Some books I’ve been reading…

Here’s two I’ve managed to complete in the Christmas New Year lull…

other_side_of_the_bridge The other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson (Chatto & Windus, London, 2006)

The tragic outcomes of sibling rivalry span two generations in a remote Canadian farming community – not too remote to be unaffected by unfolding world events such as the Great Depression and the Second World War however. A well written page-turner.

 

someone-knows-my-nameSomeone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (Fourth Estate 2007)

Another Canadian author tells a story of an 18th century journey from slavery to freedom from a first person perspective. From initial capture in the unmapped interior of Africa, through a horrendous sea journey to captivity in South Carolina, escape to New York, promise of freedom first in Nova Scotia and then Sierra Leone, the female protagonist finally ends up in London as a totem for the abolitionist cause. A well-researched gripping read, given that some estimates of the trade in human traffic are at its most prolific today.

Movie Review: Frost/Nixon

frost-nixon1I was in my early twenties during the Nixon years, and being half a world away, was only vaguely aware of the implications of the Watergate scandal. Thirty years later, having viewed Frost/Nixon, I recognise having gained a certain amount of understanding through hindsight.  The film takes some dramatic license as it describes some behind the scenes setting up of the series of interviews by David Frost with Richard Nixon. Essentially the interviews are presented from the historical records, yet the screenplay is not just documentary. Both David Frost and the ex-president are portayed as having high stakes in the inteviews, both in it for their own reasons, and thus the film becomes a fascinating character study, revealing the paranoia of Nixon and the ambition of Frost. Frost got his coup, the broken admission of Nixon of the crimes of Watergate. This was not a bad thing for Nixon, however. His confessions allowed the beginning of healing in varying measures for himself and the American people. The wounds and scar tissue remain however. If there was ever an era of innocence on the political scene under any regime anywhere, the Watergate affair blew it clean out of the water for some time to come.

Trish travels to Nazareth in the name of peace

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Trish supervising in our church kitchen

News from the Middle East is not all that good right now as Hamas and Israel hammer at each other again. But we’re in the business of celebrating small candles that light the way in the darkness.

Nazareth Hospital is one such candle – a Christian place of healing where both Jew and Arab are treated equally no matter what ideology or faith stance.

On Christmas Day we commissioned Trish Bevan for her return stint at the Nazareth Hospital and two other Galilee projects for some maintenance work. This feisty septuagenarian wields more than a paint brush. She is passionate about the cause of building peace amongst Jews, Muslims and Christians. Without fear and with sustained high energy, she immerses herself in the work parties that travel from Australia to to Nazareth under the guidance of Paul and Merrill Kitchen. Follow the unfolding news on the current project blog here. 

The colossal carbon trading rip-off

Been quietly seething about the damp squib of a carbon trading scheme offered by our PM this week – 5% reduction by 2020 is a flea-kick. Then there’s a transparently deceptive attempt to get us all to put our shoulder behind the wheel to reduce it further. Scott Vawser spells it out here. 
*sigh* – just when we thought we were turning the corner.

Christmas breaks in…

christmas-party-2008_2008-12-07_0019_edited-1christmas-party-2008_2008-12-07_0057_edited-1… see what I mean? There’s kind of a Mexican stand-off between Advent and Christmas observance. We had our annual community Christmas party last night – barbecue followed by games and carol-singing.

 

I used the epilogue to tell a story about “the angel in a gum tree”, sneaking in a flog for the Christmas Bowl Appeal.

Maybe Advent and Christmas weren’t in conflict; maybe they kissed!

It all comes together in the end!

‘Tis the Season to be Fasting…

christ-bowl… fa lalala la, lala la la!  
I usually feel like King Canute at this time of the year – raising my arms, seeking to hold back the relentless tide of Christmas festivities washing tsunami like over the beaches of Advent – the “little Lent” –  the season of preparation, reflection and fasting. My church folk, Christmas decorations in hand, have regarded me quizzically when I go into one of my “It’s not Christmas yet” rants, shrugging their shoulders as if thinking “How odd –  another one of his eccentricities!” as they set about  decorating halls and singing carols. And me – I’m thick into the round of “end-of-year” parties (I refuse to call them Christmas parties ‘cos it’s not Christmas yet!) and – just to demonstrate my inconsistency – shamelessly promote The Christmas Bowl – a seasonal fund raiser for the aid arm of the National Council of Churches.

