A FLASH mob, poetry readings and laughter about our cultural idiosyncrasies were among the highlights of a significant Synod meeting that decided by agreement to support special circumstances to ensure the financial sustainability of the Church. The flash mob sprang up at the conclusion of the Rev Dr Monica Melanchthon’s final bible study focusing on the story in 2 Samuel of the persistent, resistant and persuasive hope of Rizpah. Dr Melanchthon, Professor of Old Testament at CTM, spoke of Rizpah’s silent vigil over the bodies of her slain sons and nephews as a powerful example of public resistance rooted in a hope in the God of justice. Ending with a [...]

I’VE just finished class. It’s nearly 3 pm. Wednesdays are always busy – university from 9 am to 3 pm and I won’t be home until 9:45 pm tonight. The weather seems to have turned around, it was very cold and cloudy in the morning, but now it’s sunny and blue skies. I get in my car and go through the list in my head. Do I have everything? Wallet, check. Phone, check. Keys, check. Lamingtons, check. Tim tams, check. And of course the red-rock deli chips that my friends and I enjoy munching on, check. The journey normally takes about 45 minutes, but can take up to an hour-and-a-half [...]

Thanks AS a mover of the original synod proposal in 2011, my thanks to Mark Zirnsak and other committee members for the production of the report on Afghanistan, with its careful suggestions about developing a just peace. I wish to offer comment about the report and proposals. It is a curious situation that, while there are a variety of reports and comments about Australian military involvement in Afghanistan, there continues largely to be a widespread silence in our community about Australian participation in that war. To keep on raising the question comes across as almost boring. I also express dismay at the studied caution in the Report concerning the question [...]

‘Oh, but anyway, Toto, we’re home. Home! And this is my room, and you’re all here. And I’m not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and – oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home!’ Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. WHEN some people think of home, they think of comfort, family and a sense of belonging – the thought brings joy and relief. When others think of home, they think of regression – perhaps they cringe at where they came from or who they used to be. The thought, for them, brings sadness or anger. Asylum seekers, for example, often face confusing feelings [...]

Holy Switch Compass ABC1 Review by Larry Marshall WOULD you swap your Christian home for two weeks and step into the shoes of a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim or a Jew? Are you adventurous enough to discover the unknown and experience the perspectives, cultural practices and religious rituals of a person of another faith? Holy Switch is a reality TV show based precisely on this premise. It asked six young Australians who are deeply observant in their own faith to become switchers – to swap faith families for two weeks. It also required their family or faith community to host the other switcher in their place for that time. The [...]

WHEN foreign conflicts flicker on our TV screens, our attention is often quickly pushed to the next ad break or reality renovation, singing or cooking show. We’re taken, for the briefest of moments, from our own lives for a mere glimmer of the reality faced by those who live through violent conflicts. Missing from such media depictions are the real life, lived experiences of those caught in the crossfire of war. Unsurprisingly the lasting ramifications for those involved are often hidden to us and ultimately forgotten. In 2011, news broadcasts from around the globe announced Southern Sudan had been declared an independent nation. Long held perceptions of an African nation gripped by one [...]