Don's Blog

Hi All,

An interesting week, a bit of this and a bit of that!

As we are moving into spring, I have started looking at resources around the theme of Sustainable September. If you happen to be in church this Sunday you will see that I have focused on the beauty of creation and our responsibility for it’s care.

Two of my children and two of my grandchildren have birthdays this week. Good planning hey!! So the weekend is back-to-back birthdays parties, added to the fact that we are getting together with our friends to belatedly celebrate Kay’s and one of her friend’s birthdays. I promise to be bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for Sunday.

It is one of the joys of having such a big family and a significant group of friends. I think it must be high on the list of a key aspect of being happy, because I have to admit I am in an extremely happy mood when surrounded by children and grandchildren.

I do spare a thought for those who do not have similar circumstances.  In fact this week, a member of our congregation, (UCIC congregation) whose parents are overseas, approached me, wondering if there might be Pseudo Grandparents available. They are looking for “Grandparents” who would be interested in dropping in on small children once in a while to give them a sense of an older generation. This must surely be one of the difficult parts of deciding to move away from your country of origin, as leaving country, in many cases, means leaving parents and grandparents and as we know the extended family has a significant role to play.

If you know of anyone who could fulfil this role please let me know.

A reminder again that this Sunday we will elect new and renominate current Elders.

The people nominating are:

David Beasland for 3 years

Leo Blawan for 2 years

Jenny Millar for 5 years

Margaret Murdoch for 2 years

Esther Chow for 3 years

Those renominating are:

Edwin Hadfield for 5 years,

Janet Carrick for 5 years,

Evadne Scaddan for 1 year,

Lily Tang for 5 years

Alison McCubbin was elected in 2011 for 5 years

After worship we will have a short congregational meeting to hand out, and then collect voting slips.

I have a little more information regarding the visit of Rev. Eric Elnes, which will take place at Wesley, and at Floreat Uniting on Tuesday 25^th September.

The program is;

Tuesday Sept 25^th 2012

12.00-1.30pm Wesley Church in the City – Lunch Time Forum

4.00-5.30pm All Saints Floreat – Central Themes of a Progressive Faith (the Talk)

6.30 – 9.00pm Dinner and Talk at Floreat Forum Restaurant – Living out a Progressive Faith (Walking the Talk).

If you would like more information and to book for the talk and dinner at Floreat UC you can contact Marie Yuncken at Phone 9385 8537 or Email: m.yuncken@aapt.net.au

Last week I was part of a group that established what we have called “Perth Progressive Network of WA” Initially we are hosting the visit of Eric Elnes but our purposes is to: “promote progressive religious thought and practice by exploring alternatives to traditional religious beliefs and practices and seek new ways to understand religious faith.” If you would like to join this network you can find us on ‘Facebook’ at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perth-Progressive-Network-of-WA/338373506254038. All you have to do is “like” the page, and if you want to, request to become a Friend”.

Connected to this, Chris Crause and I are off to Sydney next week to attend a conference with the keynote speaker, Professor John Dominic Crossan. He is a renowned international progressive biblical scholar and ome of you may have seen his documentaries on SBS Television, “God and Empire”. This series explored the relationship between Jesus and the Roman Empire, the connection between history and biblical material.

It sounds a little dry, but I have heard him present before and he is a wonderful presenter, with an amazing depth of historical knowledge.

You will probably hear me make reference to him in future blogs or reflections.

I do hope to write my blog next week and as always I look forward to catching up soon.

Regards

Don

Don Dowling

Minister

Sunday 2^nd September 2012

8.30am Discussion Group

10.00am Worship – Reflecting on Mark 7: selected verses, “ Attitudes of the heart”

Don's Blog 

Hi All,

I realise that a lot of my time is taken up in preparation. I prepare the liturgy and the ‘reflection’. I prepare for meetings, which are often preparing for particular events in the future. Planning and preparing is a necessary part of most jobs and occasionally I feel under prepared… but I will keep preparing. This week I have spent more time than usual preparing for particular events happening in and around Wesley.

We have been preparing, very gently at this stage, for the Advent Art Exhibition, which will happen in the second week of Advent. Catherine Czerw, and I, have been working on the brief to give to artists. Already it is starting to take shape and promises to be a worthwhile event. The theme of course, centres on the ‘birth story’ and I am starting to get just a little excited about how the artists will interpret this story for us. Watch this space as more details emerge.

I have had many favourable comments regarding our new Elders line up. It is good that we are getting a positive sense of the call of God on the lives of these nominations. I do keep going on about this, but I have to say that in the end, it is not about us, but about continuing the ministry of Jesus. So having the right leaders to guide us in this ministry is very important. To remind and ask you to pray for our nominees, I have included their names again.

