The Barney Rustle Blanket

    This week I created a huge mess inside my work satchel/messenger bag! The Crumpler 'Barney Rustle Blanket' had a handful of gold foil wrapped chocolate coins I forgot about, from last Sunday, melted and disintegrated, leaving chocolate coated pens, laptop, newsletters and coins! I have had this 'lifetime guarantee' bag for more than 20 years! It's real! I have only busted some clips on it, caught in a door edge as I walked through or run over by an office chair! I have an iPad satchel one, a larger laptop bag and backpack, but the Barney Rustle has gone the long journey of mission and vocation, symbol of engaging in the neighbourhood, listening and taking stuff I need on the road!

   I emptied the bag and put it through the washing machine cycle, hung it out to dry and 'it's rarely looked better.' All the dusty dirt accumulated through use removed. A shiny red, blue and yellow bag ready for another 5+ years of active service!

'Not Taking Sides!"

Banksy

    The challenge of 'not taking sides!' Conflict in the Middle East (a sanitised description of ongoing war, oppression and wrong relationship) has been going on my entire life! How will claims to land, territory and existence ever be truly committed to, beyond the story within the Torah?

   Nothing, nothing says the missile attack from Hamas and the death of reported 1300 Israelis in a day is OK! However a decade or more of Palestinian children's deaths is clear provocation. The story of World Council of Churches or other 'accompaniers,' news reports and history show the settlement disruption in the region despite commitments made by Israel and then Hamas is a terrorist organisation (in the tradition of the PLO).

   "Free free Palestine!" is the cry of Palestinians living in diaspora here and elsewhere and it stretches way back beyond the events of recent weeks! I still recall the wonderful spirit and atmosphere at Hunter Stadium when a group of us deliberately chose to attend Palestine's game in the Asia Cup!

   I believe the task for Christians, people following in the way of Jesus (or let me be more specific) my task, is to 'not take sides.' This means there are times of sounding like speaking out for one over another as  the story and media coverage, commentary from politicians etc plays out! The early comments from PM Albanese and the lighting of the Sydney Opera House were in my opinion, over the top!!! It is possible to condemn missile attacks without sounding as if you have no idea why they occurred! 

   
Yet, it was certainly a moment of madness from Hamas. These things are amplified and made sound even more ridiculous when we hear about 'the rules of war.' 'At least we are civilised enough to rule out certain barbarity, while 'bombing the crap' out each other,' is a pretty low bar!!!

Lastly, its always easy to be an armchair expert and perhaps the simple message ought to be: 

'IT IS TIME FOR PEACE.'

The World Needs More Santas

 Coca Cola feature in Best Ads of the Week, capitalising on their own invention of Santa Claus in RED and WHITE! This one suggesting we can be Santa... maybe there's more than holding a train or opening the half closed shop shutter?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znIyaGS5BNc

"Yes23 Needs work, but not the same blinkered Journalism!

                                                                                                                                                                         

   Last week an article appeared in the #Conservative newspapers, suggesting people coming from a 'No' perspective on the Referendum on Recognition of Aboriginal People in the Constitution and the Voice to Parliament, were increasingly reticent to voice their opinion for fear of the response and being branded racist! How ironic!

There are valid reasons to consider a NO vote:

- You genuinely believe this Constitutional change is racist or divisive

- The Constitution is not the place to reflect this reform

- You are convinced it won't deliver equity for indigenous Australians

- The separation of the 'values behind it' from how it will be established concerns you

This is different to:

- Feeling Aboriginal people get advantages and this is a 'leg up' - which by definition implies 'undeserved' or 'unjustified' special treatment (something Aboriginal people are very familiar with)

- You're  racist, with little or no appreciation of culture/story 

- When challenged you become abusive (yes I'll offer in return)

- It being about your own struggles and perceived lack of 'fairness'

- Appeal to the ideal we are all equal why divide us, the genuine case study version of a perspective shared from white privilege, whatever 'opportunities' you feel aren't open to you.
Equity is different to equality.

