This Sunday’s Palm Sunday Walk for Refugees from Perth’s St George’s Cathedral will repeat a tradition that has grown over recent years. Palm Sunday events commemorate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding the colt of a donkey – the ultimate symbol of peace. It was a high festival time in Jerusalem with pilgrims fromContinue reading “Radical Palm Sunday”
Category Archives: refugees
Can good arise from a mess?
I have spent a lot of time with people trying to find their way through chaos. Some situations are just so daunting you wonder if anyone can see a way through to the next step, let alone an exit to clearer space where the air is fresh and the whisper of freedom can be heard. Continue reading “Can good arise from a mess?”
Action Man Jesus?
One can feel quite exhausted following a reading of the Gospel of Mark’s account of a day in the life of Jesus – today’s text Mark1: 29-39. There is a lot packed into the day so described. It is typical of Mark’s story-telling style – rapid, clipped, urgent, sparing of detail. It gives a pictureContinue reading “Action Man Jesus?”
Easter, Passover, Refugees & Memory Loss
This excellent article by Andrew Hamilton in Eureka Street speaks so much to the themes of this past week as well as being a timely reflection on the long Aussie weekend about to begin: Easter memory loss makes plastic of the present – Eureka Street.
Holy Week Action
The story of Holy Week sometimes begins with Jesus “cleansing the Temple” – turning over money trading tables and driving out sacrificial animals being sold under extortion. An arresting offence, no doubt, and certainly would have been a factor in his eventual capture and trial a few days later. In Perth we see Holy WeekContinue reading “Holy Week Action”
What drives Palm Sunday Peace Parades?
On Sunday, many thousands will march for peace. In Perth, leaving from St George’s Cathedral at 1 pm, those gathered will join others around the country in marching for justice for refugees. Inspiration for Palm Sunday Marches has a long tradition of drawing on the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the eve ofContinue reading “What drives Palm Sunday Peace Parades?”
Love finds a way…
Hyperbole and one-up-man-ship often mark the national discourse where controversy is concerned. In the midst of the sloganeering and major political parties competing to see who can offer the greatest deterrent to “stop the boats,” are men, women and children detained in off-shore prisons awaiting their indefinite and uncertain fates. On the reception of asylumContinue reading “Love finds a way…”
The one who marches out of step…
… may be the only one who is in step! Isaiah 50:4-9a is one of the so-called Suffering Servant songs. Appropriated by the Early Church to describe the Passion of Jesus, it initially describes the despair and desolation of the people of Israel as they are led off in chains into Babylonian exile. Suffering the indignityContinue reading “The one who marches out of step…”
New asylum seeker campaign ‘distasteful’ and ’embarrassing’
New asylum seeker campaign ‘distasteful’ and ’embarrassing’. Just when you think the Australian Government can do no worse in its cruel and dispiriting treatment of maritime asylum seekers, it pulls another rabbit out of the hat. This so-called low key cartoon strip campaign does little more than throw down a challenge to those desperate to fleeContinue reading “New asylum seeker campaign ‘distasteful’ and ’embarrassing’”
Refugees in the dark over security checks – Eureka Street
This article touches on a huge source of anxiety among refugees on bridging visas and living in communities such as ours. A High Court challenge is a flickering sign of hope that our Kafka-like systems will find an inch of redress. The toxic political polarisation that soaks our our waking moments, however, will take something more. RefugeesContinue reading “Refugees in the dark over security checks – Eureka Street”
Wondering Pilgrim 