The people nominating are:

David Beasland for 3 years

Leo Blawan for 2 years

Jenny Millar for 5 years

Margaret Murdoch for 2 years

Esther Chow for 3 years

Those renominating are:

Edwin Hadfield for 5 years,

Janet Carrick for 5 years,

Evadne Scaddan for 1 year,

Lily Tang for 5 years

Alison McCubbin was elected in 2011 for 5 years

Dawn Coppock as asked for leave of absence for the time being.

We do have most but not all profiles ready and they will be made available in worship this Sunday..

On Sunday 2^nd September 2012 we will hold elections on these nominations.

Sunday evening at St George’s Cathedral remembering the work and ministry of William Booth was a great occasion. Of course I loved the band. They were just amazing. I also enjoyed the Songsters gentle choral arrangements. I really appreciated hearing the story of William Booth’s life and ministry. It made me realise that he had such a powerful ministry and like our very own John Wesley made a significant difference in our world. I was keenly interested in William Booth’s connection and compassion for the poor of his time. He took very seriously the challenge to care for the poor and the widows. In his day it was very much part of his daily life and in our day it seems to be more at ‘arms length’ as we get the professionals to do it. I wonder!!

This morning, those who offer ministry in the city through our different denominations, met at the Salvation Army Headquarters Café for breakfast. It was, as usual, an informal gathering and I appreciate the support that is given to each other in our coming together. It was a good time of sharing and listening to the happenings in other churches. A bonus this morning was that we had ‘real coffee’!

This afternoon I am meeting with a small group to prepare for the visit of Rev. Eric Elnes, Ph.D. which will take place at Wesley on Tuesday 25^th September at lunchtime. Eric is known as a progressive theological thinker and a comment made for his presentations in Victoria says:

“Lauded as an important innovator with respect to how Christian

faith is practiced in contemporary society by John Shelby Spong

in his book “Eternal Life: A New Vision” and by Diana Butler

Bass in her book "Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the

Neighbourhood Church is Transforming the Faith".

Although his visit will be brief I am really looking forward to hearing what he has to say, and I further quote,

“He is internationally recognized for creating multi-sensory,

experiential worship that transcends classification as “traditional”

or “contemporary.” Eric’s books include, “Igniting Worship: The

Seven Deadly Sins” (Abingdon, 2004) and “Asphalt Jesus: Finding

a New Christian Faith Along the Highways of America” (Jossey-

Bass, 2007). He was the lead author and editor of the Phoenix

Affirmations – a popular, ecumenically developed set of twelve

principles that are becoming the important theological backbone

of the progressive Christian movement in and outside the United

States.”

I hope it will be of interest for many.

I look forward as always to catching up soon.

Regards

Don

Don Dowling

Minister

Sunday 26^th August

8.30am Discussion Group

10.00am Worship – Reflecting again on “Jesus, the Living Bread.

Don's Blog 

Hi All,

Yesterday, Kay and I were invited to offer “words of wisdom” to our current theological Students. We spent the morning at Murdoch University in conversation  with them around the issue of self care for Ministers and their families. It provided Kay and I an opportunity to reflect on our own self-care, how we do it, when we take time off, long term self-care, etc. It was a great session and the students displayed a keenness to understand this very practical side of being in ministry.

This week we have finalised nominations for Elders and I can happily say that we have a good number of nominations. The names will appear in the Wesley diary this week, and next week we hope to have profiles attached.

The people nominating are:

David Beasland for 3 years

Leo Blawan for 2 years

Jenny Millar for 5 years

Margaret Murdoch for 2 years

Esther Chow for 3 years

Those renominating are:

Edwin Hadfield for 5 years,

Janet Carrick for 5 years,

Evadne Scaddan for 1 year,

Lily Tang for 5 years

Alison McCubbin was elected in 2011 for 5 years

Dawn Coppock as asked for leave of absence for the time being.

On Sunday 2^nd September 2012 we will hold elections on these nominations. I am looking forward to the gifts and skills that new elders will bring to our group as well as enjoying the wisdom that our current Elders bring.

This week I have spent some time with a friend of mine who I played with in a Brass Band many years ago. As is the case many times, when things get rough people look you up to help them get through the rough time. My friend found out that he had mesothelioma because he worked at Wittanoom some years ago. He decided it was time to prepare for his funeral and so we met together a few weeks ago to do just that. This week however he moved into the final stage of his life and then on Tuesday morning he died. I can’t say that I enjoy this aspect of ministry, but I can say that it always is a very honouring part of my job. As a Minister, you often hear the deepest thoughts and feelings of people as they come to terms with the events of their lives. For this I feel very grateful and honoured.

Today I met with Angela Currie our Director of Music and Organist and later on today we meet with the Music team to begin thinking about musical aspects of Wesley. I think we will find that there will be quite a few ‘new things’ developing in this area, which will add a lot of value to our ministry in the city and to the congregation. I am getting that twinge of excitement happening again!!

