mountain masala

event after event

we had a fantastic weekend with john bell. about 200 people attended over the weekend. he began on friday night with a "things they never told me about jesus" session, which touched on jesus' sexuality, his love of meals and company, his friendship with women, and more. while some people had perhaps explored these issues before, part of john's invitation was for the whole church to be more honest and open about what is and isn't in the scriptures. one interesting insight - apart from Jesus, who gets more chapter and verse time than anyone else in the gospels? look at john 4.

and above all, I have to say that john exemplifies a teacher who takes people on a journey that is enlightening and enjoyable, provocative without necessarily being divisive. he talks about the big issues with insight in a way that draws people together.

the rest of the weekend focused on worship in terms of community, space, music and seasons. john was in fine form and full of wonderful stories and insights. his low-tech style (and message) was a healthy reminder that community is fundamentally about people, and that perhaps what we lack most is genuine, face-to-face, sustained community. of course there were many songs from around the globe as well, refreshing in their substance.

of course, john is in many ways a reactionary when it comes to contemporary culture, but that is fine. he not only brings, but also lives, a healthy alternative to the developments of the last few decades. I'm all for reminders of how ancient Christians lived. we still don't know where technology is taking us, and  often seem to move past the initial fuss to a "less is more" approach.

[the mission resourcing network who co-hosted the event did most of the work. i got to be dogsbody for the weekend which was actually nice...]

that was last weekend, and since then I've been running a 5 day, live-in leadership event for 17 ministers and ministry students.  a week that was full of insight, community, learning, food, etc etc. realy great in so many ways. I'll blog about it next.

now trying to recover and prepare for 3 days of professional development for staff at Cornerstone College... (local and lutheran...) a bit overworked and tired at present

but right now I'm putting the pizza in the oven and then we're watching Dr. Who!

[john bell photo by ernest sorensen]

be patient

just playing with the new TypePad templates. the big red chilli will be back. stay tuned.

Co-hosting John Bell this weekend. About 200 people coming. After the insane busyness of the week, 10 minutes with him was so refreshing. Mind you, he's had 6 weeks in Australia so clearly he's relaxed and enjoying himself. should be a great weekend. surprisingly, low-tech is wonderful as far as I'm concerned. tech only matters if what you want to do needs it. OR if its new tech and you want to try it and push it to the limit. That's an entirely different thing!

I had a really worthwhile time with the Aberfoyle ministry team talking about the internet. I realise that I don't have any kind of 'talk' on this, and trying to work out whether I should prepare one... So I did my 4 metaphors/lenses of community thing (it used to be three) which fostered good discussion. I plan to write it up and share it with you.

I was surprised that the leaders of one of our largest uniting churches were so computer illiterate (not a put-down!), but then the lenses which are partly generational help to explain that.

I just finished my Wired Church course again and was again unhappy with what we had and hadn't covered. But I also want to invent a distance education version that would package a whole of stuff....

Next week I'm co-leading a live-in leadership intensive for ministry leaders. I'm looking forward to a week at Nunyara, a special place for many reasons, where i can switch into retreat mode and attend to people and God and 'being'. my co-leader whom I've never worked with is wonderful and it will all be fine. Nunyara is a deep pool of surprises, almost every time.

but no Internet there.... what is 'retreat' supposed to mean these days.

God's Story, Our Story

before I go for a well-earned sleep.... part of the pic for our annual winter retreat on the theme "God's Story, Our Story". Our guest retreat leader is the astonishing Julie Perrin.

You can download a brochure here (212 kb PDF):

Download brochure.

late night

yes that was a late night post... not sure it makes any sense now.

all of the above

thanks for emails over the last 2 weeks. yvonne's mum is back home now in west wyalong. due to the stroke she has lost most of her eyesight and she has frequent memory loss. her loss of eyesight is probably the biggest shock and challenge for her and us. we're all going across in a couple of weeks, so then the kids and I will get to see her too.  you might have been through this...  I guess it's different for everyone.

Doris and Glen (who died about 6 years ago). I cannot begin to say how much their presence has been with us. I have been with them more, probably, over the last 25 years, than with my own mum and pop.

too many personal things here to blog. I think I'm less inclined to blog anyway. life seems much less blog-ish for me every day. I need to dig for poems and prose instead. they're down there somewhere. I've rarely been a daily blogger anyway.

as a former photographer, I know exactly when I stopped taking photos of people (without their consent). when we lived in the US I went to a conference in new mexico. it was extraordinary in so many ways.  i could write volumes. we visited a native american community outside Santa Fe. The sign said "don't take photos unless you... contract... etc". well I took a photo and it was amazing and timeless. an elderly woman looking through a screen door. probably the best photo i've ever taken. but because of her, not me. her face is forever etched in my memory. I wish i knew her and her name.

I spent part of today talking about the WWW and community with the staff of one of our  churches. I felt clever at the time and will probably post some of my thoughts......... 

all very unpredictable at present.  we're living above and below the tide. 

how to use the internet......

I'm sitting here at Aberfoyle UC with the ministry team talking about how churches might make use of the Internet. I'm showing them how my blog works.....

not good

sorry for the silence. my mother-in-law had a stroke a bit over a week ago - although back then it seemed to be something else. so yvonne has driven halfway across the country to see her. she is not critical, but clearly will not be going back home, and instead going into a nursing home.

she's 88, and much of the shock is that she has been so well, independent and clear-headed.

after my dad's heart attack about 6 weeks ago it's all a bit much. (he is ok - on medication, no surgery at this stage)....

broccoli soup

stephen asked about a good recipe for broccoli soup. indeed i have a couple that I've made and they work well.

The Moosewood Cookbook has a Cream of Broccoli Soup:

Melt 2 tbsps margarine in a pot. Add 1.5 cups chopped onion, 1 bay leaf and some salt. Saute onion.
Add 1 diced capsicum, 4 cups chopped broccoli and 2.5 cups water. Cook on medium for 10 mins or until broccoli is tender.
Take out bay leaf and puree soup.
Add in 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 tsp allspice, a sprinkle of thyme and basil, salt & pepper. Top with some lightly steamed broccoli florets.

The Women's Weekly Essential Soup Cookbook has this one which I also like:

Saute 1 large brown onion (chopped) in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add 2 medium chopped potatoes and 500g chopped broccoli and cook for 2 mins. Add 2 litres chicken stock and simmer until potato is tender. Puree soup. Add 1/2 cup cream and 75gm crumbled blue cheese. Serve with more blue cheese crumbled on top. (any strong cheese works well.)

Don't expect this on a daily basis!

soup weather

we've has so much rain that they briefly closed the road across the creek in front of our house the other day, as the water was threatening to flood the road. everything is soaked and the farmers are ecstatic. plus the weather has started getting really cold, we're lighting the fire...

and making soup! we really enjoyed this one from 1001 Low-Fat Soups and Stews by Sue Spitler.

Indian-Style Potato-Spinach Soup with Chicken

Fry 1 large onion (diced), 1/2 tsp caraway seeds in 1-2 tsp oil for 5 mins.
Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste), 2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom and saute for another minute.
Add 1.5 litres chicken stock (adjust quantity if you wish) and 3 cups cubed potatoes.
Simmer until potatoes are tender.
Fry and chop one or two chicken breasts (you can add the chicken to to onion at the start or cook it separately and add towards the end.)
Add chopped cooked spinach (you decide how much) and 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes.
Add salt and pepper.

Very nice and warming.

I recommend the book too!

the way of pilgrimage

the upper room's "way of pilgrimage" website for the new spiritual formation series for young people is up.

go check it out.

still waiting to see the books...