It's been a month ....

and what a month it's been.

• Accreditation visit for our school (outcome not available but assumed OK as they would presumably tell us to make other arrangements for the students if they were closing us down)
  
• Selection process for 2011 entry completed. Less angst than last year. More philosophical/ fatalistic. We won't have got it 100% right. Some great applicants will have missed out. Possibly some unsuitable ones will have slipped in. But from the 1116 applicants we have selected a class of 112. Many of whom are outstanding in many respects.
• HSC commenced. Youngest member of the family has embarked on this right of passage unique to the Australian education system. Advanced English seemed okay but outcome unpredictable.
• Personal reflection. Now that's where there is a bit of a block. Seem to have got too busy to do the most important. As evidenced in part by lack of blog entries. And erratic participation in worship. And minimal intentional exercise (even cutting back on the incidental everyday exercise)
• So that's where I'm at. Looking to engage more and reflect deliberately.
  

Friday Five: Baby Showers!

Jan has posted a Friday Five wonderfully early this week. As you'll see it's a bit beyond my experience and fun all the same.

Friends are giving my daughter-in-law AA a baby shower, which happily brought her and DC down for a visit to Corpus Christi. looking forward to having my first grandchild in two months and all these preparations, like baby showers, are getting me excited! So I hope you'll participate in telling about your likes and dislikes about baby showers for you and for others.

1. What were baby showers like for you and your friends in the past?
Hardly a part of my experience (not really sure why) I think I have only been to one which is a great memory

2. Did you play games? What kinds?
There was a "guess the sex and birth date of the baby" game. A collection of 'handy hints' for the mum-to-be. That's about all I remember.

3. In your job, especially if you are a pastor, do you get invited to a lot of baby showers? What do you do about them?
No

4. Are baby showers different for our daughters (or younger friends) than they were for us?
No idea

5. Do you like hosting baby showers or do you avoid that responsibility?
Never have, although not averse to the idea

Bonus: Any silliness about baby showers you wish to contribute.
At the one-and-only event I attended there was an awkward moment when one friend made a comment about having to watch out for the mother-in-law. Only to find that the lovely woman she was sitting beside was said mil. Who thankfully laughed as much as anyone.

Lovin' Sydney

Kathrynzj (whose name always reminds me of my homeland) posted the Friday Five at RevGalBlogPals this week. She posted from the beach which for her is more than a vacation destination, it is a trip home... she asks us to please name five things we like about where we are living now... and as a bonus - one thing we don't like.

So for the wonderful city of Sydney I like:

1. The weather. Even this rather wet winter week is warm and temperatures are never or at least seldom (actually) freezing.
2. The people. I am so privileged to have met some fantastic people in this place.
3. The Parramatta river. A special treat is walking to Meadowbank and catching the river cat to the city. But just a few metres from our front door I can walk along the banks of this beautiful landmark.
4. The environs. Within a day the Botanic Garden, or Manly dam, or Lane Cove National Park, or Blue Mountains, or Royal National Park, can be explored (and more). Closer to home Bicentennial Park and Olympic Park provide walking and cycle tracks for short excursions.
   
5. The history. Black. Convict. Colonial. A rich and textured mix of conflicting values and actions with varied motives. Many captured in monuments and statues, plaques and information boards that illuminate my understanding of this place.

I don't like the electoral system and I really miss beign able to vote

RevGalBlogPals: Sunday Prayer 11C

Another borrowed post in my days of infrequent blogging. A Northern Hemisphere prayer for this time of the calendar year with every time and place wisdom
RevGalBlogPals: Sunday Prayer 11C

Friday Five: Decisions, Decisions

Time for the Friday Five again. This week Songbird has posted a seemingly simple meme that provokes a bit of thought. She writes:

Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.

Here they are:

1) Cake or Pie
2) Train or Airplane
3) Mac or PC
4) Univocal or Equivocal
5) Peter or Paul

I bake cakes more than pies, but enjoy few things more than a delicious pie; train is a daily journey with smaller carbon footprint - I also enjoy long distance train especially in NZ; use a PC but really miss the Mac from a previous workplace; I had never even heard of the word univocal so I'm clearly equivocal; and the final decision required a bit more thought.

