly uncomfortable, but quite tolerable" downstairs, to "Hell may not really be physically located in Brunswick, but it sure feels like it," by the time I get to the top of the stairs.
For example, at 11pm last night as I sat at my computer briefly, I noticed that the temperature in my upstairs study was still 35C. The BOM predicted that the minimum temp overnight last night would only get down to 29, but according to the actual readings, it actually got down to 28.7 at 3am- woo-hoo!.
Tonight, as I sit in my study (very briefly) at 11:30pm, I see that the temperature is now 37C, and I can feel the sweat start to trickle down my back. I think it's time to go to bed, and try to sleep... with a heavy duty fan aimed at the bed, in the hope that it won't actually feel like 37 degrees.
If you don't hear from me again, you'll know I melted away (either that, or our area has had to take its turn for the power cuts that are plaguing significant parts of th city).
As I watched a bit of the late news on TV, with a story about the heatwave conditions in Melbourne and Adelaide, bushfires around the state of Victoria etc... immediately followed by an equally dismal story about a snow storm somewhere in the US, I couldn't help but find these conditions to be reminiscent of the apocalyptic situations that were to be found in the plethora of 'beyond the end of the world' kind of movies that came out back in the 70s and 80s (remember the Mad Max movies?).
Maybe life is finally imitating art; or maybe the movie makers really were prophets.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A surprise gift
Today I received a parcel in the mail, from a friend in the US. I was quite surprised when I collected it from the postoffice, as it was quite heavy for an international airmail parcel (and must have cost a fortune to post).
When I got home and opened the box, I was delighted to find a collection of books, of various shapes and sizes, all individually wrapped in Christmas paper.
As I started unwrapping the parcels, I discovered a lovely collection of books mainly on topics of contemplative spirituality, some of a Benedictine flavour, some by Thomas Merton, and some others by Quaker authors. One of the latter is a history of American Quaker women and feminism, and looks like it will be quite an interesting read.
During the course of my studies, I have been building a frighteningly large collection of "books to read when I finish studying"; various novels (trashy and otherwise) and other books on pastoral ministry, prayer, theology (I will read Moltmann's The Crucified God this year!). However I think some of today's arrivals will enter the "To Be Read" pile quite close to the top.
When I got home and opened the box, I was delighted to find a collection of books, of various shapes and sizes, all individually wrapped in Christmas paper.
As I started unwrapping the parcels, I discovered a lovely collection of books mainly on topics of contemplative spirituality, some of a Benedictine flavour, some by Thomas Merton, and some others by Quaker authors. One of the latter is a history of American Quaker women and feminism, and looks like it will be quite an interesting read.
During the course of my studies, I have been building a frighteningly large collection of "books to read when I finish studying"; various novels (trashy and otherwise) and other books on pastoral ministry, prayer, theology (I will read Moltmann's The Crucified God this year!). However I think some of today's arrivals will enter the "To Be Read" pile quite close to the top.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Happy New Year
Yes, I know I have been silent in the blogosphere of late, and this is because I have been hot, busy and a tad stressed. Still have my final two essays to finish (by the end of Jan!) and so can't spend much time thinking high and mighty and bloggable thoughts.
So, as a consolation prize to those of you who may have been disappointed at my recent lack of verbiage (man, who am I kidding?! :-) I have updated my profile picture to replace the old one which was taken over three years ago, before I moved to Melbourne, with a more recent pic, that was taken on the day of the UFT valedictory service last October. (Thanks to Susan, the photographer, who sent the photo to me).
I spent Christmas and new year in Sydney with Mum, and managed to catch up with some friends which was very nice, and am looking forward to a further two weeks in Tas in the first half of February, to also catch up with people and generally relax before the onerous task of packing up my flat to move to Myrtleford in early March.
So hopefully, sometime Real Soon Now (TM) I will have the time and energy to blog a bit more. Until then, Happy New Year, and enjoy what's left of the 'holiday period' :-)
So, as a consolation prize to those of you who may have been disappointed at my recent lack of verbiage (man, who am I kidding?! :-) I have updated my profile picture to replace the old one which was taken over three years ago, before I moved to Melbourne, with a more recent pic, that was taken on the day of the UFT valedictory service last October. (Thanks to Susan, the photographer, who sent the photo to me).
I spent Christmas and new year in Sydney with Mum, and managed to catch up with some friends which was very nice, and am looking forward to a further two weeks in Tas in the first half of February, to also catch up with people and generally relax before the onerous task of packing up my flat to move to Myrtleford in early March.
So hopefully, sometime Real Soon Now
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tis the season...
If the Magi had been really wise, they might have chosen this option for gifts for the Christ child.
:-)
moar funny pictures
:-)
moar funny pictures
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Caro's Christmas Message
Yes, time has escaped me again, and I have resorted to a cut and paste to the blog directly from my latest email update (so apologies to those of you who have received the email and thought this might be something new)
Well, it’s that time of year again; the days are longer, the weather warmer, and Christmas is just around the corner. Where did the year go? Well may we all ask.
Executive Summary (more detail below)
* Study stuff - I have received my results for the semester which were reasonable, given the heavy study load I had this semester - still have one reading unit to complete (2 more essays to go) and then the whole degree is finished! Yay J
* I get around, round, get around, I get around - The end of year travel juggernaut has commenced, and last Wednesday I returned from 10 days in WA, most of which was spent in New Norcia. Next Sunday I head off to Sydney for Christmas and New Year, then Tas in the new year, and then moving to Myrtleford in March (after which I think I’ll just stay put for a while). Phew!
* Health stuff - The diet (and weight loss) continues. Now up to a total of 15.9kg (which is approx 2.5 stone in Imperial). Have finally seen an orthopaedic surgeon about my knees, and it looks like there may be surgery in my future- exactly how serious will depend on results of CT and MRI scans I am having next week.
* … and in the New Year - I officially start my placement in Myrtleford-Beechworth on 1st March, although the first fortnight is moving & settling in time. The Presbytery of NE Vic has set the date for my Service of Recognition for the evening of Friday 13th March, and my first Sunday “on deck” will be the 15th.
The Gory Details (for those of you who want it all… make a cuppa, put your feet up, and enjoy :-)
Study and College stuff
This semester I had 4 B.Theol. units (Pastoral Care & Ritual, Continental Reformations, Genesis and Ministry and Sacraments) as well as the Friday Program Dip. Min. unit on Prayer and Spirituality. This was quite a heavy workload, as all units involved classes during semester (as opposed to other semesters when I have had 4 units, but one of these was an intensive for a fortnight at the beginning of the semester, or over a few Saturdays). So this meant my weeks were pretty full, and I found it hard to do more than the basic minimum requirements for each unit. This was reflected in my marks, as for my B. Theol. units I ended up with only one Distinction (in PC & R) and Credits for the rest (and I still haven’t received the results for the Dip. Min. unit).
Even though my marks this semester weren’t quite up to the standard of previous semesters, given the factors of workload and other things I was managing (like the exit/placements process) I am happy to have done as well as I did, and to have those units behind me. Alas, it seems the High Distinction will continue to elude me (as it will be nothing short of a miracle for me to get an HD for my reading unit on Trinitarian Theology! I think even aiming for a D will be optimistic!), so maybe I will need to do another degree sometime in the future (the far distant future) to see if I can crack that final frontier :-)
I get around, round, get around, I get around
Wise Woman Goes West (again!)
I have just returned from a lovely time in WA. Once again it was good to catch up with Adrienne and the Brauns in Perth, and this time I also managed to have coffee with another friend in Perth, Ben, who calculated that it had been about 18 years since we last saw each other. It was delightful to catch up with him over a coffee en route to the airport on my way home.
Of course, the main reason for my visit to the Wild West was to spend time in the monastic community at New Norcia. This time, I deliberately did not take any study material with me, and enjoyed the experience of being immersed in the monastic timetable and lifestyle (with no TV, radio or mobile phone coverage, it was a real retreat!). I was in New Norcia from the Tuesday to Tuesday, and during the weekend in the middle of my stay participated in a formal retreat titled, Growing in the Reverence of God, which explored different aspects of the biblical notion of the ‘fear of God’ and what that means for our personal and corporate devotion and spirituality. For the rest of the time I read (totally for pleasure- 4 books bit the dust during the week!), finished off a cross-stitch project that I hadn’t touched in over three years, did some volunteer work in the monastery archives and museum and of course, spent time in prayer and reflection, which is so easy to do in that environment.
I was telling one of the monks how every time I visit New Norcia God seems to teach me a lesson about patience, tolerance and humility. After settling into the peace and silence of the place for a few days, I found myself getting a bit annoyed when other people would come into the guest house and behave in a loud and (what I considered) unnecessarily boisterous manner (and yes, I am aware that in saying this I am sounding like a grumpy old woman!). One of the general practices in the community is to observe the “Great Silence” from 8pm (after Compline, the final prayer each evening) until 8am (after Mass in the morning) and I always try to observe this silence and so usually take a book with me to read over breakfast, and if anyone is around at that hour (my habit was to have breakfast around 6:15, and most people who didn’t get up for Vigils at 5:15 tended to be still in bed at that time), I would try to avoid eye contact so as not to be engaged in conversation, and just focus on my book. This strategy usually worked, except for one morning, when I just couldn’t avoid being dragged into conversation by a particular woman. At first I felt impatient, and tried hard to cut things short and ‘escape’, but after a while it became apparent that she really did have something on her mind that she needed to talk about, so I settled into ‘pastoral listening’ mode and encouraged her to proceed. I got the impression that I was not the first person (and probably wouldn’t be the last) in whom this woman confided, but she seemed to appreciate the opportunity to be heard.
