“Parents who preach peace between warring siblings may realize that their own behaviour
        is inconsistent with the peace that they try to impose.” – Cynthia J. Carney

Matthew 18: 15-20
While teaching his followers, Jesus said:
 “If another one of the brothers or sisters in the congregation does the wrong thing by you in some serious way, go and try to sort it out between the two of you. If the offender takes on board what you have to say, then you have rebuilt the relationship. If your approach is rejected, have another try, but this time take one or two others with you, so that there will be witnesses to all that is said and done between you. If the offending brother or sister still refuses to accept responsibility for the problem, then bring the issue to the congregation. If even the congregation’s decision is rejected, then it is time for them to sever ties and to relate to the offender as they would to anyone else whose behaviour is beyond the pale and who is yet to respond to the call to turn around and become part of the people of God. I kid you not, when you make decisions together about what may and may not be done as you live your life in the congregation, heaven will back you up. And again I’m not kidding when I say that if two of you make a joint commitment to something in prayer, then my Father in heaven will support you in it. For whenever two or three people gather together, identifying themselves with me, I will be right there with them in the gathering.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton  LaughingBird.net

Blogging toward Sunday
Exodus 12:1-14; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20
Like it or not, our lives inevitably intersect with the lives of others. Sometimes these intersections are happy ones, with people who support and sustain us and whose full humanity and potential we likewise respect and encourage. But some are full-on crashes with all the hurt and destruction of a vehicular collision…Simply being nice isn't going to cut it. Real love in a down and dirty world requires informed deliberation and sometimes tough choices…
http://www.theolog.org/blog/2008/09/blogging-toward.html#more

A careful read
Matthew 18:15-20
Matthew 18:15-20 is one of many scripture texts that have been used to harm others. These six verses are not meant to be a declaration of power, nor do these verses mean that if two or three people agree on something, then they can ignore others and do whatever they want. These six verses are about listening and accountability and about a larger vision of God's kingdom.
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1164

Web Help Needed!
AAANZ needs help with maintaining its website and the redesign of this Mailing.  If you are able and willing to help or know someone who would be willing to assist with this need please contact the AAANZ office at:

Come on retreat with the Anabaptist Association - Half Day Silent Retreats for 2008
Retreats for Everyday Life:
Saturday 6^th September –Seasons of Life
Saturday 18^th October – Transforming Our Struggles into Life
Led by: Mary Hurst and Sally Longley / Time: 1-5 pm / Place: 71 Narrabeen Park Parade, Warriewood (on Warriewood Headland)
Cost $30.00 (includes refreshments) / Booking essential: limited places
Mary Hurst 9997 4632 - Email / Sally Longley 9913 7871
“Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you” - James 4:8

Does Revelation speak today?
Revelation is about Jesus, not vengeance…Throughout the book, John’s readers are exhorted in only one direction. They are not to fight the Beast’s violence with violence of their own. They are not to seek to conquer the Beast using his methods. They have a simple but extraordinarily challenging calling: Follow the Lamb wherever he goes. As he conquers with self-sacrificial love, so too do his followers.
http://www.themennonite.org/issues/11-17/articles/Does_Revelation_speak_today

Living Simply with Kids
Living the simple life for us has changed dramatically. When kids come along you begin to realize that they are watching everything you do and listening to everything you say. And it doesn’t take long until they get to the “why” stage and challenge everything you ever thought you believed. Kids are concrete. They notice the difference if you say one thing and do another, and they won’t let you get away with rationalization. They want it pure and simple, refined: “Do you believe that or not?”
http://msainfo.org/articles/living-simply-with-kids

Reflection: Teenage Affluenza from World Vision Australia
A video juxtaposing the affluence, but perceived hardship, of teens in Australia with the actual hardship of children all over the world
Click here.

Take Action To Love And Forgive
For educators - you have the opportunity to help students reflect on the important issues of love and forgiveness through the lens of literature.
The Campaign for Love & Forgiveness has created two lesson plans that can be used in the classroom from middle through high school, or in any informal educational setting.  Designed by Ellen Greenblatt, literature teacher from The Bay School in San Francisco , the lessons are based on Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Firelight , a short story by Tobias Wolf. Use or adapt the lessons to fit your classroom and student needs.
http://www.loveandforgive.org/take_action_for_educators.php

An Israeli refusenik
Eighteen-year-old Sahar Vardi is currently in an Israeli military prison. She is being punished for the crime of refusing to be conscripted into the Israeli military…On the day of her imprisonment Vardi told her father that she would not bow down to the powers that be regardless of how the military presents her case. “The occupation is cruel,” she said, “and my conscience will simply not allow me take part in the oppression of another people”.  While she has yet to study moral philosophy, 18-year-old Sahar Vardi understands something basic that Kasher, Sagi and their cronies are determined to elide: conscientious concern for one’s country and neighbours is intricately tied to action.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7847

