May 25

Waterholes – 26 May 2013

Newsletter, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Quiet Days, School for Prayer, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 26 May 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 26 May 2013.

Christ is Risen!

Why this newsletter? This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

Who is welcome? The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone. Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

School for Prayer: In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey. The material from our first School for Prayer day is now available, and includes audio of Bishop John's talks. The material from the second School for Prayer day is also available, and includes audio of Anne's talks.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing, or a photo, you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Barb Logan, who had surgery in the past weeks. She is recovering well, but please hold her, her family, and those who care for her in your prayer.
  • Chris Bennie, who is undergoing some medical tests, and is generally less than well.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community whose beloved daughter Kathy died recently
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, for his ministries and health.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he teaches and ministers.
  • Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby as they begin their new ministries.
  • Catherine Eaton, as she discerns God's will for her.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Colin Thornby, who continues to recover from the stem cell transplant he received recently.
  • The Servant Leaders of the Community, who met on 11 May 2013, to continue to discern God's call, plan and reflect.
  • Chris Venning, in a time of discerning God's will.
  • Victoria, who is facing health problems.

Coming Soon

Community Day: School for Prayer – the prayer journey of an Evangelical: a faith encounter with Bishop Barbara Darling

  • Day 3 of the School for Prayer
  • Christ Church (122 Princes Way) Drouin (map)
  • Saturday 1 June 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone (no need to have attended prior events)
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or Jo (03 5655 2975), or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for planning and catering purposes

The Four Gospel Journey

 
A retreat drawing on the Gospels and the insights of Alexander Shaia exploring four pathways on the one journey of discipleship 
  • Matthew and facing change 
  • Mark and moving through suffering
  • John and receiving joy
  • Luke and maturing in service
 
Presenters:
  • Rev Dr John Stewart, Director, Living Well Centre and Spiritual Director 
  • Cath Connelly, Spiritual Director and Celtic Harpist 
Each teaching session will include a presentation by John Stewart, and questions for personal exploration and reflection. There will be time for relaxation and extended times of silence. The retreat will be conducted in a contemplative spirit. 
 
From Sunday June 23rd  2013    (5pm) 
To Wednesday June 26th (c4-30pm)  
at Pallotti College, Millgrove
 
Organised by the Uniting Church Presbytery of Gippsland with support from the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland and the Anam Cara Community.
 
Registrations forms and further information can be downloaded or are available from Tim Angus 03 5144 6543 or 0400 383 628, fordangus@netspace.net.au

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31
  • Romans 5:1–5
  • John 16:12–15

From very early on in the life of the Church, Christians read the figure of ‘Wisdom’ in Proverbs as a reference to Jesus. They assumed that God had already shown, in hints, characters and patterns of relating, what he would reveal in full in Jesus. Wisdom, in particular, lent herself as a very good introduction to what Christians were claiming about Jesus. Wisdom is a figure who is present with God before anything else is created, and she teaches people God’s way in the world.

In the context of the theology of Proverbs itself, of course, written long before the time of Jesus, wisdom is a literary device on the part of the author. To follow the way of ‘wisdom’ is to live in the world as you should, as its maker intended. It is not, on the whole, a mystical or even deeply religious-sounding book, but its assumption is that if you try hard to find the right way, day by day, and follow the teaching of the wise, you will actually be doing what you were created to do, and you will make the world a better place for yourself and others.

But when Wisdom is personfied, as she is in today’s passage, the mood changes. This is not the patient, slightly baffled, concentration on doing the best you can, but a sudden insight into the mind of God. Suddenly, instead of the slightly dull and obvious advice of an old gentleman, we are in the presence of God, the source of all wisdom.

At the start of the passage, Wisdom is standing at all the busiest and most noticeable points of the city and shouting. God’s wisdom is not a thing reserved only for the few, the intellectual giants. It is available to anyone who has ears to hear. And yet what Wisdom is calling out is sung to the tune that makes the universe dance. She was present as God created the world, and she saw it all unfolding. She shared God’s joy in it, and it is this joy, this knowledge of the love of the Creator for his world, that she is sharing as she sings. The knowledge of how to live with joy as a child of God in the world that he has made is what Wisdom offers.

No wonder, then, that Christians saw the connections with Jesus. The first few verses of Romans 5 convey something of that same sense of standing in a world that suddenly makes sense, because we are sure of our rightful place in it. Our place is the one that has been won for us by Christ. Just as in Proverbs the wild delight that Wisdom speaks of has to be filtered through into the minutiae of daily life, so in Romans, the almost unbearable relief of knowing that we are reconciled to God has to be the rock on which we stand, whatever happens in life. Paul wants us to feel the seismic shift in our whole perception of the world, now that we are brought back to God and he wants that to colour everything that happens to us. To live in Christ, as to live by Wisdom, is to live in tune with the world, so that everything that happens, good and bad, deepens our understanding of who we are in relation to God.

But, Paul tells us, we have rather more than a system for recognizing the purpose of God. We have the living presence of God’s Holy Spirit, given to us so that we can feel God’s love for the world. We are now doing what Wisdom does in Proverbs 8; we are sharing God’s love for his world, and feeling his joy in what he has made.

Both of these passages are profound insights into God’s Trinitarian nature, but it is the passage from today’s Gospel that spells it out. John’s image of the Trinity is of a circle in which each figure is only illuminated by the light of the torches that the others are holding. Each desperately wants us to see and love the others. What the torches reveal is both how much they love each other and how alike they are, with a deep family resemblance that makes us look from one to the other with a sense of true recognition. But the circle of light does not exclude us. It spills some of its warmth out to us, the audience. It invites us forward, into the light, and the transforming light begins to make us, too, resemble the main players, not by right, but because of the generous light reflected on us, the light of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Back to the top

 

Our Fundamental Option

Several years ago, at a conference that I was attending the keynote speaker challenged his audience in this way: All of us, he pointed out, are members of various communities: we live in families, are part of church congregations, have colleagues with whom we work, have a circle of friends, and are part of a larger civic community. In every one of these there will come a time when we will get hurt, when we will not be honored, when we will be taken for granted, and treated unfairly. All of us will get hurt. That is a given. However, and this was his challenge, how we handle that hurt, with either bitterness or forgiveness, will color the rest of our lives and determine what kind of person we are going to be.  

Suffering and humiliation find us all, and in full measure, but how we respond to them will determine both the level of our maturity and what kind of person we are. Suffering and humiliation will either soften our hearts or harden our souls. The dynamic works this way:

There is no depth of soul without suffering. Human experience has long ago taught us this. We attain depth primarily through suffering, especially through the kind of suffering that is also humiliating. If anyone of us were to ask ourselves the question: What has given me depth? What has opened me to deeper perception and deeper understanding? Almost invariably the answer would be one of which we would be ashamed to speak: we were bullied as a child, we were abused in some way, something within our physical appearance makes us feel inferior, we speak with an accent, we are always somehow the outsider, we have a weight problem, we are socially awkward, the list goes on, but the truth is always the same: To the extent that we have depth we have also been humiliated, the two are inextricably connected.

But depth is not all of a kind. Humiliation makes us deep, but it can make us deep in very different ways: It can make us deep in understanding, empathy, and forgiveness or it can make us deep in resentment, bitterness, and vengeance. The young men who shot their classmates in Columbine and the young man who indiscriminately gunned down students at Virginia Tech University had, no doubt, suffered more than their share of humiliation in life and that had made them deep. Sadly, in their case, it made them deep in anger, bitterness, and murder. 

We see the opposite in Jesus in how he faces his crucifixion. Crucifixion, as we know, was designed by the Romans as capital punishment; but they had more than mere capital punishment in mind. Crucifixion was also designed to do two other things: to inflict the optimal amount of pain that it was possible for a person to absorb and to utterly and publicly humiliate the one undergoing it.

As Jesus prepares to face his crucifixion and the shameful humiliation within it, he cringes before the challenge and he asks God whether there is another way of getting to the depth of Easter Sunday without having to undergo the humiliation of Good Friday. Eventually, but only after sweating blood, does he accept that there is no other way than to undergo the humiliation of crucifixion. But we get the real lesson only if we really understand what was at stake in Jesus' choice here. The agonizing choice that he is making is not the choice: Do I submit to death or do I invoke divine power and walk free? He was condemned to death and felt as helpless as would any other human in that situation. Invoking divine power or not invoking it as a means of escape was not the issue about which he was anguishing. The issue was not whether to die or not die. It was about how to die. Jesus' choice was this: Do I die in bitterness or in love? Do I die in hardness of heart or softness of soul? Do I die in resentment or in forgiveness?

We know which way he chose. His humiliation drove him to extreme depths, but these were depths of empathy, love, and forgiveness.

That is the issue that is perennially at stake in terms of our own maturity and generativity: In our humiliations, do we give ourselves over to bitterness or love, resentment or forgiveness, hardness of heart or softness of soul? And we have to make that choice daily: Every time we find ourselves shamed, ignored, taken for granted, belittled, unjustly attacked, abused, or slandered we stand between resentment and forgiveness, bitterness and love. Which of these we chose will determine both our maturity and our happiness.

And, ultimately, for all of us, as was the case with Jesus, we will have to face this choice on the ultimate playing field: In the face of our earthly diminishment and death will we choose to let go and die with a cold heart or a warm soul?

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

Contacts:

 

Events at the Abbey


Edie Ashley, the Abbey Priest, writes:

Planning for The Abbey Program 2013 is well under way (download the flyer).

On 1 June 2013 the Abbey will hold its Winter festival, focused on celebrating a sustainable lifestyle (download the flyer).
 
Please consider attending yourself or let others know they are coming up. If you would like any more information, or to register,  please contact Sue Gibson at The Abbey, on 5156 6580 or by email: info@theabbey.org.au.
 

 

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

May 11

Waterholes – 12 May 2013

A'Beckett Park Raymond Island, Events, Lectionary reflections, Memberships, Newsletter, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Quiet Days, School for Prayer, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 12 May 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 12 May 2013.

We apologise that there was no Waterholes for last week – the editor, Colin Thornby, was quite ill in hospital and unable to send it out. He is now doing somewhat better.

Christ is Risen!

Why this newsletter? This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

Who is welcome? The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone. Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

School for Prayer: In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey. The material from our first School for Prayer day is now available, and includes audio of Bishop John's talks. The material from the second School for Prayer day is also available, and includes audio of Anne's talks.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing, or a photo, you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Barb Logan, who had surgery in the past weeks. She is recovering well, but please hold her, her family, and those who care for her in your prayer.
  • Jenny Ramage, who is unwell.
  • Chris Bennie, who is undergoing some medical tests, and is generally less than well.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community whose beloved daughter Kathy died recently
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, for his ministries and health.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he teaches and ministers.
  • Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby as they begin their new ministries.
  • Catherine Eaton, as she discerns God's will for her.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Colin Thornby, who continues to recover from the stem cell transplant he received recently.
  • The Servant Leaders of the Community, who met on 11 May 2013, to continue to discern God's call, plan and reflect.
  • Don Saines, as he ends his ministry at St Paul's Cathedral in Sale, and begins a new ministry as Academic Dean at the United Faculty of Theology
  • Chris Venning, in a time of discerning God's will.
  • Victoria, who is facing health problems.

Coming Soon

Community Day: School for Prayer – the prayer journey of an Evangelical: a faith encounter with Bishop Barbara Darling

  • Day 3 of the School for Prayer
  • Christ Church (122 Princes Way) Drouin (map)
  • Saturday 1 June 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone (no need to have attended prior events)
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or Jo (03 5655 2975), or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for planning and catering purposes

The Four Gospel Journey

 
A retreat drawing on the Gospels and the insights of Alexander Shaia exploring four pathways on the one journey of discipleship 
  • Matthew and facing change 
  • Mark and moving through suffering
  • John and receiving joy
  • Luke and maturing in service
 
Presenters:
  • Rev Dr John Stewart, Director, Living Well Centre and Spiritual Director 
  • Cath Connelly, Spiritual Director and Celtic Harpist 
Each teaching session will include a presentation by John Stewart, and questions for personal exploration and reflection. There will be time for relaxation and extended times of silence. The retreat will be conducted in a contemplative spirit. 
 
From Sunday June 23rd  2013    (5pm) 
To Wednesday June 26th (c4-30pm)  
at Pallotti College, Millgrove
 
Organised by the Uniting Church Presbytery of Gippsland with support from the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland and the Anam Cara Community.
 
