Date: 2009-06-09 19:30:01
Sorry Day has come and gone, as has QCT’s service for Christian unity and reconciliation. Reconciliation Week is almost over too (3 June). How many people notice? What does it mean to most of us?
Well, it was not wasted to come together on the evening of Sorry Day, Tuesday 26 May, to read together the wonderful confession of faith contained in Colossians 1:15-23: “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together…” If that is a fact, then our failure to bring things into focus is not the last word.
We prayed together, sang together, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Christians, people from Orthodox and Western Christian traditions, Christians who were used to a set liturgy and those who were not – those who loved to sing to an organ and those for whom the guitar provided just the right accompaniment. We reflected on the theme in silence, then to the sounds of the didgeridoo. We brought together branches of eucalypt and lemon myrtle in one fragrant bunch, reminiscent of the sticks Ezekiel is told to hold (Ezekiel 37) which God turns into one.
The branches came from the Place of Tall Trees, Teralba Park – where that very morning, on Sorry Day, more than 100 people had gathered to remember the Stolen Generation and share time with each other over breakfast. Quite a few of the participants were from local churches and church schools.
We would love to hear from you about the activities you undertook during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and/or Reconciliation Week. If you have photos, we would love to have those too.
Pentecost too has come and gone, but let us continue to pray for a sense of the wind blowing as the Spirit brings about new and unimagined acts of reconciliation.
Glenine Hamlyn
Diakonia – living God’s love in the world – is the key to discovering what Anglicans and Lutherans have in common, according to the latest communiqué of their global dialogue.
Read about the wide variety of activities planned by churches and church-related groups around the world from 4-10 June 2009 to promote peace in Palestine and Israel.
Remember Oikotree? Oikotree is fast becoming an international ecumenical tool on issues of ecology and climate change.
Even if it is technically possible to find a common date for Easter in the future, the Eastern and Western streams of Christianity will trust to accept it.
How are we to comprehend the action of the Holy Spirit in this age of ecological challenges? Discuss this and other key issues 5-9 July at the ANZATS Conference.
Food for thought for advocates and opponents of Twitter alike: German Protestants have “tweeted” the Bible.
15 July 2009: a workshop for anyone interested in learning more about mental health and pastoral care (lay or ordained) - open to people from any church or other faith group.
16 June 2009: Shazia, an advocate for women's rights in Afghanistan, will inform us about the daily realities facing Afghan women. Shazia is on a speaking and fundraising tour in Australia.
24 June 2009: Michael Northcott will be the guest speaker at the Felix Arnott Memorial Lecture on "The Carbon Crunch. Greening the economy and mitigating climate change". All welcome.
The focus is on “Respecting our Elders – Nurturing our Youth” at this year’s NAIDOC Family Fun Day in Musgrave Park (South Brisbane) – with stalls, entertainment, good food and friendly people. All welcome!
