Sunday, October 29, 2006
Make Poverty History Concert, Festival & Forum
Click the logo to find out details to this concert, and look below for info on the Festival & Forum.
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Festival
When: Saturday 18 November, 10am to 8pm
Where: Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne
Free all-ages daytime community education festival
Bands, Fair Trade & Sustainable Living Stalls, Workshops, Global Beats Chill Zone, Speakers, Roving Performers, MPH info stalls, International Food, Children's Activities.
Come along to sample Fair-Trade products, be inspired, participate in workshops or just lay back and enjoy the entertainment.
Workshops lead by inspiring international activists, topics include: "How can we Make Poverty History?", "Transforming & Empowering Communities," Climate Change & Poverty, "Fair Trade and a sustainable world for all," "Understanding Globalisation & Our Economy," "Religion, Non violence & Poverty - a Multi Faith Panel".
Also interactive panels, discussions and debates on "Creative Campaigning Skills", "Lobbying Know How" and creative ways to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY.
Band stage: starts at 11am
Global Beats Chill Zone: starts at 10am
World and acoustic music by:
David Bridie & Telek
Bad Boys Batucada
South of the River Gospel Choir
Vox Congo
+Special Guests
Global Beats Chill Zone DJs:
Antedeluvian Rocking Horse (PBS FM)
Andrew Till (Psy-harmonics)
DJ Daggers (Barmah Beats)
Dom Hogan (PBS FM)
Otto Q
Swytek
Systa BB (RRR FM)
Speakers include:
Tim Costello (World Vision)
The Archbishop Ndungane of Cape Town
Kumi Naidoo (GCAP)
Irene Banda (Zambia)
Dorothy Magaza (Zambia)
This November, world leaders will meet in Melbourne for the G-20 Summit, and we're calling on them to meet their promises in reducing global poverty. The G-20 meeting of the leaders of the world economy is a great opportunity for Melbourne to support the next step in the fight to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Must-Watch-Movie-Tip: An Inconvenient Truth
'I've made a far stronger contributor to humanity by doing this than being president of the United States.' - Jimmy Carter, International President of Habitat for Humanity (formerly US president 1976-1980)
Perhaps following in the footsteps of Carter is former Presidential candidate-cum-modern day prophet Al Gore has stumped America for the last several years delivering what's been called the 'best PowerPoint ever'!
Gore takes the viewer who previously has a basic understanding that 'something isn't quite right with the environment' through a bare-bones explanation of worldwide pictures documenting the impact of global warming, data and scientific sampling that leads the viewer to a place where they can identify not only is there a problem with the world's climate and pollution levels - but there are REAL simple ways of fixing it.
Linking this discussion with significant turning points in his life including the death of his sister to cancer, the tragic event of the car crash that almost claimed the life of his son and of course, experiencing the 'theft' of his presidential destiny has personalised an issue that is seemingly unchangeable for the 'common person'. What's most interesting with this film is perhaps Gore's challenge that the climate crisis we are facing is not simply an ecological one - it's a (quote) 'moral imperative!'
This is even more powerful considering the political implications of this alongside the recent cries of protest over the Far-Right's stranglehold over 'Christian moral values'.(See Jim Wallis' God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It - which discusses the Right's effectiveness of stifling anyone with the opinion that there is more to Christian moral issues than homosexuality & abortion. Eg. poverty, ecological sustainability, etc.) There are several moments of incredulity, even outrage, when Gore exposes downright corrupt, cynical and exploitative practices of those in the very industries and levels of government that are denying or obsfuscating the existence at all of the reality and impact of global warming.
By linking his own personal story - he demonstrates the capacity of people to change their own mindsets in response to such obvious realities - no matter how revolutionary the thinking and changes that need to be made may need to be.
The film's producers were once 'in the crowd' during one of Gore's presentations, and in response to their astonishment that the urgency of the planet's climate crisis wasn't well-known, simply went up afterwards and offered to Gore the opportunity to film his next presentation - this led to the film. Subsequently, Millions of Americans who have seen this movie have openly commented on 'what if he hadn't have had the presidency stolen from him!' However, he might not have had the same level of impact if he had've been president, and not made this film. (Interesting lesson on prophets - change can only occur from the outside - not from within...)
Check out the link on the right sidebar for everyday, common resources and practices that an individual and family can contribute to depleting the amount of carbon emmissions that we release every day into the Earth's atmosphere.
This film is a must see for any Christian who believes ecological sustainability is a concept restricted to some left-wing radical agenda. It affects all of us - and as believers we have a moral responsibility to support any efforts that prophetically challenge this status quo of environment irresponsibility.
RATING: 6 & 1/2 stars - one for each year of what could've been an amazing presidency...
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The Emerging Church
by Rev. Mark Brouwer
The emerging church has become the Rorschach test among Christians in this country. In the Rorschach test people look at various inkblot shapes and are asked what they see. Not surprisingly, people see different things. So it is with the emerging church. Some see it as a passing fad, others as the Next Big Thing; some see it as thoughtful and helpful, others as dangerous...
Check out the rest of this article here.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Voices. Sometimes lost....and finding them again.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.
that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,
I speak in the name of those who have no voice
Here are some questions we MUST ask ourselves:
What is our justice issue?
What is my justice issue?
What do I need to say?
Have I lost my voice?
What must I do to get it back?
God, restore my voice.
Give me eyes to see, and ears to hear
That which breaks your own heart, and rework my own heart
Let me experience the full power that created,
and through the resurrection,
is recreating this beautiful world,
and all which is in it.