Registrations forms and further information can be downloaded or are available from Tim Angus 03 5144 6543 or 0400 383 628, fordangus@netspace.net.au

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

For 5 May 2013

  •  
  • Ezekiel 37:1–14
  • Acts 16:9–15
  • John 14:23–9

The clue to Ezekiel’s famous vision of the dry bones comes in verse 11. What Ezekiel has been hearing from the people all around him is a despair that is like death. ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost,’ they moan. They are incapable of change or growth because they do not believe in the possibility of life.

God agrees with them about their condition. They are lifeless, spiritless, with no home except the shadowy grave. But they need not be without hope. So God takes Ezekiel to the valley full of bones, and makes him prophesy. Just picture it for a moment: the man alone in a valley of dust and death, shouting out, calling upon life and breath and spirit; and seeing the response, as the bones collect themselves, take on flesh and begin to be alive.

It is perfectly clear that this life is not ‘natural’. It does not come from the bones themselves, but from God. And the same is true of the people of Israel. In themselves, they have lost the ability to live, but God is going to give them his own breath, his own spirit, so that the life they live will be God’s. Their total absence of life and hope is to be remedied by God’s gift of his own presence, which is life.

Jesus is talking about absence and presence in the Gospel reading, as well. The whole of the Last Supper is overshadowed by the knowledge that it is the end. The disciples may not quite have taken in what is to happen, and how soon, but they must have picked up the new note in Jesus’ teaching after dinner, as he attempts to prepare them for a time when he will not be there.

In this passage, Jesus is setting out the ways in which, as a matter of fact, he will still be with the disciples, come what may. First of all, he will be with them whenever they remember and try to stay faithful to what he has taught them (John 14:23—‘Those who love me will keep my word’). Next, in trying to continue in love and commitment to Jesus, they will be continuing Jesus’ own work of making God present. So, by their love, they can continue the incarnating work of Jesus, and the Father will be present with them, as he was with Jesus. And, of course, since where the Father is, so is the Son (cf.John 14:10), by being the place of God’s presence, they are also being the place where Jesus is present (v. 23—‘my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’).

But, lastly, because Jesus is nothing if not realistic about his followers, he does not expect them to manage this task of loving God and making him present on their own. The Holy Spirit is to come, as a constant enabler of the presence of God (v. 26). Their new life, like that of Ezekiel’s dry bones, is not something that they have inside them, waiting to be realized, but is the gift of God.

So, in a kind of circular argument, God is asking them to continue to make him present, as Jesus does, and he is giving them his own life and presence to make that possible. Over and over again, in God’s great and gracious plan, we see that we are asked to do and to give what has already been done and given to us by God. We are given forgiveness and asked to forgive, we are given love and asked to love, we are given God and asked to make him a home with us. Our dry bones don’t have to generate their own life.

We know what happened next. We know that the disciples went straight from listening to this great promise about the continuing presence of God in Christ through the Spirit to total confusion and despair. But we also know that the promised new life did somehow percolate their dry bones, and that they did rise to the task of sharing God’s life and love with the world around them, and that whenever they did, they found that God was there already. For example, in the story of Lydia, as we are told it in Acts 16, we hear that ‘the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul’ (v. 14). It might have been tempting to think that Paul’s fluency and fervour converted Lydia, but the author of Acts is clear that God was at work on both sides of that conversation, making possible what he was asking for. Dry bones can live, with the life of God.

For 12 May 2013

  • Ezekiel 36:24–8
  • Acts 16:16–34
  • John 17:20–6

The verses chosen from Ezekiel for today are a beautiful and encouraging picture of the restoration of Israel, but they urgently need to be read in the light of the verses immediately before and after them. The concentrated, central picture is one of Israel restored at last to life. God searches for his people, scattered among all the nations, rootless and nationless, and brings them home. He himself performs all the ceremonies necessary to wipe away the taint of having lived for so long among idolaters, and he puts his own life in them, so that they are no longer tempted to return to the wicked ways that led to their downfall in the first place. God reiterates his great covenant promise to Abraham and to Moses, but this time, he himself will keep both sides of the covenant, because it will be God’s own spirit that enables the people to respond to his promise.

What the verses before make clear, however, is that this is not a desperate strategy on God’s part to try to keep his complex plot on course, but a sign of God’s eternal and unchanging purpose, which nothing can deflect. God chooses a people to be his own, as a sign of hope to the nations, and nothing can prevent them from fulfilling their function. Even their unfaithfulness and incomprehension becomes a means for God to demonstrate his loving and renewing power. God is holy and glorious, Ezekiel tells us, and nothing will prevent that colossal majesty from becoming visible to the world.

Jesus’ prayer in John’s Gospel has something of the same force. Again, what is at issue is the glory of God. And, just as in Ezekiel, nothing can compromise the glory of God. The very things that would, logically, deny God’s power and reality become the means of confirming them. Above all, in John, the cross of Christ is the moment at which he is glorified, and in which the unity of Father and Son is made visible. So when, in John 17:22, Jesus says, ‘The glory that you have given me I have given them’, we are bound to conclude that this glory that we share with Jesus is the glory of suffering, and that in obedient suffering, Christians share in the unity of Father, Son and Spirit. This is not to glamorize or spiritualize suffering, but to know, above all, that it cannot ultimately derail the purposes of God. Ezekiel knows that Israel’s suffering is sometimes their own fault, and sometimes falls upon them because of their faithfulness to God. Jesus knows that the suffering of his followers will sometimes be because they are running away from the truth and sometimes because they are witnessing to it. Either way it can and will be used to God’s loving and life-giving purpose.

Acts is very good at bringing complex and abstract theology to life in practical examples. We have here two connected stories, one in which the glory of God seems to be being declared, and one in which it actually takes root in changed lives.

First of all, Paul and his companions are in the middle of a fruitful mission in Philippi, but their success has its downside. It has attracted the attentions of a kind of stalker, who follows them around, shouting what actually sound like rather flattering descriptions of their work. But although she is acknowledging their connection with ‘the Most High God’, and their power to offer salvation, she herself is not converted, and her apparent confirmation of their task does not attract others. There is a kind of mechanical recognition of the presence of the divine, without any real willingness or ability to connect with it. This girl has been forced to use her instinct for the numinous as a commercial commodity and so, paradoxically, it has become utterly worthless.

Her witness does not convert, and neither does Paul’s exorcism. Instead, these mighty displays land Paul in prison and there, in his weakness and helplessness, the power of God is displayed. How does Paul know, so instinctively, that this is not a moment to stand up and boast? He could have shouted, in the rubble of the prison, standing up, with his shackles in tatters, ‘See what my God will do to free me? See how much he values me?’ Instead, he chooses to stay captive, almost passive, and to sit and wait by the open door of his jail.

Somehow, the jailer makes the leap between the force that could have been used and the care that actually was. Instantly, he sees the God who channels all his power into love. The glory of God is displayed in that prison cell, not in the broken chains, but in the newly forged bonds of love.

 

Back to the top

 

Time wasting

One of the worst things about prison, he told me, was the time-wasting. We were standing in a huge barren hall, or maybe it was a baseball court, where we had just meditated with a large group of his fellow-prisoners. 

After the profound, shared, sweet silence of the meditation we had a lively discussion about what the inner life on the inside was like and how it could be cultivated. This had graced me with the strange feeling I have often had before in prisons, of being very close to the Kingdom, which Jesus says is always “very close to you” wherever and however you find yourself serving your life-term.

The ugliness and dirtiness of the space we were standing in reminded me of some men’s religious houses I have stayed in which reveal more than anything else how a community can lost hope in the spiritual life and in themselves. It would be hard to keep faith in God or yourself in such an aesthetic inferno. But the prisoners on the whole did not complain about the lack of beauty, maybe because they had discovered that complaining about things you can’t change doesn’t make anything better. Maybe because it didn’t seem the main problem they were facing. They all agreed, however, that the great enemy of prayer in prison is the relentless noise, the continuous sounds of metal gates clanging, loud voices echoing down stone corridors, of the rasping noise of anger or hollow laughter.

It is bad enough to know that many years of your life will be wasted in incarceration. It becomes surreal when you realise that you have become a different and better person than the one who was condemned and excluded from society. Worse still is to fill that wasted time with routines that rob you of what minimal meaning or creativity you might be able to cultivate. Meditation, the prisoner I was talking to told me, had helped him to transform this horrible experience of lost time, as in the hours spent standing in line to be counted. Like monks anywhere he had discovered you could pray anywhere and continuously, even in the worst of conditions, by releasing the prayer already within you. As he stood for his number to be called he let go of his thoughts and his resentment and sadness. Often standing in line, but standing too in his heart, he would fall into the sheer joy of the presence.

Compare this with life in another ‘total institution’ of modern life, a hospital. Doctors and nurses complain increasingly about the stress of their professional lives. Substance abuse, depression, breakdown and suicide are growing factors in the medical profession everywhere. As in prisons, medical stress is a product of bad time-management. It breeds the impression of being overwhelmed, powerless to perform properly; persecuted by colleagues or the people you are supposed to be serving.

A hospital where I was speaking recently runs four meditation groups. When it ran a workshop on interpersonal skills for doctors, they were amazed to be told how badly others perceived them to be behaving – interrupting the patients before they had finished describing their problems, avoiding eye contact, harsh with nursing staff and colleagues, cold-hearted in relaying bad news. They were amazed to be told that if they visited a patient and stood sideways to them at a distance, avoiding personal contact, the patient would either remember the visit negatively or erase it from his memory altogether. If the doctor had sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments, present and attentive, the patient would later be convinced she had stayed for a good twenty minutes.

How much time and resources are wasted trying to achieve what a simple spiritual practice makes obvious? In prisons the ethos of punishment and degradation is blatantly counter-productive. In hospitals the depersonalization of medicine makes no one feel better even if it prolongs life, which it often doesn’t. In schools, government policies impose education as a means of training children as an economic resource for reducing the national debt.

One way or another, we are all processed through institutions today. Wastage of time and resources increase with the diminishing of the human factor. And once the humanity of relationships and the quality of personal attention begins to slide it is hard to reverse the trend. The Nazis perversely mastered this process of self-dehumanization that leads, inevitably, to extinction.

Waste will waste us all in time. Finding how to handle time under stressful conditions, how to manage restraint so as to be fully present, is probably one of the greatest spiritual needs of our time. Regardless of any belief system or management theory the simple human art of being present, the lost art of prayer, patiently calls us home to ourselves.

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

Contacts:

 

Events at the Abbey


Edie Ashley, the Abbey Priest, writes:

Planning for The Abbey Program 2013 is well under way (download the flyer).

On 1 June 2013 the Abbey will hold its Winter festival, focused on celebrating a sustainable lifestyle (download the flyer).
 
Please consider attending yourself or let others know they are coming up. If you would like any more information, or to register,  please contact Sue Gibson at The Abbey, on 5156 6580 or by email: info@theabbey.org.au.
 

 

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Apr 20

Waterholes – 21 April 2013

Lectionary reflections, Newsletter, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Quiet Days, School for Prayer, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 21 April 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 21 April 2013.

Christ is Risen!

Why this newsletter? This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

Who is welcome? The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone. Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

School for Prayer: In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey. The material from our first School for Prayer day is now available, and includes audio of Bishop John's talks. The material from the second School for Prayer day is also available, and includes audio of Anne's talks.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing, or a photo, you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Barb Logan, who had surgery in the past weeks. She is recovering well, but please hold her, her family, and those who care for her in your prayer.
  • Jenny Ramage, who is unwell.
  • Chris Bennie, who is undergoing some medical tests, and is generally less than well.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community whose beloved daughter Kathy died recently
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, for his ministries and health.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he prepares to return to Australia to teach and minister.
  • Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby as they begin their new ministries.
  • Catherine Eaton, as she discerns God's will for her.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Colin Thornby, who continues to recover from the stem cell transplant he received recently.
  • The Servant Leaders of the Community, who met on 16 March 2013, to continue to discern God's call, plan and reflect.
  • Don Saines, as he ends his ministry at St Paul's Cathedral in Sale, and begins a new ministry as Academic Dean at the United Faculty of Theology
  • Chris Venning, in a time of discerning God's will.
  • Allison and Cameron, who married on 20 April.

Coming Soon

Picture of quakers at worship

Community Day: Conversations with a Quaker

Come and spend a day learning from the wisdoms found in a different Christian tradition. At the Community Day in Traralgon there will be an opportunity to learn and share with a Quaker, Joan Good. Joan has been a member of the local Quaker Community for many years. She will speak to us and also share in conversation what it means to be a Quaker. We will learn more of their forms of worship. Throughout the years the Quaker community has included long periods of silence as an integral part of their worship.  They also have great concern for social justice issues in our community and throughout the world.  They know the importance of the inner journey to God and how this guides and supports our outer journey.

