Worship Unplugged # 46 Setting Up the Space

More an entire approach than a single aspect...
This post is inspired by an interesting interview on ABC radio yesterday!!
'The Conversation Hour' on 702 is frustrating and informative.
It breaks up the morning radio shifts at weird times to accomodate the 11-12 time slot, is run by Richard Fidler [former Doug Anthony All Star and race Around the Word host] in Sydney
and should be the standard practice for interesting interviews!!
Given all this it still manages to let interesting people shine through...

On Friday the Interview was with Greg Whitby the Head of Catholic Schools for the Parramatta region in Sydney who has brought some brilliant planning to new and refurbished schools in the area. He was named by the Bulletin magazine as Australia's smartest most creative person...
Check out the basics here:
http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s1965836.htm?sydney

Why it struck me is that Greg was talking about how and why traditional schools are built and shaped the way they are and how subject division and timetables and rooms etc all suit a particular model of 'School'

Oak Flat School might be worth a visit.

The kind of concepts they explore are whole of life and subject scenario based learning with teaching teams across flexible time periods and based around group work.

The philosophy has been to encourage teachers to contribute according to their gifts, to teach subjects in real life as part of broader questions and problem solving, to use day to day stuff and to do so without the period bell, 40 min lessons etc.

So the learner drives the process.

The buildings, technology [wireless network and laptops etc] and equipment are all tools for the learning. The way they do things has been developed collaboratively by the staff to meet the requirements of the curriculum through this basic method.

The only arguments against were based in 'this is how we've always taught and it was good enough for us' basket...

He talked about how when you enter the Smithsonians Space Museum in Washington you see shuttles and lunar craft... this is about space.... he wants people to walk into a school and know their serious about learning... libraries to be open spaces, learning environments to be hands on and comfortable etc etc...

YOU CAN SEE how straight away it resonated for me with fresh expressions of church and indeed the reinvention of church....

It's about what our ethos is, our hopes and goals and then structuring our spaces and experiences to match... not being restricted by decade and century old buildings from a different time, context and place!!

More specifics next post...

PART 2

Let me try and be a little clearer...
What struck me about the approach to Schools was that it began by asking...
what are we wanting to do here? whats the goal? what are we hoping for?

It relation to the School it was about learning,
We might talk about community, spirituality, worship experiences
and eventually get closer to talking about experiences and spaces that foster discipleship,
that encourage people to explore faith,
and invite them to do so individually and together!!

Symbols, windows, furniture, walls, temperature, technology and the way the space is used would all contribute.

How would church's be different... well, another thing they spoke about was a building designed for flexible use... e.g. 7 days a week

I picture an entry foyer with contemporary art about faith, hope and love...
Flat screen tv's with looped av's that kick in when you fire up the power, lights and air con...
Its comfortably warm, skylights provide heaps of natural light.
On one side you look through smoked glass into a commercially operated cafe that's accessed one night a week by a spirituality book club and one night a week by a social justice and action artspace.

There is stained glass but its in panels that jut out from the wall and make small group spaces out of the large foyer if you all huddle at the edges.

A kitchen has three sides as serveries to different other rooms.

The main worship space has three different focal aspects each with different kinds of seating.
The whole space can be transformed into any one of those three or the three maintained. e.g. giant bean bag lounges, seats in small group with some tables and theatrette styled seating.

Though I really shouldn't be focused on that its just that as my mind imagines the activity its easier to describe what the outcome is in terms of the space required!!

There are meeting rooms, an open plan ministry office and a leased shop space at the side of the building with three retail outlets.

The car park will cater for an uncomfortably full building.

The community who express belonging here are actively engaged in being a force for change in the community they are part of... globally, locally, individually...

Worship reflects the culture and context and there are different groupings encouraged to do what the students were encouraged to do in the schools i.e. be be co-developers of the learning.

Its not about one expert upfront but people with access to knowledge like never before... constructing responses, questions, liturgy and action out of their understanding of who God is calling them to be...

Nobbys Beach Surf Cam

Keep an eye on the Pasha Bulker [not] moving at Nobbys in Newcastle care of Coast Watch
http://www.coastalwatch.com/camera/NobbysBeach.htm

"Beds are Burning" Midnight Oil

Best I can do while I watch and listen to the Howard Government's planned response to abuse in Aboriginal Communities!! Though I am a fan of the work and ethic of Noel Pearson so any plan based on his vision [albeit needing to only apply to recalcitrants] must have hope and reality as its basis!!

