Garage Buys

Thanks to will smama and Songbird for this Friday Five from RevGalBlogPals, all about garage sales.

1) Are you a garage saler?
YES YES YES NO (Sally might get this - and anyone who watches Vicar of Dibley) - I always try to stop and look if I see a sign out or a market in progress but I don't go looking for garage sales. I guess you could say I am an opportunistic rather than strategic on this one (as with so much else in my life).

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?
I'm not known for making decisions quickly - the coming back later is more because I want to think carefully about whether I really need the item. On the other hand I can certainly be impulsive and have a stash of clip-on earrings to prove it.

3) Seriously, if you're not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one.
(That wasn't really #3.)
3) This is the real #3: What's the best treasure you've found at a yard or garage sale?
One of my most treasured memories is when my daughter's friend bought a very old Bible at a church garage sale - and when we took her home her Dad wanted to read it with her. For myself the best treasure was a dry old piece of wood 'thrown in' with an EBay purchase - which polished up to a beautiful bowl by renowned Australian woodturner Terry Baker

4)If you've done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?
Questionably. At home we did dispose of a lot of small stuff, but the big furniture items still ended up going to the Salvation Army Family Store. The real value of church ones is the camaraderie among the stall holders and the sense of shared activity.

5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?
No

BONUS: For the true aficionado: Please discuss the impact of Ebay, Craig's List, Freecycle, etc... on the church or home yard/garage sale.
EBay (or TradeMe in NZ) revolutionised our church process. Instead of a one-day-wonder with a massive bin of rubbish and exhausted people at the end of it, we set up a TradeMe identity and had a continuous garage sale. People took pictures of the items they wanted to sell and emailed to the co-ordinator, who placed the item(s) for sale and sent notification when payment received. Owner then arranged postage or pick-up direct with buyer. It was initially only going to be for three months but was so successful it just kept going.
And just this morning I delivered our old telephone to the parents of a fellow freecycler - who just could not believe that it is possible to get something for nothing. Then had morning tea with a friend who has a virtually brand new bicycle also from freecycle. To me freecycle is the church at work - an example of defecting from the empire of affluenza to the community of common wealth.

Welcome Home - Dave Dobbyn

A student assignment on one of my favourite songs that I discovered on YouTube. In a radio interview Dave Dobbyn said something along the lines of this song being written in response to the case of Ahmed Zaoui who was detained under 'anti terrorist' laws in NZ and given sanctuary with a Franciscan order in Auckland.

Abandon

Another invitation to reflect on one of Christine's great photographs from Abbey of the Arts

The photograph is of Petunia who teaches many things, including her total abandon when it comes to rest. The invitation for this week’s Poetry Party is to celebrate the gifts of being – what do you discover in those still spaces and holy pauses? Where are you invited to release the hold of doing and surrender to something much bigger?


Living in the eternal now
Fully engaged
in the activity of the moment

Letting go fully
When what needs to be done
Has been done

Responding with focus
Bringing energy and passion
To the work of the day

Is this what it means
To enjoy life in fullness
Let it be

Adeaze in Samoa

Hands on iPod and shiny silver

An excellent day today. The very best of autumn weather and time to enjoy the garden - completely relandscaped last week and now so inviting. Returned home after an early morning drop-off at the airport and watered all the newly sewn grass. Level 2 water restrictions mean this was done with a watering can and not the hose. I enjoyed that real hands on feel.

It is now 4 months since I won an iPod Touch in a Bible knowledge competition at Parachute 2008. Proof that there are tangible rewards in 50 years of amassing Bible trivia! And I am at last brave enough to actually use the device. Loaded with an eclectic mix of Dave Dobbyn, Dunstan Rangers, Sons of Korah, Blind Boys, Adeaze, the new Jack Johnson and others. Arranging the playlist by song title means I can go all day and be quietly surprised by the next track that emerges.

And I attempted to clean a VERY tarnished silver tray that belonged to my parents. Three doses of silver polish made some impression but it was still fairly black. Then after a visit to Simple Savings I put some aluminium foil in the bottom of the sink, added a liberal amount of washing soda (Sodium Carbonate), poured boiling water over, left for a while and voila! Shiny shiny tray and happy happy me. It was so effective I went and got all our silver cutlery and did the same with that.