- You don't have 'the details' which is a distraction, where when details are offered we argue about them instead of the principle at hand eg. should it be 24 or 26 representatives when it's very existence is the main point and questions like this will vary as its effectiveness is measured. Details changeable, principle fixed as a solution generously asked for by aboriginal people themselves

- Not understanding who the few public aboriginal 'No' voices speak for

- And a few more...

   I'm reflecting on this today because I'm having some fruitful measured conversations with people genuinely open to learn or share and some idiot social media exchanges parroting memes and what are perceived to be funny quotable quotes (as above) avoiding the issues and applicable to all people, masquerading as wisdom or humour, when the quote is just about us all at some point or other...

   But even more, the same articles appeared around the plebiscite into 'Marriage Equality' and could have just had the topic 'cut and pasted,' even if the research is real! Maybe just as 'Yes' enthusiasts are invited to share generously and around enquiry, those feeling 'No' might simply offer their questions or concerns, open to hear alternative views. If that meets with threatening or negative feedback, call it out! But please, journalists, your vehicles editorial bias is showing! How about instead of 'gotcha' details questions, you ask people's perspective on the detail which exists, tell the story of indigenous people and invite them to tell it first, ask the No politicians which aboriginal leaders they have consulted with and whether, for example, being on a Mining Company Board effects your opinion on the interplay between mining permissions, traditional owners and 'The Voice.' Ask how a former Government who commissioned a 'shape of the Voice' report doesn't recall what it said!

   By all means ask about the kinds of valid reasons for 'No,' some of which are above... but don't subject us to the same 'cookie cutter' articles we've seen on previous issues. 

"We live in an Economy, not a Community!"

       It's all called 'trickle down Economics' but whichever way you describe it, "the rich get richer, the poor get the picture!" When I took up my vocation of ministry of Youth Worker I wondered if I'd ever use my Bachelor of Economics and genuine interest in the values and machinations it involves, again? 

   Slowly over the last 2 decades it became clear theology and economics would sit together in exploring the values of our western democratic societies and the nature of 'community' within them. Early on even the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," made fun of the term 'Voodoo Economics.' It's known as 'trickle down theory' or the Morrison and former Coalition Government's embrace of the idea if you offer Stage 3 Tax Cuts to our wealthiest, slash business tax rates and repeat the words 'small business' over and over then the economic benefits to corporations will ‘trickle down' to those on lower wages, unemployed or strugglers, by the invisible hand of the market economy.

   The removal of tariffs and a wholehearted pursuit of 'free trade' agreements is called 'levelling the playing field' when in fact it is more like climbing a mountain or traversing a 'mine field.' It has meant Fiscal policy (the levers Government uses) and Monetary Policy (the dollar and the role of the Reserve Bank) have become limited in what they can do to alter events. Our current 'cost of living' pressures reflect a drive to lower Taxes and less instruments available to Government to deal with issues.

   In the privatisation world, housing has become a retirement investment, so there isn't sufficient housing for everyone and it's become a chronic shortage. Just this week I learnt the Boulevarde Apartments in Hamilton are being used for social or affordable public housing the crisis is so severe. People in the 'housing and homelessness' area for 30 years find themselves advocating for 'safe car sleeping zones' as credible options, things are so bad.

   "If you have a go, you get a go!" our former PM famously said, "we are a nation of lifters, not leaners" offered the Treasurer as Government sought to strip back 'everything.' Including we learn, the Public Service wage bill in Canberra, whilst spending billions on Consultants. They'd use words like nimble or responsive, while allowing said firms to 'rort' and act corruptly. This includes auditing programs and spending on projects they recommend!

   BUT this is all just narrative around the bigger implications! We as people are regarded as part of the economy, a privatised market, where disadvantage puts you behind to begin with and then amplifies poverty, lack of education and skills. It tears the fabric of our society as we judge people harshly, when to ‘have a go' requires the resources to draw from, to get moving in the first place!

   Created in God's image, salt of the earth, we have inherent value as people and space to thrive in community which our very system crushes and makes impossible for many. It reinforces judgement against those who can't 'lift themselves up.' It creates division and causes angry people to target the vulnerable, like most recent hysteria around the 'trans community.' 

   We need to gather power to challenge the notions: everything can be privatised and equate to a dollar value; efficiency of the NDIS means it costs less; Jobseekers are bludgers; big corporations have our best interests at heart v shareholders and highly paid managers; and much more...

