One thing my training never equipped me for…

… is IT troubleshooting. For a small, ageing congregation, we’re very wired up. We digitally record our services, network with one another through email and a few are even braving Facebook and Twitter. This week I ventured into Android tablet territory and began teaching myself its various idiosyncracies and exploring the wonders of syncing itContinue reading “One thing my training never equipped me for…”

When the High Court saves us from ourselves…

    There’s a very good reason for the separation of powers – particularly law and governance: High Court puts Malaysia deal on hold | News.com.au. There will be many who gnash their teeth and wail that a High Court intervention interferes with the so-called “will of the people.” It depends, however, on what theContinue reading “When the High Court saves us from ourselves…”

Trying a Triantiwontigongolope

It was my usual charge in and grope my way in the dark. I needed some things from the office, so I felt for the right shaped key, found the lock – turned the knob and entered the dark cave I call my study. I reached out my hands and felt around the desk. BotherContinue reading “Trying a Triantiwontigongolope”

Paying the tax collector

Having just labored over and electronically lodged my tax return (how tremulously the finger hovers on the “send” button!), I now sit back and ponder. The question of taxes is not a light one. A conflicted standoff over how much and under what circumstances and “what for?” recently brought our inhabited cosmos to the brinkContinue reading “Paying the tax collector”

Demythologising the wedge

The wedge has been used to good effect in Australian public life over the last decade. Politically, the strategy has effectively divided the community on such issues as immigration, Aborigine & Torres Strait Islanders affairs, the environment, sexual equality and, yes, public funding of school chaplaincy. The strategy is effective. Divide and conquer keeps theContinue reading “Demythologising the wedge”

What does it mean to cede control to the Divine Other?

This is the question I didn’t address in this morning’s harangue based partly on Jacob’s nocturnal struggle with a mysterious strong man. I would have said that Jacob didn’t cede control to the divine being with whom he wrestled all night. He managed to extort a deal – only then did he release the mysteriousContinue reading “What does it mean to cede control to the Divine Other?”

Celebrating the Cornish Pasty

It’s wet and windy in Perth today – good Cornish pasty weather for this bloke with some Cousin Jack in his veins. I saw a news blip that says that in the EU the name “Cornish pasty” can now only be given to pasties created in Cornwall. This made me wonder what alternative nomenclature couldContinue reading “Celebrating the Cornish Pasty”