- From The Editor - We are privileged in AAANZ to have a number of gifted biblical scholars as members. Two of these scholars are featured in this Mailing.
- Thought For The Day –
"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." – Plato
Missing the Resurrection
Judas, we speculate, didn’t witness the resurrection. Too bad. What a story it would have been: "Slain leader appears to betrayer, embraces and reinstates him. Betrayer becomes ardent witness for leader." Ironically, that’s what happened to Peter, isn’t it? He went on living, post perfidy, and it was his story, not Judas’s, that became part of the church’s heroic living legend. That’s life. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3443
That They May Be One
Each hearer and doer of this Easter reading has stories to tell. Mine include 20 years of a weekly gathering with eight or more for breakfast, prayer and an hour with lectionary readings. Diverse as we are denominationally, we attend to the Word and find there a unifying power like no other. My puzzlement over why such weekly oases are not more common was eased when I travelled to another city to preach. There I learned of 17 Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy whose weekly time for breakfast, prayer and textual study is life-giving for ministries that take on poverty, crime, drugs and AIDS. Such stories beg for hearing and handing on in the mission that is inseparable from the unity for which Jesus prayed. In the name of his Son, God is packing and delivering the power that reconciles and unites what otherwise lies broken. The prayer that Christ prayed in the Upper Room is still heard. Christ prays ceaselessly for and through the church to the world -- that they may be one, as we are one. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=681
- News Articles And Announcements - Sydney Film Night:“The Hungry Tide”
Avalon Group of Amnesty International and Avalon Baptist Peace Memorial Church are screening another great documentary “THE HUNGRY TIDE,” All are welcome to come, participate, and enjoy a free supper! The documentary shows rising seas on the small Pacific nation of Kiribati – a scattering of sandy atolls – and the work of one of its citizens, Maria Tiimon, to spread the news internationally. This is a marvellous film, strong in narrative, imagery, argument and character. Every politician should be obliged to watch it. Date: Sunday -20th May, 5 pm – 7.30 pm; Place: Avalon Baptist Church, 2 George St. Avalon; Guest Speaker: Phil Glendenning, Director of the Edmund Rice Centre. http://avalonbaptistchurch.net/welcome/
Remembering Walter Wink, Peacemaker And Teacher
For more than 30 years, Walter Wink preached about the dangers of violence and unchecked powers in our world. He influenced countless men and women. Simply mentioning his name in a community—and seeing what response one gets—signals a lot about the culture of peacemaking in that community. Know Wink’s work? Then, this is a group of people seriously steeped in the theology of nonviolence and transformative peacemaking. But, a prophet is largely unknown in his own hometown. Although he was associated with both Union and Auburn seminaries in New York—and involved in national debates on peacemaking throughout the 1980s and 1990s—the New York Times did not see fit to print an obituary on his May 10 passing. http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/2012/5/12/remembering-walter-wink-peacemaker-and-teacher.html
Why You Should Eavesdrop on Your Neighbours
What happened when Portland third-graders interviewed their elderly neighbours about their city's past…."As a missionary kid, Christianity is my heritage. The church makes me crazy most of the time, but it's obvious that Jesus cared about listening to people." It was neighbourhood excitement about collecting and preserving their own unique history and stories that led to funding by community grants and supportive partnerships with local schools, radio stations, and businesses. http://www.christianitytoday.com/thisisourcity/portland/eavesdrop.html?paging=off
[The article below comes from one of our newest AAANZ members.] Foreign Aid And Moral Vision
What holds a moral importance comparable to that of the well-being - indeed, the very survival - of the world's most vulnerable people?.. It is certainly not the case that international aid is the only, or even the primary, front in the global fight against poverty - our lifestyles here in Australia are complicit, in one way or another, with a global system that perpetuates poverty… Foreign aid is the expression of the idea that Australians are willing to look beyond our borders and immediate interests, and act to build a better world-system where everyone has a seat at the table, where all have a fair share of the world's resources. http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/05/14/3502266.htm
[Another excellent contribution from a AAANZ member in NZ.] How Should We Understand Paul’s Relationship to the State?
