If weeks had a theme…

A Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) in flower.
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… this one would be “breaking through.”

  • a vestige of human decency broke through when the High Court decided against the legitimacy of Australia’s “people trading” deal with Malaysia.
  • the annual Uniting Church School of Ministry considered scholarly data that pointed to where spiritual growth was “breaking through” globally in unexpected quarters and were confronted with the notion that denominational structures would need to make way or disappear. Get ready for a “third world” face to Christianity that will replace the “first world” visage. (My poor and inexact summary of three excellent presentations by Professor Robert Gribben, United Faculty of Theology, University of Melbourne.)
  • the launch of Dayspring’s tenth anniversary celebrations where keynote speaker, author Margaret Silf, reflected on “breaking through” as a necessary condition for transformation. You can break an egg destructively or creatively. For the hatching chick it is one of life’s first creative moments. For many in the church, restrictive structures and rigid, unreflected upon dogma can be a shell that needs to be broken for the creative life of the Spirit to do its work.
  • Then, of course, Thursday was the first day of Spring (southern hemisphere), the season of new life breaking through everywhere.
The theme needs to be celebrated with a change of blog dressing, hence the WordPress theme “Spring Loaded”
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Enjoying a fallow day…

Outside cleanup jobs beckon through the window, but the sight of rain and the sound of wind indicate that it would be much wiser to keep my feet up inside doing nothing in particular. Besides, it’s been a productive week. Time to be lazy and rest on some laurels. Not even going to read a book!

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High Court Chaplaincy Challenge Diversions

 

 

 

 

While on the matters of things High Court, it is interesting to see how the current challenge to the federal funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program is playing out: States play cat and mouse in High Court chaplaincy challenge – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

Community debate surrounding the challenge has wandered down many byways.
Who would have thought that the focus would similarly shift in the High Court?
One could read the initial challenge of the Executive funding initiative without parliamentary legislature as merely a vehicle to challenge a view that chaplaincy is “establishing a religion” and therefore not constitutional. Enter the six states as plaintiffs, and they have made the vehicle the cause. Their arguments have nothing to do with chaplaincy, but with the power of the Commonwealth to wield influence over precious state rights through funding.

What a can of worms! I guess such is what keeps the legal fraternity out of mischief.

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High Court quashes Malaysia deal

Parties to the Convention Relating to the Stat...
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… but I fear it’s not time to break out the champagne yet.

My feeling right now is one of relief at expectations vindicated. The Malaysia deal was immoral even before it was illegal. Today’s High Court decision that effectively prevents the government from proceeding with the Malaysia refugee swapping deal presents at least one occasion where Australian law reveals, or at least, syncs with, a moral underpinning.

I have another feeling of trepidation. What next? Today’s decision could not have been unexpected by Immigration. What irons do they have in the fire for Plan B and Plan C that may yet erode the basic human rights for asylum seekers to have their claims heard in a country that has endorsed the UN Refugee Convention?

Or will the unimaginable occur  – that our political parties will clear the decks and engage some creative, compassionate and sustainable collaboration in working out a way forward in dealing with the issues that have led to a world refugee surge? Stranger things have happened!

(Map shows signatories to the UN Refugee Convention in green)

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Riding the winds of change

wind power
Image by twicepix via Flickr

 

 

Just as one of the biggest mining corporations canes our state government for not entertaining the possibility of nuclear power (vested interests?), we see this announcement: Japanese breakthrough will make wind power cheaper than nuclear | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

Renewable energy becomes more viable and more accessible as each day passes.

That’s all!

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Fooling around with themes…

Screenshot of the blogging system WordPress.
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It must be a sign of the Monday blah’s. A busy weekend capped off with a burst hot water system leaves one in  the “spaced out” zone and difficult to focus on anything. Preparation work sits on my desk thumbing its nose at me. I just stare at it uncomprehendingly.

Only one thing for it – experiment with WordPress‘s blogging themes. So far we’ve had bananas, grunge, cogs, and exotic Javanese designs. For now I’ve settled for something rather minimalist – suits my mood right now. So regular readers, just bear with me, it will settle down soon and you won’t have to dread being hit between the eyes with some bizarre combination of colours and images when you click Wondering Pilgrim. 

The art of tidy/untidy…

Keep tidy
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Last week my desk was under a motley arrangememt of piles of assorted papers, books and projects.

This week it is as barren and featureless as any Antarctic waste.

In a few days, I can guarantee it will once again be as it was last week. And so it goes.

But I haven’t got this bloke’s problem! – The Compulsively Tidy Ursus Wehrli Visually Organizes Life in His Latest Book, “The Art of Clean Up” | Colossal.

Church Board Retreat

What sorts of things does a local church board discuss at it’s annual retreat?

The flower roster?
The need to cut the length of the Sunday morning harangues … I mean … sermons?
The leaky roof?

Not likely, at least not at the one I’ve been involved with today. On our agenda were:

  • brainstorming closer work with the six other congregations in our suburb
  • working on our indigenous reconciliation agenda
  • advancing our environmental care policy with an energy audit
  • creating opportunities for enhanced cross generational engagement with the local community
Some good grist for the mill. Now to put legs on it all.

 

 

Religion and republicanism in Australian politics – Eureka Street

Australian Coat of Arms (adopted 1912)
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It’s blog-lite today as this weekend’s heavy schedule descends. Eureka Street often comes in to fill a gap at such times as it often is the medium that reflects most closely my own position (with some exceptions). I would probably want to spend some time, should it be available, reflecting on how religion and politics have danced around each other in this week’s parliamentary debates. Instead I offer this video interview with John Warhust, ANU Emeritus Professor of Political Science – Religion and republicanism in Australian politics – Eureka Street. Maybe his observations find some reflection on how MPs have answered some questions in this week’s parliament.

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1 is too many

Australia’s asylum seeker detention culture is very much under scrutiny.

The High Court deliberates whether it is in the government power to alleviate pressure on the system through a ‘people-swapping deal’ with Malaysia.The outcome of the case will also have an impact on some backup strategies for warehousing refugees in other off-shore centres.

And in a few days we will observe Refugee Sunday. Most of the rest of the world observed it on June 2oth, but for some reason it runs a little late here. But it is not untimely.

Here’s a reflective contribution from the Disciples of Christ 

Congregations that have resettled refugees in the past are encouraged to celebrate that ministry and the accomplishments of the refugees they have resettled. Congregations are also encouraged to reflect on all the thousands of refugees stuck in refugee camps around the world who are awaiting an opportunity for resettlement and a chance to begin their lives again.

The 2011 theme for World Refugee Day is “1 is too many.”

1 family forced to flee is too many;
1 refugee without hope is too many;
1 refugee returned to danger is too many;
1 refugee longing for home is too many;

1 child without a nationality is too many;
1 family without shelter is too many;
1 refugee denied a safe haven is too many;
1 child growing up in a camp is too many;

1 family torn apart by war is too many;
1 girl raped at gunpoint is too many;
1 refugee child behind bars is too many;
1 refugee without schooling is too many.