Into Holy Week

Update on the next BWJ space: 

meet three characters from the Holy Week narratives, hear their stories, and reflect on the events of the days before Jesus was crucified. 

hear again or for the first time the cool jazz guitars of Daniel Lee and friends, local musicians.

begin your journey into Holy Week, remembering the sacrifice Jesus made, bringing about a new creation, a radical reign, renewing our relationship with God. 

4.00 - 5.30 Sunday 5 April

The Pines 2

Belair National Park

Bring drinks, nibbles, chair/rug and friends. 

Black Wood Jazz: into Holy Week

Sunday 5 April - 4.00 to 5.30 pm - Belair National Park, "Pines Two" 

Into Holy Week will offer reflections on the characters and stories of the week leading up to Jesus' arrest. After the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, the expectations of his followers were quickly overturned with the shocking events that culminated in his brutal execution. 

Who were some of the people whose dreams were shattered in those days in Jerusalem? What is their story? How do their experiences resonate with our own? 

With cool jazz and over picnic supper, we'll explore these questions, and begin to bring our attention once again to the cross. 

BYO rugs/chairs and food (make it a meal or nibbles as you feel inclined). 

More information to follow on any costs involved. An offering will be received to help the church participate in God's mission in our neighbourhood, in our world. 

alternative church gatherings in january

If you're interested in encountering the Holy outside of traditional church settings, Blackwood Uniting are gathering on the main oval of Belair National Park at 9.30 am on the Sundays in January. Sorry, I know we're half way through January now, but there's still two opportunities to encounter the Sacred in the beauty of the Australian bush on our doorstep, this Sunday 18 Jan and next, 25 Jan. Bring a chair or rug to sit on, and bring a thermos to join us for coffee and a chat after our reflections. 

Bonhoeffer on Advent

A friend who was at Black Wood Jazz last night recalled some words she'd read of Bonhoeffer's, speaking of waiting and Advent. I'd like to share them here. 

Celebrating Advent means learning to wait. Waiting is an art which our impatient age has forgotten. We want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen. Greedy eyes are soon disappointed when what they saw as luscious fruit is sour to the taste. In disappointment and disgust they throw it away. The fruit, full of promise, rots on the ground. It is rejected without thanks by disappointed hands.

The blessedness of waiting is lost on those who cannot wait, and the fulfillment of promise is never theirs. They want quick answers to the deepest questions of life and miss the value of those times of anxious waiting, seeking with patient uncertainties until the answers come. They lose the moment when the answers are revealed in dazzling clarity.

Who has not felt the anxieties of waiting for the declaration of friendship or love? The greatest, the deepest, the most tender experiences in all the world demand patient waiting. This waiting is not in emotional turmoil, but gently growing, like the emergence of spring, like God’s laws, like the germinating of a seed.

Not all can wait—certainly not those who are satisfied, contented, and feel that they live in the best of all possible worlds! Those who learn to wait are uneasy about their way of life, but yet have seen a vision of greatness in the world of the future and are patiently expecting its fulfillment. The celebration of Advent is possibly only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who can look forward to something greater to come.

advent stories in the carpark

Well, last night was cold and a little windy, and the threat of rain ever-present, but for those who brought their chairs and picnics to the Blackwood UC car park were warmed by the smooth jazz, inspired by stories of hope and courage, and enjoyed conversation and creativity. 

We heard the story of Edith Cavell, an English nurse in Belgium at the time of the German invasion during WWI. Edith helped soldiers to escape German capture. She was arrested by German soldiers, imprisoned, court martialled and executed. Her hope in Christ inspired her imitation of Christ, and she stated as she went to face her death, that patriotism was not enough: 'I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.' 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer also found himself on the wrong side of the German army, though this time he was a German church leader opposing the Nazi regime, and pleading the church to do the same. He chose to stay in Germany rather than leave, to suffer alongside his fellow German Christians in order to have integrity in the rebuilding after the war. Bonhoeffer did not get that chance, killed by the Nazis in the final days of the war. His courage, positivity, and trust in the closeness of God comforted and inspired his fellow prisoners during his 18 months of imprisonment. 

Martin Luther King's story is well known. His call to non-violent protest for the civil rights of African Americans during the 1960s put him in opposition to fellow African Americans, his demand for civil rights put him in opposition to much of the rest of America. But his knowledge of the love of God gave him hope for peace in his nation, gave him courage to fight for the outcome he believed would come, risking his life. He too lost his life in pursuit of peace. 

Mother Teresa is also very well known for her choice to live amongst the poorest of India and suffer with them. Though she has been well praised for her work, and inspired many to join her in India, or to act with compassion and love and care in other places of need, she has also faced much criticism. She too found her hope and the courage to go on in God. 

The final story we heard was of an unnamed Christian publisher in Burma, who is being persecuted by the junta. Their wish is for all religions to be eradicated from Burma, bar Buddhism, and many Christian churches, schools and orphanages have been forced underground. It is a costly act of discipleship for the Christians in this land. But as this publisher says, people are yearning for the word of God, and having found his hope in Christ, he feels he can do no other than to work for Christ, live for Christ. 

These stories demonstrate that deep hope and trust in God, in Jesus Christ, insists on being lived out. May we all have the courage to act on the hope we find in God this Christmas, and every day. 

The stories were sourced from Gordon Brown's book Courage: Eight Portraits, Becky Benanate in Legends: Women who changed the world, the vatican site, wikipedia, voice of the martyrs, and the  site of the Anglican church in Melbourne. 

getting excited!

I'm getting pretty excited about Black Wood Jazz Christmas under the stars this Sunday. Seems people are looking forward to it, planning their picnics, gathering their friends. If the rain holds off for the afternoon and evening, it will be even better! However, we have a wet-weather plan, we'll create Christmas under the pretend stars inside the church, so don't be put off, it's going to be a wonderful way to kick off the Advent season. 

I've been inspired and awe-struck by the stories I've been reading, preparing them to share on Sunday night, too. People do some amazing things, inspired by the Divine, or conscience, or however they name it. Be prepared to be inspired! 

Black Wood Jazz under the stars

Kick off Christmas with an event that can be as kicked back, or stimulating as you make it.  

6.00 - 8.30pm on Sunday 30 November 2008

BYO picnic, folding chairs, (and a table if you are that way inclined), cold drinks, friends, neighbours and good conversation to Christmas under the stars in the Blackwood UCA carpark (at the Roundabout, 266 Main Road, Blackwood).

Enjoy the smooth sounds of Daniel Lee and Friends.  Enjoy cool company – bring your own if you aren’t to sure about ours.  We will unwrap some stories of hope too as the evening gives way to stars. 

Hot drinks available for gold coin donation. 

Donations will be collected to support Black Wood Jazz and the Christmas Bowl Appeal.