Don's Blog

Hi All,

Today is one of those sad days of ministry. As I write I am sitting beside the bed of Michael Daly. Some may remember him as the elderly American gentleman who came to church with a walking stick. He didn’t say much, but somehow he saw us as family and Geoff Blyth, Jan Carrick and myself visited him.

Michel is Dying. He was living in an independent unit at our Uniting Church Homes, Chrystal Halliday in Karrinyup. I managed to find this unit for him when he had to move from a single men’s boarding house in Beaufort Street. Michael’s health gradually deteriorated and now he is in Charlie Gardiner Hospital and is slowly dying.

Michael is an intensely private person and we respected this. He has no family that we know of and I am his main contact person at the moment. It is for me one of the saddest times, because there is no family to cry for him or mourn his death. In the peaceful moments with him. I wrote a poem.

I am waiting now…

Waiting for Michael to die.

His old, tied body riddled with cancer.

A private person,

No family present,

No family he told me!

No family to cry at his death,

No family to mourn his loss.

I am waiting now…

Death is not far away

Eyes open and He knows I am here.

A man of faith,

A man so private,

I know very little,

I know he is dying.

I am waiting now…

Breath weaker,

Body beyond repair,

Death, the only release.

I am waiting now…

I will cry at his death,

We will cry at his death,

I will mourn his loss,

We will mourn his loss,

We will be his family.

I am waiting now…

Yesterday as I sat with him, realizing that he could no longer talk, I decided to download some hymns onto my iPhone and play them for him. After playing some of the old favourites like ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘What a friend and Blessed Assurance, he went peacefully to sleep for the night.

This morning as I sat with him again I played some more hymns. At one stage I had a very strong urge to play Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my shepherd”. About half way through the hymn Michael offered a last breath and died. It was for me an incredibly special moment, one I will never forget as it will remain a special memory of my ministry.

After offering a prayer with the nursing staff, they gently washed him and with the greatest of dignity, laid out his body. A very moving moment.

After the energy of the stations this is quite different and as I write I now I find myself very drained.

'The Stations' was of course a huge highlight. We had just under 2000 people see the exhibition and of course many great conversations. It is always a special time for us as we make quite a significant connection with a whole range of people, including those who walk by our church. As you can gather, the journey from life, to death, to life is an amazing one.

Last weekend was a mammoth occasion for me, starting with the Maundy Thursday/Tenebrae Service, through to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I loved the services we were able to offer and I am very grateful to John Beaverstock, the Wesley Choir and Josie Fountain for their contribution on Good Friday evening. That was a real highlight.

This Sunday I am taking a break and one of my friends John Barendrecht will be preaching at the Sunday service. We, John, myself and another Minister friend meet each Tuesday in a local café to talk through the readings and our approach to it for our Sunday Service. I am sure John will offer a thoughtful reflection.

Thanks for reading.

From your minister,

Don

Sunday 15^th April

10.00am Worship – The Second Sunday of Easter. Guest Preacher Rev John Barendrecht.

Don's Blog

Hi All,

Opening night of the stations was a wonderful occasion and a huge success. A rather large crowd gathered but very manageable. Thanks again to all those who helped. Doug’s words at the opening were inspiration and many people offered positive comments in response. It was so good to have all the artists present, as it was a special way to thank them individually and as a group. If you would like to see some photos of the event, my daughter Heather, working for the Synod that night, took many, and they can be found at: http://www.wa.uca.org.au/blog/stations-of-the-cross-opening-night-2/

Of course the week has been incredible with an average 100 people per day coming to see the exhibition. On occasions we have had up to 120 people per day. One of the inspirational aspects of the exhibition is looking at the comments book and here are just a few; “inspiring and provoking great thoughts”, “very impressive”, “I really enjoyed this exhibition, very moving”, “beautifully put together”, “amazing”, “a lovely basis for my Holy week reflection”.

They only negative comments came from a young man obviously suffering from a mental illness who took one look at me and said that I drank too much beer. Actually I haven’t had beer for many months! But his comments created one of the lighter moments at the exhibition.

Some have found the symbolism a little hard to understand but this was an opportunity to have a conversation, and that we have enjoyed.

The “Meet the Artist” session on Tuesday was from my point of view very successful. We had five artists participating and each took us to a different level of understanding their work, and their personal journey in the process. I was very grateful.

We have received great publicity which has lifted the profile of Wesley Church just a little. There was an article in the West Australian last Saturday and there have been articles in community newspapers as well. I will be taking part in an interview with ABC Radio, which will be aired from Broome on Good Friday.

