Sunday night blues again...

I have been sitting watching inane "current affairs" programs then started watching a stupid film on TV. (Elections are great fodder for superficial journalism aren't they?) At the same time I have been feeling down about this ministry job. I had most of the week off to build with my daughter and decided on Thursday night that today's worship subject should be "Hope". Now maybe I did not do the preparation required but I got that "duh" type feedback from the congregation. I have been developing the blues about it again as I have blobbed out this afternoon and evening. I have decided that worship is not the place where you really learn about "hope". Mission is the place where you learn. I have come to the conclusion that this is where you learn and until Church goers get off their backsides and get involved in caring mission many of the essential truths of the Christian faith remain incomprehensible, religious jargon to them. As I look back on my journey it has been when I have been involved in seeking to live out the purposes of God, and up against it, that things like faith, hope and partnership with the "Spirit" etc become real. "Hope" emerges in one's inner being because you have stretched your abilities, your courage and perseverance.

Jesus chose disciples and did not tell them to come and listen to him preaching. He did not invite them to theology classes. He essentially invited them to join him as he shared the love of God in his community. In the process of that apprenticeship they grew. As I look back on ministry the people I have seen grow the most have been the ones who have not just sat in the pew on Sunday, but tried to reach out in some way in love... then they have grown into giants as people of faith. Mostly on Sundays these days I feel like I am "casting pearls before swine". That sounds harsh on the lovely people in my congregation. It is, however, the feeling I get when I keep trying to share in creative ways truths that I have learned through risky, often challenging journeying with God, with people who have never stepped out and therefore don't have a ghost of an idea what I am talking about. To use another metaphor, people who are not willing to get up and dance don't experience the power of the music. Trying to describe it to them has little impact. No matter how creative or clever I am, it will only entertain them for an hour on Sunday. Oh well... that's off my chest. (Photo: Curly Griffiths... a man I have seen grow incredibly because he has got himself involved in loving mission with people.)

Cold rain slowed progress

Today we set about putting the cladding on our building..... but... our run of favourable weather ended! We got wet and cold ducking in and out of showers as we screwed cladding to the wall. Around mid afternoon we had had enough and signed off for the day. The women were burying the water supply pipe and placing insulation in the walls. A good day even though it was frustrating.

We did well!

I have to tell the world. I have been working on extensions to my daughter's house. I have sort of been the "boss", the one with more building experience. I am meant to know how to do things. Our work has to be inspected by city council representatives at various stages along the way and today we had one of the more important inspections. I was worried! Would the framing up pass inspection? Would they find fault with the way we had installed the windows? Were the flashings cut the way they were meant to be cut? In the middle of the night I kept thinking of all the possible things they could fail us on. But.... they visited the site, looked over our work and were happy! I am so relieved. From now on it will be a breeze. We can move on to the next stages with confidence. I hope you are happy for me! (Photos: Where there was a rotting window we have framed up for a door. 2nd- the back door into the kitchen. 3rd- Daughter Angela digging a trench for the water supply.)

"Chaos empowered!"

Big news in the paper here today was the pay rise heads of tertiary institutions were getting. I think the head of the university is on a salary ten times bigger than mine. Now I don't know if that is fair or not but that news led to a breakfast table discussion about mixed up values, the gap between the rich and poor and the impact such news has on poor people. Because we are building we are going to a hardware store and I know that the sales people in the trades area are on the absolute minimum wage. (We have been growling about the service we have been receiving... or not receiving actually.) I was talking to a woman on Sunday who does caring duties for elderly people in their homes. She helps them shower, wash and dress and does house work. She too is on a very low hourly rate. We have a severely handicapped daughter and we know that her carers are on a very low rate of pay. They do everything for her really, including changing night time nappies on this now adult woman. The turn over of carers is astounding, which is not at all good for our Pania. Another example is that nurses and carers in elderly peoples' homes do not earn high salaries. Yet we pay our sports people hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions??? What are we saying to the poorly paid people about the value of their work? What are we saying about their value as people?

What I believe happens when the gap between rich and poor is very high is that in some way shape or form the poor say "F*** you!" to the rest of us. Some work out their anger in crime. Sometimes I am sure this feeling is behind the mindless vandalism we experience in our cities. Some say it by getting away with as little work as possible in their jobs, like the service people in the hardware store. It is my belief that when the gap between rich and poor is very high, society pays for it in some way. The community is hurt and the "forces of chaos" that work against a harmonious world, are fueled and empowered. "Law and order" becomes an issue for our communities; our nations and indeed our world. But if you have read your Bibles you would have seen such warnings in the Old Testament prophets' rantings. That's why I try to do my bit by getting alongside the poor and being their friend in practical ways. I don't know if I make much impact but that's why I do it. The old "Peter, Paul and Mary" song asked the question; "When will we ever learn"?