FUNNY HARRY POTTER SPOILERS STORY

As the heat rises about the Jluy 21 release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" the rumours abound and are worth ignoring totally BUT the funniest is this story about hacker GABRIEL puting a virus in the Bloomsbury system and getting hands on the ending of the book.
Somehow Gabriel is motivated by a Pope Benedict edict about HP corrupting the worlds youth...

Read about it all here... warning, despite the brocken english you never know...
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2007/Jun/0380.html

Also do not look up t-shirthell.com anytime near July 21 as they will undoubtedly issue a "Let me save you time XXX dies on Page XXX of Harry Potter" very funny!!

The Across the Divide Tour

"Powderfinger and Silverchair Divide The Nation" from undercover.com.au

Not sure I had ALL these details before!!
AND ESPECIALLY its worth noting that RECONCILIATION is the focus of the reasons behind the Tour!!
In the biggest and most shocking music news since Anthony Callea came out of the closet, Powderfinger and Silverchair have announced their co-headlining Australian tour.

The Across The Divide tour will hit every capital city (yes, even Hobart and Darwin), as well as fourteen regional gigs in one of the biggest major tours ever to cross the nation.

The tour kicks off in Silverchair's hometown, Newcastle on August 29, followed by Powderfinger's hometown, Brisbane on August 31, then it's off around the country for the next near two months.

When visiting those towns where a suitably large indoor venue is not present, they'll have following them around a custom designed tent to build their own venue and take it with them the next day.

Both bands have released albums recently, and both band's albums went to number one. Both bands recently completed incredibly successful tours, through intimate venues across the country which sold out almost instantly and both bands have in the past played the biggest indoor stadiums across the country (just like they will this time). Both bands formed around the same time (in the first half of the 90s) and both bands have dedicated fans in Australia.

For those of you who want to attend one of the biggest all-Australian tours in this country's history… and you have a Visa card… you can get your tickets from 9am Monday, July 2 through www.visaentertainment.com.au.

The rest of us have to wait until 9am Monday July 9.

You can check these bands at:

AUGUST
29 – Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle
31 – Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

SEPTEMBER
2 – Convention Centre, Gold Coast
4 – Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre, Tamworth
6 – Showgrounds, Coffs Harbour
8 – ACER Arena, Sydney
11 – John Dunmore Lang Place, Canberra
12 – Gateway Island, Lincolm Causeway, Wodonga
14 – Ornamental Gardens, Mildura
15 – Venue TBA, Bendigo
16 – Showgrounds, Ballarat
18 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
22 – Claremont Oval, Perth
26 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
29 – Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart

OCTOBER
5 – Showgrounds, Darwin
7 – Showgrounds, Cairns
8 – Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville
11 – Showgrounds, Mackay
12 – Rockhampton Bowl, Rockhampton
14 – USQ University Oval, Toowoomba
23 – Wollongong Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

Here's the Problem

I have no problem stating on the record that as a person interested in politics [with latent ambition to stand for preselection in my mid twenties] my personal standpoint has radically changed over the years!! I was once a radical capitalist based on the premise of reward for effort, small government and the market forces being enough to provide for a country so isolated as Oz!!

Only after my teens did my ethics, faith and life experience convince me of the need for social action, siding with the poor. We need leaders with long term vision. Since Keating floated the dollar we have not been in danger of real decline and our attention should turn to how we spend the huge tax windfalls coming the way of Federal and State Governments!!

Here's my dilemma....
I cannot vote Liberal/National because of:
My commitment to reconciliation
A belief that work choices is based on the wrong assumptions and goals
Iraq
University funding cuts
Privatisation of key public utilities
Our dreadful treatment of asylum seekers

BUT...
neither do I particularly like what I see and hear from Kevin Rudd!!
I'm with Dame Edna... do we really want a Prime Minister called "Kevin"... no offence!!

I could vote for someone with a genuine long term vision for sharing wealth with all
Usable public transport
Strategies against global warming
A policy about social capital and the ability of people to serve
An index measuring the health and well being of our community alongside our GDP
A 25 year plan and vision for the values we might espouse
to name just a few things...

Saw Kevin on TV today with his polling [so to speak] and it all seems a bit hollow to me!!
So I guess what I hear is a poll driven and safe campaign banging away at what research tells them makes the government vulnerable and no straying into potential minefields just in case your ideas don't gel!!

C- for me, can do better... and that includes the shackles currently attached to the Shadow Environment Minister...

How's this for a new Newcastle Postcard?

