Progressive, affirming, questing in Warrnambool, Victoria
Safe and provocative. Formal but still chill. Comforting and challenging. A spirit of gentleness. A witness to diversity. Open to possibilities. Room for doubt. A place for growth, encompassed by love. What wonderful phrases you came up with on Sunday to describe your experience of Sanctuary. Continue reading “Ephesians | Slow reading | The nature of church”
If you enter your place of worship then remember that your brother or sister has something against you, abandon your offering and go, be reconciled to your brother or sister. Make things right. Then and only then, come back and offer your gift to God. (Matthew 5:23-24)
I was absolutely sickened by the brutal, arrogant and downright ugly carving of a Jesus-branded message into an Indigenous sacred site on Mount Beerwah last week. (If you missed it, someone used a power tool to gouge “JESUS SAVES JUST ASK HIM” in letters up to an inch deep across the rockface.) Continue reading “Reconciliation Week | Before reconciliation”
We here at Sanctuary used to gather regularly in one place. So what happened? And what comes next? (Listen.)
Today is Pentecost, and so I’d love to talk about the intoxication of the spirit, or how her life-giving breath is poured into the world, giving inspiration, imagery and language to share good news with wildly diverse people. Or I’d love to talk about the theatre of flames, how people’s heads and hearts were set on fire, and how this led them to extend themselves for the sake and love of others. Or I could mention that Pentecost is a Jewish first fruits festival, celebrating the gift of the law, the making of a nation, and the harvest to come, and how the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost led to the formation of the church and a new harvest. But I am brought to a standstill by the words, ‘And they were all together in one place.’ Continue reading “Acts | And they were all together in one place”
Like living stones, you yourselves are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
When Sanctuary began, it was not yet a church. Instead it was a collection of hungry hurting people who were tentative about their involvement in anything called church, and so I did all that was needed to ensure a regular gathering around Word and Table. I was pastor, but also vestry and cleaner and crockery stewardess. I was happy to take on these roles because I trusted that the gathering would feed people in ways that would help them recover from past hurts and grow into the body of Christ. Continue reading “Church | Questions at the crossroads”
If you want to encounter the Risen Christ, don’t gaze into heaven! Just look around. (Listen.)
There he was, living and walking and eating among us. There he was, hanging on a cross. And there he was, among us once again and explaining the scriptures and breaking bread. And then he simply … disappeared. Continue reading “Acts | Just look around”
As an ordained minister, I get asked funny questions on forms sometimes. This is one of them, and this is my response.
Homosexuals in the church? A wonderful idea! There should be many more, and there could be if we showed even the basic respect of getting our nomenclature right. I don’t know anybody who calls themselves homosexual. It’s largely considered an offensive term, only used by people outside the community. The people in our congregation call themselves ‘gay’, ‘queer’, ‘bi’, ‘trans’, ‘non-binary’ or ‘allies’; as a group, they are members of the LGBTIQA+ community (and Sanctuary). Continue reading “IDAHOBIT | “Please state your convictions regarding homosexuals in the church””
A community grounded in Christ will be humble, hospitable and loving. (Listen.)
‘You are a chosen race,’ writes Peter, ‘a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.’ Really? In the leadup to the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), at least half a dozen LGBTIQA+ events here in Victoria have been cancelled. In the media and online, some far-right ‘Christians’ are claiming an exclusive truth and ‘breathing threats and murder’ towards gay people, trans people, and others; councils are so worried they are shutting things down. Continue reading “1,2 Peter | A people founded on love”
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35)
On Sunday you might notice a new name on the Cloud of Witnesses. But you probably wouldn’t have noticed her in the supermarket: a grey-haired woman, slightly fussy, filling her trolley with food. You might not have thought much of her modest but cherished collection of collectible dolls, or the cuckoo clock on the wall which squawked every fifteen minutes, or her religious devotion to A Current Affair. But last week, one of the great saints passed through to glory: my beloved Joyce. Continue reading “Saints | My beloved Joyce”
Three key practices, no, four, shape a dynamic resurrection faith. (Listen.)
Whenever I hear this passage, I feel a cool, refreshing breeze blow through me. Imagine: the Holy Spirit roaring through town and creating hundreds of new disciples. Imagine: animated tables of friends and strangers sharing generous, joyful meals. Imagine: a passionate prayer life, a deep engagement with God, a trust in things beyond private wealth. Imagine: a world in which lives are shared, and everyone’s needs are met. Continue reading “Acts | The four devotions”
He walked ahead as if he were going on. (Luke 24:28)
These words seem innocuous, deep in the story of the road to Emmaus. But pay attention, and they rocket off the page. Two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem when a stranger joins them on the road. The storyteller lets us know that it’s the resurrected Jesus, but the disciples don’t realize it yet. It’s only after they have ‘strongly urged him’ to stay with them that he turns back, comes inside and shares bread with them, and they recognize the Risen Christ. Continue reading “Luke | He walked ahead”
Sanctuary 