This experience, and conversations I had with other people during the week, reminded me that people go to New Norcia for all kinds of reasons, and with all kinds of agendas, and none of them are necessarily any more or less valid than any others (so after that I managed to not get quite so stroppy with others).
On a lighter note, I also fell in love during this visit to New Norcia… with a lovely dog called Sandy. Now some of you would be aware that I tend to be more of a cat fancier than a dog lover, but that in thinking of moving to the country, I have been considering getting a dog for company, exercise and security (or at least the appearance of it). When I met Sandy (who was the companion of a rather interesting guy who was also staying in New Norcia), after spending some time with her sitting on my feet, and snuggling up to my lap when I sat on the bench outside the guest house, I thought to myself that I could handle having a dog like Sandy. She is a medium sized Staffy X (not sure what with) and has the most delightful temperament. So, when the time comes for me to actually make a decision about getting a dog, I think I will have to drop a line to the folks at Staffy Rescue, to see if they have any suitable dogs I can adopt.
Sydney here I come!
Next Sunday (Dec 21) I will be heaving on a jet plane (again!) en route to Sydney this time, to spend Christmas and New Year up there with Mum. I’ll be there till Jan 7 (which is almost 3 weeks) and am looking forward to catching up with a few people whilst there (so, Sydney people, feel free to get in touch to book in a time to catch up!)
Heath Stuff
Knees
As you may be aware, I have had persistent problems with my knees for most of this year, and have finally managed to see a doctor about it (What? Me? Procrastinate? :-). The X-rays indicated moderate osteoarthritis in the right knee, and the beginnings of mild OA in the left, as well as a significant lateral deviation of both kneecaps from where they should go when I bend my knees. The orthopaedic specialist was making dark mutterings about the worst case scenario being knee replacements, but she said that I’m too young for her to consider doing this, and so if the CT and MRI scans indicate that my knees are so bad that there isn’t any other realistic option, she said she would consider doing some minor maintenance (which may involve injections and/or minor surgical scrapings to tidy things up inside the joint and maybe take some pressure off) until I’m old enough for her to consider the full knee replacement surgery (I think she said something about needing to be at least 50 for this). So I guess I will have to wait and see.
Weight
As I mentioned above, my weight continues to decrease, and I now find myself in a tricky situation of having shrunk out of many of my clothes (I went to wear a pair of slacks to church this morning and had to go for ‘Plan B’ as they were just far too big, and would have fallen off). I have started to resurrect some of my previous ‘skinny clothes’, but have effectively shrunk out of all of my jeans, so may need to pay a visit to an op shop to get something that fits for this in between phase (as I still have quite a bit more weight to lose, so am reluctant to spend too much money on clothes that fit me now, as I’ll hopefully shrink out of them soon too).
Intern Placement
A couple of weeks ago I attended a meeting of the North East Vic Presbytery (along with Linley and Martin, the other two interns who will be starting placements there in the new year). It was good to meet some of the key people in the Presbytery, and to start talking turkey about dates for a Service of Recognition (to officially welcome me into the placement). Yesterday I also received a copy of the preaching plan for Beechworth, Yackandandah and Stanley for the first half of next year, and it was both exciting and a bit weird to see my name peppered through it. Kind of adds to the feeling that it really IS all happening!
My mind is gradually turning to address a few of the pragmatic things that I need to do in preparation for commencing my ministry up there, and first thing on my list tomorrow will be to ring the Synod removalist to start the ball rolling to arrange a quote and then book a date for the big move. At this stage, if everything lines up with the removalist and the manse availability, I am hoping to shift my worldly possessions as early as possible in the first week of March, so I will have the maximum possible time to unpack and settle in before I start work in earnest on 15th March. Mum’s planning to come down to help with the packing and moving, so that will be great (and she’ll finally be able to get a good look inside the manse, as we could only really do a drive-by and look at the outside when she was visiting last month).
Well, I think that’s enough for now, thanks for your support and friendship. I look forward to hearing news from your neck in the woods, so please keep in touch. I hope that you have a happy and holy time this Christmas, and manage to take time to reflect on the significance of the season beyond the hype and busyness and commercialism.
Caroxxoo
Friday, November 14, 2008
The last few days...
Earlier this week, Mum and I took a trip to Myrtleford, where we stayed at the very lovely Myrtle Creek Farmstay cottages, (owned by a couple from the Myrtleford congregation), and spent a couple of days exploring the local area around Myrtleford, Beechworth and Yackandandah, so Mum could get an idea of where I will be living and working next year.
The locals put on a couple of "meet the new minister" events, a dinner at Myrtleford and a lunch at Beechworth, and it was great to meet some of the other folks from the congregations (after having only previously met a few people who were on the Joint Nominating Committee). The fplk at Myrtleford apparently spent a lot of time convincing Mum that they will look after me when I move up there (but hey, isn't it my job as their minister, to look after them?!) and she was very impressed with how nice and welcoming everyone was.
We ate lots (well, you know, country hospitality, I couldn't very well be a diet nazi in the face of such hospitality) and I even allowed myself to sample the wares of the Beechworth Bakery when we were wombling around town, doing a bit of retail therapy.
So, I can really relate to this cute pic from the I can haz Cheezburger website, which obviously understands my recent diet dilemmas :-)
more animals
The locals put on a couple of "meet the new minister" events, a dinner at Myrtleford and a lunch at Beechworth, and it was great to meet some of the other folks from the congregations (after having only previously met a few people who were on the Joint Nominating Committee). The fplk at Myrtleford apparently spent a lot of time convincing Mum that they will look after me when I move up there (but hey, isn't it my job as their minister, to look after them?!) and she was very impressed with how nice and welcoming everyone was.
We ate lots (well, you know, country hospitality, I couldn't very well be a diet nazi in the face of such hospitality) and I even allowed myself to sample the wares of the Beechworth Bakery when we were wombling around town, doing a bit of retail therapy.
So, I can really relate to this cute pic from the I can haz Cheezburger website, which obviously understands my recent diet dilemmas :-)
more animals
Monday, November 10, 2008
A brief update... as shared with some via email
The end of the academic year has arrived, and I have almost finished all of the requirements of my degree and formal “core training” for the ministry. This update will therefore be quick, and only in Executive Summary form, as life is still busy. Once I am officially on holidays, I will wax more lyrical and verbose :-)
Executive Summary
* Study stuff -Although the UFT semester has officially finished, I still have 4 more assessment tasks to complete. These are two pieces from the current semester, for which I have a Dean’s extension until next Monday: a creative assignment for my Genesis class, and a report and theological critique on an interview I conducted with a hospital chaplain for my Pastoral Care & Ritual class. The other two essays are for a reading unit on Trinitarian Theology, which was extended from first semester into a summer reading unit, and these will hopefully be off my plate by Christmas. The last week of the official semester (ie, last week) was very busy and stressful, but I survived it and managed to get everything done (miracles DO happen!).
* Valedictory! – Last Friday was the Uniting Church Theological College Valedictory, where the college community celebrates the end of the academic year, and sends out the students who are exiting for the year. We had a service of worship, which was a lovely celebration, in which all three of us who were exiting (the Three Wise Women) took part, and received a crackingly good sermon from Robert Gribben, who is also leaving the college when he retires at the end of the year. In the past two years, this has become a significant event in the life of the college, with invitations to various representatives from the Synod and Presbyteries, as well as family and friends of the college community.
Mum came down for the occasion, and is staying with me for a week. After the worship, we had the Valedictory Dinner, which was great. The food was good, the company great, and our fellow candidates in lower years prepared a great program of fun and farewell (including a reading of a very profound, but little known theology text, by Dr Seuss- and the valedictorians were presented with copies of this book!), so that we came away from the night feeling well sent out with love and prayer. It's so hard to believe that this is it!!!
* This week – Mum is being very patient, as I need to spend a fair bit of time working on assignments, but tomorrow we are heading to Myrtleford for a couple of days in the area of Myrtleford and Beechworth, and the local congregations there are arranging a couple of “meet the new minister” events, so I’m looking forward to meeting some of the folk I will be working with from March, and traipsing around the area with Mum, so she can get an idea of where I'll be living and working.
* Holidays! – I have mentioned in previous emails my plans for various trips around the place, to Perth & New Norcia, Sydney for Christmas, and Tas in Feb, so won’t go into detail, except to say that in early Oct I received the sad news of the death of the Abbot of New Norcia, Fr Placid Spearrit. Placid’s death was quite unexpected, and came as quite a shock to the community of New Norcia, and all the friends of New Norcia around the country. A small group of people who have connections with New Norcia gathered in Melbourne for a memorial service a week or so ago, and I was glad to be able to attend that, and look forward to catching up with the monks in New Norcia when I’m there next month. It’s a weird thing, to think of New Norcia without Placid, who was a huge force for positive change during his time as superior of the community there, and I will always regard him as a great role model of the kind of servant leadership I hope to practise in my own ministry.
