STRANGE LOVELY WORDS

Published on June 29, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

Talitha Coum. Some of my favourite words in the bible. 

 

They are ancient words. 

 

In the midst of the New Testament, which was written in Greek, here are these Aramaic words, words in the language that Jesus spoke.  

 

These words are attributed to Jesus as he brings a little girl back to life (Mark 5:21-43).

 

Talitha Coum. This literally means ‘Little lamb get up.’ 

 

I probably love the words as much as the amazing story of the little girl being restored to life.

 

For me this is because these words reveal something of the heart of this guy Jesus.  In the midst of a culture in which women were marginalised and children often seen as insignificant, Jesus speaks to this little ‘girl-child’ gently and tenderly.  Jesus helps her up and then says to those around her ‘Give her something to eat’.

 

I would love to be spoken to so beautifully; I would love to be cared for in this practical, miraculous, holistic way.  Perhaps many of us long for this kind of care and restoration…maybe from something ‘beyond’ ourselves. 

 

The thing about Christian faith is that it, strangely, proclaims that in Jesus we see into the heart of God. 

 

If this is somehow so, here in this story we see what God is like: a God who does not marginalise people, a God who does not see people as lesser because culture judges them thus. 

 

Instead here we see radical care and inclusion (the rest of this story makes this even more abundantly obvious).

 

My sense is that in the heart of God there is this breathtaking tender voice speaking to each one of us: ‘talitha coum’.  The God who seeks to meet us wherever we are at and carry us into new life and wholeness. 

 

And the God who desires that we all share in this gentle, welcoming, practical care for one another; that we experience this kind of care and that we share it whether we live in privileged places or whether we be seeking survival in the hardest situations. 

 

Whether we are on the edges of society or whether we are considered as important by others, this is the kind of living that we are all invited and challenged into: the radical hospitality of God.

 

Rev Sally Douglas

A dirty word starting with ‘G’

Published on June 5, 2009 in Highlands Cluster and Uncategorized. Closed

A reflection after the premature arrival of Zach and Jemimah

I recently heard a moving interview with Caroline Jones, host of Australian Story on ABC1.  In the interview she tenderly spoke of the decline and death of her elderly father and the ensuing grief that engulfed her.

Whilst issues of depression are now making it into the headlines, our contemporary culture still shies away from talk of death and the dirty word grief.  Indeed in the same way that issues of sexuality used to be ‘taboo’ I think death and grief have become new ‘taboo’ topics.

As so many Victorians continue to struggle to make sense of life after the shocking devastation of the bushfires in February, their process of grieving has been made all the more difficult because the reality of suffering is so often avoided in our society.

Grief is different from depression, as Caroline wisely pointed out in her interview.   Grief is not something that a prescription can fix, or a 10 point plan can alleviate.  There are certainly things that can help the grieving process.   Talking about it can help, exercise can be beneficial, weeping is good, journaling can be very important, prayer can be sustaining, worship can nourish and having a break from the grief by doing distracting enjoyable activities with friends can also be invaluable.

However, ultimately grief yearns to be lived through.  Grieving takes time and energy.   Grief is exhausting.  When we experience difficult times of suffering and loss we choose how we will react.  We can bury our heads in the sand and pretend that things are ok perhaps by becoming super busy.   We can fall for the lie that we should ‘get over it’, keeping our feelings firmly locked down, feeling guilty that we are not ‘better’.  Or like Caroline Jones we can enter the grief and let it slowly and painfully uncoil and flow through us.

In the interview Caroline went on to say “I don’t think you ever get over grief, you are changed by it forever.”  I agree with this and how we will be changed will be deeply influenced by how we choose to respond to the grief in the first place.  When we choose to go the hard way; when we face the inevitable questions, fears, uncertainties and sadness that grief throw up, we have a rare opportunity to reflect deeply on what is at the core of things.  When we let ourselves really be confronted with death and suffering we have the possibility of seeing what really is important in life.

By facing the hard reality of suffering and dying our living can be deeply enriched.  God is in this.  Not the ‘fix it’ God- but God who enters right into our living and suffering and dying in Jesus and who through the Spirit will not abandon us in our dark valleys.    If we have the courage to sit with our darkest grief and allow the Holy One to sit with us in this hard place, here from this place new energy, gentle strength and profound wisdom can rise.

Rev. Sally Douglas

Looking After New Life

Published on January 1, 2009 in Highlands Cluster. Closed

Reverend Sally Douglas is on maternity leave as of 1 January 2009, caring for Zach and Jemimah.