Mind at ease, heart at peace, iPod at ideal volume, silver cleaned. Everything's shiny!

Free bird

A great banner and excellent worship Sunday night. Rick - one of our ordained ministers - took that quintessential Aussie phrase 'no worries mate' and gave it theological and liturgical significance. Talked about how the phrase can be received as a gift, as an acknowledgment that my actions have intruded on someone else, yet that person graciously accepts my apology and lets go of any hurt or resentment. All summed up in that simple phrase "No worries mate."

And up on the wall a banner with a bird flying. The somewhat cryptic name of this blog refers to the logo of the Uniting Church in Australia. I have heard it praised and said to be well ahead of its time and remarkably contemporary for a logo designed in the 1970s. This is true, and the symbolism of the logo is very sound. But to me it looks like a bird in a cage. As if the UCA has defined the parameters and life is always symmetrical. So it was good to see a bird free of its cage - even within a linear layout. The banner was a light blue - white dove in centre with a heart below. No solid outlines anywhere. I liked it very much.

The gospel for the day was from Matthew chapter 6:

²And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?⁸²⁹ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

No worries!

Responding to love

Lots of responding in this past week but nothing much on the page that I initiated. So what is happening and what am I simmering away with? Sally's blog on obedience was very timely as I was struggling with my reaction to the material being used in our church children's programme. It seems to come from a very 'hard' type of Christianity that promotes moral behaviour and rigid obedience to codes of behaviour. The overall theme seems to be that being a Christian means we HAVE to make the right choices.

The material for June is on the theme of humility. It has been interpreted as "putting others first" (from Phillipians 2.3) BUT the context of that is that God has poured out abundant love on us and in our gratitude we are able to recognise that all people are equal (Phillipians 2.1 - interpreted). Somehow the challenge is to present humility as a response - as Sally explained obedience. And not as an obligation.

It is relevant I think that when I did a web search on humility I could not find anything about teaching humility to children. Despite the assertion in the material that children are born self-centred and have to learn to put others first - the bulk of the educational evidence seems to suggest that when children are secure and know they are loved they are able to follow the example of parents and to consider others' needs as well as their own.

A Bible Gateway search for the word humility found it mentioned only eight times. And none of these mentions was attributed to Jesus. I'm not at all sure that it is a key Christian principle or even part of early church doctrine.

But I also recognise that my reaction TO the material is inextricably linked with my reaction AGAINST a lot in my childhood. Too much of my faith formation was in the hands of well-meaning people who worked from the premise that we children were sinful and needed to be saved. A colleague who shared a similar upbringing saw over a year ago that I needed to leave JOY behind - the acronym for Jesus first, others second, yourself last. But I still struggle to do this. There is a narrowness in some expressions of Christianity that I have found unhelpful.

One of the saddest things I have heard in all this is about a little girl whose view of God is being steadily constricted as she enters into the world of church and school. Her inclusive mother/father is now male and increasingly authoritarian. Her prayers that previously used many and diverse images are beginning to seem standardised and formulaic.

My immediate concern is that the material used to nurture our children in faith should be underpinned by sound theological and child development principles. Using stories from the Hebrew scriptures as object lessons does raise some questions for me in that regard. I do believe that it is possible to have a fun and engaging programme WITH sound life-affirming theology.

But I also recognise the emergence of baggage that I need to deal with and not heap onto my colleagues in addressing the matters at hand.

Summer vacation

Thanks Sally for this Friday Five. It is a delightful paradox to be sitting in front of my computer on a Saturday in my warm and snuggly merino jersey with a warm chai in my hands (intermittently when I break from typing) and a pot of soup bubbling on the stove AND in responding to a FRIDAY five to be thinking of summer instead of the falling temperature outside.

1. Getting ready for summer, do you use the gradual tanning moisturisers ( yes gentlemen you too can answer this!!!), or are you happy to show your winter skin to the world?
No I don't. One experimental effort produced poor results - but I guess on top of that melanoma is such a public health issue that I want to be part of normalising our skin tone expectations. I've learnt so much from one of my daughters who is 'confidently pale'.