By the end of this talk I hope we will have learnt to appreciate that Paul’s understanding of power and authority, of freedom and liberation, of peace and war, operate on a landscape that is very different to our own modern co-ordinates of reality, but, no less relevant. http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/apf/apf0412-tnd.pdf
[Reading the article below I thought of relationships in OZ and NZ with native populations. Reconciliation and understanding is needed here as well as in North America.] Canada: ‘As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us’
The situation in aboriginal communities like Attawapiskat is complex and painful. Dealing with the federal and provincial governments over money issues, clean drinking water, schools, housing, and the residue of generations under the residential school system—which demonized aboriginal language and culture—are all very much part of residents’ day-to-day lives. http://www.canadianmennonite.org/articles/we-forgive-those-who-trespass-against-us
Gradual Exodus Of Christians From Middle East Prompts Plan Of Action
At a March interfaith symposium on the reality and future of Arab Christians in the Middle East, His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan stressed the importance of cooperation between Muslims and Christians. The two-day symposium in Amman, Jordan, was organized by the Royal Institute for Inter-faith Studies and in cooperation with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo. http://www.mcc.org/stories/news/gradual-exodus-christians-middle-east-prompts-plan-action
Reflections From A Palestinian Israeli After A Missile Attack
I empathise with the fear of both Israeli children and the children of Gaza, and with parents’ desperation to keep one’s family safe on both sides of the border. When one’s identity precludes a clear “us” vs. “them”, what becomes clear is the tragedy of this destructive pattern. Only when we recognise that no one wins from terrifying the other will we understand that triumph in battle is not a solution – and that both sides can be winners if we all choose to let each other live in freedom, and with dignity. http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=31400&lan=en&sp=0
Beyond The Two-State Solution
We need to “expand the pie” and reformulate the zero-sum equation to one in which the two sides share resources like land, instead of dividing them. Such a framework could focus on the new benefits both sides stand to gain, rather than what each side must compromise on. In the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there are two widely ignored alternative models that do just that. http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=31370&lan=en&sp=0
Our First Family
It seems that if anything remains sacred in our culture, it is the family. It has become the greatest good, outweighing any moral or legal strictures that stand in the way of its defence or advancement…One of the many shocking things that Jesus did was challenge the ultimacy of the family. Although he recognized family as a good (he spoke strenuously against divorce and was partial to children, for example), he said that he came to bring a sword that would separate parent from child, brother from brother. In what seems an almost cavalier fashion, he challenges a young man who has just lost his father to leave and follow him, forgoing the funeral. http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-04/our-first-family
Henri Nouwen Meditation: The Mosaic That Shows Us the Face of God
A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself. That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: "I make God visible." But others who see us together can say: "They make God visible." Community is where humility and glory touch. http://www.henrinouwen.org/Resources/Meditations_and_Reflection_Emails/Meditations_and_Reflection_Emails.aspx
-AAANZ Information - AAANZ Bi-National Conference: Being Neighbours In a Multifaith World
Save these dates in your 2013 Diary - 25-28 January. AAANZ’s bi-annual conference will be held at Long Point Camp in Sydney (http://www.longpoint.org.au/). More details to follow!
Have a “Naked Anabaptist” Party!
Looking for ways to gather with other Anabaptists or like-minded folks in your area? Here are some suggestions and resources to help you get started.
- Have a “Naked Anabaptist” Party where the excellent book by Stuart Murray is introduced and hopefully weeks of study will follow. The book is available from the AAANZ office or online with study guide questions at: http://www.heraldpress.com/Studygds/nakedanabaptist/.
- Gather others together for a time of “Table Fellowship”. Getting together around food and conversation is a good way to build relationships. Include times of sharing, prayer, Bible study, and singing and you have what suspiciously could be called “church”. (How radical is that?)
- For those more intellectual types, have a Book Study. David Augsburger’s Dissident Discipleship (Click Here For Book Details) is an excellent book to begin with as is John Driver’s Life Together in the Spirit: A Radical Spirituality for the Twenty-First Centurybut be creative. Search back issues of ON THE ROAD for reviews of books that would be good to read and discuss with others.
- Start a Prayer Group and explore Anabaptist spirituality with Take Our Moments And Our Days(http://www.heraldpress.com/titles/takeourmoments/), a two-volume collection of prayer services designed for use by small groups and individuals.
Going it alone is tough. Get together with others and join the Anabaptist journey.