On Sunday evening I am at St George’s Cathedral again, taking part in Evensong, as they remember the work and ministry of William Booth. It is the 100^th anniversary of his death this month.  The Precentor, Rev Graeme Napier has organised a special Evensong utilizing the Band and Songsters of Perth Fortress Salvation Army. I am representing the “Methodist/Wesley” side of William Booth as before he established the Salvation Army he was a Methodist Preacher. Booth developed strong views on the role of church ministers believing they should be "loosing the chains of injustice, freeing the captive and oppressed, sharing food and home, clothing the naked, and carrying out family responsibilities”. So quite a powerful figure in his time whose influence still lives on in the Salvation Army of today.

Of course, I will really enjoy hearing the music of the Band and Songsters!

I look forward as always to catching up soon.

Regards

Don

Don Dowling

Minister

Sunday 19^th August

8.30am Discussion Group

10.00am Worship – Reflecting on “Jesus, the Living Bread. 

Don's Blog 

Hi All,

What a terrible time it has been for those suffering colds and flues. Last week we had to close the UCIC office because we had so many off sick. However we are slowly getting back to normal and some of the meetings we had to put off I’m now starting to happen.

Part of my week was spent watching Elizabeth Dalzell filming for a DVD that is to be used for marriage preparation. It was wonderful to see a professional at work and I learnt a great deal.

Last Sunday evening Kay and I attended an iftar dinner. An iftar dinner is a meal that is a ‘breaking of the fast’ meal held during the Muslim season of Ramadan. Kay and I were invited because of our connection with the interfaith cultural harmony group, which works at creating harmony between people of different faiths. Apart from the food, which was Turkish and absolutely wonderful, we had a great evening. Fuat Layic and his wife Berrak were our hosts and we met with some of their friends and a member of the Canning city Council (who happened to be a former Wesley College parent). The main enjoyment for me, apart from the food, was in the sharing of faith stories together. It deepened our friendship and I felt humble and proud to be a Christian. We have committed ourselves to continuing the conversation so that we can increase our harmony together. I am hoping that this will lead to further events at Wesley.

One of the items of business at our last Elders meeting was the nomination of Elders. Currently we are looking for new Elders to assist me in leadership of the congregation. We are now starting to talk to some people who we feel may be able to help, however, if as you read this, you feel you may be being led in this direction please let me know. Nomination forms are in the foyer and need to be filled out two week prior to 2^nd September, when we will be voting on those nominated. Please talk to me if you would like to know more.

I have asked for one item on the agenda at our next Elders meeting is for us to arrange another meal/get together/gathering. I really enjoy getting together with folk other than the Sunday morning, as I feel less rushed in my conversations. If you have any suggestions for Elders as to what form this might take, please let us know.

One of the joys of having so many grandchildren is sleepovers and if it happens to be a Saturday night we are able to bring them to church. Last weekend was one of those occasions and I am very grateful that my grandchildren feel so welcome in our congregation. In fact I have one grandchild who insists on sleepovers only on Saturday nights just so she can come to church. It’s a good feeling. One reportable incident last weekend was that I made a lemon pie. I wanted to put to good use some of the many lemons we have on our tree at Dunsborough. I duly made the pie and we ate half of it for afternoon tea, with the grandchildren and Kay’s mum. We then moved to the lounge room to watch the Derby between Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles, leaving the remaining pie on the kitchen table. We didn’t notice that two of our grandchildren did not join us, as we thought they were playing with toys in the hallway. Well, you guessed it, they completely devoured the remaining pie, emerging looking incredibly guilty.  I have since made another pie, an improvement on the previous one, and we only have one grandchild for a sleepover this weekend!

Thank you to those who were able to stay for the Congregational meeting last Sunday. It was good to pass the budget and to affirm TK as our Synod/Presbytery representative. We are still looking for a younger person to represent us at Synod so I would be grateful for any suggestions. They do have to be under 25 years of age. Having passed the budget now means we can start on many of the projects that have been on hold over the last two years. Included in capital expenditure items are a repaint, inside and outside the church. One little item of interest is, getting a consultant in to look at the heating and cooling of Wesley. Some of you, including me, will be clapping your hands at the thought of improving the heating and cooling of the church. So watch this space!

Talking about Synod, this item appeared in our Uniting Church, News and Notes. The Media and Communications Team is hoping to offer congregations a more visual record of the Synod meeting, by way of video clips. Expressions of interest are sought from people interested in being part of a video- editing team, recording highlights of Synod with a view to them being available via the internet or on DVD. No experience is necessary and there will be on the job training. Contact Rev Don Dowling at dond@ucic.org.au or on 0488 495 044. To see an example visit http://www.assembly2012.uca.org.au/resources/videos.

If you would like to join me, it should be fun!

I look forward as always to catching up soon.

Regards

Don

Don Dowling

Minister

Sunday 12^th August

8.30am Discussion Group

10.00am Worship – Continuing the reflection on “Jesus said; I am the bread of life”