The News is at it Again

The News is at it Again

The news is at it again
Crashing into my world in uncomfortable and disempowering ways

Whatever people were doing at nightclubs, jogging to work or just passing by
Someone got belted, dragged by the hair, help is at hand, a gun is coldly used.
One lay dead and two in trouble.

Tonight I hear about helicopter inquiries, drag racing accidents
And the latest update in how the heiress is holding up in solitary.
Footballers public disgrace, overpaid and under prepared.

Angela is finally out of the house,
and babies are still turning up in cardboard boxes
blanketed and left on the church house steps.

I pray to you God because I can
I pray because I must,
because that is all I have left.

Who does this call us to be?
How am I to respond where I am?

Is it more than the innocent help? The baby progressing well?
Justice seems so illusive but then its not mine to decide.

Empty. Tired. Done with thinking about it.
You will call God. You will prompt.
I will be waiting.

Today that is the best I can do!

Today made me think about what song to listen to as I head off for some sleep!!

The following lyrics are subject to change upon finding the CD or the actual ones!!
It's late/I'm tired... great song...

"Love So High" Jim Moginie from Alas Folkloric

A Love so High.

Speak tell me what you say

And give your true game away

A love so high a sunburnt skyP

ain is your energy

And yeah I got empathy

A love so high a sunburnt sky

Love is all

Love is clear

Love has shaken down your fear

Sometimes grows, in your mind

Somehow grows beneath the pines

And I left it all behindI hear a rare old mountain tune

Got tools don’t know how to useA love so high so clear and wide

Sunshine smote the hill behind

The field where we buried you

We sing into the ether pouring tears above, beneath her

Words we’ve yet to find

A love so high a sunburnt sky

Nothing’s new nothing’s free

Nothing feeds itself

Nothing breeds

Standing still, too many broken parts

Drink your fill, and then play your heart

And I left it all behind.

Triple J Beat the Drum ???

Courtesy SMH Stay In Touch Column 14/6/07

Palestinian militants clash in Gaza City, images of masked gunmen are flooding the international wires. But when the latest pics arrived from Agence France-Presse, we couldn't help noticing a certain red drum grafittied on a city wall.

Is it mere coincidence that this scribble strongly resembles the Triple J logo, one that the radio station asked listeners to emblazon in wild and wacky places in an effort to win its "beat the drum" competitions? Triple J's station manager, Linda Bracken, says the last competition was in 2004 but the station regularly received reports of the drum popping up all over the globe. Bracken recalls sightings in the Canadian snowfields and at a restaurant in Beijing, but says: "Palestine would be a first. It's pretty remarkable."

Not only are the Palestinians (perhaps) making a bid to post the most far-flung Triple J logo on Gaza's grey walls, but beside the drum is the web address of Paul Castle Consultancy, "traffic data collection and presentation services". We're unsure of the synchronicity of the graf art, but if the "beat the drum" comp returns, it would be hard for the judges to ignore this.

Can you explain how the logo got into the world's latest war zone?

50 Most Significant Moments

LISTS are great!! They cause a huge debate about something not at all important in the grand scheme of things!! So it is with Australian Musician magazines 50 Most Significant Moments in Australian Pop/Rock History.... Most discussion has revolved around the lack of perspective on events since 1990 yet I think they only read the press release AND its hard to argue with number ONE....

The 50 Most Significant Moments in Australian Pop/Rock History.
Comments welcome at www.myspace.com/australianmusicianmagazine

Since the early sixties, Australia has produced some of the finest contemporary music in the world, and is often touted as being a testing ground for global music tastes and trends. But how did we get here? What were the events that shaped the Australian music industry as we know it today? We got together eight fairly music literate beings, placed them in a pub one night and wouldn't let them out until they decided upon the 50 MOST significant moments in Australian pop/rock history. Here are the results ... (Want to comment? Do so at www.myspace.com/australianmusicianmagazine)

1 VANDA AND YOUNG Meet in migrant hostel
Had Harry Vanda and George Young not met in the Villawood migrant hostel in Sydney 1964, there would not have been an Easybeats as we know them, possibly no Stevie Wright solo career, certainly not the Albert productions that made AC/DC a huge success, and none of those classic Countdown songs by artists such as John Paul Young, William Shakespeare, Cheetah etc, as well as their own hits under the Flash and the Pan name.

