Don's Blog
Hi All,
As I write I am remembering this day 32 years ago when I was ordained as a Minister of the Uniting Church. It does seem like yesterday. Since that time I can honestly say that it has been an honour to offer ministry in the many and varied situations I found myself. That is not to say that at times I wanted to do other things and found being in ministry very hard however, however, as an overall reflection I can say I would not have wanted to be anywhere else. Most of the time I have felt that God has either placed before me challenges or has place me in situations where I needed to be. As I said in my ‘testimony’ a couple of weeks at Perth Prayer, “God never lets you go”. So say a prayer for me as I enter my 33rd year of ministry.
This is a great segue into commenting on the celebration we had last Sunday with Revd Geoff Blyth as he celebrated his 50th year of ministry. It was a wonderful occasion, with so many of his family, so many of his friends, including many clergy. Once again we received many, many positive comments on the service, the preaching and the wonderful connection Geoff has with the Wesley Congregation/community. Thanks Geoff and Esme for celebrating your special milestone with us.
This week I have met with more of our ‘Stations’ artists. Mikaela Castledine - Station No 7, Jesus falls the second time - presents a Paper Collage work which depicts a journey. She has created a road complete with power poles, looking like crosses beside the road. As you look closely you can see that one of the poles is red in colour and is starting to fall. It’s a simple but profound presentation as Mikaela uses images of power and journey to present an idea of Jesus falling under the weight of power. It is a ‘powerful’ work, which I am sure, will provoke many a conversation. This afternoon I am going to meet Bronwyn Constance (Station 12, Jesus Dies on the Cross). This particular station always evokes significant presentations, so I will be interested to see the work.
If you are interested in seeing Bob Booths work again, (remember he painted a work on Station 5 Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus last year) he is unveiling this Sunday a large-scale oil triptych titled Crucifixion, Deposition, and Resurrection of Christ. It will be installed at the North Transept Altar, St George’s Cathedral, for the duration of Lent. Following Evensong there will be drinks in the Cathedral, and Bob will speak about the triptych and engage in conversation about this work and the nature of religious art in general.
There was some good news on the young people outside our church front as I received an email from John Berger (Anglicare- Step 1) that said, “ We have just heard that we have been successful in gaining a grant from Attorney General’s Dept (Criminal Confiscation Fund) to continue our work targeting 15-25yo in the inner city for at least 12 months. So this was good to hear and they and us can continue to work with these young people at risk.
This weekend I am spending some time at Summer Spirit, our annual training time. During the weekend we will be listening to a number of people sharing comments about, “Engaging the Community”. A theme that is familiar and dear to my heart. It starts on Friday night with a dinner and Allanah MacTiernan, my new Mayor of the City of Vincent is speaking. Included in the weekend speakers is Steve Taylor, the Director in Missiology from Adelaide who is an incredibly creative person who I have heard share before and always find he has many practical ideas about engaging the community. I will let you know how it goes.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Thanks for reading.
From your minister,
Don
Sunday 19th February 2012
8.30am Discussion Group.
10.00am. Morning Worship – The Transfiguration
Sunday 26th February 2012
10.00am Worship – The Celebration of Baptism of Russell Hutabarat, whose parents are members of GKI Indonesian Uniting Church, Mosman Park. Elders and members of this congregation will join us, and his father Parada will sing to us during the service
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