Eucaview

'Praise God' for Jude

On Pentecost Sunday, we had a special service of blessing for our third child Jude Aariel Mann, followed by a barbecue for family, friends and neighbors back under the eucalyptus at our place.

It was a beautiful day.

Despite all the pep talks from Phil, Jude cried like a baby when Phil carried him in the service. He was anointed with oil as a sign of blessing and promise, and told "Jesus loves you and invites you into his kingdom - even though you do not know it."

The whole congregation pledged to create a community in which all children can grow up to be all God has made them to be and they prayed for us as a family.

For a number of our friends, it was the first time they had been to a church service and their comments were instructive...

Car, Tractor, Ute, Train, Pram, Bus, Tram

No new content here for a few weeks while the family and I went on two weeks holiday, visiting family in Naracoorte, Adelaide and Victor Harbor.

The highlight for me was catching up with the uncles & aunts, grandparents, cousins, parents, siblings and nephews & nieces - many of whom I only get to see every two years or so. In the time since I visited last, there have been lost of changes in the lives of these people whom I love: deaths, births, illnesses, career changes etc.

I wish I was living in South Australia to be nearer them.

The biggest highlight for my son Che was the many modes of transport we used (hence the tile of this post) and Aislinn loved finding starfish on the beach and her first piano lesson from Grandma. Jude is so easy going he probably just enjoyed the cuddles - and his first taste of mashed potato.

Council of Christian Education in Schools: Religion in Life

I have done half a day training with the Council for Christian Education in Schools to bring up to date my accreditation to teach Christian Religious Education in State schools. I am signing up to teach one class at week at the local primary school. Hopefully I will start next term.

The session was lead by a very skilled teacher who filled us with practical ideas for communicating the Easter story and its meaning to primary aged kids. I'm using some at our church's all age service this Passion Sunday.

At the training, another teacher was complaining that the agreed syllabus we follow "Religion in Life" was too detached or objective. She said it you wouldn't even have to have faith to teach it.

I can't agree with her concern that the whole process is soulless. CCES only appoints people of faith, one of our roles is to commend the Christian faith to the kids, and the examples of how to teach the Easter material were certainly conveying the meaning of Easter. Sure the focus was on the impact on the historical disciples but there were hints of what it means for us today. It wasn't a denial of faith but making the most of an opportunity to cultivate an environment in which faith can grow.

I suspect the teacher was confusing the roles of say a Sunday School teacher who is discipling kids in the faith, and a CCES teacher who is introducing children to the religious dimension of life, giving some understanding of the Christian faith and respecting children's rights to hold their own opinions.

I wonder if others with more experience with the syllabus have any thoughts on how subjective, engaging, faith-valuing the curriculum is.

Learning what Intimacy Means

Paul posted a link to this great interview with Eugene Peterson from United States not-too-heavy-not-too-light magazine Christianity Today.

Peterson is best known for writing The Message paraphrase of the Bible. In this interview when talking about how Christian spirituality promises an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus he says:

This promise of intimacy is both right and wrong. There is an intimacy with God, but it's like any other intimacy; it's part of the fabric of your life. In marriage you don't feel intimate most of the time. Nor with a friend. Intimacy isn't primarily a mystical emotion. It's a way of life, a life of openness, honesty, a certain transparency.

and

All these words get so screwed up in our society. If intimacy means being open and honest and authentic, so I don't have veils, or I don't have to be defensive or in denial of who I am, that's wonderful. But in our culture, intimacy usually has sexual connotations, with some kind of completion. So I want intimacy because I want more out of life. Very seldom does it have the sense of sacrifice or giving or being vulnerable. Those are two different ways of being intimate. And in our American vocabulary intimacy usually has to do with getting something from the other. That just screws the whole thing up.