`The streets were dark and deserted. Not a soul could be seen. At least he hoped not. There was one lonely figure, jumping from shadow to shadow, never using the major streets of the town, travelling only i ... read more

Today is the day in the Church`s calendar that we remember the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain top. The time when he took Peter, James and John up the mountain and they reportedly saw him i ... read more

In our communion liturgy there is a phrase that always stands out for me and that is the call `to see beyond ... read more

The year 2020 is finally up to speed, the holiday season is over, school is back, the ordinary routines are making themselves felt. However, we here are mostly in that final third of life and are wel ... read more

So did you notice the different namings happening in this passage from John`s gospel? - Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi and Messiah- titles being associated with Jesus but then end ... read more

What we`ve seen so far today concerning Baptism is what we see at the Baptism ceremony. We see a small group of people gathered around water and a baby or an adult supported ... read more

As we conclude our Christmas Liturgy, what does the coming year hold for us, in this rapidly and radically changing world? I am facing the challenge of completing a History of my studies of Earth from Space, a technolo ... read more

The Gospel reading for today opens up a discussion about life after death. This is a topic that has been debated, joked about, depicted in art, song and story for centuries. Some of you may recall the 1998 ... read more

Things happen every day that are simple, ordinary acts of kindness. Sometimes these things happen under extraordinary circumstances and we put them up on a pedestal as if they are amazing. I ... read more

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus. What does that mean? I found an explanation in catholicculture.org -

`This feast became widespread in the West in the 11t ... read more

Quite a jump in o ... read more

The hymn we just sang is a favourite of mine, often used on Trinity Sunday. It is based upon the ancient Te Deum. Though I love it, I almost rejected it for use today - it has ha ... read more

I had to smile when I saw this logo in an advert for the Invictus Games coming to Sydney in October. You see I had wanted to pick up on the `I am` statement in our gospel r ... read more

In 2013 I went to Israel with Nev and Marg, and Cathie Lambert, for a two-week tour of some of the main places that feature in Jesus` life. While so many things have sadly changed over the past few years, what hasn`t ch ... read more

The Books of Samuel relate the story of the rise and development of Kingship in Israel. If we go back a little, we read in the Book of Joshua, the way Israel took possessi ... read more

In recognition of Naidoc Week and acknowledgement of the prior inhabitants of this land, this poem The Song of Hope by Oodgeroo (Kath Walker) written in the 1960s has bee ... read more

The lectionary for this week is a colourful tapestry of drama, factional disputation, allegory, all woven together into a rich mixture, like good fruitcake. It beg ... read more

I was catching up with Leanne Watson some months ago, and we were discussing our home offices and our propensity for having messy ones. I won the award for the messiest one when we compared photos of th ... read more

Carl Sagan: By far the best way I know to engage the religious sensibility, the sense of awe, is to look up on a clear night. I believe that it is very diff ... read more

As you know, last week we did not join the other churches at the Anglican Church for the Pentecost service. There was a very good reason for just being together as a church, and our servic ... read more

In a world with such inequalities, of opportunities, of wealth, of power, of safety, today I want to talk about unity. Not a unity where everyone believes the same thing, but a unity that combines who we are biological ... read more

In both the Lectionary and in the media there have been a lot of references to good and bad fruit with a Royal Commission revealing so many organisations and people profiting from handing out bad fru ... read more

The Psalm, and the reading from John`s gospel are very familiar. They conjure up warm and fuzzy pictures of a long-haired bloke in a dressing gown cuddling a cute little white ... read more

I always have a bit of a problem with the time after Easter. It is a time in the scriptural readings when we hear about the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. While they appear in Luke, Matthew and John, Mark ha ... read more

Resurrecting Easter: How the West lost and the East kept the original Easter Vision by John Dominic Crossan and Sarah Sexton Crossan, 2018.

Readings: Genesis 4:1-10; Micah 4:2-4; Matthew 27: 50-53

Genesis 4: 1-10 - biblic ... read more

When Karen played that song (called `Sun` by the group `Sleeping at Last`) a month or so ago, one particular phrase intrigued me. I guess space, and time Takes violent things, angry things And makes ... read more

Weep not for me. Weep for yourselves and your children.

On Good Friday 2018, Neville Watson conducted worship in the Wembley Downs Uniting Church and preached his last sermon. In his ... read more

Not long ago I went to a show called `White Spirit` as part of the Festival of Perth. Led by the haunting voice of Noureddine Khourchid, the son of a Syrian Sufi sh ... read more

Lent. We started this journey a few weeks ago when we shared in an Ash Wednesday service at the Church of Christ. It was a beautiful service led by Dennis Ryle, and perhaps not as dire as many of you might think. ... read more

You have to have some sympathy for Moses. He was in charge of a vast horde of refugees. They were escaping from Egypt - let`s face it they were kicked out! T ... read more