2.Beach, mountains or chilling by the pool, what/ where is your favourite getaway?


Beach or mountains, lake or river. I prefer natural water to the pool. No favourite place really - I love exploring new areas. Some great memories though from Te Araroa , Mangawhai Heads, Spiddal , Fort William, Coolum, San Anselmo, Yosemite and more ... These pics from Queensland's Sunshine Coast Easter 2007 - Four Sisters and the Everglades.

3.Are you a summer lover or does the long break become wearing?
I love holidays in any season, but I do love the long evenings in Summer. The Summer break is never too long! I do like airconditioning when temperature gets above 30 though.

4.Active holidays; hiking swimming sailing, or lazy days?
Hiking (called tramping in New Zealand but nowhere else in the world it seems) swimming, walking and experiencing local culture (art, museums, wonders of nature) make a holiday for me. So long as there is time to read or stitch in between times I am very happy.

5.Now to the important subject of food, if you are abroad do you try the local cuisine, or do you prefer to play it safe?
Local wherever possible. I figure if it is 'piping hot' there's not too much to worry about and in fact that is probably the 'safe' choice (minimal transport, local ingredients, familiar recipes etc).

Mulesing

A new word I learnt last night when I was visiting Knitty and found this cute pattern but also noted the designer took account of knitters who might want to avoid wool because of the mulesing controversy. I was quite shocked to read of sheep being mutilated without anaesthetic. And the clear message seemed to be not to buy AUSTRALIAN merino wool.

So today I went into Tapestry Craft which is the most wonderful and amazing wool shop I know in Sydney. I had had a very full day and I just needed to touch some fibre and be in a creative place. AND it was a good opportunity to see if they stocked 'cruelty free' wool.

While the staff had no knowledge of the issue I met a wonderful knitting woman from Armidale - a merino producing area - who explained the producers side of the story. Fly strike is a horrible condition that affects merino sheep in Australia because of our hot wet climate. Basically flies lay eggs in thick wool around the backside of the sheep and maggots burrow into the flesh (not nice I know - that's all I'll say and leave the rest to your imagination). So basically the backside is bared to prevent this horrible and life-threatening condition. According to this informant the procedure is ALWAYS performed with local anaesthetic, and is performed only once for each sheep. It is only a problem for Merino sheep who have wrinkly skin in their nether regions. BUT New Zealand does not use this procedure, possibly because of the different climate and also long term investment in genetic and other ways to prevent fly strike.

PINK withdrew her call to boycott Australian wool when she heard the full story.

As in so much of our lives there are two sides to every story. In this case I am pleased that I took the time to investigate. I am evolving into a questioner - asking at cafes how their coffee is produced and how the grower is compensated. And now thinking of animal welfare not only when I buy eggs (barn laid is my minimum acceptable level - free range whenever I can afford it) but also when I buy wool.

This does seem to link in with Brian McLaren's prosperity hypothesis that we as humans take more from earth than earth itself can bear. Questions about whether it is appropriate to seek to raise sheep in environments that are unsuitable, how much we can intervene to adapt nature to our requirements, what respect we owe to our fellow mammals and to what extent it is appropriate to use them for our ends, how we can shift our Western investments in furthering our own comfort to actually saving lives of children internationally etc etc remain unanswered.

But for the moment I will knit up my merino from NZ with a clear conscience. I will seek to tread lightly on this planet. I will not use ethanol in the car, recognising that this has contributed to the massive increase in staple food costs internationally. I will seek to reduce emissions not by burning people's food in my vehicle, but by using the car less and walking more. I will boycott grain fed meat and eat more grains myself.

And I will cast on some stitches and make some winter warmers

Grand Tour Friday Five

My first time playing this game from Songbird. My five places:

1) Favorite Destination -- Right now would have to be Snell's Beach in North Auckland, New Zealand where we stayed recently with my Aunt and Uncle. The hospitality was warm and generous. The bedroom looked out over a literally 'picture perfect' bay. Just up the street was a walking track around the coast. And a short boat trip away was Kawau Island where we were the only people on the beach and the two of us swam in perfect contentment.