* Hospitality and visitors - There have been a few people from Tassie passing through Melbourne recently, and it’s been great to catch up with them-especially at times when I was feeling overwhelmed and busy, it was great to be able to take a little time out for a coffee (decaf, of course!) which helped me to focus a bit better when I got back into the work.
* Health - I finally got around to pinning down my GP to examine my knee, and she has ordered x-rays, and plans to refer me to an orthopod to get it checked out properly… not sure what this will mean, maybe surgery, will have to wait and see… and speaking of ‘wait’ (or ‘weight’ :-) I am still beavering away on my diet, and have now lost just under 15kg, and there is a distinctly noticeable difference in how I look, which stunned Mum when she arrived, and various people at the Valedictory who hadn’t seen me for a while also commented. So I am feeling good, even amid the stress and busyness of the pointy end of semester.
Roll on holidays! :-)
Executive Summary
* Study stuff -Although the UFT semester has officially finished, I still have 4 more assessment tasks to complete. These are two pieces from the current semester, for which I have a Dean’s extension until next Monday: a creative assignment for my Genesis class, and a report and theological critique on an interview I conducted with a hospital chaplain for my Pastoral Care & Ritual class. The other two essays are for a reading unit on Trinitarian Theology, which was extended from first semester into a summer reading unit, and these will hopefully be off my plate by Christmas. The last week of the official semester (ie, last week) was very busy and stressful, but I survived it and managed to get everything done (miracles DO happen!).
* Valedictory! – Last Friday was the Uniting Church Theological College Valedictory, where the college community celebrates the end of the academic year, and sends out the students who are exiting for the year. We had a service of worship, which was a lovely celebration, in which all three of us who were exiting (the Three Wise Women) took part, and received a crackingly good sermon from Robert Gribben, who is also leaving the college when he retires at the end of the year. In the past two years, this has become a significant event in the life of the college, with invitations to various representatives from the Synod and Presbyteries, as well as family and friends of the college community.
Mum came down for the occasion, and is staying with me for a week. After the worship, we had the Valedictory Dinner, which was great. The food was good, the company great, and our fellow candidates in lower years prepared a great program of fun and farewell (including a reading of a very profound, but little known theology text, by Dr Seuss- and the valedictorians were presented with copies of this book!), so that we came away from the night feeling well sent out with love and prayer. It's so hard to believe that this is it!!!
* This week – Mum is being very patient, as I need to spend a fair bit of time working on assignments, but tomorrow we are heading to Myrtleford for a couple of days in the area of Myrtleford and Beechworth, and the local congregations there are arranging a couple of “meet the new minister” events, so I’m looking forward to meeting some of the folk I will be working with from March, and traipsing around the area with Mum, so she can get an idea of where I'll be living and working.
* Holidays! – I have mentioned in previous emails my plans for various trips around the place, to Perth & New Norcia, Sydney for Christmas, and Tas in Feb, so won’t go into detail, except to say that in early Oct I received the sad news of the death of the Abbot of New Norcia, Fr Placid Spearrit. Placid’s death was quite unexpected, and came as quite a shock to the community of New Norcia, and all the friends of New Norcia around the country. A small group of people who have connections with New Norcia gathered in Melbourne for a memorial service a week or so ago, and I was glad to be able to attend that, and look forward to catching up with the monks in New Norcia when I’m there next month. It’s a weird thing, to think of New Norcia without Placid, who was a huge force for positive change during his time as superior of the community there, and I will always regard him as a great role model of the kind of servant leadership I hope to practise in my own ministry.
* Hospitality and visitors - There have been a few people from Tassie passing through Melbourne recently, and it’s been great to catch up with them-especially at times when I was feeling overwhelmed and busy, it was great to be able to take a little time out for a coffee (decaf, of course!) which helped me to focus a bit better when I got back into the work.
* Health - I finally got around to pinning down my GP to examine my knee, and she has ordered x-rays, and plans to refer me to an orthopod to get it checked out properly… not sure what this will mean, maybe surgery, will have to wait and see… and speaking of ‘wait’ (or ‘weight’ :-) I am still beavering away on my diet, and have now lost just under 15kg, and there is a distinctly noticeable difference in how I look, which stunned Mum when she arrived, and various people at the Valedictory who hadn’t seen me for a while also commented. So I am feeling good, even amid the stress and busyness of the pointy end of semester.
Roll on holidays! :-)
Monday, November 03, 2008
Busy, busy, busy
I haven't blogged for a while because I have been (and continue to be) squished under the weight of assignments, exams and other academic pursuits that I need to deal with before I can be FREE!
But I had to have a whinge today, as I was up late last night working on an assignment that was due in today, and after dragging myself out of bed, still sleep-deprived, to put the finishing touches on said assignment, and then print it out to submit, disaster struck.
What is it about computers and photocopiers that they seem to have a sixth sense, and can tell when you are stressed, and working to a deadline, and so pick the most awkward moment to spit the dummy? Today as I was printing out the numerous and varied components of this particular assignment, trying to be very systematic and not forget to print any of the parts ... about 2/3 of the way through, the printer apparently ran out of ink.
No problemo, as I whipped out my trusty cartridge refill kit, and proceeded to top up the black cartridge...
Yes problemo, as the wretched thing still wouldn't print... I tried every trick in the book to get it to work: realigned the cartridges, did a maintenance cleaning cycle, even administered mouth to mouth on the cartridge (to blow the ink down, to get it flowing again)... all to no avail!
So, about to lose it, I decided to take desperate measures, and ran out to the car, drove to Officeworks and BOUGHT a new cartridge. Thankfully, this fixed the whole printer issue, so the printer was able to resume printing where I left off... until...
One particular document just wouldn't open to be printed, and of course, this was the main overview of the whole project, so I couldn't get away without it. Somehow in the process of transferring it from my laptop (which is a better, faster computer that I use downstairs to do all the work on) via USB drive to the desktop computer (which is slower, clunkier, but attached to the internet and printer, upstairs), something weird happened, and it wouldn't open. And as if that wasn't enough, for some reason I had lost a significant chunk from the document on the laptop, which I then had to quickly try to recreate (grrrr), and then after a few unsuccessful attempts, had to find another USB drive and transfer it on that, which thankfully worked...
But all this mucking around meant that I wasted a good hour or more that I really can't afford (and heaven knows how my blood pressure fared in the process)... oh well, at least that assignment is now all printed out and submitted... One down... 4 more to go (including two essays, a written exam and an oral assessment) ... all by Friday.
So Friday, being the day of our College Valedictory celebrations, is definitely going to be a royal Stuff the Diet Day*, and I think I really will need to drink a lot of alcohol at the Valedictory dinner, to celebrate the almost-end of all this study, and surviving to the end of this week!
*and for anyone wanting an update on the diet, I've now lost about 14kg... which is a bit over 2 stone in Imperial
But I had to have a whinge today, as I was up late last night working on an assignment that was due in today, and after dragging myself out of bed, still sleep-deprived, to put the finishing touches on said assignment, and then print it out to submit, disaster struck.
What is it about computers and photocopiers that they seem to have a sixth sense, and can tell when you are stressed, and working to a deadline, and so pick the most awkward moment to spit the dummy? Today as I was printing out the numerous and varied components of this particular assignment, trying to be very systematic and not forget to print any of the parts ... about 2/3 of the way through, the printer apparently ran out of ink.
No problemo, as I whipped out my trusty cartridge refill kit, and proceeded to top up the black cartridge...
Yes problemo, as the wretched thing still wouldn't print... I tried every trick in the book to get it to work: realigned the cartridges, did a maintenance cleaning cycle, even administered mouth to mouth on the cartridge (to blow the ink down, to get it flowing again)... all to no avail!
So, about to lose it, I decided to take desperate measures, and ran out to the car, drove to Officeworks and BOUGHT a new cartridge. Thankfully, this fixed the whole printer issue, so the printer was able to resume printing where I left off... until...
One particular document just wouldn't open to be printed, and of course, this was the main overview of the whole project, so I couldn't get away without it. Somehow in the process of transferring it from my laptop (which is a better, faster computer that I use downstairs to do all the work on) via USB drive to the desktop computer (which is slower, clunkier, but attached to the internet and printer, upstairs), something weird happened, and it wouldn't open. And as if that wasn't enough, for some reason I had lost a significant chunk from the document on the laptop, which I then had to quickly try to recreate (grrrr), and then after a few unsuccessful attempts, had to find another USB drive and transfer it on that, which thankfully worked...
But all this mucking around meant that I wasted a good hour or more that I really can't afford (and heaven knows how my blood pressure fared in the process)... oh well, at least that assignment is now all printed out and submitted... One down... 4 more to go (including two essays, a written exam and an oral assessment) ... all by Friday.
So Friday, being the day of our College Valedictory celebrations, is definitely going to be a royal Stuff the Diet Day*, and I think I really will need to drink a lot of alcohol at the Valedictory dinner, to celebrate the almost-end of all this study, and surviving to the end of this week!
*and for anyone wanting an update on the diet, I've now lost about 14kg... which is a bit over 2 stone in Imperial
Thursday, October 16, 2008
... and so the Year of Firsts is complete
Today is the first anniversary of my father's death.