Nice to see...

I have been working on my daughter's house extensions. It has been physically very tiring because I have been putting in some long days. The last couple of days we have been sharing the site with a plumber. You will remember that I was a plumber. I have chatted with him from time to time and I am so impressed. He is proud to be a plumber and very conscientious about his work. He is very service orientated, wanting to do the best job for the customer. He obviously loves his craft. Working on site again and having to work out the job, and think out how to prepare for an unfamiliar cladding material has made me appreciate again the trades and the work involved. Ever since I was a boy and worked in a timber yard I have appreciated that every job, no matter how simple looking, requires some skill and expertise. There I met an old bloke name Ferge. He was just the caretaker, who looked after the stacks of timber for a furniture factory. But I soon came to appreciate that this old guy, who shuffled and wheezed about the yard with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, was really quite an expert. There was not much he did not know about timber. He could hold a stick of wood and tell you how dry it was and what type of timber it was and what part of the tree it came from. In today's world that sort of pride in a craft seems to be rare. I appreciated all the more the obvious pride in this plumber. I have learned never to take for granted the skills people have. Just as a famous pianist, painter or singer is a master at his or her art, so too the simplest looking job can be transformed into an art form by the attitude of the people doing it.

Building progress

We have worked all day Saturday, Sunday afternoon and Monday on my daughter and son in law's extensions. My son Phillip came down from Wellington to lend a hand. We are making steady progress and I am enjoying organising the job and facilitating the team Angela, David, Jean (my wife) and Phil. This photo was taken on Monday morning. After three days of physical work my body has a "pleasurable stiffness". I am so fortunate to be able to do the stuff I do.

Success?

What is success in my game? I minister at a mainly down town church which has an elderly congregation with few younger people amongst them. When people ask about my Church they generally go on to ask such questions as; "How many services do you have?" "How many people come to worship?" "How many young people are there?" "Is it growing?" ... When these are asked or implied I cringe. On these measures I am a failure and should perhaps have given up. I do wish for a growing, bursting at the seams church! I keep asking "Is there stuff I am doing wrong?". I plug on, trying to be true to Jesus as I understand and experience Him. I wish ... I wish... I could confidently show "success" in these terms.

I have had experiences this week that have encouraged me. I have walked down the street and bumped into what we might term "Street People". These are people often struggling with mental health issues. Each time I am greeted warmly and they tell me their joys and sorrows and we part with warm smiles and encouragement both ways. Two individuals contacted me because they wanted to give to the Night Shelter in different ways. One visited the office, the other rang, but both knew that this church was somehow involved and a natural contact point. I had a woman contact me and she is involved in a professional woman's club in town which wanted to do something for others at Christmas time. "Your name came up, because of the famous Christmas Dinner your church puts on." she said. I went to my dentist and he talked on and on about the community service I was involved in and asked about it, telling his assistant all about what he knew. (He still charged me an arm and a leg for his time!) I visited my chaplaincies and these emergency workers asked about some of the "street people" they have often encountered because they knew that I too was involved in their lives.

As I thought about all these encounters it seemed that "the presence" was telling me something. In the midst of this dog eat dog world the little "failure" of a church that I minister in sits in the middle of the city and waves the flag for caring for others! In the midst of this world where people often find it hard to reach out to others about them, my "unsuccessful" church reminds people that it is possible and offers an example and opportunities for people to try. It is like in the midst of this city, my wee church with its lopsided age groupings, is waving a flag or raising a banner which says, "We care!" ... "God cares!" "Jesus is about caring!" ... and "You too can get on the caring band wagon!" I believe we inspire countless others to reach out beyond themselves, to live less selfishly and to have a wider perspective on life. The fire fighters and brewery workers once presented me with a gift of a van. It blew me away. As one guy talked to me about it as they made the presentation, he said, "This is from your flock outside of the church." That's what "the presence" is reminding me about. This is the unseen reality that is happening. We are a relatively small bunch of people, but outside our circle is a larger group of people who are kinder, more responsible, more understanding, more alive and just a little bit more like Jesus, because we are there doing our thing. I believe we are truly and effectively being "salt and light" and we are not a failure. We are flavouring lives in our community and holding a light up for people to see an alternative way. I still would like more people to be in church tomorrow though.