2 COUNTDOWN Goes colour
3 MEN AT WORK Number one in USA and UK simultaneously
4 THE SAINTS I'm Stranded Record of the Week-UK Sounds magazine
5 MIDNIGHT OIL'S Sydney Olympics protest
6 SKYHOOKS Release Living in the 70s with 6 songs banned
7 LEE GORDON Arrives in Australia
8 MUSHROOM RECORDS The label legend begins
9 SILVERCHAIR All five albums go to number one
10 BIG DAY OUT Goes national
11 BEATLES Tour Australia and launch a thousand bands
12 TRIPLE J Goes National
13 BON SCOTT dies
14 CROWDED HOUSE Farewell concert
15 AC/DC It's A Long Way To The Top ... on the back of a truck
16 GO SET Our first real rock magazine
17 SUNBURY FESTIVAL
18 JOHN BUTLER first independent artist to top national chart
19 SLIM DUSTY releases 100th album
20 AUSTRALIAN IDOL The juggernaut begins
21 JET The band that launched a million ipods
22 JOHN FARNHAM Jack's back
23 JOK Our first national rock star
24 COLD CHISEL Khe Sahn-A legend begins
25 KYLIE dates MICHAEL HUTCHENCE and changes forever
26 INXS Sometimes you Kick!
27 FAIRLIGHT COMPUTER Beginning of sampling
28 SICK PUPPIES 13 million You Tube hits and US fame
29 NORMIE ROWE joins the army
30 YOTHU YINDI our first charting koori band
31 RATCAT redefine 'indie'
32 WAVE AID A nation reacts
33 OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN Grease is the word!
34 UP THERE CAZALY Music and Sport unite
35 LRB Reminiscing
36 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Arrive in Berlin
37 SEVEN AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS IN TOP 10
38 SAVAGE GARDEN most played song for the year in USA for 2000
39 THE RECORD BAN ushers golden era of OZ music
40 STAN ROFE switches from 3KZ to 3UZ
41 BEE GEES return to England, sign to Stigwood.
42 ABBA mania in Australia
43 HOADLEY'S BATTLE OF BANDS shape changing event
44 HELEN REDDY Australia's first Grammy Award
45 DADDY COOL First #1 Album by Australian band
46 SEEKERS First Aussies to have UK number one
47 the WHITLAMS meet Whitlam
48 ROGER SAVAGE arrives in Australia
49 DELTA GOODREM breaks Jack's back
50 ARIA CHART our first official chart

Worship Unplugged # 45 The Work of the People

Craig reminds us this month of the excellent resources like video loops at Work of the People which is just the most empowering definition of the word 'liturgy' in helping groups recapture a sense of ownership and creativity in worship they curate!!



www.theworkofthepeople.com

Powderfinger Silverchair

POWDERFINGER AND SILVERCHAIR TO EMBARK ON AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST NATIONAL TOUR –

ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE!

After weeks of speculation, theorising and a bunch of hearsay, Australia’s two biggest rock bands – POWDERFINGER and SILVERCHAIR - have today officially announced extensive plans to stage a major co-headline national concert tour.

ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE will bridge the gap between the country and the big smoke with a rock & roll tour on a scale unseen in Australian music for decades. POWDERFINGER and SILVERCHAIR will roll into every capital city plus 14 regional centres right across the nation.

Months in the planning, ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE kicks off at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in SILVERCHAIR’s hometown on August 29, and then moves to POWDERFINGER’s backyard, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on August 31.

From there, the two chart-topping bands will take their show on the road for over two months, performing in locations as distant and diverse as Darwin and Hobart, Cairns and Mildura, Toowoomba and Bendigo … across the Great Divide and beyond.

In those cities which don’t have sufficiently large indoor venues, the bands will erect a large custom designed tent in which to stage the shows.

The humongous Spring tour is an opportunity for literally hundreds of thousands of Aussie fans to partake in what will be a huge event in every location it visits. Most regional centres on the expansive itinerary won’t have seen a rock & roll show like this since tours by the likes of Midnight Oil and INXS in the 1980s.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 9am on July 9.

“Aside from our album launches, these will be our first shows for two-and-a-half years, and the first time we will return to a lot of the regional areas,” says POWDERFINGER’s Bernard Fanning. “We have been threatening to hit the rural places for ages and now we’re getting around to it we are grateful to have Silverchair with us to carry our gear!! Two on the in and two on the out thanks boys!”

“We haven’t done a truly national tour since the end of 1997 and there are actually some places on this tour where we’ve never even played before,” says SILVERCHAIR’s Ben Gillies. “It’ll be great to get right around Australia after all this time and if the tickets don’t sell, we can always blame Powderfinger!”