In some ways, the time seems to have flown by so quickly, but in others it's dragged.
So today marks the end of the official "Year of Firsts" for Mum and me: the first birthdays, Christmas, anniversary, Fathers' Day etc without Dad. We have both been blessed to have a great deal of support from people who love us, and from each other, during this past year, and for that I'm very grateful.
Rest in peace Dad.
In some ways, the time seems to have flown by so quickly, but in others it's dragged.
So today marks the end of the official "Year of Firsts" for Mum and me: the first birthdays, Christmas, anniversary, Fathers' Day etc without Dad. We have both been blessed to have a great deal of support from people who love us, and from each other, during this past year, and for that I'm very grateful.
Rest in peace Dad.Wednesday, October 15, 2008
for the geographically challenged
OK, so I've had a few comments from people who don't know where Myrtleford, Beechworth or Yackandandah are.
Hopefully this map should help. Basically, from Melbourne, one heads up the Hume Freeway towards Sydney until you hit Wangaratta, and then branch off either to Beechworth and Yackandandah, or Myrtleford.
(and if you don't branch off, and keep heading up the Hume, you will hit Albury about an hour after Wangaratta)
Hopefully this map should help. Basically, from Melbourne, one heads up the Hume Freeway towards Sydney until you hit Wangaratta, and then branch off either to Beechworth and Yackandandah, or Myrtleford.
(and if you don't branch off, and keep heading up the Hume, you will hit Albury about an hour after Wangaratta)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Finally- it's all officially official!
Picture a rooftop...
...now picture me shouting from said rooftop...
I am now - finally - able to spread far and wide the exciting news that I have just accepted a Call to a Ministry Intern placement in the linked congregations of Myrtleford- Beechworth, commencing on 1st March 2009.
Myrtleford church
(As a ministry intern, I will effectively be THE minister for these congregations, although I won't be ordained until I complete the requirements of the intern phase, which will take about a year. As an intern, I will most likely be licenced by the Presbytery to preside at the sacraments of baptism and holy communion in the context of this placement, as well as being authorised to conduct weddings.)
This placement is in the Presbytery of North East Victoria, and it is doubly exciting, because two of my colleagues, Linley and Martin, have also accepted calls to Intern placements in the same Presbytery. (Linley and I have already worked out the halfway point between our two patches, where we can meet up for coffee; and have ideas in mind for "retail therapy" and "tourist" excursions around Beechworth and Bright for some of our days off... what? us? excited? :-)
My ministry will involve responsibility for three congregations (Myrtleford, Beechworth and Yackandandah) and a smaller preaching place (Stanley)- although I understand that there is a lay preacher who usually looks after worship at Stanley. These congregations are very typical of Uniting Church congregations (ie smallish and ageing), but I am very excited by how outward-looking they all are, and the level of involvement in the local communities they all have, and the amount of cooperative ecumenical work they do with other churches in the area (and I think they are excited that I'm excited :-).
And of course, the area is stunningly beautiful (almost as nice as Tasmania! Yes... you can take the girl out of Tassie, but... ;-).
I will be living in Myrtleford, which is about half an hour from Wangaratta (the closest major regional centre) and an hour from Albury (the closest airport), and three hours drive from Melbourne (or 3 hours on the train from Wang to Melb).
Beechworth church
I will be living in Myrtleford, which is about half an hour from Wangaratta (the closest major regional centre) and an hour from Albury (the closest airport), and three hours drive from Melbourne (or 3 hours on the train from Wang to Melb).
Beechworth is a fairly major tourist town, very historical (the best preserved Gold Rush town in Vic).
The general area is part of the "High Country", very close to the Vic snow fields, smack in the middle of winery territory, and it seems to be "Festival Central" with the local region hosting the Beechworth Celtic Festival, Myrtleford Festival, Yackandandah Folk Festival (and of course, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival just up the road!) just to name a few, as well as some incredible looking venues for food and wine across the region (ranging from the award-winning Beechworth Bakery to outrageously expensive Fine Dining and everything in between). So it's lucky I will be living in a 4BR manse, as I anticipate (and encourage!) lots of visitors!
The general area is part of the "High Country", very close to the Vic snow fields, smack in the middle of winery territory, and it seems to be "Festival Central" with the local region hosting the Beechworth Celtic Festival, Myrtleford Festival, Yackandandah Folk Festival (and of course, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival just up the road!) just to name a few, as well as some incredible looking venues for food and wine across the region (ranging from the award-winning Beechworth Bakery to outrageously expensive Fine Dining and everything in between). So it's lucky I will be living in a 4BR manse, as I anticipate (and encourage!) lots of visitors!
I have also discovered that a fellow ex-pat Taswegian, who I used to sing with in TUMS many years ago, is now a magistrate in the region, so I am looking forward to catching up with him when I move up there.
So, now you know- the secrecy is over, and you can understand why I have been so excited!
Yackandandah church
By the time I start there in early March, the placement will have been vacant for almost 2 years, so the good folk of Myrtleford, Beechworth and Yack are understandably excited as they look forward to finally getting a minister to call their own. So I think there will be a fair bit of mutual bouncing off walls with excitement in the early stages of my time there.
Mum will be coming down to Melbourne for the Theological College Valedictory celebrations in early November, and staying with me for a week, and during her stay we will travel up to Beechworth and spend a couple of days checking out the local area, so she can get a feel for where I'll be living and working. During this visit, the folk from the 3 congregations are planning to organise a "meet the new minister" social event so members of the congregations can put a face to the name whilst they're waiting for me to arrive and start work. It will be nice to get to meet some of the people before I move in.
If you are curious about the local area, you might want to check it out at:
Sunday, October 12, 2008
First kiss of summer...
... by the sun, that is!
This weekend Brunswick UC had our annual church camp, which is always a great time for fellowship, (and some relaxation space to help get perspective on current workloads!).
Despite advice on the camp form to bring a sun hat etc, I didn't bother, as I wasn't expecting to be outdoors very much (and anyway, the weather has been a bit dim recently).
When I got home this afternoon, and looked at myself in the mirror for the first time, I noticed a happy glow of mild colour on my cheeks, decolletage and forearms (ie all the areas of skin that were exposed to the sun today as we spent part of our worship time outside).
So it looks like I'll have to remember to slip, slop, slap from now on if I'm going to go outside- summer is really coming! :-)
This weekend Brunswick UC had our annual church camp, which is always a great time for fellowship, (and some relaxation space to help get perspective on current workloads!).
Despite advice on the camp form to bring a sun hat etc, I didn't bother, as I wasn't expecting to be outdoors very much (and anyway, the weather has been a bit dim recently).
When I got home this afternoon, and looked at myself in the mirror for the first time, I noticed a happy glow of mild colour on my cheeks, decolletage and forearms (ie all the areas of skin that were exposed to the sun today as we spent part of our worship time outside).
So it looks like I'll have to remember to slip, slop, slap from now on if I'm going to go outside- summer is really coming! :-)
Monday, October 06, 2008
Vale, Abbot Placid
I received news this morning that Fr Placid Spearritt, Abbot of the Benedictine community of New Norcia WA, died suddenly on Saturday afternoon (UK time). Abbot Placid was visiting Ampleforth Abbey on his way home from some meetings in Italy, when he collapsed and died, after feeling unwell on Friday. He had just recently turned 75.
After meeting him on my first visit to New Norcia, I looked up to Abbot Placid as a wise monk, scholar and servant of God; and see his servant leadership as a role model that I hope to be able to emulate in my own ministry.
However, despite the shock and sadness at news of his death, I can't help but smile at the thought that Placid's death was consistent with his life: straight to the point, and no mucking about.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the community of New Norcia at this very sad and difficult time.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Ordination! (no, not mine)
My good friend Avril was ordained as a Minister of the Word today at the Church of All Nations, Carlton.
It was a very inspiring service, as the very large congregation witnessed an account of the steps that Avril has taken to get to this point in her ministry; a cracking sermon by Robert Gribben which very adeptly encompassed the theology of ordination; and Avril's ordination vows with the climactic moment of ordination as the representatives of the Presbytery laid hands on her and prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower her ministry. The celebration was made complete as we shared the Eucharist together.
I'm sure that once she recovers, Avril will have lots to say about the occasion in her own blog :-)
It was a very inspiring service, as the very large congregation witnessed an account of the steps that Avril has taken to get to this point in her ministry; a cracking sermon by Robert Gribben which very adeptly encompassed the theology of ordination; and Avril's ordination vows with the climactic moment of ordination as the representatives of the Presbytery laid hands on her and prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower her ministry. The celebration was made complete as we shared the Eucharist together.
I'm sure that once she recovers, Avril will have lots to say about the occasion in her own blog :-)
Saturday, September 27, 2008
... watch this space...
On Thursday I travelled to parts as yet unable to be disclosed, in the Victorian countryside, for a meeting yesterday morning with the Joint Nominating Committee to have a 'conversation' about the possibilities of me being the next minister in that patch.
Well, the meeting was very positive, (and yes, I'm even more excited now than I was before) and we have agreed that the process can move forward. So now I have to wait for an official call to be issued by the Placements Committee for me to minister in that place, and once I have received and accepted the call, I can disclose where it is.
