Weekly reflections

Dear Friends As we struggled to take in the news this week that Australians and others on holiday in New Zealand had lost their lives in an unexpected volcanic eruption, our Prime Minister Scott Morrison made reference to, “a time of great innocence and joy [being] interrupted by the horror of that eruption…” There is something ‘especially hard to bear’ as poet Helen Jesty says in her poem about ‘disappointments in December’. December is for a difficult diagnosis as well Read more…

Dear Friends   I was reading a reflection this week by English actress Emily Watson which reminded me a little of my sermon last Sunday and the litany of fears that we hold for our world at the current time; climate change and conflict, and the ensuing human dislocation and poverty. And according to Watson, at least initially, much of the blame for these things should be laid at Christianity’s door; “every act of violence that has been, is and Read more…

Dear Friends What are you longing for this Advent? I must confess that the time of Advent, the weeks leading up until Christmas, are often more about ticking off lists for me, doing what has to be done (or what feels like it has to be done) rather than thinking about what I long to see happen in the world. And yet, ‘adventus’, the Latin word, literally meaning ‘coming’. Advent is a season where Christians symbolically await Jesus’ birth – Read more…

Dear Friends Lately I am keep being reminded of ‘heart prayers’; prayers that move us “from head to heart”; from a limited and partial dimension of our lives (what we are consciously able to think about at any given time) to the centre of our whole being; prayers that are repeated on the lips and in the mind until they are embedded deep within us. I am reminded of them at yoga on Monday nights – “deep breath in, long Read more…

Dear Friends I remember my mentor Rev Athol Gill saying to me: ‘Always have a sunset clause’. Those sage words I carried for many years and they helped shape a kind of strategy for church and for the many community development projects I have been involved in; meaning, that we always need to prepare for change. Nothing is permanent. Yet, as I write this my last Pastoral Note, I can truly say I had no thought of a sunset clause Read more…

Dear Friends I know all of you continue to be shocked and saddened by the news Martin and I have experienced substantial difficulties in our working relationship and that Martin made the decision to resign. It has been a difficult journey for us, and we are very grateful for your prayers, but we know that you are also hurting and so we also pray for you and lift up our leadership team up in prayer as well. Over the last Read more…

Dear Friends For our 10 day break, Margaret and I travelled to Broken Hill.  It was a family gathering because there we were to scatter the ashes of Margaret’s parents.  Jim and Helen Nixon grew up in Broken Hill and the family decided to scatter the ashes in a dry creek bed at Silverton because that was a favourite picnic spot for them. Cremations and the scattering of the ashes, especially in a dry riverbed, for Christians dare I say, Read more…

Dear Friends Two months ago, we were visited by members of The Community of the Transfiguration, a Baptist monastic community situated in Teesdale, Victoria, and we had the opportunity over five days to experience different forms of contemplative prayer. As you know, one of our church goals is exploring what it means to follow Jesus today, and this year we have been focusing on prayer, along with other spiritual disciplines which have can invigorate our lives as individuals and as Read more…