Don’s Blog

Thanks to all those who gave positive and supporting comments to my son Philip after I interviewed him last week. I think he did extremely well, but I am a little biased.

However, I was very pleased that Philip was able to give us a very personal reflection on his trip to India. This trip was part of an exposure trip organised by Uniting World. His story highlighted our need to continually think of how we can change situations of injustice in our world. I hope you take the opportunity to talk to Phil a little more as I think he has a great deal to offer us.

This week sees the final visits to artists, which as you may have gathered I have thoroughly enjoyed.  As I write, I have just returned from our visit to Brian McKay who has Station 15, ’The Resurrection’. I can honestly say that if the work is presented as we talked about (and this will be up to Catherine) you will be surprised and elated as I was. It is an amazing artwork.

On Tuesday evening I indulged in my favourite pastime and did some filming for Elizabeth Dalzell. Elizabeth and the Rev Brian Heath are producing a DVD for their Prepare and Enrich pre marriage and relationship program. I was invited to supply some footage of a couple, which turned out to be Elizabeth and her husband Brian, walking along a beach. We then filmed them watching the sunset together. We picked a great time and place as the as the sun was setting at Metam’s Pool just north of Triggs beach. I must say, and I promise I will stop saying this soon; I loved the filming and managed to get some good shots. The Son behaved itself and went down slowly and gracefully as the ‘talent’ gave outstanding performances.

On Wednesday was my ‘Seniors Day’ as I spent the morning talking to the folk at Rowethorpe. I was invited by Joan Drysdale (Rev Jock’s wife) to speak to the group that gathers every Wednesday and they specifically asked me to talk about the ‘Stations of the Cross Art Exhibition, which of course I was very glad to do. They are a wonderful group of people and I knew many of them.

In the afternoon I was invited by Rev Lee Edwards to address our ‘City Seniors’ group on the topic, “Before and after ordination”. Of course this gave me the opportunity to reflect on memories and talk about my future life of filming. I think I dazzled some of them with my newfound technology.

Also on Wednesday, we hosted the special event of listening to writer Robin de Crespigny who wrote the book, 'The People Smuggler'. It turns out Robin is a film producer, so you can imagine the discussion we had! She spoke to the group, over 50 people in all, gathered in the church about her experience with a young man who was a people smuggler. I think it changed our view about this whole industry. She also read parts of her book, which is written in the first person and is a compelling story.

Can I remind you again about being a volunteer for our exhibition? There are two kind of volunteers needed and they are:

1. PRESENCE GUIDES - those who can be there to keep a watchful eye on the artworks and the people who wander through the exhibition.  They will open and close the building and generally keep a count on how many people come through the doors. 

2. TOUR GUIDES - those who would like to be tour guides, willing to take people around the exhibition and be involved in conversations that arise from that experience.  There will be a training time for these volunteers led by our Curator Catherine Czerw, at Wesley at 3pm on Thursday 21st March.

The Exhibition will be open from 9am till 5pm from Saturday 23^rd March though to Monday 1^st April 2013.  So we can start preparing rosters and look to fill any gaps, we would appreciate knowing people’s availability as soon as possible.  Please let the UCIC office know via judym@ucic.org.au or phone 6103 4222 if you would like to be involved and in which capacity. 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you soon.

From your minister

Don

Sunday 3^rd March 2013

8.30am Discussion Group Continuing our discussion around John Dominic Crossan’s DVD the Challenge of Jesus.

10.00am   Morning Worship: Communion – Reflecting on Luke 13;1-9. “If it bears fruit….”

Don’s Blog

How embarrassing! This morning I was riding my bike and a woman, jogging, and pushing a pusher with a small child in it, passed me. How embarrassing. I was going up a small rise at the time and once I passed the crest of the rise I took off and sailed passed her….. but I am still feeling a little embarrassed.

 I heard good reports regarding Rev Isobelle Shortreed as the preacher in my absence last week. I know there were a couple of ‘hiccups’ but only to be expected for a newbie.

I do know that Isobelle loved being at Wesley. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience of worship, felt very welcome and is looking forward to more.

 A number of us attended  ‘Summer Spirit’ last weekend, the main speakers being Prof David Tacey, Lucy Moore.

Professor Tacey gave us great information and food for thought around the topic of Spirituality in an Australian Context. I did manage to film the last session so if you are interested let me know.

On the Sunday morning Lucy Moore led the worship service and gave us a hands on experience of “Messy Church”. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and if I were staying longer would introduce some of the concepts at Wesley. Basically it was a way of including everyone in the worship experience rather than just people sitting in pews. If you are interested ask me about the ‘Prayer Stations’ and the ‘journey of life road’ down the isle of the church. I loved it and would love to be involved more. I received very favourable comments regarding my interview with David Tacey, so I came away from the weekend feeling it was one of our better Summer Spirits.

