What is the Lord’s Supper? Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. ItContinue reading “Catechism 46”
Category Archives: Poetry
Blackbirding
Did you come here for pearls, having heard of the Bay where the oyster-shell waters open up wide to share? Have you brought your investors to see what’s for sale in the town by the jetty at old Roebuck Bay? Have your brought your own tender to hold as you dive, or some eager companionsContinue reading “Blackbirding”
Ritual
Why do I walk on tiptoes when I first step into icy blue? As if my waist must stay above the lapping line, as though caution will keep me safe in this task which infants undertake with glee? The slow preparation, the gasps as underneath we plunge: all this is ritual, and weContinue reading “Ritual”
The Snake that Wasn’t
First, it prompts barking, then slithers, Its brown face poking, scaled, from the trees. Bamboo and rock can’t expose its camouflage, yet the dog is wiser. Trapped by barking and pool, the reptile skulks while, in Sunday daze, we search out “Kimberley snake control” and keep the dog at bay. In a flash between leaves,Continue reading “The Snake that Wasn’t”
Asking
Too simple. The copers always say yes until the last and the question’s sincerity must be matched with the moment, the timing devised for the heart to respond: no hallway exchanges, or coffee machine chit-chat. Space is required – a safe place to land when sand bags and bubbles collapse. Too late to be askingContinue reading “Asking”
Nazarene (II)
Did you meet in Damascus? Did you greet at the stalls and meet in your homes, all safe in their walls? Was there never a time when your people weren’t here? Did you meet in Damascus and sing? Did you meet in Homs where your buildings were tall, where the foundations laid were the surestContinue reading “Nazarene (II)”
New Season
Fig Season? The garden holds promises, and I visit them daily: minuscule at first, fluffy, unsure, like hesitant children, awaiting the world. This is not quite their season: the Rabbi knew as much, yet visited expectant nonetheless. And, as frost and dew recede, there they are, peeping and proffering garden-bound joy. Too early toContinue reading “New Season”
Krateo
While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s… (Acts 3:11) Why cling? Fear, perhaps. The crowd, after all, lunged and lurched about, amazed hands raised, indignant, astonished; how might this seem to eyes which had beheld, rejected, hands which had held andContinue reading “Krateo”
Astronomy
…the dread of something after death – The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn No traveller returns – puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of… (William Shakespeare, Hamlet) What dreams may come when we set out for stars? What will we findContinue reading “Astronomy”
August
I gather moments like raindrops, like snowdrops: these microscopic buds of spring tricked by sun to come out, one by one; I see how hesitant can be can be the grandest glimpse of things and sing. I catch the way your moments dance from distance – yetContinue reading “August”
The Consolations of Writing 