on the passing of a dear friend

My friend Pam died today. 

It still doesn't feel quite real to say that, even though we've known this day was approaching. 

She had been fighting cancer for a long time. 

Pam wrote magic haiku - which she often put with photos or images she, or friends, had taken or created. Black Wood Jazz gatherings have been enhanced by Pam's poetry and images. My Christmases, 30th birthday, last Black Wood Jazz gathering, and the passing of my grandmother have all been marked by Pam with haiku and images. 

For better, or perhaps worse, I marked this moment with a haiku. 

a haiku for Pam

sadness is heavy

a jazz soundtrack of memories

is like love, like life

goodbye dear friend, may there be deep peace for you now in the fullness of the Divine presence. 

the story of pentecost

cloud, wind, fire and earthly flesh : God is present to us in all the elements of creation, and in the fullness of our humanity

have you ever wanted more than just one Sunday morning to explore the story of Pentecost?

have you ever wondered about the story of Jesus' ascension into the heavenly realm?

take time with The Esther Project to encounter these stories of mystery and wonder, of visions and dreams, of Spirit and flesh and God present in remarkable ways.

part one: Monday 17 May 7.30 pm, The Effective Living Centre, 26 King William Road Wayville.

parts two and three: 31 May and 7 June

come to one, come to all: we look forward to meeting you in the story

contactus@estherproject.unitingchurch.org.au

www.estherproject.unitingchurch.org.au

Resurrecting voice, resurrecting hope

This Monday The Esther Project worship space centres on stories of voicelessness and restoration of voice. It will be disturbing, it will be hopeful. There will be silence, there will be singing.

We hope to meet you in there in the story.

Landscape of Desire video

This is video from Jonny Baker of the walk through the Landscape of Desire installation I was involved with for the Fringe Festival in March. Check it out.

A Story Space

This last week I have had a lot of fun giving shape to a vision that was born out of various conversations within the Esther Project. We have been frustrated at the amount of time it takes to set the space each time we gather, with a lot of the materials needing to be transported from my home to the church and back again, and wondered if there was a way we could set a slightly more permanent space for our community.
The underlying question here is sustainability for the community and its leaders, being as it is still a small collective of people, who are all engaged in many other projects between us. Another issue is the way we are able to welcome newcomers to a community that now knows its identity and is feeling somewhat more stable and established, and this space reflects this movement for the Esther Project.
We also wondered about the relationship between The Esther Project and Christ Church / The Effective Living Centre, who have been hosting our community as it has come into being. How can we move from being a very dependent community to being somewhat more stable and able to contribute more to a mutually life-giving and enhancing relationship?
So the Story Space has been born. The back room at the Effective Living Centre is used quite often by CC/ELC and outside groups, but feels somewhat like a glorified store room with excess furniture, unorganised storage cupboards full of 'stuff' that no one knows about ...
The Esther Project offered to buy some furniture and furnishings to enhance the warmth and welcome of the space, and to set a default setting with coffee table and chairs, which will be a helpful set up for The Esther Project, the weekly meditation group, study groups and others. The furniture is minimal and lightweight, so it is easy to adapt the space for other groups, such as the kids on Sunday mornings, who yesterday simply pushed the chairs and side tables back to make room for their activities.
The response from the Christ Church community has been positive, as it has been from those of the Esther Project who have seen it. We meet in this new story space this evening for the first time, and I already feel really good about it.
I'm also very much looking forward to the possibilities for collaboration with the Effective Living Centre and Christ Church as we support and encourage each other in our mutual and individual engagements in God's mission of love for the world.