After the meeting, members of the JNC showed me around the area, and we checked out the church buildings and manse, all of which are rather nice (and I will have plenty of spare room for visitors once I am settled there!), and my mobile phone even works in the area (I was a bit concerned about this, as the Optus GSM network is notorious for poor coverage in rural areas, but I have nothing to worry about there :-)
So watch this space, as I expect I will have official news Real Soon Now!
UPDATE- Mon 29 Sept
I have been informed by the Secretary of the Placements Committee that at the next Placements Committee meeting (on 10 Oct) he will be proposing that an official call be issued, so we will all have to be patient until after that date before I can do any shouting from rooftops. (Two whole weeks! However will I cope!? :-/ )
Well, the meeting was very positive, (and yes, I'm even more excited now than I was before) and we have agreed that the process can move forward. So now I have to wait for an official call to be issued by the Placements Committee for me to minister in that place, and once I have received and accepted the call, I can disclose where it is.
After the meeting, members of the JNC showed me around the area, and we checked out the church buildings and manse, all of which are rather nice (and I will have plenty of spare room for visitors once I am settled there!), and my mobile phone even works in the area (I was a bit concerned about this, as the Optus GSM network is notorious for poor coverage in rural areas, but I have nothing to worry about there :-)
So watch this space, as I expect I will have official news Real Soon Now!
UPDATE- Mon 29 Sept
I have been informed by the Secretary of the Placements Committee that at the next Placements Committee meeting (on 10 Oct) he will be proposing that an official call be issued, so we will all have to be patient until after that date before I can do any shouting from rooftops. (Two whole weeks! However will I cope!? :-/ )
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
You know it's nearly summer when...
Last night I spotted my first cockroach of the season... crawling up the drainpipe of the handbasin in the downstairs toilet. After a failed swat with a rolled up junkmail catalogue, I resorted to a quick spray of Baygon around the littlest room in the house.
Note to self: put cockroach baits on the list for the next shopping trip.
Damned mainland vermin!
Note to self: put cockroach baits on the list for the next shopping trip.
Damned mainland vermin!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Excitement knows no bounds
After some constipation in the Australia Post system, which caused me to wear a track to my mailbox every day since last Thursday, I finally received the profile for my prospective placement in the mail today, and let me tell you, if you thought I was excited before... I am virtually uncontainable now! :-)
Over a leisurely lunch, I spent an hour or so going over the profile with a fine tooth comb and noting all the questions I need to ask the Joint Nominating Committee when I meet with them on Friday. The list of ministry priorities in the placement profile are very close to the priorities I listed in my personal profile, so it is feeling like a pretty good match on that score. The profile also told me that the church members have a high level of involvement in the local community (and have stated a desire for more), very warm ecumenical relations, and a number of joint activities with the other churches in the area that seem to happen through the year.
The Presbytery Minister for that presbytery said to me that she thinks I will have a very interesting ministry there, and I think she's right... there is a lot happening in the placement that excites me, and I feel that I could fit in very well with all of that. But the placement has been vacant for a while, so I imagine by now some of their key people will be pretty tired. They also have some hopes and dreams for building on what they have and adapting to change in the local area, which I think will stretch me a bit as I try to help and equip them to realise these goals. So, I think it will be a great opportunity to work alongside these faithful folk to help them grow, and be strengthened as the people of God in their part of the world. (And I reckon I'll probably learn just a few things from them, too! :-)
So now I just can't wait to get out there, see the place and meet the people.
Over a leisurely lunch, I spent an hour or so going over the profile with a fine tooth comb and noting all the questions I need to ask the Joint Nominating Committee when I meet with them on Friday. The list of ministry priorities in the placement profile are very close to the priorities I listed in my personal profile, so it is feeling like a pretty good match on that score. The profile also told me that the church members have a high level of involvement in the local community (and have stated a desire for more), very warm ecumenical relations, and a number of joint activities with the other churches in the area that seem to happen through the year.
The Presbytery Minister for that presbytery said to me that she thinks I will have a very interesting ministry there, and I think she's right... there is a lot happening in the placement that excites me, and I feel that I could fit in very well with all of that. But the placement has been vacant for a while, so I imagine by now some of their key people will be pretty tired. They also have some hopes and dreams for building on what they have and adapting to change in the local area, which I think will stretch me a bit as I try to help and equip them to realise these goals. So, I think it will be a great opportunity to work alongside these faithful folk to help them grow, and be strengthened as the people of God in their part of the world. (And I reckon I'll probably learn just a few things from them, too! :-)
So now I just can't wait to get out there, see the place and meet the people.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
More steps...
On Sunday night, just after I got home from Queen's chapel, I had my first contact from the Joint Nominating Committee (JNC) of the placement I have been asked to have conversations with.
The woman who called me is the convenor of the JNC, and from one of the neighbouring congregations in the same presbytery, and she sounded just as excited as I to make contact. She told me the placement has been vacant for quite some time, so they are delighted to finally have someone to talk to as a potential minister.
The JNC met this morning, and the convenor rang me from the meeting to set up a time for me to come and meet with the JNC. So next week I will be heading to the country, to meet with the JNC and check out the relevant local sights (like the manse, the church, and the local area) whilst I'm there.
The profile document should arrive in the mail either tomorrow or Friday, as the JNC wanted to review the profile and add some information before sending it to me, as they said some things have changed since they originally wrote the profile. So more excitement in store! :-)
The woman who called me is the convenor of the JNC, and from one of the neighbouring congregations in the same presbytery, and she sounded just as excited as I to make contact. She told me the placement has been vacant for quite some time, so they are delighted to finally have someone to talk to as a potential minister.
The JNC met this morning, and the convenor rang me from the meeting to set up a time for me to come and meet with the JNC. So next week I will be heading to the country, to meet with the JNC and check out the relevant local sights (like the manse, the church, and the local area) whilst I'm there.
The profile document should arrive in the mail either tomorrow or Friday, as the JNC wanted to review the profile and add some information before sending it to me, as they said some things have changed since they originally wrote the profile. So more excitement in store! :-)
Car!
In preparation for the big trip to the country to visit my potential new placement next week, I figured that I should get my rear into gear and put my car in for a service (it's been over a year since the last one, I hope my former mechanic in Hobart isn't reading this!), and also to have a rear wheel bearing replaced (which I am assuming is on the opposite side to the one that was replaced when I was on placement in Launceston about 18mths ago).
I am lucky enough to have a Goodyear service centre just a few hundred metres up the road from me, so, after being a little underwhelmed after using a mobile mechanic for the last service, I thought I would use this place this time round and see how it goes. When I dropped the car in this morning, and reminded the guy about the wheel bearing, he asked me what made me think I needed a wheel bearing replaced?
Anyway, I left the car, with the expectation that the day's work would cost me in the ball-park of around $350. (you can guess what's coming, can't you?).
Later in the morning, I received a call from the mechanic, telling me that both my rear tyres are very worn, and really need to be replaced. I was a little surprised, as I tend to keep an eye on the tyre wear, and hadn't noticed they were particularly bad... but I have been a bit vague about such things lately, so, after asking how much extra this would cost, I asked him to go ahead.
About an hour before I was due to collect the car, I had another call. This time, bearing news that when he was replacing the wheel bearing, the mechanic had noticed that the rear axle was bent. "This would explain why your tyres are worn, as a bent axle really causes you to chew through tyres". When he said that, I remembered how frequently I've needed to replace tyres since I've had this car, and now suspect that the axle must have been bent all this time, and this was the first mechanic to notice it.
He told me that it would be a waste of money to put new tyres on the car if the axle wasn't replaced too. So, with fear and trepidation, I once again asked him the $ question. He replied that the cost of the part, and fitting, would be between $450-500. So all up, I'm going to have to fork out around $1000 this week on my car.
Interestingly, I had been thinking seriously about getting a new car when I move to the country- especially if I end up needing to do lots of driving- as something with a little more power might be more comfortable to drive than my current little baby, which is a whole 1.3 litres of pure "grunt" (because that's what it does when it has to go up steep hills- it grunts and groans a bit).
However, after spending this much on the car, I might just hold onto it for a bit longer (after all, it does have fantastic fuel economy), and so I struck a compromise and joined the RACV instead (it's only taken me nearly 3 years to get around to joining!). I guess next week's trip from Melbourne out to meet with the JNC will give me an indication of how well the car will cope with that particular trip, which may end up becoming a fairly regular route for me next year.
I am lucky enough to have a Goodyear service centre just a few hundred metres up the road from me, so, after being a little underwhelmed after using a mobile mechanic for the last service, I thought I would use this place this time round and see how it goes. When I dropped the car in this morning, and reminded the guy about the wheel bearing, he asked me what made me think I needed a wheel bearing replaced?
My very technical response, "because it's making the noise cars make when a wheel bearing is on the way out." (sometimes it seems that mechanics really do think women are stupid when it comes to cars, but I'm sure my response impressed him :-)
Anyway, I left the car, with the expectation that the day's work would cost me in the ball-park of around $350. (you can guess what's coming, can't you?).
Later in the morning, I received a call from the mechanic, telling me that both my rear tyres are very worn, and really need to be replaced. I was a little surprised, as I tend to keep an eye on the tyre wear, and hadn't noticed they were particularly bad... but I have been a bit vague about such things lately, so, after asking how much extra this would cost, I asked him to go ahead.