While most events at this level would have brought corporate sponsors on board as tour presenters, POWDERFINGER and SILVERCHAIR have instead chosen to use the shows to draw attention to a cause which is close to the hearts of the members of both bands – reconcile.org.au

reconcile.org.au is the website which fronts a campaign aimed at reducing the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. reconcile.org.au reaches across the historic divide in respect, trust and understanding to generate a national conversation about bridging the gap.

The site has been created as part of this year’s 40th anniversary of Australia's most successful referendum, where more than 90% of people said YES to equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens. It was a referendum unlike any other, driven by the Australian people – Indigenous and non-Indigenous, working side by side.

Reconciliation Australia director Shelley Reys says the tour represents an unprecedented opportunity to reach a new generation of Australians and introduce them to the work of reconciliation. “The story of reconciliation needs 20 million voices and having these two bands using theirs is an incredibly powerful call to action for young Australians”.

The full press release inclusing all tour dates, ticket purchase and other info. is available at
http://www.chairpage.com/app/webroot/acrossthegreatdivide.htm

Then it kept raining and blowing and the flooding started!!

Four Years since I gave up playing Rugby

So it's four years ago today that I got crunched in a tackle at Muswellbrook and completely ruptured the kneecap tendon in both knees. This was a painful and horrific injury which the surgeon had never done a double of... basketballers on prednisone for injuries, 80 year old blokes who fell down the stairs at the RSL but never both knees!! Thats another chapter in my book of quotes from mechanics, carpenters, odd job labourers, tax inspectors, teachers and friends...

Its summarised as "I have never seen........ before!!"

That aside I mention it here because I still miss it every Saturday!! I wish I had the choice to throw my stuff in a bag and head down to No2 for a run... although I have also taken a break from Coaching at the moment with the girls keeping us so busy and life generally hectic enough!!

I suppose I could run/train/prepare and trial things BUT the knees aren't quite right and the risks outweigh the potential fun!!

Not the point really... I still feel sorry for myself, its still different to go to the Test matched when its now not the game you played that afternoon yourself and I miss the camraderie, the sense of achievement, belting people, and winning premierships!!

Anyhow %$%^^#*&!!

I don't know that I've written much here about the RUGBY so far....
Mark it on your calendars!! The Wallabies can and will win the World Cup in France later this year!! I believe that especially if Kurtley Beale is selected in the squad [because that will mean reinvention and a willingness to chance our arm].

Beyond that we must learn to play the offload game we saw glimpses of against Wales last week.

I believ all the leading candidates for the squad were in heavy base conditioning during the Super 14... that and injuries led to our poor showing!! We ran dead like an untapered swimmer!!

Likwise the last two weeks and I think the timing is to peak towards the end of the Tri Nations and then hit the base fitness stuff again and taper for the Cup!!

I suppose we'll see the trip to the Somme and an obligatory rev up from someone of significance, we'll hear of accomodation antics and poor transport systems BUT overall I beleieve the best thing will be to get the squad away OS and do some really hard work on their aerobic fitness.

The offload rugby is where players run in support of the ball carrier giving options and rather than rely on set piece perfection you slip a short pass that becomes a series of short passes to keep the ball alive!! Eventually someone will hit a line, straighten or make a half break and suddenly scoring is possible!!

Our scrum will need to be rock solid and isn't far off, our backs will need to chance their arm and will need to loose framework to base their experimentation on.... Larkham will still be a key player assuming he gets thru the Tri nations unharmed...

On the last 12 months rugby The All Blacks deserve strong favouritism BUT how do you back a choker?

Wouldn't it be great for us to have won 3 Cups to NZ 1 ?

The photos in this post are [I think] from 1984 when we won the Grand Final against a pretty good Waratahs side!! It might have been 9-6 where we were running with a howling gale in the first half and scored not enough points. I was lucky enough to receive a ball with just the 4 foot tall 5/8 infront of me and I dived over him to score near the posts!!

In the second half we were called on to defend and only made it out of our own half twice in 30 mins of football against the wind!! We held on to win and simply collapsed to the ground on the final whistle. It was the definition of being more relieved than excited at having achieved the goal!!

Its a special memory because 1/3 into the season our coach quit and the stand in coach Cooky took us to 11 wins from 11 to sqeek into 4th spot and then win thru to the GF and take it out!!

This was my first season with Wanderers!!