2) Unfavorite Destination -- Well the diner in Dannevirke would fit this bill. Only the diner was open on the evening of Easter Day (NB over 20 years ago). I ordered 'mexican chicken'. Was presented with a small (side) plate, with one crumbed chicken drumstick on a folded paper serviette. That was the meal!

3) Fantasy Destination -- I saw in Gourmet Traveller a resort in UAE where you have a mansion for two people, plus a yacht to sail in during the day and of course fantastic meals and service always at hand. Then again Prague is said to be the most romantic city in the world and I am a true romantic. And my patriotic side would like to participate in a commemoration of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli. My great uncle died there in World War One and it is a site where so many mothers and fathers, Turkish and Allied, lost their sons. So it seems a world tour is my fantasy destination.

4) Fictional Destination -- I so want to see Aslan singing the world into being - as in The Magician's Nephew. Narnia would be my choice.

5) Funny Destination -- the Ginger Factory on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia has cutesy carnival type rides, giant gingerbread men statues everywhere, a miniature train ride, and LOTS of ginger. I loved it.

And a donkey shall lead them

My response to Christine's Invitation to Poetry

In her invitation she says "I was most moved however by the donkey they keep in the pasture with the sheep. Apparently he provides some extra protection for them from coyotes because he bonds with the sheep and then his size scares away some of the predators. "

Watchful strong Spirit
in you we trust

You live among us
knowing us and knowing our ways
Our need for food and nurture
Our needs for space and closeness
Our individuality and our collective identity

Lead us in our everyday routines
and beyond the bounds of our paddock
Secure in our knowledge of your care
Free in our knowledge of your love
Enlivened by your presence among us

Amen

We are not there yet

Just another quote that is very relevant for today, from Olara Otunnu, the U.N. special representative on children and armed conflict, in 2004.

…the view is still that the suffering and victimization of children in situations of conflict is tragic, it is sad, it is unfortunate, but terrible things happen in war. We've got to shift from that level of awareness to one of outright repudiation in which we'll say, 'War might be likely and bad and terrible, but we simply can't accept that these things are done to our children in situations of conflict. We are not yet there.

Past treasure 3

This is a speech from a few years ago, in my homeland of Aotearoa New Zealand. Since then Section 59 of the Crimes Act has been amended so that the statutory defence of correction is no longer available to parents accused of child assault. The speech complements my Bloggers Unite post below. NOTE that the statistic about child abuse deaths in Sweden is from an independent researcher and is significantly lower than the child maltreatment deaths recorded in Swedish national statistics.

A World Fit for Children

Each and every child on our planet deserves to enjoy the same rights - from birth and on into adulthood - no matter where they are born, who their parents are, what abilities or limitations they live with. They have the first call on our resources. They each have the right to a family and an identity, to love and care, to safe warm homes and places to play, to protection from harm, to education for life in a peaceful world, to health and health care.

Above all it is their voices that should guide decision making in our world.

Data and statistics are things I deal with every day, and there is a certain detachment from reality and individuals when using concepts like mortality rates and intentional assault. It can be overwhelming to constantly think of the individual griefs and pains and losses that the numbers represent. But some things go straight to the heart. A routine report on causes of death shows that WAR is one of the major causes of death for CHILDREN in our world. Not for soldiers, not for Presidents or Prime Ministers or bankers or bureaucrats. But for CHILDREN it is up there in the top 20 causes of death in both high and middle-low income countries.

I couldn't and cannot detach from that.

The movie Kandahar is backed by scientific enquiry that confirms that children and women are at increased risk of serious injury from instruments of war. And confirms the absolute evil that cluster bombs are manufactured to be ATTRACTIVE to children.

I agree with Brian McLaren's analysis that these problems are underpinned by a malfunctioning security system, that invests in destruction and not in life. I need to participate in a deep shift so that everything WILL change. This new YouTube video of Brian's is just brilliant for Bloggers Unite day. Let us all be atheists to forces that kill so many of our precious children, let us not detach from any one of the ten million who die unnecessarily each year, let us unite to persuade investment in things that matter and not things that destroy.