  • Community Day offered by the Western Region
  • 32 Kassandra Drive, Traralgon (Map)
  • Saturday 4 May 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Carolyn (oliverraymond@wideband.net.au, 03 5174 3455) or Marion (mjdwhite@printedvisions.com.au, 03 5623 3216)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for planning and catering purposes

Read a report on the day held on 2 March 2013: 'Enduring Love'
Read a report, and access resources, from the SfP day held on 6 April 2013: 'Praying with Scriptures'

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Genesis 7:1–5, 11–18; 8:6–18; 9:8–13
  • Acts 9:36–43
  • John 10:22–30

Today’s passage from St John’s Gospel is part of the escalating conflict between Jesus and ‘the Jews’. From the magnificent opening verses of the Gospel, setting out the cosmic significance of the coming of Jesus, John has hammered home the point that there can be no doubt about who Jesus is. His authoritative personality, his miracles and his teaching all make it clear that Jesus and the Father are one. When, here in verse 25, Jesus says that he has already told them who he is we, the readers, know that he has indeed answered their question in all that he has said and done since his coming.

How is it, then, that the religious authorities, the supposed experts, are still asking the same old question? Over and over again in the preceding chapters, they see Jesus’ miracles, hear his teaching, question those whom he has healed, and still they can’t make up their minds. They are not so completely blinded to the nature of God that they can easily dismiss Jesus, but they have, despite their years of study and devotion, managed to keep God at enough of a distance to make a positive identification difficult. In their heart of hearts, they really do not want Jesus to be telling the truth, and they keep hoping that he will say or do something that will allow them with a clear conscience not to believe.

What is it about Jesus’ presentation of God that they so hate? Is it the reality of it, the inescapable choice that Jesus lays before them? Most religious people, then as now, manage to tame their God to the point where he doesn’t make too much difference to their lives and their choices. They pay him lip-service and carry on regardless. But Jesus won’t let people do that. He is God’s presence, standing face to face with people, and making them (us) decide.

The terrible, painful fact that some people choose not to believe runs throughout John’s Gospel and, indeed, the Bible as a whole. It is particularly poignant in situations, like the one described here by John, where those who reject God are the ones who should know him best, his own people. So much of the interaction between God and his people that the prophets show us, too, suggests that thinking you know God and have got him where you want him is the best possible inoculation against really catching God, the full-blown raging fever of his reality. Any Christian who thinks this is just a warning to ‘the Jews’ is in trouble.

The story of Noah’s ark starts off, in Genesis 6, with the emphasis on those who are about to perish, those who have chosen not to follow God’s way. But the story quickly shifts, in those sections we are reading today, to the preservation of the just. The point of the story is renewal, not destruction. Most retellings of the story tend to dwell on the details of life on board the ark while the waters raged around it. But the editor who brings us the final version we have in Genesis is not so easily distracted. His story moves quickly to the climax, when the covering of the ark is removed, and the passengers can get on with what they were saved for, which is the restoration of the earth to its proper fullness and variety of life, but also to its proper covenant relationship with its maker.

Both the story of Noah and Jesus’ words in John make it clear that God’s purpose is salvation, and that we are created to choose life, though the choice is genuinely ours. But the temptation is to get into a kind of ark mentality and to think that salvation is about getting our people in, into the safety and warmth, and battening down the hatches against the raging world outside. But the point of the ark is the moment where people and animals troop out into the ravaged world to help it start again. The ark is only a good metaphor for the Church if we remember that the point is not to get into the ark, but to let the life of the ark flow out into the world.

The beautiful little story of Tabitha, today’s reading from Acts, reinforces Jesus’ message in John 10:28, ‘I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.’ Tabitha is clearly someone who has chosen Jesus, and helped to share his life and love with all around her. She chooses the living God, and her reward is life. Choose life, all three readings beg. The choice is ours, but let us choose life.

 

Back to the top

 

What good was that crisis?

Unless you are an accomplished masochist (or have a fatal attraction to drama), you will want to avoid most situations dramatic and uncomfortable enough to qualify as a crisis. However, life is more often than not indifferent to our list of “wants”. And so it is that crises fall upon us and we fall upon them, like it or not.
 
I am personally turned off in a big way by people expounding a fairly popular view that the ghastly things that happened to them surely did so “for a reason”. I  feel, or maybe I just “sense” that life is, in many ways, chaotic as well as unfair.  It is also often unjust. But what is solid for me, what is truthful and reliable, is that every crisis offers a priceless opportunity to go deeper INTO life, rather than further away from it if we choose to. A crisis is an opportunity to become a bigger person than we were, or maybe the same person with a bigger, more truthful and more compassionate view.
 
Please: I am not suggesting we should put the welcome mat down for crises;on the contrary. We should do all that we can to minimize the suffering that crises bring, while at the same time letting ourselves discover that we can (and often must) become wiser and more discerning.  Indeed, as we look around us and see that troubles come to every door and not just our own, we can also become less self-centered, certainly less self-pitying, and increasingly resolute that we have the capacity to help others as well as ourselves.
 
The paradox is clear. The crises we most want to escape – what any sensible person would want to flee from – are also a chance to gain invaluable humility, to recognise that whatever we are suffering it is part of the human experience and condition, and  that we are not exempt. That is a blow to the ego and our sense of specialness but it also forces us, if we are lucky, to seek differently and deeper.
 
If we are shaken up enough by a crisis – a blow, a grief, an insult, an abandonment, a death, a significant disappointment, an illness – our usual strategies will not work. This means we are forced to find new strengths, greater resources, resources that arise from spirit and our first-hand knowledge of what life offers as well as takes away. I am thinking here of the big spiritual strengths like courage as well as tolerance, like forgiveness as well as generosity, like self-responsibility as well as compassion. And if we cannot? If we prefer to wail and moan and blame other people, or God or life?  Then, I would suggest, the crisis is truly wasted.
 
A crisis insults our innocence: that temporary delusion that frightful things won’t or should not happen to us. The loss of this innocence is essential to any claim to spiritual maturity. Because in truth not only will frightful things happen to us but we may also be the cause of frightful (and unnecessary) things.
 
And that is the most significant learning of all.  Not all suffering is inevitable. Much of the suffering we react and respond to is caused by us: by our ignorance of what makes us happy. Take violence, for example. Or “everyday” contempt, disrespect and aggression. It would be impossible to measure how much suffering this causes. It is impossible to describe the power that comes when we humbly resolve to ourselves and others that, “Harm will stop with me. I will and must keep others safe.”  This is the fundamental of peace-making – within, as well as without.
 
We can choose to understand, from our newly rattled perspective, that not every crisis is, in fact, a crisis. We can choose to make far less fuss about what is just a blow to our ego, or a disappointment. We can save ourselves and grow our resources for what really matters. We can shed the limiting skin of selfishness. We can take responsibility for our attitudes, our strategies as well as our actions. We can grow up. We can ask: “What would help most here.”  We can pray not only for ourselves but for all those similarly suffering. We can soften our demands on the world and other people. We can think – even in our fragile state – far more about what we are ready to give.
 
Does it seem counter-intuitive that I am suggesting “giving” when we might feel empty? Again, I am not suggesting this for the acute stages of grief…but surprisingly soon and often we begin to “fill” when we are including others in our vision, rather than thinking only of ourselves. The reality of our interbeing, our interdependence, means that we never endure a crisis alone. The effect it has on us will also affect others.
 
If today is, for any reason, a day of crisis or heartache, then take a few precious minutes to still your mind, go inward, and send love and light to all who need it. As you generate those thoughts, and as they flow through you, they will also be healing FOR you. “Love and light to all who need it.” Breathing in. Breathing out. Joining with others not through pain, but healing.
 
Those of you familiar with two of my books will be unsurprised by what I have written here. The two books that I believe are particularly strong and clear in a crisis (when clarity and strength are so needed) are Creative Journal Writing and Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love. In very different, complementary ways, those books invite you to a depth of knowing, insight and also courage that – without a crisis – you would never need to discover. How do I know this? Because I have lived them; not simply written them.
 
Holding onto the truth that you do continue to have choices, and continuing valuing and honouring life even it is temporarily unrecognisable, you grow inwardly: you become your whole, true, beautiful self. Yes, there is sometimes a massive price to pay. Don’t waste it.

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

 

Events at the Abbey


Edie Ashley, the Abbey Priest, writes:

Planning for The Abbey Program 2013 is well under way.
 
We commence The Abbey Program in April 19-21st this year with a photographic workshop led by Robert Mc Kay, an experienced photographer and teacher of photography. This is followed in May 10-12th with a workshop ‘Rescuing the Dark Ages’ led by June Treadwell.
 
I am really pleased to be able to offer these two workshops as part of The Abbey Program 2013 (download the flyer).
 
Please consider attending yourself or let others know they are coming up. If you would like any more information, or to register,  please contact Sue Gibson at The Abbey, on 5156 6580 or by email: info@theabbey.org.au.
 

 

A reflection on School for Prayer

 

Dear Jane (and other Servant Leaders),
Thank you all for providing such an excellent forum in the School-for-Prayer program for 2013, for prayer, contemplation, and salvation.

We were truly privileged to have had Bishop John McIntyre to lead SfP1 at Bishopsgate in Sale 16th February last, on 'Prayer and Being Human'. His insights, which he so ably shared with us, certainly provided 'food-for-thought', especially when quoting W B Yeats:

"I'm looking for the face I had before the world was made"
- A contemplative and thoughtful basis for prayer indeed!

Both the morning and afternoon worship sessions played music by John Michael Talbot whom I had not heard previously, and which I found both personally fulfilling as well as exciting! In fact upon returning home that day I sat down and learnt both Psalm 131 – In The Quiet, as well as his Psalm 62 – Only in God, both of which I consider suitable contemplative music and will have available to play and sing during Holy Communion at St. Nicholas in Lakes Entrance from time to time.

It was similarly inspiring to be led by Revd Anne Turner for SfP2 on 6th April last at St Paul's Cathedral in Sale on the theme 'Praying for Scriptures'. Her calm, contemplative, and spiritual mannerism assisted us (well, me) to better and more deeply meditate-in-prayer, which I found truly uplifting. That meditative aspect of prayer enabled me to 'see' things and situations around me with so much more clarity. Revd Anne at one point asked us which word, if any, from that day had any particular meaning or relevance. For me, at that time, that word was 'salvation' (esp. from Talbot's Psalm 62 'Only in God' from SfP1). On further reflection both 'salvation' and 'peace' resonated for me and served to better link SfP1 to SfP2 for a continuing and fulfilling School-for-Prayer. Thank you!

Nicholas Nagy
Lakes Entrance

An update on Colin


As most who receive this email will know, Colin Thornby has mantle cell lymphoma, a form of cancer. The 'best chance' treatment remaining to him is a donor stem cell transplant, delivered at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He was admitted on 13 March 2013, and began treatment on 14 March 2013. His treatment went well, and he was discharged on 5 April 2013. Today he reaches day 30 since his transplant, without incident – which is something to be thankful for. Colin's blood counts have recovered very well, and he has remained mostly symptom-free. He received good care in the hospital, and since discharge is happier sleeping without the interruptions at 3am for drawing blood and taking blood pressures! He is currently staying at BMDI House in North Melbourne, where he will spend a prolonged time convalescing and will appreciate your prayers and good wishes. Feel free to contact him directly if you would like:

Email: colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org
Phone: 0403 776 402 or 03 03 9015 7720
Skype: cthornby
Post: PO Box 2184, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 3050

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Apr 06

Waterholes – 7 April 2013

Events, Lectionary reflections, Newsletter, Prayer, Quiet Days, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 7 April 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 7 April 2013.

Christ is Risen!