Amen.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
A prayer for when you feel like screaming
Sometimes, I feel like screaming
Yet, there is so much around me
So much noise and so much silence
Sometimes, I feel like screaming
There is so much pain
and so much that makes me numb
Sometimes, I want to scream
Yet, I don't know if I would be heard
I feel alone, unheard and afraid
In this time of confusion
This time of intensity
Hear me Lord
You are life itself
Living, breathing
Listening, whispering
Holding and hearing
Peace. Grace. Hope. Stillness.
Amen.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
A Triune Prayer of Jurgen Moltmann
FATHER IN HEAVEN
It is time you came.
For our time is running out
And our world is passing away.
You gave us our life with one another.
We have wrecked it by declaring war against one another.
You gave us trees and forests.
We have cut them down.
To the birds you gave the spring
And to the fish the rivers.
We have silenced spring and polluted the rivers.
To the work of your creation
You gave balance.
We have upset it and therefore come to grief.
Come, Creator of all,
Renew the lifeless face of the earth.
Despite our unhappiness
Give us hope for your Day
When, at peace with every creature,
We can laugh and praise you.
CHRIST, OUR FRIEND,
We cannot walk in your company
Without our neighbours,
Those near at hand and those far away,
Friend and enemies.
Continue to be the friend of sinners,
Poor with the poor,
Weak with the weakly,
Forsaken with those who are abandoned,
That they, and we with them, may have life.
We hope for the coming of your kingdom
As we hope for peace in this divided world.
We believe in your presence
Just as we trust in meaningfulness,
Even when faced with the meaninglessness of death.
We look for your coming
As we hunger for our daily bread.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
HOLY SPIRIT, YOU ARE KNOWN TO US
As power from on high,
As comforter in need.
We cry to you and our cry encourages us.
We call out to you and you call out with us.
We wait for you and you are in our hearts.
Open our eyes and we shall recognize
Your footprints on our path.
Give us silence and we shall hear
Your sighs in our prisons.
Take from us what you have to take
Until we come to rest in you
And feel that we are resting,
Aware of your life in us,
Your burning anguish and your happiness deep within us.
Come, Creator Spirit,
Empty our heart of selfish anxiety,
Fill our spirit with creative love.
Give us dreams and visions
Of your kingdom of freedom
Make us disconsolate if they are betrayed,
If they do not become a reality.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The time has come,
the time for the
fulfilment of history,
The time for making all one with God and in God.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Power of celebrity...can it really be used for good?
Recently a once brilliant popstar was charged with paedophilia. When it hit the headlines, I told my disbelieving wife that he would never be found guilty in California, because of his fame. Sure enough..
Never underestimate the power of celebrity.
At the memorial service held in New York days after S11, the religious leaders of America were invited to held officiate the proceedings. The Catholic Cardinals, Anglican Archbishops, Jewish Rabbis, Islamic muftis, and other representatives from other faiths. Sharing their ministerial duties equally alongside them was Oprah. Oprah - spiritual leader. (And don't get me started on the numbers of people swallowing Scientology due to TomKat). John Lennon was caned for his statement that the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'. His intent was not to question the authenticity of the Gospel - rather, he was cynically relfecting that 4 teenagers from urban Liverpool via several songs and a dozen TV appearances were more popular than a man who defeated death and changed history.
We now live in an age where a former Spice Girl and a Tomb (and marriage) Raider have become UN Goodwill Ambassadors. A friend of mine went recently to a post-war recovering Cambodia to marvel in an Asian society untouched by Western culture, only to find at every street corner Pepsi posters and vending machines baring Britney Spears in her pre-motherhood glory.
Many blame the Americans and their election of a B grade actor as their President. And 20 years later - indeed, would Dubya be elected dogcatcher if his last name was 'Smith'. Is Naomi Klein (of No Logo fame) correct in identifying the awesome power of 'branding' in our world today? Is 'celebrity' simply another evolutionary phase of pop culture? Has this chapter become so much a part of our story that we should simply embrace it?
Is the media to blame? Its ever-transforming technology that can encounter EVERY human on the planet with any of their five senses activated has changed our world. Yes, we can see missiles approaching their unsuspecting targets, the sickeningly addictive serial-reality TV shows, and exploitative entertainment. But we can also see events live such as the Berlin Wall coming down, the phenomenonly brave lone protester standing alone in front of tank in Tianamen Square, and watch several musicians globalise an anti-poverty movement that captured the world's ability to hope and subsequently led to billions of dollars of debt of poor nations being forgiven.
200 years ago democracy and the inalienable Rights of Man replaced the Divine Right of kings. Now we have a society where those who gain power through their fame are worshipped in all their tabloid divinity. Divisions of power once consisting of soldiers, now consist of websites, TV, movie studios and iTunes. The Digicamera is the new sword, fulfilling completely the cliche that one shot is worth a thousand words. Millions of magazines are sold weekly, thousands of TV channels are flicked through hourly, and millions of websites surfed by the minute. Ratings are our polls, newsagents and Google the new ballot box.
Can the power of celebrity be used for altruistic good?
Most celebrities are selfish, camera-hugging, stylist-absorbed clones whose insecurity is ruthlessly tapped into by producers and purchasers. Yet, there are those who 'get it', and try to envision another use for their success. In a recent interview (see ABC's Enough Rope with Andrew Denton), a decade after lampooning his fame as Mephisto in the world tour Zooropa, U2's Bono talks quite candidly about his sense of calling as a celebrity in yes, you guessed it, using this power for good and not evil. He is quite passionate in identifying his vocation as the representative of all those who subscribe to his values as expressed in the brand that is U2. Pope John Paul II understood this principle with his quote, 'I speak in the name of those who have no voice.'
What do you think?