For enquiries regarding the life of the Highlands Cluster, please contact Jim Blain, Highlands Cluster Secretary on 5348 3365 or supply Minister, Reverend David Fitzgerald on 0419 576 538.

Blessings on you all,

Sally.

Christmas in the Highlands

Published on December 23, 2008 in Ballan, Daylesford, Highlands Cluster and Trentham. Closed

Christmas Worship Times:

Daylesford: 9.00am
Ballan: 10.30am
Trentham: 9.00am

Come and celebrate with us. All are welcome.

So this is Christmas

Published on December 10, 2008 in Featured. Closed

“Well I hope you don’t get sent to the stables!” a wise woman recently said to me.  Those around us looked at her in confusion as well as some horror.  The comment had come out of nowhere.

However I knew what she was referring to.  Bearing twins, and seemingly getting more ‘heavily pregnant’ by the day, I knew that she was pointing to the ancient Christian story of the Jesus being born in the sheep shed.

I laughed with her, and agreed that I too hoped that this wouldn’t happen to me. Yet, it will unfold as it unfolds.  Probably not with sheep and outcasts being the first to welcome the babies.  However as women who have been pregnant through the ages know, with any pregnancy there are risks and fears and always the great unknown.

It takes time for new life in the womb to be knitted together: as limbs take shape and lungs grow.   It also takes time in each of our own lives for new life to be born.

I think Jesus – the Holy One – is always calling each of us into new life, life in which we are more truly ourselves, more deeply healed, and more set free for love. 

Just as it takes energy and commitment and a lot of waiting to bring babies into this world, so too it takes energy and commitment and a lot of waiting for new life to be born within us.   And both are risky enterprises.

Yet Christ will not force new life upon us.  This is always invitation and gift.

If we are prepared to take time, to make room for the new possibilities that Christ desires to birth within our lives and if we are prepared to wait, then, like the everyday yet startling miracle of babies being born, the miracle of new beginnings and different stories can be birthed in our own lives.

If only we have the courage to stop seeking to control our lives and futures, and instead surrender in the face of the reality of the great unknown.

Doing so not alone, but from the arms of the Holy One who certainly does not promise easy deliveries and fairy tale endings, but who does promise authentic life and love, and intimate Divine presence along the whole mysterious way. 

A First for Ballan

Published on November 17, 2008 in Ballan. Closed

“We wont have enough people to billet the refugees, how can we cater for all these people?  Can they speak English, how will we communicate?”

These were some of the questions and anxieties that people voiced as I first raised the possibility of hosting a Refugee Healing Trail in Ballan.

Yet this weekend we did it.  And what a gift it was to everyone involved.

For one of the first times, if not the first, St Paul’s Uniting Church, together with St Brigit’s Catholic Church and St John’s Anglican Church worked ecumenically on this exciting project.

The Healing Trail team was made up of newly arrived refugees from Burma.  For most of the refugees, this was their first experience of rural Australia.  For most of the Ballan people this was their first encounter with refugees.  Both groups received enormous benefits from the trip.

On the Saturday afternoon people from the Healing Trail team spent time with their billeted families.  Kangaroos and koalas were seen for the first time, sheep farms were discovered and gardens were enjoyed.   There were new culinary experiences for people too; cornflakes were tasted for the first time, as well as different rice dishes.

On Saturday evening a ‘healing concert’ was given.  During this event refugees shared some of their culture and music.  They also spoke of their journey to Australia: of their escape from military persecution, years of waiting in refugee camps, and their final arrival in Australia.  The evening brought people laughter and joy.  It also moved people to tears as they heard of the courage and strength of their newly made friends.

The weekend concluded with a barbecue lunch on Sunday after worship.  Before waving the Refugee Healing Trail Team good bye many photos were taken and hugs shared.

After all those initial worries, in the end there were more than enough billets to host the refugees, the hospitality of the catering over the weekend was abundant and people found all kinds of ways to communicate, even with limited English.  

The children among us modeled this best of all as they found ways of playing together that transcended any need for a common language.

There is a message in this for all of us.  Sometimes we can be so worried that ‘there will not be enough time or talent or energy….’ we can reject exciting new possibilities.  

However when we have courage, when we trust in ourselves and in the Divine: the God of welcome and extravagance, amazing possibilities can be birthed.

We experienced some of this over the weekend.

Thanks to all who had the courage to be involved.

The Refugee Healing Trail is an initiative of the Victorian Council of Churches.

