I discovered from a comment on the blog that part of my blog post had been inserted into a blog in Canada. I was intrigued. Was anything I said worth someone else quoting? Canada? That is a long way away? I am just an old bloke still getting used to the global nature of the World Wide Web. Amazing... Full of self doubts now... I better be careful what I say!
Christian Hospitality.
We have a space at our Church we call Space2B. It has coffee, resources and comfortable chairs. We have it open every week day lunch time for people. On Wednesday it is open for extended hours as a place new immigrants can come to for conversation and information. Regularly we have been having a group of "guys" in who are unemployed, not the top of the heap type of people, if you catch my drift. I think they are evolving into quite a useful support group. Lately, however, we have not had many new immigrants. We got feed back that suggests the new immigrants are not coming because "the guys" are there. What do we do? We want to be hospitable to and encourage new immigrants because they are often ostracised because they are different. But if we kick "the guys" out, even to another room, we are treating them as "different" and reinforcing the very values and attitudes we are trying to overcome. Would Jesus kick "the guys" out? We have to express his values in the way we run our church. "The medium is the message". We could easily, as a church, deny the way of Jesus by being pragmatic about this. There once was an opportunity to open a drop-in for these guys but because of our democratic process it never happened. Now we are stuck with the problem with no easy answer. It could well be that we support another group to look after immigrants.
Where do I "belong"?
A comment by a friend today had me asking myself this question. I stewed on it while I went for a walk up "my" mountain this afternoon.
- Of course I do belong in my family, my wife and kids. Among them I do feel accepted. My kids, now all adults, love me and put up with me, but for a variety of reasons they are more comfortable talking over issues with their mum. Perhaps I was too often an absent dad even when I was present.
- I love and am proud of my own brothers and sisters. Each is a very responsible, caring and skilled person. But, maybe because we as a couple were away from NZ and the South Island very early on, of all the five siblings, I guess I am a little on the "outside" of the group. I am not on the same wavelength as they are. I enjoy their company when we are together. I am not sure they enjoy mine as much however.
- Do I "belong" in the church? Of course I do, because I am a church minister. Theologically I am on the very edge of "orthodoxy" in an old establishment church. I don't truly feel "at home" there. I am not sure that there is a church where I fit, but I struggle to really fit in with the Church group. I suspect I am a bit "eccentric" for them, though they have been very loyal over the years.
- I find myself struggling with bureaucracy in Habitat for Humanity, Workplace Support and the Church. I do enjoy project focused groups. I love, and feel accepted when I am part of a team doing good stuff for people.
- I often look nostalgically at building sites. I enjoyed those places as a tradesman. I enjoyed working with my hands, the camaraderie that went on and seeing a building take shape. But one of the discussions that went into the melting pot that led me move away from the trade was one where I was told I did not belong there. We had a senior medical student doing holiday work with us and I had long discussions with him. Out of the blue one day he said, "You don't belong here! You are different from these guys. You should be doing something more."
- I do belong in the bush. As I walked through the bush thinking the issue through, I thought "Here I am ME."
- I enjoy being a chaplain, but even the best of them where I feel most at home, I am still an independent "outsider" by profession. I count it a privilege to have received the warmth and acceptance I have enjoyed.
- I was in a supervision session with a student who is on a placement at our drop-in centre. She passed a comment on my style of being at the drop-in. She said, "It is just like you are one of them, and a part of the group." I think that is a good thing. I try to "be" and let them "be". Not sure if she saw it as a totally good thing though.
Anyway... I often feel out of step... Still not sure where I really "belong" but at the same time I do feel accepted by so many... I am fortunate.
Full marks to St John Ambulance guys
I was at St John Ambulance station on Friday. A couple of paramedics had a call out and as they passed me said, "Hey Dave, wanna come for a ride?" We went to a particularly awkward case. Once again I want to say I was so impressed with the caring, professional way they went about their work. These people do a marvelous job.
Is this the last snow for the year? It was nice up my mountain. Strong cold wind was blowing chunks of ice off the tall radio mast. It was a bit dangerous walking underneath.
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