My baby steps involve checking the origin of products like coffee and chocolate, investing in sustainable aid and development approaches, working to persuade my local congregation to work in partnership projects and not to ship masses of 'stuff' to 'the poor' in charity-based initiatives and proselytising operations.

And above all to listen to our children. Their wisdom can guide us to create a world that is fit for them. "We want a world fit for children, because a world fit for us is a world fit for everyone." (Do read this whole link if you have time. It is wisdom we need to hear).

Past treasure 2

A prayer for Palm Sunday. The imagery is from personal experience - the week before we stood in our backyard and watched three blue butterflies reach the top of the Camphor Laurel tree - must be 20 metres at least tall. The Sunday before I was swimming at Terrigal. And the child image is based on a specific little boy whose face absolutely lights up when his Dad comes into his line of sight. The confession is inspired by Brian McLaren and the assurance of forgiveness is based on The Message version of John's gospel chapter 3 verse 16. This scripture is also alluded to in the prayer:

God of special days and every day

We praise you

We are so blessed to live in the world that you have created

A world that fills us with wonder

When we see butterflies making it to the top of the tallest tree

Tiny fish swimming beside us in the sparkling blue water

The brilliant smile when Dad comes into the child’s line of sight

These remind us that your love and loyalty last forever

You amaze us

Your beloved child Jesus is like you in every way

Yet was born among us and lived on this earth

Showing us what it means to be obedient to you

To challenge and put right what is wrong

Sent to live among us

So that we would know what life really is

That’s how much you love us

Amazing!

Your spirit fills our lives

The life in our every breath

Moving like the wind around and beyond

Filling our hearts with joy

Our minds with music

Our hands with creativity

Helping us to realise your amazing goodness to us

Yet like the crowd in Jerusalem so long ago

We can so easily reject and betray you

Taking from your creation more than earth can bear

Accepting and living within the current world order

Failing to recognise the immense value

of each and every person in our communities

Everything must change, God

We want to be part of that change

We are sorry for the ways we harm your earth

We want to commit to your kingdom

Help us to run to catch up with the mysterious moves of your spirit

To change direction to find where you are leading

To be true followers of Jesus

Who you have made the cornerstone of new life

and raised to the highest place of honour

Our Lord and our God

Amen.

These are the words we can trust – God didn't go to all the trouble of sending Jesus into the world merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. And so we can have full and meaningful lives, living as God’s forgiven people.

Past treasure 1

A prayer for Epiphany, reflecting on the decision of the 'wise men' to return to their own country by another road, and the wisdom of a four year old - whose immediate response on hearing the gospel of Matthew chapter 2 read aloud was "Mummy - I want Jesus to be the king and not Herod to be the king." The ideas of King and Empire were explored in the teaching on this Sunday (by the brilliant preacher to whom I am married) and a lot of the words in this prayer are taken directly from the gospel for the day. The context of this prayer was St Stephens Sydney, which is located on the same street as Sydney hospital and the State Parliament.