Why this newsletter? This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

Who is welcome? The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone. Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

School for Prayer: In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey. The material from our first School for Prayer day is now available, and includes audio of Bishop John's talks.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Barb Logan, who had surgery in the past weeks. She is recovering well, but please hold her, her family, and those who care for her in your prayer.
  • Jenny Ramage, who is unwell.
  • Chris Bennie, who is undergoing some medical tests, and is generally less than well.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community whose beloved daughter Kathy died recently
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, for his ministries and health.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he prepares to return to Australia to teach and minister.
  • Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby as they begin their new ministries.
  • Catherine Eaton, as she discerns God's will for her.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Colin Thornby, who continues to recover from the stem cell transplant he received recently.
  • The Servant Leaders of the Community, who met on 16 March 2013, to continue to discern God's call, plan and reflect.
  • Don Saines, as he ends his ministry at St Paul's Cathedral in Sale, and begins a new ministry as Academic Dean at the United Faculty of Theology
  • Chris Venning, in a time of discerning God's will

Coming Soon

School for Prayer: Praying with Scripture

Come and spend a day learning about creative ways of praying with Scripture

  • Day 2 of School for Prayer
  • St Paul's Cathedral, Sale (149 Cunninghame Street, Sale)
  • Saturday 6 April 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch; tea and coffee provided
  • Bring your Bible, and something to write with and on (perhaps your journal?)
  • More information? Contact Brian (brian.turner@anamcara-gippsland.org; 0408 216 965) or Jane (jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org; 0411 316 346)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for catering and planning purposes

Picture of quakers at worship

Community Day: Conversations with a Quaker

Come and spend a day learning from the wisdoms found in a different Christian tradition. At the Community Day in Traralgon there will be an opportunity to learn and share with a Quaker, Joan Good. Joan has been a member of the local Quaker Community for many years. She will speak to us and also share in conversation what it means to be a Quaker. We will learn more of their forms of worship. Throughout the years the Quaker community has included long periods of silence as an integral part of their worship.  They also have great concern for social justice issues in our community and throughout the world.  They know the importance of the inner journey to God and how this guides and supports our outer journey.

  • Community Day offered by the Western Region
  • 32 Kassandra Drive, Traralgon (Map)
  • Saturday 4 May 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Carolyn (oliverraymond@wideband.net.au, 03 5174 3455) or Marion (mjdwhite@printedvisions.com.au, 03 5623 3216)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for planning and catering purposes

Read a report on the day held on 2 March 2013: 'Enduring Love'

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Exodus 14:10–31; 15:20–1
  • Acts 5:27–32
  • John 20:19–31

People are very good at doubting. We seem to be able to move with effortless ease from the utmost certainty to the utmost doubt within moments.

In the reading from Exodus today, just remember what has already happened. Israelites and Egyptians have both seen the terrible plagues that came upon the land, and they have both, eventually, made the connection between the plagues and the enslavement of the Israelites. Pharaoh has finally let the slaves go, and they have moved off, accompanied day and night by the physical sign of God’s presence, in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Yet, suddenly, Pharaoh changes his mind, forgets all that has happened, and sets out in pursuit of his erstwhile slaves, and they, in turn, forget all that God has done for them, and panic wildly.

What follows reads like God spelling things out in CAPITAL LETTERS. ‘Look, you lot,’ he seems to say, with affectionate exasperation, as he makes a path through the waves of the sea, ‘try to pay attention and remember this for three seconds.’ He goes to exaggerated lengths to make it clear to the dimwits—Egyptians, churned up, drowned in the raging torrent; Israelites, feet not even wet. Got it?

Well, for the time being at least, they got the message, and ‘feared theLord and believed in the Lord’ (Exodus 14:31). But it doesn’t last long.

There is a similar pattern in today’s Gospel reading. Again, remember what has gone before. The disciples have seen the power of Jesus, teaching, healing, even raising the dead. They have heard, from Mary Magdalene, about the resurrection. Yet somehow, they are still sitting huddled behind locked doors, frightened and self-pitying. And again, as with the Israelites, God responds with patient humour, and a demonstration that should satisfy even the most hardened doubter.

Into the locked room steps Jesus, whom the disciples had last seen dying in agony. He is clearly the same man—he makes a point of showing them his wounds. He also breathes on them, just in case they should begin to suspect that he was not alive but some kind of ghost.

If the disciples had been able to imagine a conversation with Jesus after his crucifixion, how would it have gone? ‘Where were you when I needed you?’ perhaps? Or even ‘Didn’t you listen to a word I was saying all those years?’ But there is no mention of the past here. Instead, those who had earned judgement are given the task of judging others; those who had doubted God’s power and his promises are given the living, abiding presence of God in the Holy Spirit.

But even that is not enough. Thomas chooses not to believe the combined witness of his friends. He is unconvinced both by their words and by their sudden transformation from defeat to glowing joy.

So, just for Thomas, here is the full, unmistakable, physical presence of the crucified and risen Lord. Satisfied, Thomas? Can you manage now to be Convinced Thomas, rather than Doubting Thomas?

Today’s passage from Acts suggests that some, at least, of the disciples managed to hold on to their certainty, and never to tire of explaining to others what had been so very hard for them to understand. Can this really be the same Peter, who had been so anxious to distance himself from Jesus at the crucifixion? Yet here he is, suddenly unafraid of arrest and imprisonment. In fact, he is being thoroughly cheeky to the council. ‘We’re the law-abiding ones,’ he says, ‘you’re the ones who ought to be tried, for misunderstanding our God and killing Jesus.’

But Peter has learned enough about himself to be humble in his witness, too. He knows that it is, ultimately, the presence of the Holy Spirit that guarantees the truth of what he is saying. Although you would think that we have seen more than enough of the power of God to convince us for ever, today’s readings suggest otherwise. We will sometimes remember and trust, and sometimes forget and doubt. We will sometimes be able to speak with strength and conviction of all that God has done for us in Christ, and sometimes we will panic and stutter. That is why the real witness to the resurrection power of God is God himself. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Life-giver, the gift to us of God’s continuing presence with us, carries on the job of bearing witness to the crucified and risen Christ, quietly and inexorably. God, in his humour and grace, asks us to join in, to tell what we have seen and heard. We can give our testimonies, however feeble, and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to make God present.

 

Back to the top

 

Where do I find myself on my journey?

As I contemplate this question, I realize on this Tuesday of Easter week that I have made a deeper than usual journey through Lent, Holy Week and Easter Day, against the backdrop of a very physically and medically challenging 2012 and beginning of 2013. Finding myself even more limited in muscle strength, energy and mobility, there has come a time of decisions to accept more personal care and more aids to assist in conserving those limits in order to continue fulfilling my vocation. My primary vocation is as a Priest with the core responsibility for the ‘cure of souls’. My call to be a ‘soulcarer’ has taken on new dimensions as I have found creative ways to live this out. I meet with ‘souls’ over the phone, through Skype, email, snail mail and face to face
 
As part of the process to this moment now, I had encouraged a number of people I had been seeing for years to find new companions for the journey as I felt I was unable to fulfill the ministry and indeed questioned whether I was being called out of it. It seemed I was being called to ‘let go’ also of leadership roles I had undertaken in previous years specifically the soul carer of the Anam Cara Community. It was as if I was being led into a more ‘little’ and ‘hidden’ ministry spoken of by some of the great mystics. This time involved much grief as I faced the inevitable losses associated with so much ‘letting go’ I was experiencing both physically and psycho-spiritually.
 
With the help and encouragement of my spiritual companions and Director I gradually made the journey to full acceptance of the reality of my life NOW.
 
I have always been inspired by the writings of Henri Nouwen but never realized until now just how deeply he had mentored me on my journey, through his writings full of wisdom and vulnerability, most of which I have not read for years! Yet during this Lent one of the books I had bought for my iPad (yes, another means of accepting a new way of being and doing!) has been by Wil Hernandez, entitled, "Henri Nouwen  and Soul  Care. A ministry of Integration." It proved to be one of those books I could say "Yes!" I have experienced that but never heard it expressed quite like Henri Nouwen or Wil Hernandez's commentary. At last here was a description of my own style of spiritual direction and why I had always called it soul care! I am not going to expand on the book here but if the title grabs you as it did me I can recommend it! Basically Henri Nouwen integrated in his ministry of soul care, pastoring as a priest and carer, mentoring, supervision, spiritual direction, healing and friendship.
 
As a result of my journey to date I have accepted the call to ‘availability’ for any of these aspects but still understood it in my deepest self as offering soul care, to whoever knocks on my door, calls me on the phone, emails or writes to me. On rare occasions I make a formal appointment but mainly it is spontaneous. At the same time on this ongoing journey of integration I care for my own soul by having four definite times of prayer and reflection each day uninterrupted and a sleep after lunch.
 
I am literally more ‘hidden’ being more house/bed bound than in past times but spiritually I sense a  deeper ‘hiddenness’ in Godself, The Trinity. This journey of becoming goes on full of ‘goodbyes’ and ‘hellos’ but what an adventure! I sense a greater freedom and ‘lightness’ within myself not previously known which I can only describe as ‘sheer grace’ and paradoxically I feel MORE than I have ever been even at my most extravert natural born leader self and roles!!
 
It is as if I have made a journey with Henri Nouwen without even being consciously aware.  I remember vividly being introduced to him almost 30 years ago through his book, "The Wounded Healer" and saying fervently to a mentor at the time, "That's who I want to be!"
 
I identified with his breakdown having experienced one of my own and in recent years without really realizing, with his call from external leadership to become Chaplain at the Daybreak  L'Arche Community for those with intellectual disabilities.
 
As a result of my own experience of disability I have been drawn to soul care a weekly small group of those with various disabilities with the physical help of others. What I have learned from my ‘Circle of Friends’ for my spiritual journey, of God, myself and others is beyond words.  The Circle of Friends remains an important part of my life.
 
It does strike me yet again the amazing grace of God when, having let go of my leadership roles I have had the opportunity out of the new place of ‘hiddenness’ to lead a small ‘Listeners group’ of new seekers learning to pray in silence. During this Lent almost by ‘accident’ or more likely the Holy Spirit, I led a Lenten course based on Henri Nouwen's book, "The Return of the Prodigal" A Homecoming. He used the Rembrandt painting of the same name and we listened to a commentary and Henri's own reflections on this well known gospel story and painting. It profoundly integrated with my personal journey.
 
I have also found myself helping facilitate a Quiet Day in February and a School for Prayer Day this coming Saturday. I do not have a NEED to lead, it has just arisen naturally from a place of greater integration, and I am so thankful to God for equipping me with a new quality of preparation and leadership. What paradoxes we encounter on this journey into union with God!  Let it continue to be so. Amen

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

News from the Servant Leaders

The Servant Leaders met most recently in January 2013. You can read a report of that meeting here. You can also read our report to the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland's Bishop-in-Council here.

Events at the Abbey


Edie Ashley, the Abbey Priest, writes:

Planning for The Abbey Program 2013 is well under way.
 
We commence The Abbey Program in April 19-21st this year with a photographic workshop led by Robert Mc Kay, an experienced photographer and teacher of photography. This is followed in May 10-12th with a workshop ‘Rescuing the Dark Ages’ led by June Treadwell.
 
I am really pleased to be able to offer these two workshops as part of The Abbey Program 2013 (download the flyer).
 
Please consider attending yourself or let others know they are coming up. If you would like any more information, or to register,  please contact Sue Gibson at The Abbey, on 5156 6580 or by email: info@theabbey.org.au.
 

An update on Colin


As most who receive this email will know, Colin Thornby has mantle cell lymphoma, a form of cancer. The 'best chance' treatment remaining to him is a donor stem cell transplant, delivered at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He was admitted on 13 March 2013, and began treatment on 14 March 2013. His treatment went well, and he was discharged on 5 April 2013. He will now spend a prolonged time convalescing and will appreciate your prayers and good wishes. Feel free to contact him directly if you would like:

Email: colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org
Phone: 0403 776 402 or 03 03 9015 7720
Skype: cthornby
Post: PO Box 2184, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 3050

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Mar 31

Waterholes – 31 March 2013 (Easter)

Lectionary reflections, Newsletter, Prayer, Quiet Days, School for Prayer, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 31 March 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 31 March 2013.

Why this newsletter? This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

Who is welcome? The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone. Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

School for Prayer: In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey. The material from our first School for Prayer day is now available, and includes audio of Bishop John's talks.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Barb Logan, who has had surgery in the past weeks. She is recovering well, but please hold her, her family, and those who care for her in your prayer.
  • Jenny Ramage, who is unwell.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community whose beloved daughter Kathy died recently
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby as they begin their new ministries.
  • Catherine Eaton, as she discerns God's will for her.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Colin Thornby, who received his stem cell transplant this week, and is convalescing.
  • The Servant Leaders of the Community, who met on 16 March 2013, to continue to discern God's call, plan and reflect.
  • Don Saines, as he ends his ministry at St Paul's Cathedral in Sale, and begins a new ministry as Academic Dean at the United Faculty of Theology
  • Chris Venning, in a time of discerning God's will

Coming Soon

School for Prayer: Praying with Scripture

Come and spend a day learning about creative ways of praying with Scripture

  • Day 2 of School for Prayer
  • St Paul's Cathedral, Sale (149 Cunninghame Street, Sale)
  • Saturday 6 April 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch; tea and coffee provided
  • Bring your Bible, and something to write with and on (perhaps your journal?)
  • More information? Contact Brian (brian.turner@anamcara-gippsland.org; 0408 216 965) or Jane (jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org; 0411 316 346)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for catering and planning purposes

Picture of quakers at worship

Community Day: Conversations with a Quaker

Come and spend a day learning from the wisdoms found in a different Christian tradition. At the Community Day in Traralgon there will be an opportunity to learn and share with a Quaker, Joan Good. Joan has been a member of the local Quaker Community for many years. She will speak to us and also share in conversation what it means to be a Quaker. We will learn more of their forms of worship. Throughout the years the Quaker community has included long periods of silence as an integral part of their worship.  They also have great concern for social justice issues in our community and throughout the world.  They know the importance of the inner journey to God and how this guides and supports our outer journey.

