Pasta-ing the Pastor at Hamilton Tonight

   That slightly crazy recognition of Leaders known as 'Pastor' in the UCA was our purpose for Pasta-ing tonight at Hamilton with pasta in the hall and worship in 'Bill's Cafe' space commissioning Steve Bevis as a Pastor for his role as Chaplain to Newcastle University...

   The plan was a collaboration between Warwick, Scott and myself, drawing in other participants and significant 'voices' in the mix...

   Anyhow with a mix of students, colleagues, Presbytery folk and locals... here's something of what we did!!

CALL

Teaser trailer from the animated film 'Up' a clip about 'imagination'

The 'I Like Jesus' clip from 'Blue Like Jazz'

"Beautiful Things" Gungor [thanks Scott]

GREETING Chairperson Warwick

MATTHEW 28: 16-20 Kat Arbon, onscreen in Greek/Spanish

REFLECTION:

Began with 'I Keep Faith' Billy Bragg clip

“I Keep Faith” Billy Bragg

If you want to make the weather then you have to take the blame

If sometimes dark clouds fill the sky and it starts to rain, folks complain

And though your head may tell you to run and hide

Listen to your heart and you'll find me right by your side, because

I keep faith, I keep faith I keep faith, I keep faith in you

Yes, I do, I keep faith in you

If you think you have the answer well, don't be surprised

If what you say is met with anger and contempt and lies

No matter how hard you may want to just walk away

Reach out, you'll find me there beside you all of the way because

I keep faith, I keep faith I keep faith, I keep faith in you

Yes, I do, I keep faith in you

All the dreams we shared I never knew no one who cared

About these things the way that I've seen you

it doesn't matter if this all falls off the cliff

Together we are gonna see it through

I know it takes a mess of courage to go against the grain

You have to make great sacrifice for such little gain and so much pain

And if your plans have come to nothing washed out in the rain

Let me rekindle all your hopes and help you start again because

I keep faith, I keep faith I keep faith, I keep faith in you

Yes, I do, I keep faith in you I keep faith in you

Yes, I do, I keep faith in you

I keep faith in you yes, I do, I keep faith in you I keep faith in you

Yes I do, I keep faith in you, yeah, yeah

I keep faith, I keep faith, I keep faith, I keep faith

1. “Keeping Faith”

Trust, staying connected, maintaining relationship, living out values…

ONE way of thinking about being followers of Jesus

And living out our co-mission with Christ

[also keep faith by acknowledging indigenous connection to the land we gather on and pay respects to Elders, past, present & future'

2. MATTHEW has Jesus saying,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you."

The writer and the story tell us:

- Jesus speaks and acts for God,

- The DISCIPLES are sent to teach ALL OF what Jesus had taught them

- TEACHING is important in Matthew, 

NOT so much teaching beliefs, but an invitation to live out the values of God, in purposeful community

For Bill Loader, it means,

- READ THE STORY, HEAR THE COMPASSION, AND THAT GOD SETS NO LIMITS TO THE LOVE STANDING AGAINST THE OPPOSITE…

- AND following THE EXAMPLE OF THE SERVANT 

   using their gifts to mentor, to LEAD & to encourage others…

3. AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE,

What kind of “IMAGINATION” does it take,

TO EVEN SEE, hear or think about a different future…

NOT ‘fantasy,’ but TOOLS for new, imagined communities of faith?

WHAT FAITH PRACTICES TUNE US IN TO GOD’S ACTIVITY in the world?

Stanley Hauerwas writes,

"Christianity is not beliefs about God plus behavior. We are Christians not because of what we believe, but because we have been called to be disciples of Jesus. To become a disciple is not a matter of a new or changed self-understanding, but rather to become part of a different community with a different set of practices." 

[TELLING/LIVING A DIFFERENT STORY]

4. FOR A RELUCTANT READER,

QUOTING [3] AUTHORS IS MAYBE A NOD TO TERTIARY MINISTRY…

OR AN ATTEMPT to change my IDENTITY as a ‘lethargic academic’

[or recognising that you can't have an original thought but have to attribute it to someone whose written about it before]

“Threshold of the Future: Reforming the Church in the Post Christian West”

Mike Riddell offers some [15] hints & hunches about shaping community,

THINGS like, honesty & being real, worship reflecting participants culture

dynamic ecumenism, ability to laugh & cry together and Scripture respected as having layers of meaning and relevance

or MICHAEL FROST’s broader brush, missional community

in “Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post Christian Culture”

1. Trinitarian in theology 

2. Covenantal in nature

3. Oriented to being part of the church worldwide

4. Missional in intent

5. ANYHOW, WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE TONIGHT IS AT LEAST,

[1] RECOGNISING that tertiary ministry & UCATSA, communities like ‘The Commons’, missional cafés like “Bill’s Place” & networks of young people beyond existing congregations imagine well our missional shaped challenge

[2] AFFIRMING in Steve, the gifts & abilities for leadership, 

in this particular time and place, & for sharing the invitation to ‘follow’ and prophetically challenging us to ‘go and do likewise’!! In imaginative ways

Keeping faith…

THEN THE COMMISSIONING

Words about Call, about everyone having gifts & a corresponding service

PRESENTATION of Steve

QUESTIONS and response reaffirming and agreeing about call

COMMISSIONING/PRAYER

PASS THE PEACE

QUITE BRILLIANT 'PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE' from Michael

'If prayer was enough...'

LORDS PRAYER

'The Earth is Yours' Gungor

Great SONG from 'Sons of Peter' 'O Freedom'

BLESSING