More Pictures coutrtesy of Simone's colleagues and friendly locals!!

Pasha Bulker Runs Aground!!

Check this out off Nobby's Beach Newcastle!! 30 years after the Signa hit Stockton Beach and snapped in half the Coal Carrier Sash Bulker seems to have struck a similar problem in our stormy seas. Potentially caught with little or no ballast the ship would find it hard to get the necessary drive to avoid being grounded!!

20-30 crew were winched to safety by the Westpac Rescue Chopper/s!!

Traffic into the one coastal ring road area is predictably gridlocked and one punter was even caught on the NBN news highlights grab creeping past at 5kms per hour, winding down the window and giving the 2 handed footy show that's gold sign to camera in an attempt to win one of the Chief's giveaway XBox 360's!!

Worship Unplugged # 44 Photobook

Officeworks, Harvey Norman and I think also Bing Lee offer an online software download of a program for creating books of your digital photos. I used this to recently create a picture book of the first five years with our girls [over 100 pictures in one hardcover volume] and its a brilliant simple program and way of preserving memories!!

This got me thinking about other uses... there are various sizes, flip books and A3 collages all done on your computer and emailed for printing and either postal or pick up delivery from your nearest outlet!!

I could imagine a book of pictures being used as a Worship Station, for a permanent record of an annual camp, or a farewell or significant achievement gift to someone.... e.g a retiring leader!!

It's something you'd keep long term so its not something to change for weekly activity!!

June 30/July2 for Crowded House

Depends on whether your CD store stocks its new releases on Monday or the preceeeding Saturday/Sunday BUT "Time On Earth" will be out soon ahead of Live Earth and hopefully some more Oz performances by the reformed Crowded House!!

New Music from Powderfinger

"Dream Days at the Hotel Existence" is a solid and entertaining new album from the Brisbane boys but like many critics I was looking forward to those one or two standout tracks that take you in a different direction... didn't find them!! It's a very produced record and I liked what I heard. I will need to sit quietly with the lyrics in hand to find that track I'll put on repeat in the car!! I think its a sleeper that'll grow on me...

The album title comes from the 2005 book "The Brooklyn Follies" by Paul Auster, which Bernard Fanning was reading during recording.

It does also contain the song "Black Tears" with overt reference to the story of the controversial death in custody on Palm Island.

I bought the limited edition with a DVD some classic 'finger tracks.

Nobody will replace 'The Oils' as my 'go to' band for escapist enjoyment and loud music live BUT these blokes probably get the closest!!

'Dancing Cadet' Graduates from Military training

Once this video appeared on the net the usual 15mins fame followed for the young soldier in training!!

Celebrating 30th Year since Star Wars Episode IV

Worship Unplugged # 43 Digital Photo frames

My favourite activity for 'prayers for the world' still involves an audiovisual soundtrack, a world map and heaps of tealight candles but instead of the big screen enveloping images you could place one or more of the digital photo frames with a selection of world event pics on a usb stick and some even play music for small stations based experiences.

U2 rock Cannes launching new film U2 3D

No doubt attracting interesting critique for the black limousined rock and roll lifestyle... U2 hit Cannes Film Festival to promote their new 1 hour doco on "Vertigo" in Latin America.

I have always wanted to get to the Cannes Film Festival as a film fanatic and in 1998 on our 9 week holiday through Europe we were 1 to 2 weeks from everywhere... Monaco the weekend after the Grand Prix and Cannes a week or so after the Festival [some merchandising was still around for both]!!

BUT this year U2 did a set on the expansive red carpet that by all reports was fun and lively as they promote what will hopefully make its way to IMAX in Oz... U2 3D!!

I have captured the clip of 'Where the Streets Have No Name' in case I use it this Sunday for Pentecost... my idea of the vision of that day when the gift of the spirit of God became available to everyone... assuming it trumps my other ideas around Missy Higgins song 'Steer' and scenes from 'Pay It Forward'

What do we make of millionaires weekend and the trappings of rock... well you'd never get to the stage if you walked the crowd, these boys tend to be aware of what tossers they can look like [hard to believe I know] and they do live in the south of France over the summer!!

Anyhow, not my job to be an apologist for the contradictions between Nice and world poverty!!

In 1998 we sat on the gravel beach for a few hours, resting after 3 harrowing days in Rome and watched private jet after jet take off across the coastline... headed straight back to LA no doubt!!