  • Community Day offered by the Western Region
  • 32 Kassandra Drive, Traralgon (Map)
  • Saturday 4 May 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Carolyn (oliverraymond@wideband.net.au, 03 5174 3455) or Marion (mjdwhite@printedvisions.com.au, 03 5623 3216)
  • RSVPs would be appreciated for planning and catering purposes

Read a report on the day held on 2 March 2013: 'Enduring Love'

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Isaiah 65:17–25
  • Acts 10:34–43
  • Luke 24:1–12

Creation and resurrection are mirror images of each other, and they are held together by the nature and purpose of God. At its simplest, God is Life-giver. That has endless implications and ramifications, all of them glorious. In God there is endless inventiveness that can bring newness out of what appeared to be finished; in God, there are no dead ends, a new door can open in what seemed to be a brick wall; in God there is endless patience and resourcefulness that cannot be defeated by even the worst of our sinfulness. All of this is proclaimed today in our three readings.

Isaiah explicitly makes the connection between creation and fulfilment. In the new creation of God, the old can simply be left behind. Israel can at last forget their unfaithfulness and disobedience. They do not have to go on seeking forgiveness, because they are made new. And yet, all the same longings of the old creation are still there. The longing for health and security, for home and food, for family and prosperity have so often led God’s people astray, because they have tried to secure them without reference to God. But that does not make those longings wrong in themselves.

Indeed, Isaiah says that God rejoices in what he has made, and delights to see his people happy (Isaiah 65:19). The difference is that in this new creation, there will be an intimacy of communication between God and his people that was missing in the old. ‘Before they call I will answer,’ God says (v. 24).

In Isaiah’s vision, the renewed people of God bring blessings for the whole of creation. Similarly, as Peter reflects in Acts, he is beginning to see the enormous implications of belief in Jesus. Acts shows the earliest Christians constantly being nudged into sharing their faith more and more widely. Some are anxious about this, fearing to lose the clarity of the original message, afraid to step outside the bounds of what Jesus himself had done. But Peter recognizes that God has been at work for Cornelius; it has the familiar pattern that Peter knows from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He knows that he has been called to preach, and he knows—who better—that the content of his preaching is the forgiveness, the new start, that is offered in Jesus.

Peter’s part in witnessing the resurrection is made all the more moving by the fact that the last time we saw Peter in Luke’s account, he was weeping bitterly at his betrayal of Jesus (Luke 22:62).

Peter had every reason to believe that that was how his relationship with Jesus would end. All the heady excitement of the ministry he had shared with Jesus had been forgotten in his own need for safety. Forgotten, too, was everything Jesus had tried to explain to his friends about the necessary end of his mission. Perhaps ‘forgotten’ is the wrong word, since all the Gospel accounts suggest that the disciples stubbornly refused to understand what Jesus was saying—it was just too different from what they hoped for.

Certainly, Luke’s account of the resurrection, like all the Gospel accounts, starts in darkness and despair. A few of Jesus’ friends creep out to give the body the proper care that had been impossible in the horrible press of the soldiers and the crowds and the heat of the day before. None of the disciples who had shared most closely in Jesus’ mission are present in this dawn scene. Despair might explain their absence, or perhaps lingering fears for their own safety, or even a degree of self-absorption in their grief. It is, we are told, a group of women who are the first to hear about the resurrection.

‘Remember,’ they are told, ‘remember and understand.’ But, away from the dazzling messengers of the resurrection, the women cannot make their explanation convincing to the other disciples. Only Peter goes to check up on their story. Does he go with the beginnings of a wild and desperate hope? Does he go, starting to remember what Jesus had told them, starting to remember all that he had seen and heard in Jesus’ company? Does he begin to sense again the living, thrilling presence of God that had been so strongly part of Jesus’ mission, and that had seemed such a cruel joke after Jesus’ death?

Peter is given a chance to start again. His betrayal of Jesus is not the end of their friendship, as Peter had believed and deserved, but the beginning of Peter’s new life, in which Jesus entrusts his gospel to Peter and the friends who had abandoned him at the cross. They had experienced the depths of doubt; who better then to preach the gospel of forgiveness and assurance?

 

Back to the top

 

We will see a world transformed

Justin Welby

To each one of us, whoever and wherever we are,  joining us from far away by television of radio, or here in the Cathedral, Jesus calls through the storms and darkness of life and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”.

Our response to those words sets the pattern for our lives, for the church, for the whole of society. Fear imprisons us and stops us being fully human. Uniquely in all of human history Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the one who as living love liberates holy courage.

“If it is you tell me to come to you on the water” Peter says, and Jesus replies “come”. History does not relate what the disciples thought about getting out of a perfectly serviceable boat, but Peter was right, and they were wrong. The utterly absurd is completely reasonable when Jesus is the one who is calling. Courage is liberated, and he gets out of the boat, walks a bit, and then fails. Love catches him, gently sets him right, and in a moment they are both in the boat and there is peace. Courage failed, but Jesus is stronger than failure.

The fear of the disciples was reasonable. People do not walk on water, but this person did. For us to trust and follow Christ is reasonable if He is what the disciples end up saying He is; “truly you are the Son of God”. Each of us now needs to heed His voice calling to us, and to get out of the boat and go to Him. Because even when we fail, we find peace and hope and become more fully human than we can imagine: failure forgiven, courage liberated, hope persevering, love abounding.

For more than a thousand years this country has to one degree or another sought to recognise that Jesus is the Son of God; by the ordering of its society, by its laws, by its sense of community. Sometimes we have done better, sometimes worse. When we do better we make space for our own courage to be liberated, for God to act among us and for human beings to flourish. Slaves were freed, Factory Acts passed, and the NHS and social care established through Christ-liberated courage. The present challenges of environment and economy, of human development and global poverty, can only be faced with extraordinary courage.

In humility and simplicity Pope Francis called us on Tuesday to be protectors of each other: of the natural world, of the poor and vulnerable. Courage is released in a society that is under the authority of God, so that we may become the fully human community of which we all dream. Let us hear Christ who calls to us and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”.

The first reading we heard dates from the time of Israel before the Kings. It is the account of a Moabite refugee – utterly stigmatised, inescapably despised – taking the huge risk of choosing a God she does not know in a place she has not been, and finding security when she does so. The society Ruth went to was healthy because it was based on obedience to God, both in public care and private love.

Today we may properly differ on the degrees of state and private responsibility in a healthy society. But if we sever our roots in Christ we abandon the stability which enables good decision making.

There can be no final justice, or security, or love, or hope in our society if it is not finally based on rootedness in Christ. Jesus calls to us over the wind and storms, heed his words and we will have the courage to build society in stability.

For nearly two thousand years the Church has sought, often failing, to recognise in its way of being that Jesus is the Son of God. The wind and waves divided Jesus from the disciples. Peter ventures out in fear and trembling (as you may imagine I relate to him at this point). Jesus reconciles Peter to Himself and makes the possibility for all the disciples to find peace. All the life of our diverse churches finds renewal and unity when we are reconciled afresh to God and so are able to reconcile others. A Christ-heeding life changes the church and a Christ-heeding church changes the world: St Benedict set out to create a school for prayer, and incidentally created a monastic order that saved European civilisation.

The more the Church is authentically heeding Jesus’ call, leaving its securities, speaking and acting clearly and taking risks, the more the Church suffers. Thomas Cranmer faced death with Christ-given courage, leaving a legacy of worship, of holding to the truth of the gospel, on which we still draw. I look at the Anglican leaders here and remember that in many cases round the world their people are scattered to the four winds or driven underground: by persecution, by storms of all sorts, even by cultural change.  Many Christians are martyred now as in the past.

Yet at the same time the church transforms society when it takes the risks of renewal in prayer, of reconciliation and of confident declaration of the good news of Jesus Christ. In England alone the churches together run innumerable food banks, shelter the homeless, educate a million children, offer debt counselling, comfort the bereaved, and far, far more. All this comes from heeding the call of Jesus Christ. Internationally, churches run refugee camps, mediate civil wars, organise elections, set up hospitals. All of it happens because of heeding the call to go to Jesus through the storms and across the waves.

There is every possible reason for optimism about the future of Christian faith in our world and in this country. Optimism does not come from us, but because to us and to all people Jesus comes and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. We are called to step out of the comfort of our own traditions and places, and go into the waves, reaching for the hand of Christ. Let us provoke each other to heed the call of Christ, to be clear in our declaration of Christ, committed in prayer to Christ, and we will see a world transformed.

ENDS

© Justin Welby 2013
 

Also noticed around the Internet:

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

News from the Servant Leaders

The Servant Leaders met most recently in January 2013. You can read a report of that meeting here. You can also read our report to the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland's Bishop-in-Council here.

Events at the Abbey


Edie Ashley, the Abbey Priest, writes:

Planning for The Abbey Program 2013 is well under way.
 
We commence The Abbey Program in April 19-21st this year with a photographic workshop led by Robert Mc Kay, an experienced photographer and teacher of photography. This is followed in May 10-12th with a workshop ‘Rescuing the Dark Ages’ led by June Treadwell.
 
I am really pleased to be able to offer these two workshops as part of The Abbey Program 2013 (download the flyer).
 
Please consider attending yourself or let others know they are coming up. If you would like any more information, or to register,  please contact Sue Gibson at The Abbey, on 5156 6580 or by email: info@theabbey.org.au.
 

An update on Colin


As most who receive this email will know, Colin Thornby has mantle cell lymphoma, a form of cancer. The 'best chance' treatment remaining to him is a donor stem cell transplant, delivered at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He was admitted on 13 March 2013, and began treatment on 14 March 2013 and will appreciate your prayers and good wishes. Feel free to contact him directly if you would like:

Email: colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org
Phone: 0403 776 402 or 03 03 9015 7720
Skype: cthornby
Post: PO Box 2184, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 3050

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Feb 16

Waterholes – 17 February 2013

Lent, Newsletter, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Quiet Days, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 17 February 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 17 February 2013.

This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone.

In 2013 we are offering School for Prayer (SfP), a one year program for people who wish to begin, continue and deepen a life of prayer. We have a purpose designed website, and resources to support those who wish to make this journey.

Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • For all those affected by the bushfires throughout Australia, particularly those in Gippsland.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community who have been suffering from health issues.
  • Colin Thornby, as he prepares for his stem cell transplant (his admission has been delayed by several weeks, as his donor is sick).
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Karena and her family.
  • Heather Blackman, an associate of the Community, who is preparing to be ordained priest.
  • Ruth Harrison, an associate of the Community, who is ministering to her grieving family.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.

Coming Soon

Enduring Love

Come and delight in the constant love of God, with Anne and Brian Turner

  • Lent Quiet Day
  • Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Stratford
  • Saturday 2 March 2013, 9.30am to 4pm
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Cost – Nil to $15 depending on means
  • BYO lunch; tea and coffee provided
  • More information? Contact Brian (brian.turner@anamcara-gippsland.org; 0408 216 965)
  • Printable flyer

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Deuteronomy 26:1–11
  • Romans 10:8b–13
  • Luke 4:1–13

Proust’s great theme is that without memory there is no character or understanding. One of the things that is so appealing about his work is that the small memories are at least as significant as the huge ones; indeed, the meaning of the huge is sometimes only apparent through the memory of small details.

Today’s reading from Deuteronomy brings us the ‘remembrance of time past’, mediated in small ways. Here is a ritual for remembering what God did for his people in bringing them out of Egypt. Slavery is remembered, as is God’s ‘terrifying display of power’ (Deuteronomy 26:8), all the pain and the glory that have led to what is now pictured as a settled domestic state. At harvest time, those who have arrived at the luxury of the time of the fulfilment of God’s promises are to remember. They are to fill a basket with the best of their crop, go to the appropriate place, and tell again the story of their salvation. Their action is small, easy and apparently banal, but its significance lies in the act of recitation and memory. After the ritual, there is to be a party for all the people who live in the land that God once promised and has now delivered to his people. But the party is for everyone, not just the people to whom the promise was made.