This Sunday morning there will be two aspects of our service that will be a little different. Firstly we will be receiving and acknowledging a gift of a painting. Titled ‘The Resurrection’ and painted by Janice Bell it was originally given to Rev Tom and Ros Wilson. For many years it hung in Tom’s office. Now Tom and Ros are offering it to us. I am sure you will be please with it and all we need to do is find a place for it.

Secondly, as part of the ‘Lent Event’ I will be interviewing my son Philip. You may remember that Philip and my daughter Heather, and her two children, travelled to India in October/November last year as part of an exposure trip organised by UnitingWorld. In India they saw first hand how the church was working with those being ‘trafficked’ into prostitution and slavery. I met with Philip last night to go over our conversation and I am sure you will be moved by what he has to say.

This week I continued my round of visiting artists and wish I could pass on all the conversations held so far, suffice to say that I will be telling the stories during the Stations exhibition. As always the artists have delved into their own faith journeys and will be offering us some amazing works.

Can I start the process of asking you to think about being a volunteer for our exhibition? There are two kind of volunteers needed and they are:

1. PRESENCE GUIDES - those who can be there to keep a watchful eye on the artworks and the people who wander through the exhibition.  They will open and close the building and generally keep a count on how many people come through the doors. 

2. TOUR GUIDES - those who would like to be tour guides, willing to take people around the exhibition and be involved in conversations that arise from that experience.  There will be a training time for these volunteers led by our Curator Catherine Czerw, at Wesley at 3pm on Thursday 21st March.

The Exhibition will be open from 9am till 5pm from Saturday 23^rd March though to Monday 1^st April 2013.  So we can start preparing rosters and look to fill any gaps, we would appreciate knowing people’s availability as soon as possible.  Please let the UCIC office know via judym@ucic.org.au or phone 6103 4222 if you would like to be involved and in which capacity. 

A special event is happening at Wesley Church this coming Wednesday 27 February, 5.30pm - 7.30pm. A Sundowner is being held with special guest author Robin de Crespigny. Robin wrote the book 'The People Smuggler' which tells of one man's epic story of trying to find a safe place in the world. This event is a joint effort of Synod, Social Justice Board and UCIC. If you are free I think you will find it worthwhile to attend.

If you are wanting to attend can you RSVP to eira.claption@wa.uca.org.au

Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you soon.

From your minister

Don

Sunday 24^th February 2013

8.30am Discussion Group Continuing our discussion around John Dominic Crossan’s DVD the Challenge of Jesus.

10.00am   Morning Worship: The Transfiguration

Don’s Blog

Still bike riding, and no dramas, except everyone keeps passing me!!

Last Friday morning Kay and I attended the ‘Soft’ opening of the Warehouse Café. It was a superb occasion and good to see a ‘dream come true’ for Christine and Donald Nicholas. It was great to see the café in action. Crossroaders, staff and volunteers all taking part. It was good to see a number of people lining up for coffees, either those who were passing by, or those who had come from the community to have a look. The Moderator and his wife were there as were a number of Uniting Church supporters. What a great day!

If you would like to see a small video clip of the café, my first with my new camera, you can go to: https://vimeo.com/59473821.

In the not to distant future there will be a ‘hard’ opening with special invited guests and a bit more formality. It should be fun!

Last Sunday evening, a group of us, mostly from the 8.30am discussion group went to see Cat Commander in, “Before The Spring” Subtitled, “A revolution is brewing. After this, nothing will be the same.” It was held at The Bakery, James St, Northbridge and is part of the Fringe Festival.

Cat Commander is of course Jan Carrick and Philip Commander’s daughter Catherine, and was one of my students when I was Chaplain at Wesley College. Many of you would have known her as a young girl, attending Wesley Church.

Catherine’s performance took the form of a monologue shifting between two characters, a taxi driver and a young girl pursuing love. It was written and performed by Catherine and both Kay and I were very moved by her performance. Her acting was amazing and the script gave a clear understanding of the dilemma of war and violence and the pursuit of love. Catherine is a very clever writer and performer. I hope we get to see a lot more of her work!

This week I began the second run of visiting artists for our Stations of the Cross exhibition (we have now seen six works). Catherine and I managed to visit four artists and with each visit we saw another great artwork. The artworks cover a range of materials, from traditional oil paintings to a ceramic work and a special book presentation. I could not help but notice again that each artist used their particular ‘Station’ to give us special insights and a rendition that adds more to ‘our’ story. I also noticed that in each case the artists drew on childhood memories. An interesting aspect of this year’s exhibition!

