Tag: Books, Films, Art, Awards and Recipes

This wonderful book acknowledges the skill and dedication of some of the lesser known Methodist leaders whose contribution to the faith should be better known today. We benefit from their work. This book provides a message of hope and encouragement.

The twelve biographies, each expertly written, show cumulatively the wide range of Methodist impact on Australian society.

The editor’s note the twelve were engaged as missionaries, preachers, educationalists, administrators, ecumenists and social reformers.An example of this diverse work and the importance of making the most of each opportunity was Alice Mofflin (1878–1961). She is the sole West Australian in the book.

Rev Dr Alison Longworth shows how she was active in creating WA institutions for childcare, healthcare, women’s fellowship, and overseas missions. She was an example of how a female layperson could be a pioneer in many fields.

The news headlines are clear: religion is on the decline in the West as many people leave behind traditional religious practices.

Diana Butler Bass, leading commentator on religion, politics and culture, argues that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people experience God.

The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift – from a vertical understanding of God, to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community – is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us.

The book concludes with the ‘Commons’ where Diana argues religion has abandoned its prophetic and creative vision of humanity’s common life’, in favour of an individual quest to get to heaven. In the process, community became isolated behind walls of buildings where worship experiences corresponded to members’ tastes, preferences and political views. A sad mistake, for at the very centre of every religion there stands some great communal vision of God, the world and humanity.

When Michelle and Yusef chose to embark on life together as a married couple, some things were sure to become a little more complicated thanks to their different faiths and cultural backgrounds.

For Michelle, an Australian-born Christian, and Yusef, a Muslim, one of their first experiences of balancing two different religious traditions was deciding how they would get married. And more specifically, who would conduct the service.

Rev Helen Richmond, a Uniting Church Minister, relays their story in her new book, Blessed and Called to be a Blessing: Muslim-Christian couples sharing a life together.

“Michelle’s parents were struggling with their daughter’s decision to marry someone from a very different culture and religion. Michelle had always wanted to marry in a church and walk down the aisle and this was also important for her parents. For Yusef’s family it was important that a Muslim cleric who was a close family friend could conduct the ceremony.”

They began looking for a church willing to marry them and were delighted to find a minister who not only welcomed them but who was open to the idea of jointly conducting the service with a Muslim cleric.

In the introduction Chittister states: “We need to think again about the moral fibres of society. We need to think about them a great deal in fact. If we fail to rethink what it means to be a Christian, to be a carrier of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in this day and age, the next day and age may be far more stark, exceedingly more threatening, extremely less hopeful, seriously less spiritual than any we have ever known before.”

Sr Joan Chittister was one of the stand-out speakers at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne. So when a DVD was published by Faith and Reason  (http://faithandreason.org/) of Chittister presenting this book in person, I could not resist. People who attended the subsequent study at All Saints Floreat Uniting Church were not disappointed.

Chittister embraces a great depth of learning. She begins with the earliest origins of each commandment within Hebrew society, before progressing to the contemporary world and then to our own personal circumstances. Throughout, Chittister returns to what the Ten Commandments are and are not, “They are not about restrictions; they are an adventure in human growth.”

The book explores what it means to be a moral person in the world today where our actions affect not only our own lives or those of our neighbour, but those on the other side of the world.

Richard Smith

Rev Dr Clive Ayre, a Uniting Church minister, has produced a very useful book to help people respond to the environmental crisis. He examines the nature of the environmental crisis, potential  heological responses and then argues for an ‘eco-mission theology’ approach.

In short he argues that Christians have a responsibility to care for the planet (a point recently reaffirmed by the new Pope and so Ayres is in the mainstream of ecumenical thinking).

He provides a theological argument for taking action and then looks at practical ways in which this could be achieved. He examines, for example, how eco-mission could be manifested in worship, children and youth work, policy issues, media statements and by adopting a particular lifestyle.

This is a very comprehensive book, albeit in less than 200 pages. It is clear and easy to read.

At a time when there is so much despair about the lack of progress globally in protecting the environment, this book offers a message of hope of what could be done. It examines some of the current Christian activities already underway – and urges us to maintain that momentum.

Keith Suter

Brendan Byrne completes his excellent Gospel commentaries with Life Abounding on John. He believes John proclaims a  gospel that will lead readers from mere existence to abundant life, enabling the development of a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I find it a joy to read Byrne’s clear and uncluttered style and profound insights simply expressed.

While a commentary, Byrne’s pastoral aim means he does not enter into every academic discussion, preferring to seek  theological and spiritual riches in the text. It is both full of depth and accessible. A Melbourne Jesuit, Byrne’s decades-long experience as a New Testament teacher and researcher in the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne is evident.