I'm a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, with two congregations: one in Northcote / Chalice, which now includes Cafechurch Melbourne, and one up the road in Reservoir, confusingly known as Preston High Street. I am
“After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.'” Here begins one of the most disturbing stories in the Old Testament. God asks Abraham to kill his son. In the end (spoiler alert!) he doesn’t have to . But what sort of God demands that – and what sort of person is prepared to do it? Is this simply an appalling story we should ignore – or does it plumb the profound depths of human experience at the limit?
What does believing in three impossible things before breakfast have to do with the transformative possibilities of a life in touch with that base reality we call God? What does Google Maps have to do with the Pacific Ocean? And can can Astronaut Mark Watney help?
There was once a pilgrim searching for enlightenment on the top of Mount Fuji. On his way, he encountered monk with some surprising advice.
What does a legend about a late-medieval Mughal Emperor have to tell us about how (and why) to be a religious person in our complex context? And what does it have to do with Mount Fuji?
Part one of a series.
What does it mean for Jesus to promise abundant life in a world beset by COVID-19? What does it have to tell us about abundance?
Easter feels a long time ago. The weariness of the lockdown wears on and on and, I don’t know about you, but it’s grinding me down. For instance, one of the highlights of my week last week was to sit in my car in the carpark of a local McDonalds eating a Sausage and Egg […]
It seems like every day is a sort of Good Friday. What does it tell us about the truth of our own vulnerable humanity? What does it mean to celebrate Easter in this time of COVID19?
God picked up Ezekial and deposited him in a desolate valley of dry bones. A place where hopes had come to die. We’re not quite in the valley of dry bones yet – but I feel like we’re looking at one of those big green highway signs pointing down into a worryingly barren looking desert. These are dry, uncertain times, where a pitiless sun feels like it is beating down on us. And who knows when the rain might come again?
If we were writing the beatitudes today, what would we write? What does it mean to be #blessed? Could the church to be a blessing? And what does it mean to be blessed in the midst of grief and suffering?
What does a classic call to adventure story from almost two thousand years ago tell us about the relationship between Discipleship and the self-actualisation that we desire?
Alister Pate