Romans, too, is about small things that stand for bigger ones. It comes in the middle of Paul’s long and tortuous explanation of how the old and the new covenant fit together, and how the memory of the old can enrich and channel the new. But what is striking about this passage is the apparentsmallness of what Paul is asking of his readers. They are asked to pay attention only to what is in their hearts and on their lips. For the moment, all that Paul is asking of the Romans is that they remember what brought them to belief in the first place, and that they make that memory available to others by talking about it. Just before the passage set for today, Paul outlines the temptations to complication, to pursue theological issues beyond the reaches of knowledge and memory. We know enough of Paul as a theologian to be sure that he does not always consider these questions to be inappropriate. But it is central to all of his teaching that we can question God only on the basis of our memory of what he has already done. As this particular passage goes on, the picture grows bigger and bigger. Although we are to start only with what is in our hearts and on our lips, that will lead us to the knowledge that our memory of how God acts to save us is, in principle, a shared memory. All who start with that small memory, of Jesus as the risen Lord, can share in God’s massive salvific work. Deuteronomy and Romans both know that God’s generosity is not limited to those who remember. The point of their remembering is to bring others into the story of their memory.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness does not connect as obviously as Matthew’s might with the theme of memory. While Matthew 4:2 would make any clued-up reader connect Jesus’ experience with the Exodus, Luke’s references are much more subtle. But the passage is actually full of references to Deuteronomy. Every time Jesus quotes Scripture to the devil, the passage chosen comes from Deuteronomy, and Luke 4:4, ‘one does not live by bread alone’, refers to Deuteronomy 8:3, which is a direct instruction to remember how God fed his people in the wilderness.

Notice where Luke puts this passage—after God’s word of affirmation to Jesus at his baptism, and after Luke’s own genealogy, firmly establishing the proper place of Jesus in our memory of God’s dealings with the world. Notice also, the ending of this particular passage: we are to look forward as well as back, and remember where in the story the tempter returns. This is a pivotal moment in Luke’s story, a moment in which Jesus understands and accepts his calling by rejecting the false paths the devil offers to him.

These passages are all about remembering, accepting and re-enacting who you are. Memory on its own can be debilitating. It can be a memory of what you once were, or might have become. Accepting what your history has made you can be a passive thing, undermining your individuality and choice. But all of these passages are about a dynamic acceptance of the meaning that self-knowledge might offer, not just to you who remember, but to those with whom you choose to share the liberating memory.

 

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Practices for Lent

At a monastery I visited recently there is a successful month-long programme of recovery for drug addicts. I was struck by the vow they take at the beginning of their treatment. It is literally a vow to ‘truth’.
 
It implies a commitment to go the whole course and not give up. Or – such is human nature – to start again if they do give up. This vow can be taken in the name of their own faith or to the universe. In whatever formula it is an act of trust in themselves, their own depth and transcendent dimension, and so in their capacity to be whole.
 
Lent is a similar programme. Today many Christians are vividly reminded of our mortality by the ashes placed on their forehead. This sense opens us to the deep humility and realism from which both wisdom and the health of the soul arise. So today is an opportunity. Do we take the vow to be true to that inner depth and whatever mystery we may be embraced by as we enter it?
 
What shall we do? The soldiers and townspeople once came into the desert to ask John the Baptist this very question. The ancient tradition says there are three dimensions to the ascetical – ‘training’ – aspect of the spiritual journey. We could think of selecting one thing to do in each category.
 
Reduce or renounce something. Only we know what this might be – a harmful or unhealthy habit, of body or mind? Whatever trivialises or wastes time. Whatever controls us and gives us a false sense of comfort.
 
Initiate or strengthen something. Pre-eminently perhaps our meditation. Strengthening this good practice spreads benefits all around our personal universe, both inner and outer.
 
Giving something away. Anonymously. And with no hope for recognition or reward. And even letting go of the self-satisfaction it might give us. It could be money or time or a smile to a tired and miserable looking cashier at the supermarket.
 
One of each of these a day but without the greed to be perfect. Just the intention to be true to ourselves. In that way Lent uplifts us and can be fun. And before long we will be ready to see more.
 
“Understand what is in front of you and what is hidden from you will be revealed.” (Gospel of Thomas)
 
The first practice for Lent – to strengthen or initiate a good habit. 
 
If you don’t meditate regularly, today is a propitious day to start. If you already meditate imagine that you are starting all over again. As the medieval mystics used to say – you know nothing, you want nothing, you have nothing.  We meditate, as John Main said, without demands or expectations. 
 
From the outset, then, there is an exhilarating glimpse of true freedom.
 
 
 
Children can do this naturally, I think, because they approach, it not as a demanding discipline, which big egos fear because of the prospect of failure. But they come to it as play. As in every game, there are rules. (Say your mantra). Without rules there is no game, no play. Keeping the rules of a well-played game gives a sense of satisfaction even if you happen to lose from time to time. You don’t stop loving the game because you don’t win every time.
 
Sit down, sit still, back straight, close your eyes. Say your word gently, faithfully  and simply from beginning to end. Return to the mantra continuously. When distracted, start again. The word: maranatha. The time 20-30 minutes.
 
There’s a habit involved therefore. Not only the ordinary daily habit that makes each morning and evening meditation an integral part of the day. But a habit of mind. There are three initial stages:
 
First, face the zone of distractions, bombarding your surface mind like meteorites. Big and small. Zoom through that with the mantra and you will come through the asteroid zone to a more peaceful and clear mental space. 
 
Zone two is a tempting place to prioritise your tasks, review difficult situations, solve problems. If you want to go further, however, let go of this temptation and keep letting go, getting lighter and freer all the time. Say your mantra.
 
The third zone is the place of perpetual beginning. When you say the mantra simply and with full attention you know you have really begun. This knowledge is the beginning of the knowledge of God that comes to the poor in spirit and those who are content to know nothing.

 
The second kind of daily practice for Lent is to reduce or give up something. 
 
Meditation is – as the word itself suggests – a middle way between extremes. The Buddha tried extreme ways to enlightenment and failed. St Benedict inspired a style of life that could be described as moderation in all things except moderation.
 
The Tao by definition is a middle way. This is the ‘narrow way that leads to life’ that Jesus taught. 
 
The opposite of moderation is addiction. It is not surprising then that in a world where we are insanely destroying our environment to improve our standard of living we are increasing the gulf between rich and poor and increasing addiction and mental illness even in the most affluent parts of society. 
 
A tipping point arrives when the forces involved in any situation can no longer hold things in balance. To avoid the potential catastrophe of such moments we can decide to act out a turning point. This is the literal meaning of ‘repent’ (metanoia, change of mind) – voluntarily to change direction before we fall over the edge. 
 
To meditate is to make that decision and to begin to restore a healthy, dynamic balance to life. If our practice is serious we will soon see the effects in our mind and behaviour patterns. To help things along during Lent it could be helpful to identify some area of consumption or indulgence where a temporary reduction or even abstention would be beneficial. It sends our whole psyche a signal and strengthens the virtue of self-control.
 
“Habits makyth man” is the motto of my old Oxford college. If we look at our habits – mental or physical – we will probably see where we can introduce change. Food, drink, internet, habitual ways we waste time or do harmful things to ourselves or others. A little change in this sense goes a long way.
 
The third kind of practice that both expresses and deepens meditation during Lent – Giving.
 
True giving is a very rare achievement. Usually we give with invisible strings attached. We may be expecting something in return – another gift, recognition, reward, gratitude – or just enjoying the feeling that we are generous and nice people.
 
If we see we aren’t getting the reward we feel is our due we become hurt or resentful.
 
 
 
Jesus says that when we give we should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. A tall order, to be so simple and unself-conscious. But it is essentially the same as coming to meditation while letting go of our demands and expectations, saying the mantra like a child. The desert teachers put it this way: the monk who knows that he is praying is not truly praying; the monk who does not know that he is praying is truly praying.
 
In such a self-conscious and self-evaluating psychological culture as ours it is hard to know what this means and even harder to trust it as wisdom. Doesn’t this conflict with the virtues of self-awareness and self-knowledge? But unless we learn to taste this wisdom ourselves (in Latin wisdom is sapientia, from the word sapere which means to taste) we stay locked into the self-fixation of the self-conscious giver who gives but can’t let go of the gift they are giving.
 
Every true act of giving is a vehicle for the gift of self. When we have felt this kind of gift we know it is not measured by the object given. Its effect is to transform us by awakening the capacity in turn to give ourselves. This giving is at the heart of the Easter mystery we are preparing to enter more deeply through Lent.
 
John Main once said that the best preparation for meditation is the habit of small acts of kindness. Giving to others, unsolicited and not asking for anything in return: maybe money or things but also time. A smile and thank you to a tired bus driver or toilet cleaner. Such giving – which the mantra trains us for – brings golden light to a drab or depressed world.

Also noticed around the Internet:

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • School for Prayer (SfP): a one year program run throughout 2013, to help anyone who wishes to begin, continue or deepen a life of prayer
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

An update on Colin


As most who receive this email will know, Colin Thornby has mantle cell lymphoma, a form of cancer. The 'best chance' treatment remaining to him is a donor stem cell transplant. He was scheduled to be admitted for the transplant on 7 February 2013, but this has been delayed, as unfortunately his donor is unwell, which makes harvesting the stem cells unviable. Colin began maintenance treatment yesterday, to keep his cancer under control while he waits for the transplant, and will appreciate your prayers and good wishes. Feel free to contact him directly if you would like.

 

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Feb 02

Waterholes – 3 February 2013

About Us, Events, Lectionary reflections, Memberships, Newsletter, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Quiet Days, Waterholes No Comments »

Waterholes: 3 February 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 3 February 2013.

This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone.

Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

Check out our new information brochure.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • For all those affected by the bushfires throughout Australia, particularly those in Gippsland.
  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community who have been suffering from health issues.
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, as he travels overseas to teach and minister.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he continues his teaching ministry, and prepares to return to Australia and New Zealand.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Bishop Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury elect.
  • Those in the Church of England hurt by the recent decision not to ordain women as bishops.
  • The faithful and leaders of the churches of Australia, as they deal with the fall-out of the recently announced Royal Commission, and the Commissioners and staff of the Royal Commission as they undertake this important work.
  • All of those hurt by the church, and by church people.
  • The Community, as we begin a new church year, and prepare for the program for next year.
  • The Servant Leaders, who met together on 12 January to plan the new year.
  • Colin Thornby, as he prepares for his stem cell transplant (his date of admission to the Royal Melbourne Hospital is 7 February).
  • Karena and her family.

Coming Soon

A whole year of new events beginning on 16 February 2013 – click here for the program

16 February 2012 – School for Prayer, "Prayer and Being Human" led by Bishop John McIntyre at Bishopscourt, Sale. Starts at 9.30am, ends at 4pm. For more information, contact Jane Macqueen.

The Anam Cara Community’s major program in 2013 is ‘School for Prayer’ (SfP).

Every person is born with a yearning for communion with God. In the Christian tradition the way of communion with God is known as prayer.

Because we’re not always good at prayer, and because lots of things often get in the way, we need to keep coming back to the simplicity and heart of prayer.

SfP is a year long program of events, teaching and information aimed at coming back to the simplicity and heart of prayer – being in relationship with God, who loves us, and desires to be in communion with us.

There is something in SfP for everyone, whether you’ve been praying for 5 weeks or 50 years. You can commit to the whole program, or attend events that appeal to you. You can also use our online resources to brush up on prayer. Joining in events means that you’ll be with others who are committed to the way of prayer, and who, like you are yearning for communion with God.

So, make some time and space for God this year, and try out SfP.

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Genesis 2:4b–9, 15–25
  • Revelation 4
  • Luke 8:22–5

If you go straight from today’s Genesis reading to the reading from Revelation, you could almost imagine that the history of God’s relations with people had been one of unbroken communion. From the intimacy of the Garden of Eden to the glad worship of the heavenly court, human beings were made to live in the presence of God. But there are some subtle differences that suggest the reality of what lies between these two ‘times’ in our story with God.

In Genesis 2 we have the second story of how God made people. InGenesis 1, God makes humanity as the culmination of his labours, a kind of completion. Genesis 2, which has a much fuller and more narrative style, also sees humanity as central, but here, man is made first, and everything else is then made to keep him company. As God makes all the living creatures, we are told that he brings them to Adam, to see what he will call them (Genesis 2:19). This picture of God and Adam playing together sets the tone of this stage of the story. There is an unimaginable closeness between God and the man that he has made out of nothing.