One article appeared on the front page of the Cockburn Gazette which one of my grandchildren happened to see. His response was and I quote, “oh my god, oh my god, it’s Grandon, (My nickname from my grandchildren) He then cut it out and took it to school next day to share it as news. I must say I was a little chuffed about this!

From that same article came an email from a work colleague who I last saw in 1964 when we were printers together. He dug out some photographs of me when we went surfing together. I relived a moment where I was strapping my surfboard onto a very old Peugeot, a very much loved car. So it was great to get the photos.

I think I am prepared to for Easter as we begin the Tenebrae service this evening with a foot washing, communion and the extinguishing of candles. I always find it very moving to be able to wash the feet of those who have served me with their love and care. On Friday morning we will conduct the “Stations of the Cross liturgy” which I will be sharing with the Rev Dr. Doug Purnell. On Friday afternoon at 5 PM the Wesley Choir with special guest Josie Fountain, a cellist, will offer us reflective music for Good Friday. I am looking forward to this too.

At 6:30 AM on Sunday morning we will celebrate the risen Christ with a service at Roe Gardens, Kings Park. Joining us will be the Perth Fortress, Salvation Army Band and the GKI Choir (Indonesian Uniting Church). From there we enter into our 10.00am Easter Sunday morning service. At this service I will interview Sally Morgan, artist of Station 15, “The Resurrection”. We will also be joined by a Brass Quintet. So as you can see it is a full program, but I have to say again, I love this Easter journey, I love the way it helps me and us as a community focus on the core of our faith.

At lunchtime today, I a number of people, will be going to Good Samaritan Industries to share in a celebration recognizing the retirement of the Bernice Moorhouse. Bernice was the first person to work at Good Samaritan industries, which was established by our very own Rev Ralph Sutton and the Wesley congregation. Bernice has worked faithfully at GSI for 51 years. What an amazing period of time to work. I have an extra reason for wanting to attend this celebration as Bernice and her family were connected with my family through the work of what was called the ‘People’s Church’ which held services in a basement in Hay Street, just near His Majesty’s Theatre. So I have very many special memories of my connection with Benice.

A little surprise that occurred this week in amongst the exhibition was when I met up with the groom from a wedding I conducted three weeks ago. The bride and groom from the wedding had been away on their honeymoon and wanted to connect with me again, not only to thank me for the wedding, but also to explore their rejuvenation of faith that was occurring as a result of their marriage in the church. So they may appear in church on Easter Sunday and we will continue the conversation. I should not be surprised by the fact that when people begin the journey of commitment to each other they also begin to think about their commitment of faith as well!

Well, I look forward to seeing you during the weekend.

Thanks for reading.

From your minister,

Don

Thursday 5^th April

6.30pm Tenebrae Service

Good Friday 6^th April

10.00am A liturgy of the Stations of the Cross

5pm Music for Reflection on Good Friday. A presentation by the Wesley Choir with special guest, cellist, Josie Fountain

Sunday 8^th April

6.30am A service to celebrate the Risen Christ Roe Gardens, Kings Park

10.00am Worship – A Celebration of Easter Sunday with Holy Communion

Don's Blog

Hi All,

Last weekend was a ripper for Kay and I, as in amongst my normal duties we managed to see all but three of our 16 grandchildren. It was a heavy weekend, with sleepovers, birthday parties and general baby-sitting… and it was thoroughly enjoyable. We both felt a little exhausted but loved every minute of it.

It was great to see grandchildren in Church on Sunday. It’s a great way to gently encourage the worship experience for children and hopefully, later in life, the children will look back and see it as an affectionate connection with their grandparents.

The Monday holiday, whilst creating an opportunity to look after grandchildren, also created a little stress by putting me a day behind in my preparation. However, as I write I have prepared both the Sunday morning service and Helen Chapman’s Memorial service. I am polishing of the last thoughts for my reflection. So all is good at the moment.

During the week I have had conversation with a number of people regarding the Memorial service for Helen Chapman on Sunday. It promises to be an emotional but good celebration of Helen’s life. The choir has offered to sing, we have chosen some of her favourite hymns and John is going to play some of her favourite music. Fiona, Helen’s daughter will offer the Eulogy along with a family friend. I have also managed to put together a small video clip of the conversation I had with Helen a few months ago.

Catherine and I were able to meet up with artist Sharyn Egan, who has created an artwork for Station No 4, Jesus meets his mother. In the course of our conversation Sharyn shared with us that as a child she was taken from her mother and placed in New Norcia Mission and was under their care until she was an adult. It was heartbreaking to hear that she never saw her mother again. She said, ”we were called orphans, but we knew we had parents’. This happened in the 1960’s, which is in my lifetime, so it is a bit confronting. Against this background she has created what I consider to be a very moving piece of art, which presents two figures, created out of pressed grass, who ‘meet each other, Jesus and his mother. As I said to Sharyn, I think it will create some moving conversations.