About an hour before I was due to collect the car, I had another call. This time, bearing news that when he was replacing the wheel bearing, the mechanic had noticed that the rear axle was bent. "This would explain why your tyres are worn, as a bent axle really causes you to chew through tyres". When he said that, I remembered how frequently I've needed to replace tyres since I've had this car, and now suspect that the axle must have been bent all this time, and this was the first mechanic to notice it.
He told me that it would be a waste of money to put new tyres on the car if the axle wasn't replaced too. So, with fear and trepidation, I once again asked him the $ question. He replied that the cost of the part, and fitting, would be between $450-500. So all up, I'm going to have to fork out around $1000 this week on my car.
Interestingly, I had been thinking seriously about getting a new car when I move to the country- especially if I end up needing to do lots of driving- as something with a little more power might be more comfortable to drive than my current little baby, which is a whole 1.3 litres of pure "grunt" (because that's what it does when it has to go up steep hills- it grunts and groans a bit).
However, after spending this much on the car, I might just hold onto it for a bit longer (after all, it does have fantastic fuel economy), and so I struck a compromise and joined the RACV instead (it's only taken me nearly 3 years to get around to joining!). I guess next week's trip from Melbourne out to meet with the JNC will give me an indication of how well the car will cope with that particular trip, which may end up becoming a fairly regular route for me next year.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Today's sermon
Today, I preached my second-last sermon as a ministerial candidate (which will be revisited tonight at Queen's Chapel). My final sermon as a candidate will be preached to the unsuspecting folk in the Riddells Creek and Mt Macedon congregations in late November. After that, the next time I preach or lead worship, it will be as an intern in my new placement next year!
So, to celebrate this auspicious moment (and because I actually had to write out a full script for this sermon, which I don't usually do, as Brunswick UC like to circulate the sermons as part of the weekly email newsletter) I thought I would put it up here for posterity.
Focus on Matthew 18:21-35
On Thursday last week, the world marked the 7th anniversary of the terrorist events that have come to be known collectively as “9/11”. On September 11th, 2001, approximately 3000 people were killed as a result of coordinated terrorist activities in the United States on that day.
I’m sure that we can all remember where we were on that day, when the news of the attack first reached us. I was in Sydney, visiting my parents, and have vivid memories of sitting with my mother in the lounge room, glued to the TV as amateur video footage showed first one plane, and then a second, flying into the Twin Towers, and bringing the World Trade Centre crashing to the ground.
As the Australian TV channels took copious hours of live feed from American TV news services, I remember also being somewhat amused (in a black and macabre kind of way- or perhaps a very Australian and cynical way) as all of the American news readers and commentators expressed such astonishment and disbelief that anyone could possibly want to do this heinous thing to America- because, “doesn’t the whole world LOVE the United States?”
As more detail of the attacks gradually came to light, and it became evident that it was indeed a coordinated campaign of terrorism, the world waited with bated breath for an official response from the US President.
At that time, I remember thinking (in one of my more prophetic moments), wouldn’t it be a powerful statement if the President could come out and say something along the lines of:
Of course, this didn’t happen, and for the 7 years since then, we have been living with the consequences of the so-called ‘War on Terror’. I knew it wouldn’t happen, but can you imagine what world politics would look like today if it had? What a potent and remarkable gesture it would have been for the nation whose currency bears the words, “In God we trust” to publicly forgive its enemy.
Our Gospel reading today talks about forgiveness. It opens with a 2-verse vignette of a dialogue between Peter and Jesus, as Peter asks, “Lord, how often should I forgive? Seven times?” Jesus’ response (depending on which translation we read) is that Peter should forgive 77 times, or 70 x 7 times. Whichever way we look at it, this is quite extravagant, and could even be seen as somewhat hyperbolic.
It is no accident that this follows straight on from the passage listed in last week’s revised common lectionary, about pointing out the faults, and correcting those in the church who sin against us.
It seems to me, that this 2-verse vignette that begins today’s reading is deliberately placed after last week’s section, in order to remind the community that when they do point out the faults of brothers and sisters who have sinned against them, they should do so in a spirit of compassion and mercy, being gentle and ready to forgive.
As we move on to consider the parable in today’s Gospel, we can see that the analogy of the forgiveness of debt in the parable is a good one for considering forgiveness generally. When someone is owed a debt, that gives them power over the debtor. If someone is in debt to me, there is a sense that they owe me something, which sets up a power dynamic in that relationship, and so the act of forgiving a debt means relinquishing that power.
Bill Loader refers to forgiving as a form of giving, because in forgiving someone (whether of a monetary debt, or some other kind of debt) we are in fact giving something of ourselves, and not holding back in that relationship. There is no longer a power dynamic. We all know that it’s not healthy to hold onto things like grudges or bad feelings towards someone who has hurt us, either for us, or for the other person, so to forgive is ultimately good for all concerned. Of course, the ultimate role model of forgiveness is God’s self-giving through the gift of the Son.
In our parable the extravagance of God’s forgiveness is indicated by the ridiculously huge debt owed by the first slave to the king- 10,000 talents!
When we consider that a labourer in those days would have to work more than 15 years to earn talent, it is obvious that for a slave to rack up a debt of 10,000 talents would have been a sheer impossibility. The reason why the Gospel writer uses this over-the-top figure is to distract the reader from the content of the story, to consider the meaning behind the story: God’s generous and extravagant forgiveness, freely given, so no sin is too big, nor is there any upper limit on the number of times God will forgive- as shown by the equally extravagant “77 times” (or “70 x 7 times”) in verse 2; and also emphasising the spirit of generosity that should characterise our forgiveness to others.
This is certainly good news for us all… but the story does have a sting in the tail. Whilst it is certainly true that God’s forgiveness towards us is a pure act of God’s love and generosity - nothing we can do can earn that gift- it is also true that God expects us to ‘pay it forward’- in response to the good things that we have received from God, as an outflowing of our own joy and gratitude, we in turn initiate random acts of kindness to others, so they can also benefit. So, after experiencing the freedom and grace of God’s forgiveness to us, an appropriate response would be to also forgive others, out of a sense of joy and gratitude, not of compulsion.
There is something relational about forgiveness, because God’s forgiveness of sin is not just about saying “sorry” for our sins, as this misses the whole point of the Gospel. Just as the Hebrew concept of “shalom”, peace, is not just about the absence of conflict, but rather is about the positive and palpable presence of wholeness and wellbeing, in the same way, the concept of forgiveness is not just about the absence or removal of sin, but about a positive presence of restoration and wholeness. God forgives us so we can be restored into full relationship with him, and in that relational process, we become whole.
For this to happen, we need to be aware that forgiveness is also costly, both for the person who forgives (because they have to give something up) and also for the one who is forgiven (who has to first of all acknowledge that there is something that needs to be forgiven, and thus put aside the lies, delusions and masks to allow forgiveness to happen).
It is also tempting for us to focus only on God’s generosity, grace and the free gift of forgiveness, but in doing this we fail to recognise the value, and indeed, the costly nature of forgiveness and grace. This is why the apostle Paul made the comment in Romans 6:1, after a lengthy discussion about God’s grace being manifest in forgiveness, he asks, “so what shall we do then? Continue sinning so that grace may abound? BY NO MEANS!”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes this attitude, where we fail to fully appreciate the cost of God’s grace as ‘cheap grace’, and points out that we need to recognise that even though we don’t need to do anything to deserve God’s grace, it is not cheap, but is, in fact, quite costly. Costly to God… costly to God’s Son.
As we learn to appreciate that cost of God’s generous grace and forgiveness, how could we NOT want to respond, and emulate the example set for us by our loving, self-giving God?
So, to celebrate this auspicious moment (and because I actually had to write out a full script for this sermon, which I don't usually do, as Brunswick UC like to circulate the sermons as part of the weekly email newsletter) I thought I would put it up here for posterity.
Focus on Matthew 18:21-35
On Thursday last week, the world marked the 7th anniversary of the terrorist events that have come to be known collectively as “9/11”. On September 11th, 2001, approximately 3000 people were killed as a result of coordinated terrorist activities in the United States on that day.
I’m sure that we can all remember where we were on that day, when the news of the attack first reached us. I was in Sydney, visiting my parents, and have vivid memories of sitting with my mother in the lounge room, glued to the TV as amateur video footage showed first one plane, and then a second, flying into the Twin Towers, and bringing the World Trade Centre crashing to the ground.
As the Australian TV channels took copious hours of live feed from American TV news services, I remember also being somewhat amused (in a black and macabre kind of way- or perhaps a very Australian and cynical way) as all of the American news readers and commentators expressed such astonishment and disbelief that anyone could possibly want to do this heinous thing to America- because, “doesn’t the whole world LOVE the United States?”
As more detail of the attacks gradually came to light, and it became evident that it was indeed a coordinated campaign of terrorism, the world waited with bated breath for an official response from the US President.
At that time, I remember thinking (in one of my more prophetic moments), wouldn’t it be a powerful statement if the President could come out and say something along the lines of:
This terrible act has caused significant pain and grief to our country, and the world is shocked and saddened by this senseless loss of life.
