Yours First FAQ Question

Yours relevent questions answer.

Author: Geoff Boyce

Creating and supporting opportunities for human flourishing.
geoff@geoffboyce.com

reconciliation

THURSDAY MAY 26 : Sorry Day – a National Day of Healing

from 10am to 2:30pm at Tarndanyangga (Victoria Square)

Mutual understanding is central to meaningful reconciliation.
Reconciliation is not about flinging dollars at problems. It’s about ways of thinking that acknowledge social justice and fundamental human rights.
It’s about leadership from the top and action at the grass roots level. That’s how change occurs.
Working for human rights is a harder task than extending compassion. But it’s the only long term solution.

Prof. Lowitja O’Donoghue, Flinders Street Baptist Friday Forum, April 8th 2005, 1pm.
(Transcript: Compassion – Lowitja O’Donohue)

SATURDAY May 27 at 7:30 pm: Blackwood Reconciliation Group Film Night

OSA, Blackwood High School (enter from Seymour St or Northcote St)

Bush Mechanics (for children and big children), How the West was Lost (the Wave Hill story)

Cake and white elephant stalls

[Paper money donation to cover supper]

THURSDAY JUNE 2, 5:45pm to 7 pm: FLINDERS ROUND TABLE

Religious Centre, Union Building, Mall level.

Sharing our Religious Observances – issues in hosting or participating in another’s religious observances

Donald Fairhall, Buddhist Associate of Flinders Multifaith Chaplaincy

Light refreshments from 5:30 pm

The Round Table is an open community of people interested in learning how to better live with one another in a plural religious context.

Enquiries: religiouscentre@flinders.edu.au

NAIDOC MARCH: Friday July 1

Solidarity with our indigenous friends, sending a message to the federal government.
Details to follow.

FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
28-29 July 2005
University of Adelaide
http://www.SpiritualityHealth.org.au

Conference “Wind-down”: Scots Church, 29,30 July.
Details to follow.

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I am currently reading Brian D McLaren: a Generous Or+hodoxy – WHY I AM A missional+evangelical+post/protestant+liberal/conservative+mystical/poetic+biblical+charismatic/contemplative+fundamentalist/calvinist+green+incarnational+depressed-yet-hopeful+emergent+unfinished CHRISTIAN.

I thought it sounded a bit like me!
(though I might add some other faiths and no faiths on to the end!)

Spirituality

life-giving

Commenting on the recent events in the Vatican, Catholic priest Richard

Rohr, OFM writes:

The world’s response to the Papal events of the last month, either favorable or even antagonistic, made something very clear to me. There will always be a need for religion, and there will always be a large percentage of people who like religion…It creates the container, keeps the edges hot, offers the invitation and the inviting formulas, creates satisfying rituals, and boundary setting commandment. It lures many people onto an
initial spiritual path. It is very good and even necessary ˜ as far as it goes.

But after 35 years as a priest, I am convinced that most people stop right there. They confuse the maintenance of this container with the contents themselves. They confuse the rituals with the reality that they point to…

I heard a very telling quote recently from the Dalai Lama. When asked by a young person how he could begin a spiritual life, he answered him in a most honest and foreboding way. He apparently said, “If you can possibly avoid a spiritual path, by all means do so! It will take your whole life away.” He got it! I believe that most religion, however, is an attempt to feel spiritual and superior in a very measured and culturally
correct way, largely by emphasizing one or two mandates or one or two rituals. This cleverly allows us to avoid discovering and surrendering our “whole life”. No wonder religion is so popular. No wonder piety sells. It is a great bargain. Join, attend, perform, obey here and there and you can basically live your life unchanged…

The question for me is how much of your life do you want to give to maintaining, supporting, and cheering the container, and when do you get on to finding your real life and giving it away?

Spirituality

The Longing

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and
don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery