St Mary's

Iain De Jong

http://www.orgcode.com/2012/05/01/theres-a-difference-between-wanting-to-end-homelessness-and-committing-to-end-homelessness/

If you work in the homeless service sector you should have a very simple career goal – to put yourself out of a job.

I have this belief that homeless and housing support services exist to end homelessness. They don’t exist to make people in human services feel good about themselves. They don’t exist to cleanse the consciousness of corporations through their philanthropy. They don’t exist to keep government bureaucracies humming along.

There is a difference between wanting to end homelessness and committing to end homelessness.

FINTAN O’TOOLE

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0501/1224315407633.html

We are witnessing the cruel humiliation of a generation of clergy that deserves better.

Last night in this room, the ALP had their end of election celebration/commiseration. I had forgotten to tell the Saturday nighters that we could not use the TLC last night because of the elections. I asked how they found out and most of them said from email. Thank God for email.

That reminds me of the story: A disciple comes before the Master (his meditation teacher) and asks “is it okay to use email?” “Of course” said the teacher, “as long as there are no attachments!”

Michael J. Matt Editor, The Remnant  4/23/2012 (www.RemnantNewspaper.com)

Remember how uncomplicated Catholic belief once was, before the Church got “sophisticated”?  Catholics generally accepted without question not only that Christ is present in the Sacrament, but also that Noah really built his ark, Jonah actually spent three days inside of that whale, and the Red Sea did, in fact, close in on Pharaoh’s chariots and charioteers, wiping out his army and thus delivering the Israelites from destruction. 

But as he began to look back into where the books of the Bible actually came from, Robert questioned what was true, and what was a beautiful fiction.

He was charged with heresy by the Catholic Church, and although he was acquitted he decided to leave the priesthood. Robert is now the Director of the South Australian Ethics Centre. Three Revolutions: Three Drastic Changes in Interpreting the Bible published ATF Press.

Peter Kennedy is the former Catholic Priest of St Mary’s Church in South Brisbane.  Three years ago, April 2009, he was asked to leave this church.  He moved to the TLC building down the street and now gives his service from there.  Hear what happened after he left that Catholic Church.

Click here to listen to this interview (.mp3)

Yesterday we buried Scott McKenzie, Barbara’s husband and close friend to St Mary’s. Barbara suggested that we begin the Liturgy of farewell with some words from Michael Morwood reminding us of our deep connection to the Universe.

At the beginning of the Liturgy we lit a candle to remind us of our great birth at the beginning of time – that great explosion of light we call the big bang, from which we gradually emerged over billions of years.

With Scott’s body in the coffin before us all, I read:

The Light of the World -William Holman Hunt 1854

We have arrived at Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, which ends with Easter. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, into the life of a community that is seeking salvation, seeking the light of illumination.

Last night, March 31, people across the world turned off their lights for one hour from 8.30 – 9.30pm. United they supported the largest environmental event in history, Earth Hour. In that short space of darkness they sought some illumination! The theme for this year’s Lent is, ‘Towards the Light’, the light of illumination.

Recently I watched a deeply moving South African film called “Life Above All”. It had won Best International Film at the Sydney and Canberra Film Festivals in2010 and 2011. Its focus is a 12 year old girl Chandra, a hardworking, promising young student with a bright future, but her life changes dramatically when her baby sister unexpectedly dies. Heartbroken Chandra’s mother, Lillian, in turn becomes severely ill, leaving the young girl to take care of her two smaller siblings. When the small community of which they are a part irrationally turns on her and her family, Chandra sets out to face the deeply ingrained misunderstanding and prejudices surrounding AIDS.

Article by Tim Carter

When the Community of St Mary’s marched into exile, I as a long-time member, felt it was a community alive with zeal for the future.  I believe that most of the people who marched were not blindly following Peter and Terry.  It seemed they knew that the faith journey they had travelled so far would not allow them to stay in their Parish Church and accept the style of church that the Archbishop had ordered them to return to. To understand SMX I believe it is important to understand the nature of the Community of people who became St Mary’s Community.