This morning, we made a visit to artist David Small, who lives at Wooraloo and who has Station No 3, Jesus falls the first time. It was wonderful to visit his studio and talk through the thoughts behind his work. Once again, like other artists he has reflected on the journey of Jesus towards his death and has been able to portray this in a rather special charcoal based painting. A few of the artists have picked up the concept of the journey and I am impressed by the way they have presented it. They offer us great food for thought. Needless to say I am looking forward to other people seeing these works.

Tonight we have our monthly Elders meeting, much of which will be taken up by Catherine Czerw presenting to us pictures of the final works of the artists for Stations. Does it sound like the art exhibition is not very far away!!

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

From your minister,

Don

Sunday 11^th March 2012

8.30am Discussion Group

10.00am Worship – Lent 3 – Including a Baptism

12.00noon – A Memorial Service for Helen Chapman

Don's Blog

Hi All,

Summer Spirit was a great success this year. Approximately 130 people gathered at Floreat Uniting Church to hear a range of speakers sharing on the topic, “Engaging the Community”. I must admit to feeling a little smug as I listened to the stories. I felt we (Wesley) are a little ahead of the game when it comes to engaging our community, however, I am not complacent, as there are many more aspects of our work as the church in the city that need attention….. and you thought it was going to be easy……

Part of my role at Summer School was to film the speakers, which I enjoyed immensely, as you would realize. I am now in the process of editing the material so that others in the Synod can hear their words of wisdom. The Speakers were, the Rev Dr Vicky Balabanski, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Flinders University, South Australia, who led us in a series of Bible Studies. Dr. Steve Taylor, who is Director in Missiology at the Uniting College for Leadership and Theology, South Australia. Steve’s focus was on Mission Shaped Ministry, which assist congregations in their endeavors to create a ministry that has an outward looking focus. Also present was Judyth Roberts, the Children and Families Ministry Consultant for the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT. Judyth presented sessions called ‘Godly Play, a model for sharing stories and worship for children.

On the ‘Stations’ front, I visited another Artist, Tony Jones, who is presenting an artwork on Simon of Cyrene. Tony was one of the artists for Sculptures by the sea at Cottesloe. If you saw it last year you may remember his metal structure at the end of the Groin. Thankfully his sculpture for us is only going to be 1 metre high. However, what I saw was impressive.

The Invitation to the Opening, on Friday 30^th March at 6.00pm and our Press Statement is now going out, and if you would like to have a look you can go to; http://www.perthunitingchurch.com.au/viewStory/Wesley

A little enjoyable time this week was spent at one of my grandchildren’s school. They were reading the stories written by Mem Fox where she writes about families, so grandparents were invited to have afternoon tea. It was a wonderful occasion. We listened to the children sing some special songs and then share the sandwiches and painted biscuits they had prepared. It was a most refreshing time in the midst of ministry, and a reminder to me of the preciousness of families.

There was a disturbing incident with the young people last Sunday afternoon and one of them was seriously injured in a stabbing incident. It goes to show that violence is just on our doorstep. One of the meetings I attended this week was with a number of people representing the interests of working with young people in our city. Representatives came from Anglicare (Step 1), City of Perth, Mission Australia and UCIC. It was a positive meeting where we were able to work out a way forward in assisting the young people in need, who frequent the inner city area.

Craig and Leah, who we offered a Blessing to in our service last Sunday, were very appreciative of the congregations acknowledgment of them and they’re pending wedding. Tonight is the rehearsal and then the big day on Saturday. It will be an exciting time for them and they know that our prayers are with them.

Kay is in Melbourne and Sydney this week so I am batching, and I am ok, so please don’t deliver any casseroles to the front door. She is attending a leadership conference and is very excited about the presentations and has learnt so much in the brief time she has been there. However, it will be good to have her back at home.

Sunday promises to be special with the Baptism of one of the children of a member of the GKI Indonesian Uniting Church. There is a connection with Wesley and it is great that we can be with them. The father of the child being baptized is also going to offer us a song, and I am told he is a good singer.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

From your minister,

Don

Sunday 26^th February 2012

8.30am Discussion Group.

10.00am. Morning Worship – The first Sunday in Lent. 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

Sunday 4^th March 2012

10.00am Worship – Lent 2 Holy Communion