But already the masterly story-teller has put in hints of what is to come. All the lushness of the garden is there just for Adam to enjoy, except the one tree ‘of the knowledge of good and evil’ (v. 17). (In the interests of good feminist exegesis, I must just point out that the command not to eat from the tree was given to Adam on his own, before the creation of Eve, which makes the tradition of blaming Eve for what follows even more unfair!)

And the other dark note comes in God’s understanding that Adam is lonely. Although it is hard to believe that anyone who can talk and play with God could be lonely, it is a measure of God’s generosity and understanding that he creates a companion for Adam. In other words, this act acknowledges what is basic to God’s creativity, which is that it creates something genuinely new, ‘other’. God’s artistry is such that he can make something that is genuinely different from himself.

We, the readers, know what will happen as a result of disobedience to God’s command, and how that innate separation between God and his creation will become a huge rift. But in this reading, all we get is the peace and closeness that exist between God, Adam and Eve. Notice that they do not need, explicitly, to worship their God, here in Eden; they just need to live with him.

In Revelation 4 that natural, quiet closeness has gone, and has instead been replaced by the vision of God’s splendour and our proper worship of it. This chapter, like most of Revelation, is full of allusions to the Old Testament. Echoes of the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel are unmistakable, and it is hard not to compare the living creatures in Revelation with the beasts in Daniel, though there are very significant differences, both in their appearances and in their characters. But like Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1, Revelation’s description of the heavenly court is meant as much to mystify as to clarify. What is seen must be described, but in terms that show that it is beyond any human imagination.

So in this chapter, the one seated on the throne is not described in personal terms. The images that come to the author’s mind as he describes his vision are those of jewels and the rainbow—an impression of brightness and glorious light. The creatures around the throne do not fit into any ordinary earthly categories. But the 24 elders who sit around the indescribable throne are recognizable human figures, and the worship that they and the strange creatures offer can be put into words, with the assumption that we the readers can share in that, at least.

So between Genesis and Revelation, a distance has opened up between human beings and God. The familiarity and ease of the relationship between God and Adam is replaced by the awe and the knowledge of our created dependence with which this chapter of Revelation ends. But that gap can be bridged by our worship. In worshipping God, Revelation implies, heaven and earth are united, and we are again in our proper relationship, knowing who made us, and who wills our existence.

And, of course, what makes that bridging possible is Jesus. In Luke’s story, we see Jesus acting like the Creator, bringing order out of chaos, commanding the waters. The human Jesus holds together Creator and created as he stands in the boat and stills the storm.

 

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Happiness is an inside job

Happiness is elusive for many people and we often search for it in all the wrong places! We seek happiness in the instant gratification of our desires, in the accumulation of possessions, accolades or relationships, in our accomplishments or in the delights of our physical senses. The pursuit of happiness motivates many of our actions and efforts in life. We spend a great deal of time, effort and money in the acquisition of ‘things’ believing that once we have the right partner, house, car, bank balance, physical attributes, possessions, holidays or children we will be satisfied and fulfilled, that happiness will descend upon us and remain our constant companion. We all want to be happy and avoid suffering as much as possible. Yet many of us have found that it is suffering that breaks us open to compassion, wisdom and understanding. It is often our suffering that enables us to realise that happiness is not derived from the outer circumstances of our lives – that indeed, happiness is an inside job.
 
Perhaps it is a quirk of human nature that we don’t actively seek the ingredients for real happiness until the unexpected, the unasked for and sometimes, the unthinkable happens in our life. Life is full of uncertainties. Our struggle for understanding and acceptance can cause us to find and honour the great spirit within ourselves and in so doing we find self-understanding, resolution, humour, courage, wisdom and more. In human form we can discover the peace that passes all understanding, where we are no longer defined by our physical limitations or attributes or our mental and emotional turbulence. Real happiness is not disturbed by the outer circumstances of our life. Indeed real happiness is not disturbed by trauma, tragedy, illness or death of our physical body. I have witnessed many people who, at the time of their death, were able to let go lightly of their physicality and dissolve into the great mystery from whence we come.
 
From the moment of our birth, our consciousness begins to enmesh itself into our physical body according to the feelings we experience. Before birth we rely on ‘womb service’, after birth, time will tell. The feelings we experience have as much a biological impact as an emotional one. Whether we feel safe, secure, loved, cared for, valued and joyful or deprived, fearful, neglected, abandoned, abused or rejected, the chemicals of our feelings flood from our brain and body and provide biological information to the cells of our body.
 
In the first few days and weeks of life a baby doesn’t really understand that it is physically embodied. If their limbs are left to jerk about uncontrollably he or she doesn’t yet understand what these new sensations mean. At about six or seven weeks a baby catches sight of its own hands, studies them and gradually learns that they have a direct relationship with him or herself. The baby’s focus is then on getting their physical body to respond to their desires to roll over, crawl, sit up, stand and accomplish a myriad of physical possibilities. In the best of all possible worlds, everyone in the family cheers and claps whenever the baby accomplishes any of these feats and the baby feels fabulous and rewarded for their efforts. We feel that we are absolutely gorgeous, capable, amazing, lovable, loved and loving. This becomes our biology as well as forming a platform on which more complex experiences follow.
 
Babies radiate love and happiness effortlessly regardless of the colour, intellect, disability, religion or wealth of the people they encounter. However, in our early weeks, months and years we are immersed in the soup of our family’s prejudices. We don’t understand the intellectual concepts that our parents articulate but there is a sound around resentment and bitterness, a sound around anger and frustration, a sound around judgement, a sound around ‘the others’. This is where we learn that there are people who belong to ‘us or our group’ and ‘the others’. If you were born into a wealthy household then poor people may have been considered less. If you were born into a poor family, then wealthy people may have been considered as different because they have ‘more’. If you were born into a Christian household then the Muslims may have been ‘the others’ and vice versa. Young children don’t understand the ‘why’ but they do pick up the feeling that we must close our hearts to other people who are different from us. Depending on our family and what they value, we begin to see people who are richer or poorer, fatter or thinner, more or less educated, fitter or less so, happier or not, religious or atheist, intelligent or not so, as belonging to our culture or not as being different from ourselves – the ‘others’.
 
As young children we also marinate in our family’s, ‘I’ll be happy when…’ story. We hear our parents and others proclaim that they’ll be happy when they get a pay rise, a bigger car, lose a few pounds, start exercising, stop smoking, move to a better neighbourhood, when they go on holidays, when the washer in the bathroom tap is changed or the kitchen is renovated. Before long we believe that we will be happy when Christmas comes, when we go to school, when the exams are over, when we leave school, when we find the perfect partner, get qualified, have children, when they leave, when the divorce comes through or when we retire. In this way, we are deeply programmed to postpone our sense of happiness and contentment to a future time when things look different from how they are right now.
 
And, all this time, we are beginning to unconsciously adapt our behaviour to fit in with the environment into which we have been born. Perhaps if we have a loud and needy older sibling, we become the quiet one or the child that trades off her looks, or of being a brave boy, or the bright one, the funny one, the athletic one, the peacemaker or the responsible one. From listening to well over 60,000 stories from people who have sought counselling with me or attended our residential programs at the Quest for Life Centre, it seems that most of us adopt a particular persona that will work within the dynamics of our own family.
 
So, we arrive upon the planet as a fairly clean slate. We then feel our way into existence by mastering our bodily functions and receiving feedback, by absorbing the family’s values and judgments, by adapting to the family environment into which we are born, by learning to postpone our sense of happiness to a future time, by feeling our way into an identity which will (hopefully) meet our needs for love, attention and care. Much of this biology is established through our feeling experience by the time we are aged three, before we even have a language in which to articulate our experience. We then build beliefs that explain to ourselves why we ‘feel’ that way.
 
Such beliefs could be, ‘I’m better than (or, not as good as) everybody else’, ‘life’s a struggle’, ‘I have to earn my right to exist’, ‘no one understands or loves me’, ‘I’m a disappointment’, ‘my value lies in my ‘doing’, not in my ‘being’, ‘I’m unlovable’ and so on. Our beliefs then dictate our behaviours, our choices.
 
Gradually, it becomes second nature for us to feel a particular way, to think a particular way, to react in a particular way. We all seem to understand what we mean by second nature. The issue is what is your first nature?
 
The search for happiness generally continues until life brings us some obstacles that cause us to question our existence and ponder how we might embrace the challenge that faces us. This challenge to our happiness might be a disappointment, a diagnosis, a disaster, a drama. Suddenly we are stopped in our tracks and we question ourselves and how we might proceed. This is a marvellous moment in time when we say to ourselves, ‘something’s got to change, and it’s me!’ We realise that it’s not about changing the outer circumstances of our life, but how we perceive and respond to these outer circumstances.
 
I well remember the day when this happened to me, when I realised that there was nothing to blame for my own misery. I was sitting in a small cave within a monastery in Assisi (OK), Italy (OK). I had secluded myself from the world to find some peace as I was grappling with illness and my imminent death from leukaemia. I could still be sitting there, a dusty little pile of bones now, muttering to myself, “it’s not fair! I shouldn’t have had a weird brother who told me, before he was ten years old, that he had to kill himself by the time he was thirty; I shouldn’t have had years in hospital and multiple surgeries to my legs in my teen years; I shouldn’t have been raped; I shouldn’t have got into drugs; I shouldn’t have been crippled with arthritis; I shouldn’t have had domestic violence and emotional abuse in my relationships; my brother shouldn’t have committed suicide; I shouldn’t have leukaemia, it’s not fair!’ But I realised that those things had happened and the challenge became, ‘am I willing to be defined by what has happened to me or can I be more than that?’ I knew I could trade of the wounds of the past as an excuse for my behaviour in the present or I could choose to see them as opportunities for healing and release.
 
Life provides us with endless opportunities to relinquish everything that has become second nature to us so that we consciously experience our first nature, which is love. Indeed, the sole/soul purpose of human existence is to release everything that has become second nature to us so that we can reveal our first nature. Once we understand this, life becomes an opportunity to embrace every moment with an open heart, free of judgement and a clear and quiet mind. Then, happiness is ours.

Also noticed around the Internet:

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

 

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Jan 05

Waterholes – 6 January 2013

About Us, Events, Lectionary reflections, Memberships, Newsletter, Quiet Days No Comments »

Waterholes: 6 January 2013

 


Welcome

Welcome to Waterholes, the Anam Cara Community newsletter for the week beginning 6 January 2013.

This newsletter is one of the ways by which we hope to promote community. The Anam Cara Community is intended to be much more than simply a group of likeminded people. We hope it will continue to grow into a community that is a sign of God’s presence in and love for the world, a dispersed community of contemplatives whose lives and action bring peace and healing to all of God’s children. We are a Community of Prayer, and believe that as we pray together, God calls us deeper into fellowship with one another.

The Anam Cara Community is proud to welcome anyone, from any background or faith community (or none!). We are an open and inclusive community that affirms the dignity and worth of all humans, the value of the environment, and seeks to model a way of living with one another and the world that points to the love and care of God for everyone.

Individuals who wish to formally join the Community are welcome to become associates. You may now join or renew and pay electronically using PayPal. Find out more about the Servant Leaders, and read the Community Statement.

Contributions? If you have a piece of writing you’d like to share with the Community, feel free to send it on to Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org). Work of all sorts is welcome.

For your prayers

Part of the joy of the Anam Cara Community is the gift of being called to pray for others. If you would like the Community to pray for you, or for someone else, please email or phone Colin (colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org, 0403 776 402) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org) who will add them to the prayer list, and ensure they’re included in the next issue of the Newsletter. At present, your prayers are asked for:

  • Anne Turner, elder of the Community. Anne is experiencing further signs of physical deterioration. Please hold her, and Brian as he cares for her, in your prayers.
  • Ray and Joyce Elliot, associates of the Community who have been suffering from health issues.
  • Larissa Dial, who has relapsed cancer, and her family.
  • Helen Adamczyk, who is discerning God's wisdom and guidance.
  • Jane Macqueen, whose ministry is busy and demanding.
  • Bishop John McIntyre, as he ministers to us and among us.
  • Greg Reynolds, and the faith community of Inclusive Catholics in Melbourne, as they seek God and build new community.
  • Michael Kelly, as he travels overseas to teach and minister.
  • Alexander Shaia, as he continues his teaching ministry, and prepares to return to Australia and New Zealand.
  • The Abbey of St Barnabas, Edie Ashley the Abbey Priest, and all who work to realise the vision of the Abbey.
  • Bishop Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury designate.
  • Archbishop Rowan Williams, as he prepares to lay down his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • Those in the Church of England hurt by the recent decision not to ordain women as bishops.
  • The faithful and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia, as they deal with the fall-out of the recently announced Royal Commission,
  • All of those hurt by the church, and by church people.
  • The Community, as we begin a new church year, and prepare for the program for next year.
  • The Servant Leaders, as they meet together on 12 January to plan the new year.
  • Colin Thornby, as he prepares for his stem cell transplant (his date of admission to the Royal Melbourne Hospital is 4 February).

