Reflections from the belly
I’m delighted to announce that The word made flesh, a reflection I wrote on faith and autism, has been accepted for publication in an upcoming anthology by UQP. The as-yet-untitled anthology aims to disrupt clinical approaches to autism by showcasing a diversity of perspectives on the neurotype, and I’ll be rubbing shoulders with a range of awesome contributors including Clem Bastow, Jo Case, Fiona Wright and Jess Ho.
Continue reading “UQP autism anthology”
Rejected by the worshipping community, blind Bartimaeus is commended for his faith. A reflection given to the delightful Rosanna Baptist Church on 17 March 2024. You can listen to a (very tinny) recording of it here.
He was slumped outside the city gate, because he wasn’t allowed to enter. Once, he had been on the inside, but not any more. Maybe he asked too many questions. Maybe he struggled to make nice. Maybe people felt uncomfortable around his disability, or his kid’s. Or maybe people’s reactions to his sexuality or gender had pushed him out.
Continue reading “Mark | Blind faith”
God’s steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1b)
When a church closes, there is much to grieve yet also much to celebrate. It is usual for some of this to be done in a formal way at the final service, through two or three people chosen to tell that community’s story. Typically, they would be minister and deacons, but of course this preferences a particular type of person and power. However, I think it would be more appropriate to make space for many different voices. Continue reading “Psalms | Writing a psalm of thanksgiving”
Not one stone will be left … (Matthew 24:2)
Holy God,
whose presence is known
in the structures we build
and also in their collapse:
establish in us a desire
not to contain your mystery,
but to be led beyond security
into your sacred space,
through Jesus Christ: Amen. Continue reading “Trusting in the foolishness of death, Sanctuary will close”
The God of freedom calls us to shape the future through our collective choices. (Listen.)
At the burning bush, Moses asks God’s name. God replies, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh.” Thanks to a long history of translation, from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English, and thanks to the Greek philosophical tradition which has shaped our language and worldview, this is usually translated as “I am who I am.” We come away with an idea of God as a timeless, unchangeable essence, as far from the mess of human life as possible. Continue reading “Exodus | The God of freedom”
The story of exodus points to the joy-filled possibilities of civil disobedience. (Listen.)
Have you heard of the Singing Revolution? Day after day, Estonians gathered to raise their outlawed flag, sing their national songs, and peacefully protest Russia’s violent occupation. After five years, a million people were regularly gathering and singing, such a vast, joy-filled experience I can barely imagine it: and eventually, the Russians left. Continue reading “Exodus | Agents of joyful rebellion”
In his encounter with the Canaanite woman, Jesus repeats then repents of Joshua’s policy of no mercy. (Listen.)
Good to know: Jesus’ name is the English rendition of the Greek version of a Hebrew name which in English is rendered Joshua! Yeshua – Iesous – Jesus – Joshua: they’re all the same name.
‘I’m from one of the oldest families,’ he said. ‘We’ve been here since the beginning.’ And with that he effectively erased 60,000 years of continuous living culture, just as his Irish ancestors had tried to erase the people from the land. He’s a lovely guy, straightforward and well-meaning, and totally oblivious to what he had just done. Continue reading “Matthew | Redeeming Joshua”
It takes a special sort of energy to plant something new; now it’s time for me to move on.
I recently heard a wonderful story. Words from Sanctuary had sparked an awareness in someone in another congregation that, even if things don’t come out the way we want or plan, ‘if God has anything to do with it, there will be new life, new friends, and plenty of justice and joy.’ She read those sentences over and over again, to herself, to her husband and even to their prayer group. For her husband was preparing for a driving assessment, and very anxious about it he was. And indeed, despite all his practice and prayer, the assessor concluded that it was no longer safe for him to drive and his licence could not be renewed. Continue reading “Church | Jesus, now lead on”
Sometimes, you gotta fight for a blessing; sometimes, it’ll cost you. (Listen.)
A few weeks ago, I organised and hosted a ministers’ gathering. Near the end of the session, one of the ministers suddenly went on a rant about the failings of the church in the West. The church is collapsing, he said, because of the blurring of gender roles that began in the 1960’s and continues to this day. And there was I, sitting in a room full of men with my boots and jeans, close cropped hair, zero make up, and not a floral in sight—and all the authority which was conferred upon me through the rite of ordination (which in Baptistland is, admittedly, not much). Continue reading “Genesis | Striving with God and men”
Competitive faithfulness has no place in God’s kingdom; instead, it’s all about love. (Listen.)
So the minister and the deacon are standing at the front of the church, praying. In a big, resonant voice the minister says, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ In a clear, ringing voice the deacon says, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Then they hear a muffled sound coming from the back of the building. They turn to see the cleaner, head bowed, kneeling, beating his breast and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ The minister turns to the deacon and says, ‘Look who’s calling himself a sinner!’ Continue reading “Luke | Not even #humble”
Alison and the whale 