   Even in our economic terms I cringe every time a TV or radio journalist equates the Budget of our country with a household, regarding deficits as problematic! It's like an episode of 'Utopia!' Infrastructure built from debt leaves a legacy… 

   At the 'grassroots' of community we need to: see value in every person; regard them as having challenges and problems in need of our help; we need to strive for equity or access to resources, not the false notion of equality being 'shouted' as part of the distraction in the discussion around a 'Voice to Parliament' - an advisory body to better reflect solutions to problems in the indigenous community or ways to better capitalise,  on their natural affinities and advantages! Vote YES, to heal the scar on the soul of this country!

People are people, not economic units

Banks squeezing people for fees and interest make billions as do their managers

Government has a role in community or society, not just the economy. e.g. Squeezing TAFE in favour of private colleges - how did that work out - voodoo economics! Most went broke and now we need to reinvest in TAFE to skill our trades!

There is a place for an informed 'church' voice in the public square if we are willing to 'roll up our sleeves' and take action, not just preaching morals (or even ethics, the more accurate descriptor)!

We still need 'safety nets', public housing, public transport, services, infrastructure, roads, investment etc to cover for our natural disadvantages in a so called 'free trade' world!

Addition: a tweet today regarding small Government in Australia, preferring PWC consultants to public servants

Can we just put to bed forever the neoliberal concept of ‘small government’. #PwC scandal proves it’s all a giant rort geared to giving an elite corporate cohort a licence to print money at the taxpayer expense. It’s not more efficient, it’s corrupt. #rnbreakfast

Cafe setting Worship 'Voice' + Pentecost

    Would you believe, we held our Pentecost worship on Sunday around the Tables in the church building, used for Bill's Place Cafe and our Op Shop ($8 coffee an cake + cheap clothes and bric a brac) and I was too focused on leading and scene setting to take a single photo? Oh well!

   We had two themes" Exploring 'The Voice' to Parliament and 'Pentecost' through stories of our experiences... and a few reflections will stay with me:

- There's so much more to hearing God than preaching and stories are powerful, which I've always known

- Most stories I heard relayed reflected a supernatural element of exploring God's Spirit (I'll have to chase more conversation in search of the ordinary everyday stories which may have been shared

- Any number of people don't remember being told Pentecost meant 50th (day since Easter)

- Cafe style proved not to be a choice of style over substance and the conversations at Tables were vibrant and energetic in both building community and in exploring the themes

- As well as reinforcing that day, the 'good news' was heard in people's own language (a theme I'll expand on this coming week, instead of justifying a doctrine of trinity on a selected Sunday) but I also agree with Nadia Bolz Weber's brilliant reflection, it was heard in languages people didn't understand, so we are reminded we don't control the message and God breaks out in undisciplined, wild, spontaneous ways. I'm still not talking about pentecostal spirit language, just that God acts and speaks in ways that surprise those who would rather control the message or media! So we will celebrate the colour red at least one more week and dwell further on both themes

- Where two 'versions' of the shared breath or wind of the Spirit were shared, this is a clear invitation to reflect on our own experiences today.

- Grounded questions remain an important way to foster learning for life long discipleship e.g. Asking when people have seen us engage, explore and experience indigenous culture and story and asking about a time they've experienced God's Spirit in action are better questions than hypothetical ones about what this would be like

- Lucky I took some photos of the set up in our traditional front space to set the scene

*I almost forgot, the laughable idea a national call to a period of prayer, resourced by the UCA, sends an email with a video at 8.15am on Sunday, for use that day. I'm sure people are working hard but that takes last minute prep to a new high! But hey, what would I know...

Affirmations, Learnings and Rubbish

    Time to re-enliven my blog! Maybe an unreliable frequency of reflections on the world, sport and life! I'm thinking this week about a range of annoying things: like my reflection on Sunday 'we live in an economy not a community' which reflects the reality neo liberal 'trickle down economics' bullish*t comes from a place  of everything being dollar valued, and money, global economy and trade, deciding what is valuable... Then there is the insidious and poisonous impact of Murdoch's News Ltd legitimising 'cookers', conspiracy theorists and "right wing nut jobs" in heavily subsidised media, plus newspapers with divisive headlines, rubbish writing and a legitimising of fringe views, racism and argument as the norm!