A special event is happening at Wesley Church the following week, Wednesday 27 February, 5.30pm - 7.30pm. A Sundowner is being held with special guest author Robin de Crespigny. Robin wrote the book 'The People Smuggler' which tells of one man's epic story of trying to find a safe place in the world. This event is a joint effort of Synod, Social Justice Board and UCIC. If you are free I think you will find it worthwhile to attend.

If you are wanting to attend can you RSVP to eira.claption@wa.uca.org.au

This weekend a number of us are attending ‘Summer Spirit’ at Floreat Uniting Church. I am looking forward to hearing the keynote speakers, including David Tacey, who will be speaking on the topic, ‘Spirituality in the Australian Context’ and ‘Spirituality and Well Being’. My major task on Sunday morning is to interview David.

On Sunday Rev Isobelle Shortreed will be the preacher in my absence and I am sure you will enjoy her style and the words she has to offer.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you soon.

From your minister

Don

Sunday 17^th February 2013

8.30am Cancelled for this week only

10.00am   Morning Worship: Preacher Rev Isobelle Shortreed

Don’s Blog

I am feeling a little chuffed this week as I have successfully managed to ride for an hour every morning. No fall, no flat tires, with each morning being a very vigorous ride. Well-done Don!!

On Monday night we met for the UCIC Church Council and although we had some hard decision to make one of the more exciting ones for UCIC was approval for two new ministry placements and a replacement for myself.

The first new ministry placement is for a person to work with those in the first third of life (0-30 years). This for us is a very exciting venture into an area that has been steadily growing, especially at Trinity as they now have 80-100 young people gathering at their Sunday night worship. Also of note is that both Trinity and Wesley are slowly but surely gathering families with children.

The second ministry placement will have a number of aspects to it, and when my colleague Chris comes back from Long Service Leave, a group of people will be meeting to think through the role.

The next part of the process to progress these ministry placements, including the position at Wesley, is to form what is called a Joint Nominating Committee, which has the task of looking at each of the placements, determining their position description, advertising the positions and having conversations with applicants. If you are interested in being part of a committee I would encourage you to contact one of the Elders.

A really bit of good news for this week is that Rev Isobelle Shortreed has accepted the position of ‘Supply Minister’ when I finish at Wesley. Isobelle comes to us with a wealth of experience in both congregational ministry and Chaplaincy. Initially, Isobelle will take over my role until my leave technically finishes (14^th August) but may stay on if a replacement has not been found. I am very glad that Isobelle has accepted this position as it means there will be a Minister looking after Wesley from the Sunday after I leave. I am sure you will enjoy Isobelle’s ministry and she is certainly looking forward to her time with Wesley.

Last week we kicked off our publicity regarding the Lent Event. Each week until Easter we hope to bring to you information and reflections on this theme. Also and just reiterating, we will conduct a ‘Discussion Series’ after church each week, lunch being provided. More information will be in the pew sheets this week and in coming weeks, but please don’t hesitate to contact Alison, Lyn or myself to find out more.

The webpage for Lent Event 2013 can be found at; http://www.unitingworld.org.au/category/lent-event

I am also feeling a little excited this week as, with the help of some old Super money, I have managed to buy a new camera. For those technically minded it is a digital SLR, Canon 5D Mark lll. It takes pictures at a rate of 22 mega pixels and shoots video with a full frame sensor and in Full High Definition. Needless to say I am looking forward to using it and hopefully may be able to show some footage in worship before I leave.

Tomorrow morning is the ‘soft’ opening of the Warehouse Café. It is open to the public from 7.30am and it may be a bit of a test for the Volunteers, Crossroaders and Staff. I was over there today for a meeting and the place is buzzing with excitement. It is such a wonderful compliment to Christine and Donald Nicholas and to Larissa, who is the manager. If you happen to be looking for a place to have a coffee or lunch and you are in the area, I can highly recommend it. My meeting today was with Brother Terry Cant, who is the ‘Café Listener’ and his main role is to appropriately listen and be with people as needs arise.

This new UnitingCare Crossroads venture is a prime example of the church at work in a hopeful and exciting way.

I hope to be able to spend a couple of hours each week in the Café in my retirement making coffees, so you will have to find out when I am rostered on so that we can catch up.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you soon.

From your minister

Don

Sunday 10^th February 2013

8.30am

Discussion group: We continue to look at and discuss the John Dominic Crossan video ‘The Challenge of Jesus’ This week we begin the section on ‘The Ressurection’

10.00am   Morning Worship: “… and they left everything and followed him….” Reflecting on Luke 5:1-11, Jesus calls the disciples