wonderingpilgrim

Palm Sunday Reflections

I found that local primary school children were very quick to link the reign of the Palm Sunday “Prince of Peace” with the values of the Sermon on the Mount – the term’s lessons on generosity, forgiveness, trust and peacefulness. I recall my adolescent “aha!” experience when linking the Vietnam Conflict Peace Marches with theContinue reading “Palm Sunday Reflections”

Saturday Shenanigans

The garage sale went off like a shotgun. Hundreds of people moved through and we sold enough to go along way to meeting our mission commitments projections. It was a warm 34º C and the ambiance, free tea/coffee, and the mouth watering sausage sizzle meant that a lot stayed around to chat and pass the time ofContinue reading “Saturday Shenanigans”

The Great Aussie Garage Sale

Today is the day before. An army of volunteers has arrived to strip down the church and set up the trestles. Poetry in motion – they’ve done this about thirty times before. Just as quickly tomorrow afternoon it will be returned to readiness for our Sunday morning communion and worship. The painstaking stuff is happeningContinue reading “The Great Aussie Garage Sale”

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Finale)

We survived the panel! The three of us briefly summarised our previous presentations and then fielded questions, challenges and positions from the 40 or so gathered. These ranged from the philosophical to the pragmatic. 90 minutes later we had to draw a line under the energised and enthusiastic public discussion. If it had an overallContinue reading “Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Finale)”

Shopping ethically…

… almost requires a graduate degree in economics (another area I failed dismally in at high school). I can participate in Fair Trade campaigns and look to buy what is not necessarily cheapest and what seems to be a better deal to the producers, whether they be local dairy farmers or subsistence plantation workers inContinue reading “Shopping ethically…”

Debating Global Warming…

… is not my favourite pastime as people’s minds are generally made up and difficult to sway. As a flunkee in high school physics I’m somewhat behind the eight-ball when countering climate skeptics’ arguments. What I can argue, however, is human responsibility to care for the planet. When someone gleefully seeks to trump this argumentContinue reading “Debating Global Warming…”

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 3)

Neville can be counted on for controversy. Eschewing Augustine for Irenaeus (“The glory of God is every creature fully alive”), Neville’s brief was to explore a projection of “the salvation of the human species.” He proceeded with Frank Fenner, the Australian microbiologist who pioneered the eradication of smallpox who said “The human species is likelyContinue reading “Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 3)”

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 2)

Does popular culture have its own way of addressing theological constructs? We briefly considered three movies to see how they handled preoccupation with the tension between determinism and free-will – “salvation” being seen in terms of liberation from controlling forces, be they personal or institutional. You can check out for yourself the reviews of Groundhog Day,Continue reading “Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 2)”

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 1)

This is the subtitle of the “Salvation Today” Lent series cooked up by my local Uniting Church colleagues and myself. I did promise some context for yesterday’s “Saving puppies from a runaway train” conundrum. In the wake of the visit of evolutionary theologian, Bruce Sanguin, we pondered the meaning of “salvation”, a word more oftenContinue reading “Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 1)”

Saving puppies – saving the world

A Peter Singer inspired question pops up in the WordPress postaday stimulus today: “An out of control train is about to run over a pile of happy puppies. You are standing at the control switch and can pull the lever to direct the train onto a different track, saving their lives. But that other trackContinue reading “Saving puppies – saving the world”