Just along from us were the private beaches of the area with banana lounges and umbrellas right there in the gravel or on an upper wooden deck... quite the resort feature in that part of the world. Still... we enjoyed our fresh baguette and cheese slices for lunch each day.

"On the Move"

I have previously mentioned this book adding early photos from Bono's African trip and his own artwork to the speech for the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington 2006.
You can do a virtual tour of the book at
http//www.one.v1.myvirtualpaper.com/brochure/2007051702

It's available via amazon.com and I'm hoping to find a creative way to use it with a recorded reading of Acts 2 for Pentecost [surely another e.g. of God On the Move].

'Blue King Brown' on Youtube

'Blue King Brown' have done WOMAdelaide 2007, Make Poverty History and are set to line up at Live Earth in Sydney BUT their biggest break may come through a $200 clip for their song 'Water' which has featured on the ever growing story that is youtube!!

Here it is:

[3] Songs on my mind this Week

Over the last 12-18 months I have been pondering my role in the scheme of things as Coordinator of the UCA NSW Synod Youth Unit [NSW/ACT]. My Review is now upon us and I've been taking my own sense of the future as hard work and wanting to know which way to jump!!
I canvassed some emerging and interesting opportunities back 'home' and have seen most of those not eventuate. I have thought through my focus, energy and what I would like to do, should do and could do into the future...

No bombshells here! I am still pondering... and three songs I have been listening to are worthy of mention at this point. I have to write a reflection in the next week or so on my sense of a 'vitality of call' in my role and they all revolve in some way around that notion...

1. 'The Calling' Mary Chapin Carpenter
[trust Craig to remind us of a new album that instantly costs me $30 to acquire because its flamin' brilliant!!]

The Calling
Deep in your blood or a voice in your head
On a dark lonesome highway
It finds you instead
So certain it knows you, you can't turn away
Something or someone has found you today

Genius or Jesus, maybe he's seen us
But who would believe us
I can't really say
Whatever the calling, the stumbling or falling
You follow it knowing
There's no other way, there's no other way

There are zealots and preachers
And readers of dreams
The righteous yell loudest
And the saved rise to sing
The lonely and lost are just waiting to hear
Any moment their purpose
Will be perfectly clear

And then life would mean more
Than their name on their door
And that far distant shore that's so near

They'd hear the calling
And stumbling and falling
They'd follow it knowing
There's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear

I don't remember a voice
On a dark, lonesome road
When I started this journey so long ago
I was only just trying to outrun the noise
There was never a question of having a choice

Jesus or genie, maybe they've seen me
But who would believe me
I can't really say

Whatever the calling, the stumbling and falling
I followed it knowing there's no other way
Jesus or genie, maybe he's seen me
But who would believe me

I can't really say
Whatever the calling, stumbling and falling
I got through it knowing there's no other way
There's no other way
© Mary Chapin Carpenter ‘The Calling’ 2007

We talked about this song at our recent team meeting and noted the 'difficulty' of call. It has to be more than 'yeah I want to do this therefore I feel called.' There wew examples of those things affirmed by others, a disinterest in things we felt called to do and be as quite the opposite and mostly about the need to test things out. This song has a great vibe for relfection on the issues it raises.

"Hope and Validation"

Plans and preparations are decided in vain

Think we've seen enough now

Hope and validation are united again

Higher than the buds that bloomed

I've seen it hanging in your face

you may need time to think it over

Set a new direction for the harvest ahead

think we've seen enough now

Built the resurrection of a bond nearly dead

Seen enough now

Higher than the windswept moon

I've seen it hanging in your face

You may need time to think it over

Plans and preparations are decided in vain

Hope and validation are united again

Set a new direction for the harvest ahead

Built the resurrection of a bond nearly dead

Think we've seen enough now

Think we've seen enough now

Think we've seen enough now

Think we've seen enough now

This is the song I chose for a recent presentation to the Council of Synod about the tenuous future of the ministry of youth worker. A feeling of maybe there;s been enough struggle and pain and stress and its time for validation, its time for hope to be the dominant feeling arising out of positive action and ownership. It was a plea that 'plans and preparations not be decided in vain' but instead be enacted and followed through in the places that matter.