Coming Soon

A whole year of new events beginning on 16 February 2013 – click here for the program

Scripture reflection

 

Colin Thornby

  • Isaiah 60:1–6
  • Ephesians 3:1–12
  • Matthew 2:1–12

The wise men have always had enormous appeal. Everything about them has been elaborated in poetry and story. They have become kings; they have been depicted as representing youth, maturity and old age; they have been given the features of different races; they have been named. They function as our representatives; all of us Gentiles were not actually there.

That is the connection that runs through these three passages, and forms the theme for today. It is the theme of God’s great self-revelation to the world.

In Isaiah, the scene is in darkness. The figure might be asleep, or might be prostrate with grief. Suddenly an incandescent light shines, illuminating the central figure and emphasizing the darkness all around. Behind the figure, the light gathers, brighter and brighter, forming into a clear, majestic shape, made of brilliance. Gradually other shapes come on to the stage, drawn by the light, shuffling out of the darkness. The whole stage erupts into a party, as the light spreads further and further. The one who was alone and in darkness is now surrounded by light and laughter. Bit by bit, through the happy sounds, the central character’s voice is heard, singing a hymn. Gradually other voices pick it up, until the whole stage coalesces into one song, a song of praise to the Light.

This is how Isaiah sees God’s revelation. It is to be a time of vindication for his people, but in their triumph they are generous. They are thrilled not only by the wealth and honour that recognition brings, but also by the fact that the nations can now share in their worship of God. The culmination of today’s passage is the picture of community united to ‘proclaim the praise of the Lord’ (Isaiah 60:6).

This is how Ephesians sees it, too. The point of God’s epiphany is that everyone should be drawn to him. Huge claims are made for Paul—and, by implication, for all Christians—in this passage. In Ephesians 3:2–3 it is said that the ‘mystery’ of God’s inclusive call waits upon Paul’s conversion and commission. To Paul and, it is rather grudgingly admitted, to ‘the holy apostles and prophets’, is entrusted the revelation that all can share in the gospel. The enormity of this claim is clear—God’s original plan for his whole creation, thus far ‘hidden … in God’, is now entrusted to the Church. The ‘rulers and authorities in the heavenly places’ (v. 10), who may have felt that they had rights over the Gentiles at least, are shown a community drawn from all races and owing allegiance only to God. Perhaps the church you attend Sunday by Sunday does not always remind you of ‘the wisdom of God in its rich variety’, but it should.

But again, as with the passage in Isaiah, the purpose of this self-gift of God to his people is not to elevate believers above others, but to enable worship. We can now approach God, knowing that we are called, loved, wanted.

What strange messengers God chooses for his gospel—the dark, mourning figure in Isaiah; the difficult, touchy apostle Paul, whose mission often lands him in prison; the infantile, squabbling Christian Church. And that brings us full circle to the wise men, again. If you actually read the passage in Matthew, trying to forget the preconceptions you bring to it, you will see that they are very odd figures. We don’t know where they come from, just that it is ‘the East’; we don’t know how many of them there are, just how many presents they bring; we don’t know their status, though they do have the confidence to call at Herod’s palace. What they saw, in the end, cannot have been what they were expecting. They were tracking a king, so they looked for him in a palace, and brought presents that must have looked singularly out of place to Mary and the child Jesus. Not for them the direct visitation of the angels, with clear instructions on how to find the baby—that is reserved for the shepherds. The wise men follow the bright, enigmatic star, using their intelligence to calculate its path, making assumptions in their visit to Herod—and with what fatal consequences.

So the real story of the wise men seems to be about the challenge of God’s coming. God’s kingship is not what you might expect, and his revelation is blindingly unpredictable. But at least the wise men do recognize their journey’s end when they see it. We are told that they are ‘overwhelmed with joy’. They leave their strange presents and go home satisfied. Let us hope that in that, at least, they are our representatives.

 

Back to the top

 

Brother Alois of Taize on the Epiphany

Christmas sets before us a humble event that took place one day in Bethlehem. Epiphany shows us that this event has a universal and even a cosmic dimension. The Wise Men are guided by a star and represent all peoples, all cultures.

Today we would like to understand how the light of Christ can enlighten all people. To achieve this, like the Wise Men we must leave our habits and some of our beliefs behind. We must leave ourselves behind, bending down and entering the stable. Any other attitude would cause us to miss the God who humbled himself to the point of being born in a hidden place.

Let us spend time with them. May our prayer, before being petition, be, like theirs, adoration. When we look towards the light of Christ, it gradually becomes an inward light and the mystery of Christ becomes the mystery of our own lives as well.

The spirit of adoration is not easy in a world where immediate results matter so much, where the mere thought of a long process of maturation arouses impatience. As for the Wise Men, a journey is necessary to allow us simply to remain in the presence of God. In long silences where nothing seems to happen, God is at work in us, without our knowing how.

[Our] stained-glass window of the Epiphany shows the Wise Men adoring the Child. Let us look at that child to understand who God is. Let us consider the extreme humility of God. Let us see that, as a poor child, he comes to beg for our love! And let us see too that he restores human dignity to those who have lost it.

To adore means to discern the presence of God. God is present in his Word (at the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome, the "sacramental" character of the Bible was recalled). God is present in the Eucharist. Christians of the East know that icons also lead us into communion with God. God is present in the humble events of our lives. And the Gospel insists: God lets himself be found among the poorest of the poor.

Adoration means turning away from ourselves to look towards God. If our own concerns take up all the room, how can the obstacles that cover over the source of life set within us by God be removed?

The Wise Men express their adoration by an offering. The prayer of adoration leads us to offer the best of ourselves to God and to others. It leads us to make our life a gift for those who are entrusted to us.

It is true that some suffer too much and no longer have the strength to worship God. We must have respect and compassion without limits for such people. But if the Gospel asks us to look beyond ourselves, it is in order to keep hope alive, even for those who are unable to hope any longer.

Christians of the East may feel an attitude of adoration before the mystery of God more spontaneously than Westerners do. I had that experience recently. In early December, the death of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, Alexy II, touched our hearts. I had met him, and he told me he wanted to deepen cooperation with Taizé. I went to his funeral with two of my brothers.

During the celebrations in Moscow, I said to myself: we have such a need to open ourselves to the treasures bequeathed to Eastern Christianity. One of the secrets of the soul of Eastern Christians lies in a prayer of adoration where God's goodness becomes tangible. This prayer allows access to the mysteries of the faith: the incarnation of Christ, his resurrection, the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. And it is from these mysteries that Christians of the East draw a sense of the greatness of the human being. God became man so that humanity might participate in his divinity; every human being is called to be transfigured with Christ already here on earth.

Could our liturgies, without in any way neglecting the communal dimension, lead to more adoration, to inwardness, to a personal communion with God?

In the East, the Epiphany is called Theophany, "appearance of God." The liturgical tradition links the story of the Wise Men, the baptism of Jesus and the water changed into wine at Cana, since they are, at the beginning of the Gospels, three moments when the secret of Christ is revealed: letting the compassion of God shine forth in our humanity.

In coming to earth, Jesus manifested God's love for all people, for all nations. He inscribed God's "yes" in the depths of the human condition. God welcomes all of us just as we are, with what is good, but also with our shadows, and even our defects. We learn to accept that we are poor. And from that moment on, we cannot despair either of the world or of ourselves.

Support on the journey

The Anam Cara Community’s ministry is to be a support to those who are on the inner journey into God. Each person’s journey is different, and we recognise that there are some for whom the Christian tradition is difficult or not supportive. We’re committed to finding ways to hear the needs of each Associate, and support them as we can.

The Community can offer support in a number of ways:

  • Spiritual direction / soul care: Spiritual direction is a process by which one person helps another grow in intimacy with God and in right relationship with all creation. This ministry has a long and revered history in the Christian tradition and has been practised by lay people, religious and ordained ministers. The focus of this ministry is the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. For more information and a referral to a director, contact Colin (0403 776 402 or colin.thornby@anamcara-gippsland.org) or Jane (0411 316 346 or jane.macqueen@anamcara-gippsland.org)
  • Quiet days: usually held monthly across Gippsland, and in Canberra. Details are in this newsletter, or on the website.
  • Library: maintained in Sale, but available for borrowing by post. Contact Sue (secretary@anamcara-gippsland.org, 03 5182 5542) or visit our webpage.
  • Publications: Waterholes is the news-magazine of the community. Contributions are welcome.
  • Fellowship: Available at our events, by email, on the phone, and the website.
  • Website: Full of news, resources, reviews and other interesting information and supports.
  • Directing to other resources, such as events at the Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

 

Love and prayers

Colin Thornby and Jane Macqueen
Soul Carers

Aug 19

Spring retreat at the Abbey (28-30 September 2012)

A'Beckett Park Raymond Island, Events, Quiet Days No Comments »

Embracing Spring

Picture of cherry blossom


Retreat

28-30 September 2012

Begins Friday Evening, and finishes after lunch on Sunday

The Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park, Raymond Island
Led by the Rev’d Marilyn Obersby

Guided meditation, community reflection silence and individual space 

To book or further information:

Jun 20

Living as a Christian Across Cultures – report

Latrobe Valley Meeting Place, Quiet Days, West Gippsland Meeting Place 1 Comment »

Anam Cara – Quiet Day – Living as a Christian across Cultures.

The Anam Cara Quiet day of the 16th June was held at St James Traralgon. People attended from many parishes across the western part of the Diocese. It was a joy to have Elmira and Thomas Arndt and their daughter of 22 months, Umuttai, with us for the day.

 

As well as worship and time for quiet meditation and prayer Elmira spoke to us about her own journey from living and growing up in a Moslem home to becoming a Christian and now living out her faith in Australia. Elmira was born in Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. (We all needed to look at a map to see exactly where Kyrgyzstan really was!) She was born and raised in a village in Kyrgyzstan and went to University in a nearby city. She spent much time telling us of her country and its history and culture. In her country most people are Krygis, but there are also Uzbeks and Russians. In the city are people from Europe and America. Elmira spoke of the main religion which is Islam. She felt that Islam is mainly a cultural faith and many people do not pray 5 times a day or attend the mosque regularly. She has 5 siblings, three of her sisters have become Christians. Her parents and brothers are still Moslem. Elmira became a Christian through meeting other Christians at University. She said she was amazed at the change in her closest friend when she became a Christian. She had been a person who had been very fearful of life and of the future. Once she became a Christian she lost all fear and lived her life in trust. She spoke of being told of Jesus and of her growing relationship with him. She is aware of how different this is for many Moslems. They do not know God in the sense of having a relationship with him.

 

Elmira shared with us her parent’s deep concern that when she became a Christian she would be shut out of her community and becoming a Christian would dishonour her family. She told us of the overwhelming importance of community in Kyrgyzstan. She said some Christian girls had been married off to Moslem men to “cure” them of their Christianity. In Kyrgyzstan people speak openly of their faith and they would ask her, “Are you a Christian?” “What do you believe?’ They would also ask if Christians have orgies and eat children. (These were some of the questions faced by the Early Christians) There is much misunderstanding and distrust between the Moslem and Christian communities in Kyrgyzstan.

Elmira herself worked for many years for an NGO working to increase understanding and break down barriers between the Christian Church and the general community. Islam is becoming stronger in Kyrgyzstan. She is aware of increasing danger of persecution for Christians in her country. She has now married a German who works in Melbourne. We talked about expressing faith in language. Thomas and Elmira speak Russian together. Elmira speaks Kyrgys to Umuttai. Thomas speaks German to Umuttai. Elmira reads her Bible in Russian and Kyrgys. Living in Australia they are surrounded by English and both Thomas and Elmira speak perfect English!

 

We asked Elmira how she finds the church in Australia. For her living out her faith, is living in caring community. She said she finds that the church she and Thomas attend, has many young families. She appreciates the Bible Study groups and the playgroup she attends. However the parents are so involved in work and immediate family activities that the building up of a truly supportive community of believers is not possible.

 

Elmira’s openness in sharing her life as a Christian with us was both inspiring and challenging. During lunch Elmira shared some photos from her country. Her country is still largely an agricultural country. The irregularity of power supply, the corrupt medical services and the lack of Internet access were just a few things which told us of how different her life in Kyrgyzstan had been to our lives in Australia. During our quiet times we had much to think about and pray about.

 

Carolyn Raymond

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