Rev. Sally Douglas

Refugee Healing Trail Team and members of the Ballan community

The Refugee Healing Trail team and members of the three churches in Ballan
(Click photo for full size)

Refugee Healing Trail

Published on November 10, 2008 in Ballan. Closed

Often the television brings us news of disasters and wars from the around the world.  However, these situations can seem so far away that it can be difficult to connect with them.

In Ballan this Saturday 15th November there will be a rare opportunity to hear first hand what it is like to experience being a refugee.

St Paul’s Ballan Uniting Church, together with St Brigit’s Catholic Church and St John’s Anglican Church are delighted to host a Refugee Healing Trail together.

Initiated by the Victorian Council of Churches and ACTS for Peace, the Refugee Healing Trail weekend aims to create opportunities for rural Australians and recently arrived refugees to meet together, share in hospitality and learn from one another.

Over the weekend hospitality will be shared across the 3 churches, and refugees will be billeted across the 3 congregations. Most of the people coming on this Healing Trail weekend have arrived from Burma.

On Saturday November 15 at 7:30pm the public are invited to join in an evening of sharing in the stories and learning about the cultures of recently arrived refugees.

The evening promises to be a rich experience, I think it will be a gift for all who attend.

This free event will take place at Ballan Uniting Church Hall in Inglis St and all are very welcome to attend, there is no need to book.

The Welsh are coming…

Published on October 27, 2008 in Daylesford. Closed

The outstanding Australian Welsh Choir is coming to Daylesford for one concert on November 9th at 2:30pm.

This favourite of choirs will be singing songs from the Welsh tradition, as well as songs from around the world, including Africa, Russia and America.

All are welcome to come and experience this afternoon of stirring music.

Proceeds for this event will go towards supporting our community, at the local, national and international level.

Locally, funds will go towards emergency food relief in the Hepburn Shire. Nationally, this will support indigenous and non-indigenous people in outback Australia. Internationally, this funding will go towards supporting peace making in trouble spots in the Philippines.

When: Sunday November 9, beginning at 2:30pm.

Where: Daylesford Uniting Church, 56 Central Springs Rd, Daylesford

Cost: $20:00

All welcome.

For more information, or to pre-book tickets,

please call Marie-Louise Stafford on 5348 3087

Sharing in Story

Published on October 14, 2008 in Daylesford. Closed

Sharing our stories is one of the greatest ways we connect with one another. 

As Pam Faro, international storyteller states: “Except perhaps for touch, storytelling, story listening and story experiencing is the most basic form of human communication.” 

She goes on to say: “Storytelling is experience.  When people experience story together, it can connect across multitudes of boundaries like nothing can.”

On Friday 24th October Pam Faro, together with well known and much loved local singer song writer Fay White, will be sharing stories and music from across ancient cultures and traditions: Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist.

All are welcome to come and enjoy this feast of story. 

The event will take place at Daylesford Town Hall, and begins at 7:30pm, Friday October 24th.

Cost: $10 ($8 Concession).  No need to book.

Hosted by the Network of Biblical Story Tellers (Aus/NZ) and Daylesford Uniting Church.

All enquiries: Rev. Sally Douglas  03. 5348 2119

The Right Trousers

Published on September 26, 2008 in Uncategorized. Closed

At a recent wedding rehearsal, the bride-to-be confided in me that one of her assistants had been terrified about coming into the church for the wedding rehearsal. This young woman had been stressed out because she didn’t know what she was allowed to wear (if jeans were ok) or how to act. I assured the bride that I didn’t mind what her assistant wore, and I gather the bride already knew this, or she wouldn’t have told me of her friend’s concerns in the first place.

However, this young woman’s fears of entering a church are not, unfortunately, uncommon.

It is tricky when stereotypes on the tv, in movies and in literature continue to affirm the most dodgy of stereotypes about what church, and church people, are really like eg; that they are a dowdy, boring, judgmental lot.

Whilst this may be unfortunately true in some places, the great irony is that the One at the centre of our faith is the most open, fearless, radical and exciting One, Christ Jesus.

And as Christians, Christ-Ones, it is this One that we continue to be informed and transformed by.

For all its many flaws, the Uniting Church genuinely seeks to be an open church.

Certainly here in the Highlands Cluster you are welcome; no matter what you wear, what your background is, and where ever your faith is at.

Here we seek to create space for the questions, the doubts and our own lived experience.

As well as this, we seek to create authentic space for meaningful worship- space in which to commune with the Source of all life.

So if you are interested in exploring issues of Christian faith and spirituality, whether you have never been in a church or if you are thinking of returning after a long time away feel very welcome to join us anytime.

Blessings on your journey,

Sally

Rev. Sally Douglas Highlands Cluster Uniting Church