God of other roads

Of worshippers and star-followers

Of seekers and travellers

Of all who journey

In all time and in every place

At this time and in this place

We want Jesus to be the King and not Herod to be the King

We pray for ourselves

The people in this place this morning

As we retrace familiar steps

Or find everything so different

On this first Sunday of a new year

May our hearts be attuned to your heart

Our spirits given life by your Spirit

So that we know deep within us

What it means for Jesus to be the King

How our lives change when we pay him homage

We pray for all making the return journey to work tomorrow

for bankers and bureaucrats and politicians

nurses and strategists and retail therapists

and the baristas who brew coffee to perfection

Keep us all expectant

With eyes wide open

And minds alert to the possibility

of new perspectives and ways of doing things

So that decisions are guided and informed

By the child in the Bethlehem house

And our allegiance is not diverted

By those who seem to be in control

That in this great city of Sydney

Jesus and not Herod is the King

We pray for those who take us into other worlds

Stretching imagination and taking us beyond ourselves

Through art and literature

Film and performance

For the presenters and participants in the Sydney festival

Challenging us to examine the way we are

And to consider the forces

That compete for the allegiance

of our collective soul and mind to Jesus as King

God who we know in Christ Jesus

Who we meet in the gospel today

In a house with his mother Mary

We pray for our human family

And especially today

For those journeying away from their homelands

To welcome newborn babies or celebrate marriages

To farewell loved ones and settle estates

For migrants seeking a better future

And refugees carrying unspeakable memories

As they escape cruel tyrannical powers

Who like Herod will stop at nothing

To try and stop Jesus being King

We pray for those especially on our hearts and minds this morning

…

God of other roads

Of worshippers and star-followers

In all time and in every place

At this time and in this place

We pray that you will bring to completion

Our hope for Jesus to be King

In our lives

And the lives of those we love

In the life of our city

Our country

And our world

As we pray in the words Jesus taught us

Our Father in heaven …

I love Coles

You really have to be an Aussie to understand this title, but Coles is one of the major supermarket chains and their generic brand is 'I Love Coles'. And bless their cotton socks - they have just started marketing potatoes as 'mashing potatoes' and 'roasting potatoes'. After years of lumpy mashed potatoes and mushy roast ones - tonight I served up an enormous pot of the very best soft creamy mashed potatoes ever!!! Once I even got a potato book out of the library and carried around a list of types of potato and their uses but I lost the list and it all got a bit complicated. So thank you Coles - I do love you!

Interesting juxtapositions

Mothers' Day and Pentecost coincide this year. According to my friend Jenny this last happened in 1913 and will not happen again until the year 2228. It also happened in 1818 and will happen again in 2285 (when Easter was/will be even a day earlier than this year). So what a momentous occasion!!?? (one thing you will find about me is that I do love these kind of trivial facts and they will appear on my blog from time to time).

This super-early Easter season has brought other 'co-incidences' that are particularly relevant down-under. Ash Wednesday fell on Waitangi Day - the day when the people of Aotearoa New Zealand remember Te Tiriti or the Treaty signed between Maori and Queen Victoria in 1840. And less than a week later the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, made a formal apology to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of this country for actions of the government that tore families apart and deeply wounded communities. The sorry speech was watched by millions nationwide, many workplaces made provision for employees to watch the broadcast, and this Kiwi living in Australia found it extremely moving to see the generous acceptance of the initiative by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders and especially by those most affected by past government intervention.

It seemed so appropriate in the season of Lent, when Christians intentionally focus on Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, that the two nations I identify with marked significant milestones in nationhood and in relationship with indigenous people. Colonisation causes such ongoing pain - and as part of the Anglo tradition I sometimes find it hard to know how to be part of the change that is necessary. I can rejoice though in these miniscule steps to repentance - turning around and challenging the often entrenched presumption of privilege. And I am engaged in developing a professional education activity which may help myself and colleagues to hone our skills in critiquing policy from an indigenous perspective.

And circling back to the start - Mothers' Day and Pentecost. The blog from Sally (on her journey) on exclusivism and Mothering Sunday has helped me enter this 'once-in-a-lifetime' liturgical/social coincidence with eyes open to see things differently. And there have been glimpses of that wonderful Spirit of Godde at work in my world. First at Mothers' Day Mass at my daughter's school. The music was excellent and the students' prayers and reflections demonstrated an inclusive valuing of women in their lives, mothers, and aunties, teachers, grandmothers and sisters and friends. Then in our Uniting Church this morning the liturgist prayed for all who struggle with parenthood, for those for whom this day is painful, and for families missing a loved mother or grandmother.

For me this is the first year without a mother to telephone and it has been a day of juxtapositions. Delighting in the attention from my three wonderful children - all living at home at the moment - and in breakfast out with my husband early in the day. Yet missing my own Mum who died on March 17. Then phoning my sister who is enjoying her first Mothers' Day as a grandmother, and hearing what a special day my niece is having with her precious seven-week-old son. Walking along the Parramatta foreshore gave an opportunity to somehow hold all these experiences and feelings and thoughts together and to treasure them deep within my heart.

Indeed - a day and a season of juxtapositions.