Carter was 'sidelined' by U.S. Democrats 'for Middle East views’
Denver , Colorado (ENI). Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter was sidelined during the recent Democratic National Convention because he has angered U.S. Jewish leaders for his views on the Middle East, according to a report in a Jewish newspaper. The Forward, a New York-based daily newspaper, reported on 28 August that senior Democratic Party members said the party would have risked alienating Jewish voters by giving Carter a prominent spotlight during the 25-28 August convention. There the party nominated Senator Barack Obama as its nominee for president. Jewish voters are a potentially crucial voting bloc in the US presidential election as there are believed to be more than 5 million Jews in the country

' Stalinist' Mugabe won't go without a fight
Retirement, illness, death, coups, flight, defeat — all have been mooted as causes of Robert Mugabe's imminent departure and all have been wrong. Some optimists even convince themselves that he will withdraw voluntarily. But the old rogue is not going anywhere except in a box or at the end of a gun.
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=8794

Zimbabwe youth survive jungle of doubt
Zimbabwean names often reflect the mood or reaction of a family to the arrival of the new member. At a rural mission school in Matabeleland I taught Blessing, Immaculate, Charity and Unique Faith. But Penniless Ngwenya was the best and brightest of my students, the one most likely to graduate from university and lead her family from the teeming townships of Bulawayo to the relative comforts of a middle-class suburb.
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=8136

On the Journey Toward Radical Hospitality
        My friend Isaiah, is a missionary who works in Medellin, Columbia with homeless youth. Many are addicted to glue which slowly causes irreversible brain damage. Their addiction to glue allows them to cope with their emotional pain and the violence of living on the streets of Medellin . The children survive by eating scraps from the garbage. Often Isaiah would visit with a young man named Louis who lived on the streets in a makeshift shelter of boxes and rusted scraps of corrugated metal. When Isaiah visited, Louis always took off his tattered shirt to spread on the ground so Isaiah would not have to sit in the dirt. Sadly, Louis was killed on the same street where he had shown love and hospitality to his friend.
        I recall that story often as an example of radical hospitality. How often I have missed an opportunity to welcome someone into my home or to offer them a seat, or even a warm smile. It would not be a sacrifice for me like it was for Louis and yet I still protect my personal space. Fr. Richard Rohr once told a story about seeing a message written on a sidewalk by a homeless person that read, "See how they protect their nothing." And it challenges me to reflect on what God given gifts I am afraid to share with my brothers and sisters.
        On my journey toward radical hospitality, I want to be like Louis who had nothing but the shirt on his back and a small homemade shelter to share with his friend Isaiah. Louis had nothing but gave everything, even his life.
- VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT lives in Springfield, Illinois ( USA ). She has a missionary heart that has been formed by thirty years of missionary work around the world. She currently serves as Director of Theresian World Ministry, an international Catholic women's organization.
http://www.henrinouwen.org/

Empowered to Call God "Abba"
Calling God "Abba, Father" is different from giving God a familiar name. Calling God "Abba" is entering into the same intimate, fearless, trusting, and empowering relationship with God that Jesus had. That relationship is called Spirit, and that Spirit is given to us by Jesus and enables us to cry out with him, "Abba, Father." Calling God "Abba, Father" (see Roman 8:15; Galatians 4:6) is a cry of the heart, a prayer welling up from our innermost beings. It has nothing do with naming God but everything to do with claiming God as the source of who we are. This claim does not come from any sudden insight or acquired conviction; it is the claim that the Spirit of Jesus makes in communion with our spirits. It is the claim of love.
http://www.henrinouwen.org/

Anabaptist Story : Anabaptist Photo Galleries
The photos and quotes in these galleries are collected from Anabaptists worldwide, on a variety of topics. We hope you will see another side and face of the Mennonite church, and gain a sense of connection to brothers and sisters all around the globe. Over time we will broaden the palette of faces you see here, representing an ever-widening church.
http://www.thirdway.com/gallery/galleries.asp

AAANZ 2009 Conference: Communities of the Kingdom: The New Monasticism and Anabaptism
Mark your diaries now for the 2009 AAANZ conference. (And book your flights.)
Christians from many traditions are learning from this vigorous alternative stream of church experience.  This conference provides an opportunity to discover some of the ideals of the Anabaptist tradition and how they make sense in today’s church and world. We will explore the links between Anabaptism and new monastic movements in our two countries.
Dates: Friday evening 23rd January to Monday afternoon 26th January 2009
Location: Oasis Christian Camp, 66 Monbulk Road, Mt Evelyn Victoria (Melbourne area)

Mary and Mark Hurst Blog
http://greetingsfromozontheroad.blogspot.com/

Back Issues of AAANZ Mailing Are Archived At:
http://aaanz.mennonite.net/Mailing


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                                                                          - Matthew 5:9 ( The Message )