In a nostalgic Rove-like moment I initially thought "What the!" And then began reflecting. The story of Peter and Cornelius is one of my all time favourites. The way I remember it, Peter was a compliant, careful, rule-abiding person who was confronted by a dream that urged him to break the rules. And to realise that his allegiance was to the law-giver and not the law itself. Which opened his eyes to new experiences and to appreciate that people different from himself could be equally followers of the Way, of the Christ who claimed Peter's love and allegiance. Paul was also a faithful follower who had an experience of a new relationship with the risen Christ. Somewhat more aggressive in his pursuit of righteousness, he saw rooting out opposition with fatal combat as the way to demostrate his devotion to truth. I am way more a compliant, seeking-to-please, reared in a faith with an emphasis on personal piety and a later awakening to the 'social gospel' and issues of justice and equity. Peter I think. Rather than Paul.

Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-)

Red Wine and Garlic: Poem a day: July 9 On Continuing to Live

Red Wine and Garlic: Poem a day: July 9 On Continuing to Live

unwhinge and imagine

This has been quite a week for institutional churches with the conclusion of the first ever meeting of the newly-formed World Communion of Reformed Churches, the election of Rev'd Dr Kirsty Thorpe and Mrs Val Morrison as Moderators of the URC in the UK and new leaders of the Methodists as well. Over at RevGalBlogPals Sally has set an inspiring Friday Five based on the inaugural address of the new Methodist Vice-President. Sally writes:

This has been a good week for British Methodism, The Annual Conference has discussed and debated many things and not shied away from some difficult stuff. New Ministers have been Ordained and received into Full Connexion. Add to that the fact that two amazing ladies; Alison Tomlin and Eunice Attwood have taken up their posts as President and Vice-President for 2010/2011- and that they have both inspired us in their speeches and preaching , and you begin to get the picture.

In the Vice- Presidents Address Eunice gave an inspiring account of the type of church she wants to be a part of, almost poetic she said:

I want to be part of a church that is prayer-filled -
A church that is resourced and sustained by the Bible,
A church that can offer hope even in a credit crunch,
A church that can live well with difference and diversity.

I want to be part of a church that welcomes the wealthy, those who have power and influence -
A church that knows how to party and celebrate life,
A church that acknowledges death and speaks boldly of resurrection,
A church that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but encourages all the questions.

I want to be part of a church that throws parties for prostitutes -
A church that welcomes those who seek asylum,
A church that longs and yearns for justice,
A church that listens to those no-one else wants to listen to.

I want to be part of a church that believes in transformation not preservation -
A church where all who are lost can be found,
A church where people can discover friendship,
A church where every person takes responsibility in sharing the good news.

I want to be part of a church whose hope is placed securely and confidently in the transforming love of God -
A church that engages faith in its communities,
A church that makes and nurtures disciples of Jesus.

A church where the story of God’s love is at the centre.
I want to be part of a church that offers outrageous grace, reckless generosity, transforming love and engaging faith.
This is God’s story Transforming Love: Engaging Faith.

My prayer is that by the power of the Spirit of God at work amongst us, it will increasingly be our story.

I want to be part of that church too, and at the danger of trying to add to such a wonderful litany of dreams/ visions and prayers I wonder which five things would you echo from or add to this. What kind of church do you want to be a part of in the 21st Century?

Simply list the five, and as an added bonus is there a hymn of a Bible passage that you would make your inspiration?

1. I want to be part of a church where the daily newspaper and the Bible are brought together
   
2. I want to be part of a church in which children are welcomed as full and contributing members
3. I want to be part of a church with living international relationships
   
4. I want to be part of a church where first peoples are acknowledged and respected
5. I want to be part of a church that "welcomes those who seek asylum...a church that longs and yearns for justice

Bonus: The Lord has yet more life and truth to break forth from the Word