Like many people, I dive into books for very different reasons. Intellectual challenge. Vicarious adventure. Human interest. Facts and fiction – and sometimes I’m not sure which is which. But there is one category of book that I don’t so much ‘dive’ into but rather slowly and carefully lower myself into until I am fully…
Dear members and friends of the St Kilda Uniting Church community, After a thoughtful discussion with members of the congregation this morning, Church Council has decided that physical isolation is essential at this point in time and that we need to suspend all face-to-face gatherings of the church until further notice: this includes Sunday mornings…
It’s rather strange to realise that for Lent 2020 we are having to give up gathering as a church community. Lent – time to give up Usually, Lent inspires people to give up a range of things – personal favourites like chocolate or wine, or meaningful experiences like meals in a restaurant. It’s usually about…
In the early days of my tertiary studies, I studied Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the process, I learned a bit about his grandfather – Erasmus Darwin. He was a natural historian and once wrote one poem that filled a whole book. This poetry was full of observations about the lives of plants. It didn’t…
Like most children, I was a very curious child. And I went on to become a very curious adult. I have not changed. Sometimes it got me into trouble and dad would say something like: “Curiosity killed the cat”. I always thought and still think that is a rather silly thing to say. Of course…
You probably won’t know ‘Harry’. You might have seen him walking down either Chapel or Carlisle St. You might not have. Harry doesn’t say very much. Keeps himself to himself. Most times he just stands in the doorway of an empty shop that’s been available for lease for months. He just kind of blends into…
It’s the end of the school term and I was able to get to one of the grade 6 concerts. It’s a very special feeling watching your 2 eldest grandchildren who are cousins performing on stage. Especially when you know they have been rehearsing at home for weeks, stressing out over complicated choreography, and driving…
Last Saturday I was queuing up to order a meal in a pub. It was a long queue. Christmas music was playing. Two men in front of me (about my age) were passing the time by talking about the next few weeks and all the end-of-year functions that they would be involved in. They were…
Anyone walking past 163 Chapel St will notice that scaffolding has gone up and repairs to the tower will begin shortly. I want to invite you to think about this work as a metaphor. Scaffolding doesn’t actually support the tower; the tower supports the scaffolding. It wraps around it and enables people to access difficult…
As work begins on renovating the tower at 163 Chapel St, and public safety fencing is erected, I’m very conscious of disruption. The space at the front of the church building will not be available for a few months. The bench will be temporarily inaccessible – where will people sit and watch the world go…