But I say to the perpetrators of this deed, we will not sink to your level, and will not retaliate in acts of violence, or by seeking retribution for this bloodshed. Instead I say to you that we forgive you, and may God have mercy on your souls.
Of course, this didn’t happen, and for the 7 years since then, we have been living with the consequences of the so-called ‘War on Terror’. I knew it wouldn’t happen, but can you imagine what world politics would look like today if it had? What a potent and remarkable gesture it would have been for the nation whose currency bears the words, “In God we trust” to publicly forgive its enemy.
Our Gospel reading today talks about forgiveness. It opens with a 2-verse vignette of a dialogue between Peter and Jesus, as Peter asks, “Lord, how often should I forgive? Seven times?” Jesus’ response (depending on which translation we read) is that Peter should forgive 77 times, or 70 x 7 times. Whichever way we look at it, this is quite extravagant, and could even be seen as somewhat hyperbolic.
It is no accident that this follows straight on from the passage listed in last week’s revised common lectionary, about pointing out the faults, and correcting those in the church who sin against us.
It seems to me, that this 2-verse vignette that begins today’s reading is deliberately placed after last week’s section, in order to remind the community that when they do point out the faults of brothers and sisters who have sinned against them, they should do so in a spirit of compassion and mercy, being gentle and ready to forgive.
As we move on to consider the parable in today’s Gospel, we can see that the analogy of the forgiveness of debt in the parable is a good one for considering forgiveness generally. When someone is owed a debt, that gives them power over the debtor. If someone is in debt to me, there is a sense that they owe me something, which sets up a power dynamic in that relationship, and so the act of forgiving a debt means relinquishing that power.
Bill Loader refers to forgiving as a form of giving, because in forgiving someone (whether of a monetary debt, or some other kind of debt) we are in fact giving something of ourselves, and not holding back in that relationship. There is no longer a power dynamic. We all know that it’s not healthy to hold onto things like grudges or bad feelings towards someone who has hurt us, either for us, or for the other person, so to forgive is ultimately good for all concerned. Of course, the ultimate role model of forgiveness is God’s self-giving through the gift of the Son.
In our parable the extravagance of God’s forgiveness is indicated by the ridiculously huge debt owed by the first slave to the king- 10,000 talents!
When we consider that a labourer in those days would have to work more than 15 years to earn talent, it is obvious that for a slave to rack up a debt of 10,000 talents would have been a sheer impossibility. The reason why the Gospel writer uses this over-the-top figure is to distract the reader from the content of the story, to consider the meaning behind the story: God’s generous and extravagant forgiveness, freely given, so no sin is too big, nor is there any upper limit on the number of times God will forgive- as shown by the equally extravagant “77 times” (or “70 x 7 times”) in verse 2; and also emphasising the spirit of generosity that should characterise our forgiveness to others.
This is certainly good news for us all… but the story does have a sting in the tail. Whilst it is certainly true that God’s forgiveness towards us is a pure act of God’s love and generosity - nothing we can do can earn that gift- it is also true that God expects us to ‘pay it forward’- in response to the good things that we have received from God, as an outflowing of our own joy and gratitude, we in turn initiate random acts of kindness to others, so they can also benefit. So, after experiencing the freedom and grace of God’s forgiveness to us, an appropriate response would be to also forgive others, out of a sense of joy and gratitude, not of compulsion.
There is something relational about forgiveness, because God’s forgiveness of sin is not just about saying “sorry” for our sins, as this misses the whole point of the Gospel. Just as the Hebrew concept of “shalom”, peace, is not just about the absence of conflict, but rather is about the positive and palpable presence of wholeness and wellbeing, in the same way, the concept of forgiveness is not just about the absence or removal of sin, but about a positive presence of restoration and wholeness. God forgives us so we can be restored into full relationship with him, and in that relational process, we become whole.
For this to happen, we need to be aware that forgiveness is also costly, both for the person who forgives (because they have to give something up) and also for the one who is forgiven (who has to first of all acknowledge that there is something that needs to be forgiven, and thus put aside the lies, delusions and masks to allow forgiveness to happen).
It is also tempting for us to focus only on God’s generosity, grace and the free gift of forgiveness, but in doing this we fail to recognise the value, and indeed, the costly nature of forgiveness and grace. This is why the apostle Paul made the comment in Romans 6:1, after a lengthy discussion about God’s grace being manifest in forgiveness, he asks, “so what shall we do then? Continue sinning so that grace may abound? BY NO MEANS!”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes this attitude, where we fail to fully appreciate the cost of God’s grace as ‘cheap grace’, and points out that we need to recognise that even though we don’t need to do anything to deserve God’s grace, it is not cheap, but is, in fact, quite costly. Costly to God… costly to God’s Son.
As we learn to appreciate that cost of God’s generous grace and forgiveness, how could we NOT want to respond, and emulate the example set for us by our loving, self-giving God?
Weight update
I thought I should make a brief mention of my weight loss progress, as a few weeks have passed since my last mention of this topic.
I have now lost about 9kg (although official weigh-in day is tomorrow, and I have had a couple of little "stuff the diet" moments this week).
For the past fortnight or so, I have been able to comfortably wear one pair of jeans that I couldn't fit into before I started dieting, and two other pairs of jeans which were already a little loose, are now unwearable, as they just fall down. When I was in Hobart a couple of weeks ago, I bought a belt in a "Salamanca retail therapy moment" but it is still a little small, so it will take a few weeks before I shrink into it.
(but after that it will be very helpful in keeping my modesty intact, and my trousers up! :-)
I have now lost about 9kg (although official weigh-in day is tomorrow, and I have had a couple of little "stuff the diet" moments this week).
For the past fortnight or so, I have been able to comfortably wear one pair of jeans that I couldn't fit into before I started dieting, and two other pairs of jeans which were already a little loose, are now unwearable, as they just fall down. When I was in Hobart a couple of weeks ago, I bought a belt in a "Salamanca retail therapy moment" but it is still a little small, so it will take a few weeks before I shrink into it.
(but after that it will be very helpful in keeping my modesty intact, and my trousers up! :-)
Next Steps...
On Friday morning, along with 3 other exit students, I made a brief presentation to the Synod Placements committee in preparation for their prayerful deliberation on matching each of us with a potential intern placement to commence next year. Prior to making our presentations, the 4 of us were invited to join the committee for their opening worship, which included the Old Testament passage from this Sunday's lectionary (Exodus 14:19-31) which told the story of the Israelites' escape from Egypt across the Red Sea, and subsequent drowning of the Egyptian army that was pursuing them
This led the 4 us (who were feeling just a tad on edge at the time) to discuss amongst ourselves whether at that particular point we identified more with the Israelites or the Egyptians... either way, we decided that for this occasion, we should change our collective descriptor from "exit students" to "Exodus students", which felt quite fitting.
Anyway, our presentations all went well, and we then left the meeting to debrief over an early lunch together... counting down the hours/minutes until we would receive the phone call to inform us of what placement the committee thought would be a good match.
I have been bouncing off the walls with excitement (even more than usual!) since about 5:30 Friday night, after hearing about the place I have been asked to have a conversation with. Whilst I can't disclose specific details at this point in the process, I can say that it is a placement in country Victoria, which is what I was both expecting and hoping for.
After a bit of preliminary internet research about the local region on Friday night, I can't wait to get there for a visit. (And it also looks like a lovely place for entertaining visitors who want a relaxing retreat from the city! :-)
So, the next steps will be that I will receive a copy of the placement profile in the next few days, so I can check out the details of the placement, and their specific ministry priorities, as well as some of the logistics about the people and place. Soon after that I will be contacted by a rep from the placement's Joint Nominating Committee to arrange a time for me to meet with the JNC, have a look around the church, the manse and the local area, and commence our conversations.
So, depending on how soon the JNC and I can get together, and if the conversations go well, I may have some official news sometime in the next few weeks- at which point I will definitely be shouting it from the rooftops (and this blog, of course! :-)
(although a cheeky friend from Tasmania reckoned that Allan Thompson would be sure to beat me to the punch and spread the word across the Tas Presbytery before I had a chance to do any shouting from rooftops :-)... but either way, once it's all official, the word will get to you!
So now, I have to come down to earth and work on a couple of essays that are due. (sigh)
This led the 4 us (who were feeling just a tad on edge at the time) to discuss amongst ourselves whether at that particular point we identified more with the Israelites or the Egyptians... either way, we decided that for this occasion, we should change our collective descriptor from "exit students" to "Exodus students", which felt quite fitting.
Anyway, our presentations all went well, and we then left the meeting to debrief over an early lunch together... counting down the hours/minutes until we would receive the phone call to inform us of what placement the committee thought would be a good match.
I have been bouncing off the walls with excitement (even more than usual!) since about 5:30 Friday night, after hearing about the place I have been asked to have a conversation with. Whilst I can't disclose specific details at this point in the process, I can say that it is a placement in country Victoria, which is what I was both expecting and hoping for.
After a bit of preliminary internet research about the local region on Friday night, I can't wait to get there for a visit. (And it also looks like a lovely place for entertaining visitors who want a relaxing retreat from the city! :-)
So, the next steps will be that I will receive a copy of the placement profile in the next few days, so I can check out the details of the placement, and their specific ministry priorities, as well as some of the logistics about the people and place. Soon after that I will be contacted by a rep from the placement's Joint Nominating Committee to arrange a time for me to meet with the JNC, have a look around the church, the manse and the local area, and commence our conversations.
