A Big Weekend...

   From a Friday night 'in' after a long day of preparation 'wrestling' with exactly what to do, through Facilitating Missional Planning all day at Toronto, onto the second half of a fine Wanderers 1st XV victory over the fancied Hamilton [including  period with 2 players in the sin bin], then Slice Pizza at home and a busy Sunday leading worship at Muswellbrook and Rouchel in the Upper Hunter... I had the perfect evening dropping into Expresso Cafe at Adamstown in the Dungeon!!
   We've been working hard at Toronto to understand and make plans to become a more missional faith community alongside existing strengths in hospitality, community engagement, funerals ministry and a teaching and discipling culture. After two previous days group work + church council conversations we spent the day being reminded of the missional implies and how God's call relates to giftedness and where people already ARE in their community... We made choices about ethos & values, narrowed focus in terms of 3-4 things to grow/develop, explore and dream AND we asked 'what would be wise now' to achieve a financial future that enabled maintaining current budgets + funding new plans. People did really well seeking to grow existing mission, to build collaborations with others in the community and to let go of long lists and focus!! To be like 'salt' and 'light' bringing out the God colours and flavours present in their community.
   I got to No2 Sportsground after half time to learn that again this week all grades had been successful and 1st's were in front bit had two players yellow carded and off the field!! The defensive effort was huge and the crowd had obviously enjoyed the great rugby on offer. I'm enjoying the slow unroll of my voluntary help with Player Welfare in my local club!! The Two Blues!! The 1st XV just need to keep that up tempo game going and their hard work will continue to pay off!!
   The girls had requested the superb Slice Gourmet Pizza from Adamstown and I picked it up on the way home!!
   This morning was Muswellbrook Uniting at 9am including Communion and Rouchel at 11.30am!! We are in a month of focus on 'sharing your faith' and today was about 'doing worship differently... We did some reflecting on that but also listened to Rob Bell in the NOOMA clip "Today" which intersects with the reading from John 14 where Jesus promises God's Spirit [parakletos] which has a few emphases through the Gk not all held in English, but 'advocate' is fair, yet it can be in the sense of advocating with us on behalf of those we meet/see/know or who God sees, sides with and calls us to serve... in a very real sense the same Spirit inspiring Paul to connect with and seek to understand and critique the culture and context he found in people's spirituality and search in Athens in Acts 17.
   Having spent a number of years drilling into this story I was uneasily 'stuck' in what coherently inspired me about this story when sharing in Muswellbrook [by which I mean I always wrestle with the task of sharing something that actually has meaning and needs to be said and will strike a chord... I don't 'go through the motions'] instead focusing on ways of sharing faith in a post modern setting through relationships, stickability and faith 'practices' [the practices of good community inspired by God, not just good citizenship]. At Rouchel I spent more time talking about Paul's work to understand the local fascination with 'new ideas' [resurrection from the dead qualified as a pretty radical notion, well done Paul] and the person and role of Jesus prompting those at the Aeropagus. In this he modelled an understanding of the spirit of the age and inspired a generation of youth workers to engage their own passion for music, movies and books and what they say about 'where people are at' in their life, faith, questioning and worldview... In the local marketplace Paul is angry as he observes more than one carving or sculpture, including the one with the inscription 'to an unknown God' and you can picture Paul turning that into a desire to engage and help... in conversation offering "let me help you find the words for the God you know yet cannot 'name.'"  That's what discipleship can be about... together seeking the identity of Jesus in our midst.
   We also spent a little time unpacking ways people could see faith sharing happening differently in their lives and 'The Hunger Games'...
   Paul Kelly's "Meet Me in the Middle of the Air" from the MCG Bushfire Concert was a nice bonus part of the services...
   But to wrap the day I felt it important to head to Expresso at Adamstown tonight, knowing SLYM+ at Belmont would be a classic, but didn't need me to make it so...
   Expresso has a monthly pattern of promoting faith filled conversation through encountering art and/or music and on this occasion Matt Anslow came to share songs, about his passion and motivation and to talk about #LoveMakesaWay and how he and a group of others came to believe a peaceful non violent political action might give voice to the voiceless children in detention as asylum seekers who headed here to Oz in boats!! I, and also as he shared Matt, understand that some would be angry about the use of prayer in this context, a political context!! It came from over 12 months of meetings and discussion amongst people concerned about our Governments dreadful policies [both Labor under Gillard and Liberal under Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison's Ministerial role].
   I agree with Matt that 'all prayer is political' [politics being 'work done in public'] and at the end of the day this was a group of people committed to conversation with the politicians that would get traction after all the church's channels of dialogue were exhausted and they felt inspired by God to 'do something' that might get them to listen.
   Great to see Heather B and Mikhala L and a host of others on the night!! Matt's music was inspirational [Paul Dempsey-esque] and deeply grounded in justice and faith. He talked about the liturgy [the work of the people] of confession, lament, hope and peace they shared [including the offer to 'pass the peace' with staff and to invite them to join in the prayer. Far from being a stunt it was the option faithful people, many of them people I know and count as friends and leaders, felt was their only humble choice. As I say, I understand people not 'getting it'...
   That inspiration and the chance to chill and enjoy some good music was a great way to wind up the weekend before a jobs list, TV and rest!! In the words of the 'tough' judge from Sutherland, if ever there was a peaceful protest, this was it... the complete opposite, for example, of the Cronulla Riots!!