Facing the Future in Zimbabwe

Antony Dandato with Denis Ladbrook & Ken Patterson

The hope for Zimbabwe lies in its future leadership, well-educated and founded on the trust that is realised in the gift of the gospel of Christ. So claims Antony Dandato, representing the  Fellowship of Christian Unions in Zimbabwe (FOCUS) speaking at the Church of Christ Wembley Downs during an extended visit to Perth. The goal of FOCUS is to unite and equip tertiary students from a variety of campuses and Christian traditions for leadership in their various fields  in the hope that Zimbabwe social and economic life has seen its worst days and is ready for fresh beginnings. From the sound basis of values and consideration for others based on the good news of Christ, Antony believes that Zimbabwe and many other African nations can build a solid future.

Antony fielded a Q & A session with the congregation, highlighting the value of longterm leadership preparation as the most effective strategy for rebuilding his country.  The congregation would also know through previous visitors from Zimbabwe and the church’s support of the Khayelihle Children’s Village that this view is widely shared amongst Zimbabwe Christian leaders.

Antony is keen to share news of  how Christian students on university campuses in his country can combine their efforts in contributing to Zimbabwe’s future.

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli joins the current spate of post-apocalyptic films, perhaps riding high on the uncertainty of the times. Is the strong violence gratuitous or meant to give expression to the ultimate manifestation of dog-eat-dog society? Are the motives behind hunger for possession of the sacred book aimed at self-aggrandisement or service  of others? These questions and other metaphors that arise in the telling of the story seem to be suitable for contemporary times, not just an imagined future. Make allowances for Hollywood sentiments and characterisations and you may find yourself thinking about the film longer than an hour after leaving the cinema.

Congealed Life?

Is your money “congealed life?”
Would you describe your job as “hanging around burning bushes all day?”
Are you a “guard dog” or a “bird dog?”

So many arresting thoughts in one short email courtesy of the daily log  by William P Young, author of “The Shack”

Subscribe to it at Windrumors | The Official Site of Wm. Paul Young, Author of “The Shack”

What a way to end the dry spell!

Athletically ducking for cover into the backseat (after pulling over) as hailstones the size of golf-balls shatter your windscreen! Big panel beat ahead for someone but I suspect insurance will write the old Ford wagon off. I crawled home, peering through cracked glass, to find my beloved mopping up a flooded kitchen. Home and office phones both zapped by lightning but a modem survived. Perth traffic remains in chaos. Bits of King’s Park are sliding down into some high rise apartments at the base of Jacob’s Ladder. Perth may match Melbourne of two weeks ago in the spectacular and destructive storm stakes.

Compulsory Income Management

This morning’s article in Eureka Street scratches an irritating itch. On behalf of my local church, I receive occasional calls to help out families on hard times. My training has me quickly assessing the level of need, its genuineness and the appropriate response. Often it’s the choice between organising a food parcel or accompanying the person to the supermarket and saying “OK – get what you need to the tune of $xx” I’m far more comfortable with the first option – I maintain control and I decide “what is good for the other.” The second option is scary. It’s “unprofessional”; I have ceded control; the person’s choices will most certainly not be my choices, they might even go over the limit I have set. Yet this is often the choice I take. Why? The person’s dignity and sense of self in these instances seems to be as equally important. I note that the local food bank we support also majors on the “dignity” principle as it provides refreshments and conversation to those who come to make up their food parcel. The Eureka Street article highlights the contrast between sound economic management in government offices and the human interface of welfare agencies that oppose compulsory income management on the very grounds I have mentioned.

In my local church setting, I have noticed our most stringent economic managers soften and bend and become most generous and self-giving when face-to-face with genuine human hardship. Perhaps the proposed implementation of a wider policy on compulsory income management might soften if administrators and policy makers spent more time on the front-line with welfare and community development workers.

Port Power – on and upwards!

This is how all the Eagles fans in my congregation will be greeted this morning. They were merciless last week, anticipating a huge knockdown in last night’s NAB cup. It was a knockdown all right – but the other way – 78 points! As much as  I rant against tribalism, I can’t expunge Port Adelaide from my genes, so I will say nothing apart from wearing my new liturgical dress.

That’s worth taking on!

Lent is not a customary observance within the tradition of Christian formation that nurtured me. But I have come to it much in latter years. There is something very powerful about being caught up in the re-enactment of the Christian festivals and fasts that tell our story year after year.

Contrary to the popularised idea of Lent as a time of denial of self-indulgence in one (usually small) simple pleasure, prompting the oft asked question “What are you giving up for Lent”, I am attracted to the idea of “taking something on for Lent.”  I notice that other bloggers have also been attracted to this variant and in my view, truer stance.  See More Meredith Gould and The Go-Between God. After all, Jesus’ constant refrain throughout this season’s commemorated journey with his confused disciples is “Take up your cross (daily) and follow me.”  The invitation is to consider what this metaphorical cross is like. Surely it is the work of allowing God’s Spirit to mould oneself to the way of Christ – the way that gradually replaces self-indulgent me-ism with other-focused compassion. These are the hallmarks of the reign of God that Jesus modeled and taught. It takes focus, and, for many, fasting helps pay such sustained attention.

For me, meditation works best. So it was affirming to hear, during his Perth visit, the leader of the World Christian Meditation Community, Fr Laurence Freeman, encourage us to “take on compassion for Lent.” He also said “practicing kindness” was the best preparation for meditation.  So – an outer practice that is other centred to prepare for an inner focus that is self-stripping – not in self-negation but in a way that engages silence, stillness and simplicity in the quest for the reign of God in all that matters.

That’s worth taking on!

Dancing the Enneagram

Jenny and I took in the Festival of Perth production of “Happy as Larry”, a contemporary dance devised by Shaun Parker and inspired by the themes of the enneagram, an ancient system used today in personality profiling and spiritual direction. As someone who has worked with the enneagram over many years, I was particularly interested to see how contemporary dance might interpret and present it. The energetic and winsome performance was engaging in its own right, but might have frustrated those who were bent on seeking to identify categorically the specific enneagram spaces. It was much more subtle than that, and therefore, in my view, a faithful presentation of the moving and integrating energies within the system. Here and there an identifiable “label” appeared, but was quickly subsumed into the dynamic of the drama of interaction that did not ignore the dark places of the types in their “pursuit of happiness.” My remark at the end of the performance was “I’m not sure what they did, but they did it well.” It was only on awakening the next morning that I remembered and became aware of what had been happening in some of the more enigmatic dance sequences.

Taxing against Climate Change

Neither Prime Minister Rudd nor Opposition Leader Abbot sponsor policies that deal adequately with climate change challenges. Inevitably, the politics of funding gets in the way. A Eureka Street article by Peter Hodge points to a possible solution called the “Tobin Tax” – a tax on foreign currency transactions.

“Set at a tiny 0.005 per cent (the most commonly cited rate), the tax could collect around $76 billion each year, although estimates vary significantly. The funds could assist developing countries cope with the effects of climate change and finance the necessary technological adaptations; it is unlikely any legally binding climate agreement that includes most developing countries will be signed without such commitments.” (Hodge)

I guess it would be ever so slightly irritating for those of us who buy books on Amazon, but it would be a tax less worth grumbling about if we knew it was invested in  constructive solutions to protect developing countries from the effects of climate change catastrophe.

Not that this alone would address our global ecological responsibilities – incentives for renewable energy sources and reduction of carbon emissions would still be on the table, but funding arguments would differ.

I wonder if  economists and accountants who are much more qualified than I would be prepared to discuss the merits of such a solution?