This is about the plethora of part time positions, lack of funds, short term funding, misunderstood tasks etc

"Steer"

Feel it falling off like clothing

Taste it rolling on your tongue

See the lights above you glowing

Oh and breathe them deep into your lungs

It was always simple

Not hidden hard

You've been pulling at the strings

Playing puppeteer for kings

And you've

Had enough

But the search ends here

Where the night is totally clear

And your heart is fierce

So now you finally know

That you control where you go

You can steer

So hold this feeling like a newborn

Oh with freedom surging through your veins

You have opened up a new door

So bring on the wind, fire and the rain

It was always simple

Not hidden hard

You've been played at a game

Called remembering your name

And you

Stuffed it up

But the search ends here

Where the night is totally clear

And your heart is fierce

So now you finally know

That you control where you go

You can steer, oh

And now you finally know

That you control where you go

You can steer

'Cause you've been listening for answers

Oh but the city screams and all your dreams go unheard

But the search ends here

Where the night is totally clear

And your heart is fierce

So now you finally know

That you control where you go

You can steer, oh

You get out of the box

You step into the clear, oh

'Cause now you finally know you can

Steer

© Missy Higgins ‘On a Clear Night’ 2007 Eleven Records

And thirdly that despite all the things happening around us there is a recognition that we can 'steer'. A welcome and positive entry into more pop sensibilities from Missy Higgins courtesy of Mitchell Froom!!

The clip is inspired... a vehicle crash test driver who suddenly realises she can steer and drives directly at the white coated testers alongside the shipping crate she barrels into normally!!

Powderfinger on the radar also!!

I missed the story/advert that Powderfinger tickets went on sale this morning to some Hotel ballroom venues in most Oz capital cities.... the next best thing to the Oils I am keen to catch the Finger this time around. Their single is out and the interesting sounding album is due for 2nd June.

They have caused a minor stir with a track about the struggle for aboriginal people in this country where it potentially prejudiced the current legal proceedings about the Palm Island death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee. They offered to release ammended lyrics but that was deemed un-necessary by authorities!!

New Reconciliation Push in 2007

Reconciliation Australia launches new ad campaign

Joel Gibson SMH

May 10, 2007
Reconciliation Australia has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at recapturing the emotion and momentum of 2000 when 250,000 people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to break down barriers between black and white.

Created by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, it stars a range of celebrities including pop singer Missy Higgins, AFL player Michael O'Loughlin and actors Michael Caton and Leah Purcell.

The message, delivered by each of the famous faces, is that "Reconciliation is a story about all of us and it's a lot bigger than this ad".

They then direct the audience to the new reconcile.org.au website, which features messages from the likes of ABC Sydney's radio jock Adam Spencer, Olympic champion runner Cathy Freeman, Channel Seven quizmaster Andrew O'Keefe and South Sydney rugby league player Dean Widders.A spokeswoman for Reconciliation Australia said this campaign was designed to "start a new conversation".

"Reconciliation is about all Australians and it's not going to change unless everyone gets involved," she said.

Asked why the issue had become less front-and-centre, she said the environment had changed.

"People needed some time to digest what was happening in the late '90s to 2001. It hasn't died off, but it's perhaps not as public as it was."

She said the ANZ Bank's Reconciliation Action Plan and the Productivity Commission's setting of benchmarks and measures for indigenous people's involvement in the economy were examples of recent achievements.

The advertising agency and performers had all waived their fees for the campaign and all three commercial networks - Seven, Nine and Ten - have agreed to give free air time to the slots, she said.

Video of the TV ads and posters available at http://www.reconcile.org.au/media

Live Earth Sydney Line Up Announced!!

Live Earth Lineup

Courtesy Undercover Music News

Live Earth, the concert taking place across the globe simultaneously, announced the lineup for their Sydney show today.The newly reformed Crowded House will perform their second public show (after Coachella) and headline the festival.
Surf-folk star Jack Johnson is the only international act on the bill, but a who's who of Australian talent have lined up to play, including recent Grammy winners Wolfmother, Missy Higgins, John Butler and Eskimo Joe.Sydney based dance floor pop tarts Sneaky Sound System are the odd one out, while Blue King Brown should feel right at home.
Contrary to strong rumours, Midnight Oil will not be playing,
[ed: DON'T GIVE UP ON THAT JUST YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
However the Ghostwriters are set to appear which feature Rob Hirst from the Oils
[AND MARTIN ROTSEY].
They, together with Paul Kelly (who is soon to release an album you should all be looking forward to) will satisfy the older crowd.
That leaves Toni Collette and The Finish, the actress who manages to sneak onto the bill of every festival across the country.The event will take place on the 7th of July (07/07/07) simultaneously with events around the world including New Jersey and London.
The idea is to raise awareness of global warming and to think about what you can do to help save the environment.
Tickets May 18 through Ticketek