No government funds, please: we’re Christians! – ABC Religion & Ethics – Blog

Storm in a teacup or point of no return?

As an advocate for chaplaincy and stakeholder with my state provider (which, by the way, was formative in crafting the guidelines that made the whole thing workable before and after the complication of government funding), I find sense in the view expressed here: No government funds, please: we’re Christians! – ABC Religion & Ethics – Blog.

I expressed similar views at the time. I work with what we have now. Hang on to your hats, we’re in for an interesting ride!

Charter for Compassion

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

This TED talk is the basis for this morning’s church camp exploration on compassion as an ingredient for creative communities of hope. Noting the peculiar features of a postmodern environment, we will be asking what the particularity of the incarnational faith of Christianity contributes to the conversation in practical and ideological terms. I have a feeling we will just begin the conversation!

Creating Communities of Compassion and Hope

From a previous church camp at Landsdale Farm School

Our church is in camp this weekend. It’s our annual pilgrimage to Landsdale Farm School, a state education department residential facility about 20 minutes from home. We hang out, eat, converse and have fun. There are lots of animals to keep the kids enthralled and we have a couple of group sessions around a theme – hence the headline, inspired by a TED talk which I blogged on back in February.

We will explore creativity in relation to community, compassion and hope – looking to some of the most overlooked to assist us. We never come back from a church camp feeling we have not gained something in bonding, growth in maturity and understanding, and confidence in being who we are called to be.

“Avagoodweegend!” – ‘cos we’re going to!

1000 extra chaplains to be dispatched into state schools | Adelaide Now

Lots of Budget news to ponder, but this one caught my eye.

1000 extra chaplains to be dispatched into state schools | Adelaide Now.

A bold move in light of the current High Court challenge. I support school chaplaincy but predicted controversy when the Howard government, followed by the Rudd and Gillard governments, stepped in with their massive federal funding boosts. The positive influence of chaplains in a school community is demonstrable. Their role is not to teach religion or proselytise, but to provide ancillary support to students and staff as called upon. They most often work alongside  other student services – counselors, guidance officers, psychologists – to provide the time and informal contact that falls outside the mandated scope of these services. As such, they continue to play significant roles in assisting students deal with anxiety, self-esteem, bullying, bereavement, drug dependency, suicide prevention and sexual abuse. Cross-referral commonly takes place within the student services team.

Nevertheless, the cry will grow louder over federal funding of a church-sponsored activity. The protest will be based on the ideal of separation of church and state and that the church has no role to play in a secular society. The counter-argument is that the church has always been part of society, secular or otherwise, and, through collaboration with the state, continues to play a vital role in the provision of a wide range of services across the health, welfare, education and corrective sectors.

Each side of the argument brings its anecdotal support. Those mounting the High Court challenge have a briefcase of stories of attempted proselytisation. Aberrations occur within any calling, and systems are in place to correct, admonish, and counsel those who stray beyond their contracted mandate.

The challenge will need to depend on legal arguments focused on interpretations of the Australian Constitution. In the meantime, it looks like 1000 extra chaplains will be playing their distinctive role in the schoolyard.

Sunday session drinking is sinking…

Alcohol related violence in Perth has escalated to the point where a weekend scarcely passes without death or serious injury. The latest incident, described in the article, Ocean Beach Hotel Death | Sunday session drinking, caps the concern. Ironically, a lot of binge-drinking seems to be stimulated by either having too much money or not enough!

Many Perth old-timers are alarmed at the speed with which violence has taken this community by the throat. While much of it is alcohol and drug related, there are other pressures that add to the mix – infrastructure not keeping up with boom-time population stimulation, un-affordable housing, traffic congestion and isolation.

Perth is having to come to terms with the fact that small country town ambience  no longer provides the solutions to “big city” issues. I dare say the “big three” on the east coast have faced these challenges for a little while. Debate will revolve around whether a national strategy or small community based initiatives or a combination of both is best suited to respond.

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Image by Katcha via Flickr

One of my colleagues sees the Emmaus incident as central to a true understanding of the celebration of the Lords Supper, aka Holy Communion, aka Eucharist. It is in the stranger’s breaking and blessing of bread that the crucifixion and resurrection in the midst of a questing and believing household of faith becomes real.

Still on leave, I was interested to hear what the church I visited yesterday morning had to say about it. Wesley Church, in the heart of Perth, is sometimes my place of pilgrimage when I have a free Sunday. The use of the arts, musical and visual, gives a nice even flow to the “worshipful conversation” that takes place there.

Not to be disappointed, I listened to the Rev’d Don Dowling reflect on four main points he drew from the Emmaus journey (see Luke 24:13-35)

  1. Luke was at pains to demonstrate to his hearers, a generation after the event, that the Risen Christ is discerned and tangible in the midst of their faith community.
  2. The faith community, seen in the two travelers, is exposed and vulnerable to opposing elements and values that would seem to defeat them. The stranger remonstrates with them, stirring the memory of their core story and summoning them to active engagement with it.
  3. It is the community gathered at the table that discerns the Risen Christ in the “breaking of bread.”
  4. Cleopas and his companion are not part of the original Twelve. The Risen Christ is often to be found amongst ordinary folk beyond the “purple circle” or “holy huddle.”
All great points with which my learned colleague would concur, I’m sure!

BERNAMA – Malaysia, Australia Agree On Cooperative Transfer Of Asylum Seekers

BERNAMA – Malaysia, Australia Agree On Cooperative Transfer Of Asylum Seekers

This one comes as a surprise. Just when you think human beings can’t be objectified much further, my country turns them into a trade commodity. “We’ll give you 800 of ours and, over time, we’ll take 4000 of yours.”

What does this solve? How is “people trading” morally superior to “people smuggling”?

Asylum Seekers: Back to the Future…

De-mothballing the detention centre at Manus Island heralds a revisit to some of the darker aspects of Australia’s recent history on refugee policy.

In the foreseeable future, our government’s intransigent insistence on off-shore processing of asylum seeker assessment will polarise the Australian population even further as we discuss “them”. The genius of off-shore processing keeps us from encountering the individual human stories of despair and hope. Community based assessment was apparently “too successful” in integrating asylum seekers.

Here’s one story, evoked by the last refugee who languished alone at Manus Island for 10 months. Eventually, that which is hidden emerges.

Horror on Manus Island: the story of Aladdin Sisalem.

The power of cartooning

I recall my peers’ high-school cartooning of unpopular teachers, particularly those that sought to wield what seemed like over-abundant power on our free time.

The power of cartooning became more apparent to me during my seminary years as I teamed with a colleague to make cartoon commentary on our community life. The weekly ‘FLIT’ cartoon was bound to draw a crowd around the noticeboard. Reactions ranged from delight to outrage amongst students and diffident aloofness among faculty.

The power of a few squiggles to make a sharp point, lampoon airs & graces, uncover a hidden agenda, and even point to loftier ideals has appealed to me ever since, although I rarely bring out the cartooning pen and ink these days. Pastoral sensibilities have come to transcend the prophetic bite, I’m afraid.

Eureka Street’s cartoonist, Fiona Katauskas, has an excellent article on the power of the cartoon at Drawing Julia Gillard – Eureka Street.