So this year I’ll mellow out a little. Some battles you throw in order to win bigger ones.

“Australia” the Movie – Kitsch or Epic?

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No doubt about it – this reviewer has mixed reactions to Australia, the movie. The characters and plot devices are exaggerated caricatures of all that has been classic in cinematography and depictions of this land. At one level it comes across as a kind of “Gone with the Wind Down Under” – and in the meantime throw in some subtle allusions to Crocodile Dundee, Wuthering Heights, The Sundowners, Pearl Harbour – not to mention direct lashings of The Wizard of Oz as a major plot device. So blatant and over the top is this approach that it taps into the nostalgia of my childhood experiences at the Woodville Saturday afternoon flicks with Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. 

At the same time and not entirely escaping these means, a deeper story runs. It is narrated (in pidgin English, if you don’t mind) from the perspective of an 11 year old aboriginal boy, and there is a deep and respectful consciousness within the screenplay of the not so long ago discredited assimilation policy and its cruel legacy of the Stolen Generations. Also, the playing out of the melodramatic “hero- heroine-villian” theme has an uncanny resemblance to the current real-life dramas of the  Western economic crisis.

The message is simple – if you’re going to live life fully – you must have a story and live into its completion. Sounds like a paraphrase of something that Jesus said. This time it is the medium of cinematic cliche, nostalgia and the international perception of this land Down Under that attempts to deliver it.

Because the movie both entertains and at the same time “slips the message under the door”, it may well succeed.

Economic Rationalism – A Radical Reading of the Parable of the Talents

See Matthew 25:14-30. Never liked this one much – probably because as a self-perceived “one talent” person I have always seen the third guy as hardly done by. But what if we read the story differently from the traditional morality tale, “protestant work ethic” approach? What if we heard this story through the ears of the original hearers, the anawim, the “poor of the land”? They weren’t out to make profits – they just wanted to survive. The huge amounts of money involved were beyond their perception – even the one talent of silver would seem like a million dollars to them. Their subsistence system was conceptually out of sync with the harsh profiteering of the owner and his two minions. The third servant bucks the system – refuses to play the game and is cast out. Sounds suspiciously like the one who came not to lord it over us but to serve! Could go on, but let’s just leave it as a teaser. See here for an article pursuing this line (it’s on page 12). I have long ago come to the conclusion that this is the true intention of Jesus’ parables – to tease hearers into kingdom awareness rather than provide moral maxims.

Labyrinth – a pathway to encounter with God.

A bit slack today – installed new church PA system and laid down a labyrinth in the church forecourt.

What is a labyrinth? For many it conjures images of the Minotaur of ancient Crete – half man and half bull, consuming young Greek captives left to wander in a maze of dark undergoround tunnels.  While the most ancient of labyrinths can be traced to Crete, they are much more benign than that. A labyrinth comprises a simple path winding around itself to a centre – no dead ends, no nasty surprises. For many in the Christian tradition, it is symbolic of prayer – a pathway inwards, laying down cares and concerns; a meeting in communion with God at the centre; and, in retracing the pathway outwards, resolve and application.  Its presence and design lends itself to silent contemplation – the prayer of no words. Simply to walk the pathway is to encounter the stillness where we can listen and hear what is needed.

The labyrinth pictured is open, accessible, and kind of temporary/permanent. It’s only masking tape on pavers, but easily patchable. It’s my poor attempt to put into practice what I learned at a Robert Ferre workshop the other day. We already have a canvas labyrinth available for the use of schools and other community organisations. If you’re passing by, stop off for 20 minutes and give it a try.

Demolition begins – what of the future?

A strange silence has descended on this once thriving street. Once it was busy with cars and delivery trucks as well as pedestrian traffic – neighbours walking dogs, skateboarders, children buying after school snacks, “golden girls” meeting for coffee – now there’s nobody. Even an advocate of silence, like myself, finds the silence is too loud.

But this morning the stillness is broken. The crash and thump of demolition has begun. Soon the burnt out shopping precinct will be a piece of valuable vacant land. What then? How will it be redeveloped? Some fear it will be rezoned as residential. There are complications with the current commercial zoning as it is deemed that adjacent sites, some of which are public open space, should be acquired to maximise current shopping precinct needs and potential. Naturally, there is opposition to this idea. The planning and rebuilding process threatens to be a rough ride. If a good community consultation process is established, I’m sure some win-win solutions will be found.