So, depending on how soon the JNC and I can get together, and if the conversations go well, I may have some official news sometime in the next few weeks- at which point I will definitely be shouting it from the rooftops (and this blog, of course! :-)
(although a cheeky friend from Tasmania reckoned that Allan Thompson would be sure to beat me to the punch and spread the word across the Tas Presbytery before I had a chance to do any shouting from rooftops :-)... but either way, once it's all official, the word will get to you!
So now, I have to come down to earth and work on a couple of essays that are due. (sigh)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Up and Down
Today I am both up and down.
On Saturday I made a presentation to my home Presbytery in Hobart, whose task it was to discern whether they consider me ready to move on from my current core training at college to an intern placement in the new year. After my presentation, and some deep questions from the floor, I left the room whilst the Presbytery deliberated and made their decision. When I returned to the room, I was told that the Presbytery "unanimously, enthusiastically, and with great excitement" approved my readiness to move into an intern placement next year... so since then I have been feeling pretty excited and very UP!
After 4 weeks on the diet that I mentioned a while ago, I have now lost 7.2kg (which in Imperial is a pound or two over a stone). So, my weight is going DOWN, and I am feeling GOOD! :-)
Up- because I have been officially ticked off... well sort of.
On Saturday I made a presentation to my home Presbytery in Hobart, whose task it was to discern whether they consider me ready to move on from my current core training at college to an intern placement in the new year. After my presentation, and some deep questions from the floor, I left the room whilst the Presbytery deliberated and made their decision. When I returned to the room, I was told that the Presbytery "unanimously, enthusiastically, and with great excitement" approved my readiness to move into an intern placement next year... so since then I have been feeling pretty excited and very UP!
Down- because there is less of me than there was a month ago
After 4 weeks on the diet that I mentioned a while ago, I have now lost 7.2kg (which in Imperial is a pound or two over a stone). So, my weight is going DOWN, and I am feeling GOOD! :-)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Dummy spit
Whilst it may be true that Jesus said it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles (according to Matt 15:11, in the prologue to this week's Gospel reading), but what goes into the mouth certainly does have an impact on one's weight.
A month or two ago, after struggling with painful knees and other side-effects of the fact that I was then heavier than I have ever been, I had a dummy spit about my weight. Those of you who have known me for a long time will realise that this is a good thing, because no matter how much people (eg mother, doctors etc) nag me about my weight, or patiently cajole or explain why it's not good to be carrying so much excess baggage, it is not until I have my own personal dummy spit that I will actually take serious action to do anything about it.
So, the dummy spit happened, and I decided that I needed to take things in hand and actually lose weight. I had joined the local gym a year ago, but due to problems with my knees, busy-ness, and various other excuses (some valid, and some a tad thin) it's been a while since I last went to the gym. So, I decided I need to do something about my diet.
I had been eyeing off the Tony Ferguson program for some time (as it's advertised to death on TV), and after checking out the details of the science of what this involves, I took the plunge and ordered the meal replacement shakes, vitamin supplements and other things required to start on the program, with the intention of starting on it when I returned home from my sojourn in WA.
So, a fortnight ago, I started, and said goodbye to my erstwhile staples of caffeine, pasta, rice, caffeine, potatoes, noodles and caffeine. I have been drinking lots of water (which made me realise how little water I had been in the habit of drinking in the past), herbal teas, and the occasional decaf coffee (although I did get a response of, "why bother?" from a waitress the first time I ordered a 'decaf latte with skinny milk')
However, after a fortnight, the news is good. The caffeine withdrawals were mercifully (and surprisingly) brief and mild, I have not been at all hungry on the program, and as of today, I have lost a total of 4.2kg, which is pretty good for my first two weeks.
I have also developed quite a taste for kangaroo meat, after trying some after chancing upon it in the 'gourmet' meat section of the supermarket a few weeks ago. It is quite tasty (almost sweet) and very tender and lean, which is good for the diet.
So, with such an auspicious start, I am hoping to lose around 25-30kg by the end of the year, and will undoubtedly make various references to my progress in this esteemed blog (although I don't really want to turn the blog into a "diet diary", so will spare you most of the gory details).
A month or two ago, after struggling with painful knees and other side-effects of the fact that I was then heavier than I have ever been, I had a dummy spit about my weight. Those of you who have known me for a long time will realise that this is a good thing, because no matter how much people (eg mother, doctors etc) nag me about my weight, or patiently cajole or explain why it's not good to be carrying so much excess baggage, it is not until I have my own personal dummy spit that I will actually take serious action to do anything about it.
So, the dummy spit happened, and I decided that I needed to take things in hand and actually lose weight. I had joined the local gym a year ago, but due to problems with my knees, busy-ness, and various other excuses (some valid, and some a tad thin) it's been a while since I last went to the gym. So, I decided I need to do something about my diet.
I had been eyeing off the Tony Ferguson program for some time (as it's advertised to death on TV), and after checking out the details of the science of what this involves, I took the plunge and ordered the meal replacement shakes, vitamin supplements and other things required to start on the program, with the intention of starting on it when I returned home from my sojourn in WA.
So, a fortnight ago, I started, and said goodbye to my erstwhile staples of caffeine, pasta, rice, caffeine, potatoes, noodles and caffeine. I have been drinking lots of water (which made me realise how little water I had been in the habit of drinking in the past), herbal teas, and the occasional decaf coffee (although I did get a response of, "why bother?" from a waitress the first time I ordered a 'decaf latte with skinny milk')
However, after a fortnight, the news is good. The caffeine withdrawals were mercifully (and surprisingly) brief and mild, I have not been at all hungry on the program, and as of today, I have lost a total of 4.2kg, which is pretty good for my first two weeks.
I have also developed quite a taste for kangaroo meat, after trying some after chancing upon it in the 'gourmet' meat section of the supermarket a few weeks ago. It is quite tasty (almost sweet) and very tender and lean, which is good for the diet.
So, with such an auspicious start, I am hoping to lose around 25-30kg by the end of the year, and will undoubtedly make various references to my progress in this esteemed blog (although I don't really want to turn the blog into a "diet diary", so will spare you most of the gory details).
Friday, August 01, 2008
It's all about ME! :-)
Well, maybe not, but sometimes it feels like it- check out this picture!It was taken on my recent visit to the West, as my friend Adrienne and I were travelling from Perth to New Norcia. She wanted to show me a bit of the countryside, and so after a bit of an exploration of some of the small towns up the coast, we pulled into the Roadhouse at Cattaby for a coffee, and this sign caught my eye.
I must be famous; I have my own road! :-)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Back from the West
It's been a while since I last blogged, as I've been rather busy with essays etc (which are still plaguing me a bit, so this has to be brief too. More later, I promise.)
I have just returned from a fortnight in WA where the highlight was spending a week and a half in the Benedictine community of New Norcia. After spending a week there last year as part of one of my class units, I was determined to return again, so this was my return visit.
The timing was specifically to coincide with the Feast Day of St Benedict (11 July) not only because it's pretty cool to be in a Benedictine community on their special feast day, but also because a friend who I had met on my last visit was to be "monked" on this day.
Dom Glenn Swallow was clothed as a novice during my last visit, and on the Feast of St Benedict this year, he made his Simple Profession as a monk (ie committing himself to the monastery and monastic life for the next three years. After that, if it is evident to him and the community that God is calling him to this lifestyle as a permanent thing, he will then make his Solemn Profession, which is for life).
It was a great privilege to attend Dom Glenn's Profession, which was a ceremony performed as part of a special Mass, and as a friend of Glenn's I was asked to read one of the Scripture passages in the service. It was a very moving ceremony, and I'm very glad I was able to be there. As part of the ceremony, Glenn was dressed by the Abbot in the monastic hood and scapula that go over the tunic he had been wearing as a novice, as a sign of his profession and commitment. The picture shows him in his full monastic finery after the event.
I have just returned from a fortnight in WA where the highlight was spending a week and a half in the Benedictine community of New Norcia. After spending a week there last year as part of one of my class units, I was determined to return again, so this was my return visit.
The timing was specifically to coincide with the Feast Day of St Benedict (11 July) not only because it's pretty cool to be in a Benedictine community on their special feast day, but also because a friend who I had met on my last visit was to be "monked" on this day.
Dom Glenn Swallow was clothed as a novice during my last visit, and on the Feast of St Benedict this year, he made his Simple Profession as a monk (ie committing himself to the monastery and monastic life for the next three years. After that, if it is evident to him and the community that God is calling him to this lifestyle as a permanent thing, he will then make his Solemn Profession, which is for life).
It was a great privilege to attend Dom Glenn's Profession, which was a ceremony performed as part of a special Mass, and as a friend of Glenn's I was asked to read one of the Scripture passages in the service. It was a very moving ceremony, and I'm very glad I was able to be there. As part of the ceremony, Glenn was dressed by the Abbot in the monastic hood and scapula that go over the tunic he had been wearing as a novice, as a sign of his profession and commitment. The picture shows him in his full monastic finery after the event.
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