Reflections

Fr. David’s Folly Over the past 3 three years, I must have backed out of my garage hundreds of times. It's a comfortable fit but there isn’t mega room to spare. However, the other morning all that went awry as I scraped the winged mirror on the right-hand side thus  ‘liberating’ the outer shell and the...Continue reading→

Homily 10th of July “Our Liminal time” Fun fact friends. Did you know that the word wait occurs no less than 129 times in the Bible? Yes, that’s right 129 times. As far back as Noah waiting for the dove to return from its reconnaissance trip at the end of the rainy season, right through...Continue reading→

When you apply for a job in the secular world there are things called K.P.I.’s. KPI is the TLA*  for Key Performance Indicator. So if you work at the check out in the Supermarket, a Key Performance Indicator might be how many items were processed through your check out in any given shift.  Fortunately, the Kingdom...Continue reading→

Meet Mother Silence  - your new best friend. I was trying to negotiate an important phone call the other day. The content of the conversation was life-changing for the person at the other end. Fortunately, the effect was for the better. The things that we were chattering about would make a lot of people smile. When...Continue reading→

“Name your demons”. A reflection for Pentecost 2. Today it might be helpful to begin with a little geography lesson. The sea of Galilee is roughly oval in shape. It is 21 kilometres long and 11 kilometres across. It is a four hour boat trip from top to bottom for the sea of Galilee and...Continue reading→

When I have completed my snowman and ark I shall be able to write more words like this. I was having a good ol 'whinge. Yep, a colleague and I were munching away together and the conversation inevitably turned to the past couple of years. “There were times” I wailed “When it was just me and...Continue reading→

You’ve heard me prattle on about this window before. You know the one where the three guys are offering gold, frankincense and myrrh. I am acutely aware that sometimes I am like the gentleman that has the gold. There are lovely, shiny, sparkly things that I give. There are other occasions where I find myself...Continue reading→

“Let’s do some ironing” a reflection for Trinity Sunday “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” On first reading of these words a sense of frustration bubbles up within me.  How come I can’t know the many things God wants to say to me today? I can deal...Continue reading→

“When we just don’t get it.” A reflection for Pentecost June 5th Today I want to monkey around with Philip’s challenge.  Philip said to Jesus, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ The word ‘us’ is intriguing. I wonder whether the disciples had been gossiping about Jesus and decided that they needed...Continue reading→

The lesson of the scrap bucket. We have a scrap bucket in the rectory. Well actually, it's a recycled 4 litre ice-cream container. No lid, just the base and it sits hungrily on the kitchen bench. Into it goes my apple core from breakfast, the veggie scrapings and various other unmentionables. It’s a handy device...Continue reading→

It was a privilege to cook some sausages recently. Yep,..a little gang of us gathered outside a supermarket and cooked some sausages. It was a rip-snorter of a day even if the weather wasn’t exactly tropical. One of us cut the onions, another made sure the sauce bottle squirted, another was in charge of the...Continue reading→

Welcome back … welcome home…A reflection for Easter 7 Have you ever wondered what the homes were like in Jesus’ time? We are often told that people went to each others’ home but we are not told about the corner spa, the wall paper or the front fence. For example Jesus heals Peter’s Mother in law at...Continue reading→

Elections… they’re a piece of cake One of the bonza things about living in Australia is that we have a choice come election time. There are political parties in various colours ( a bit like the Wiggles someone cheekily suggested) with different policies, different points of view and we are free to choose. Sometimes we...Continue reading→

Today the Easter Jesus is preparing his disciples for his imminent departure. He is also promising to send them the Holy Spirit who will be with them forever. So He is saying a farewell.  What He says and the way He says it, are important for us on at least two levels. First, His ascension and...Continue reading→

“I John”. A reflection for Easter 5 You will have probably noticed that our 2nd lesson is from the book of Revelation. This tricky book is all about how things will pan out at the end of time and God will come in triumph and sort out our sorry mess. It’s written in a language...Continue reading→

You might need some quiet reading by the fire and these words might help. Question. What’s tougher than being a parish priest? Answer. Being a Bishop Question. Whats tougher than being a Bishop? Answer. Being a Prison Chaplain. Question Whats tougher than being a Prison Chaplain? Answer. Being God. I well remember following a wise...Continue reading→

In praise of the one who sets the table Some of you will recall with affection and esteem the Reverend Marjorie Keeble. Marjorie had a marvellous ministry in this parish and for much of it she soldiered on here by herself. The good news is that Reverend Marjorie is coming back for a visit on...Continue reading→

Our airport moments. A reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday The 4th Sunday of Easter always has the theme of The Good Shepherd. So what I need for today is a good story about shepherding. Fortuitously Bishop Gary, our chief shepherd, kindly gave us an excellent one on Holy Monday at the renewal of priestly vows...Continue reading→

153 red - fin a reflection for Easter 3 Those of you who were very good and came to the Quiet day at Port Fairy earlier in the year now get your reward. You can now have the rest of the day off as I am using what I said then as the gist of...Continue reading→

The Wonder of Working bees. Recently we had two working bees and they were on the same day and everything. Some of us went to pack up the Book fair, until next year… and some of us went and polished shiny stuff in the Church ready for Easter. Both were important, both were exciting and...Continue reading→