   I'm constantly grateful for heartfelt affirmation about things I'm doing 'almost without thinking,' which is perhaps the best way to subdue yourself and focus on the 'main thing.' It's still time to  shut up more often and listen! I've been thinking again about some writing. It won't happen, I don't have the patience, though I'd like to write about mission from the standpoint of having lived through the decades we examine to describe our context. Nobody wants to read a book I would write!

   I'm learning about strategic focus, organising my workload differently and prioritising some meetings with individuals in the community. Hopefully there will be some space to plan this over a few months to meet 'the right people' to advance things we are working on. I'm learning about working with my gym sessions, dodgy back and healthier approach... as well as new ways to take space, like a stop off at the beach car park to take in the view and spend minutes not hours just recharging.

   Having written about some rubbish, the biggest is the opposition to 'The Voice!' in this country. I'll break all the 'how to talk to people' rules and suggest I have not heard a single valid reason to not vote 'YES.' I've heard plenty of talk, distractions, falsehoods, just no good reason!

   

   

40 Photos 'Elliot'

 Elliot is a design student at University who came to Newcastle from Perth to study under one of the fine Lecturers. He is also of aboriginal descent and while not an Awabakal man, he is interested in local groups and how to engage with communities supportive of 'The Uluru Statement from the Heart.'

Can we play a role in connecting Elliot with Awabakal folk or introduce him to our most ardent advocates for 'voice, treaty, truth' and Wesley Mission's Indigenous Advocate or the City of Newcastle Advocacy Team. Then this might also be an opportunity to meet with Elliot and Sean Gordon, whose design company employs indigenous people and is based at Wickham!

40 Photos 'Jazz'

 Jazz is a student at the local High School studying comparative religions and looking for people's stories to tell. Who might we suggest she contact and speak to in exploring why faith matters to people? She is a member of the Amnesty International group at her school and we have participated in letter writing in past years. Is there a chance to collaborate with the school next campaign? Could they also be invited to meet with the 'Grandmothers for Refugees' and attend their weekly Civic Park vigil Thursdays 5pm or Wednesdays first week of the month?

40 Photos 'Della'

 Della was a refugee as a child and her family are not included in the recent decision 19,000 can apply for permanent residency. They are still in limbo, unable to work or study, doing odd jobs in their neighbourhood for cash but wondering what the future holds. Who do we write to advocating for Della and her family? Can we link them up through Mosaic Multicultural Connections or Mayfields Refuge Hub?

40 Photos 'Max'

    Imagine Max, with his unique reading glasses and himalayan beanie, a performance poet from Adelaide who travels the country in a camper van, doing shows in pubs and local schools! He spends winter at the snow fields yet is sometimes quite lonely on the road. Pictured here he has been performing during the Festival of Sydney and enjoying the harbour town but wonders how many more months he will be travelling this year. Max would happily perform at events to grow community, focus on justice and making the world a better place... Do we have an event he could open or contribute to?

"40 Photos"

    Lent derived from Lencten or lengthen, refers to northern hemisphere winter and a time to spend 40 days (not counting Sundays) in the lead up to Easter - living with more simplicity as a time of reflection! Why? It mirrors Jesus heading into wilderness where he was tested... preparing for the journey to Jerusalem, which cost Jesus his life! The 'tests' were invitations to grab power for personal gain, freedom or temporary relief from circumstances (a kind of partial solution) which Jesus rejected, quoting wisdom from the ancient Scriptures to explain - instead choosing vulnerability and faith... echoing the story of Israel wandering for 40 years and failing to choose well...

Here Jesus shows 'the way...'

Here are 40 photos of people from different cultures, places, different ages. Thy invite you to use your imagination and make up their back story... What might be their name? What is their story? How do they feel about spirituality and faith? 

What would they ask about the Easter story if they had the chance?

What might God’s inexhaustible love mean in their lives and communities? 

How might a community of Jesus followers being like ‘salt’ and ‘light’ draw this out?