Friday, 10 October 2008

God Help Those Around Me

Today is a day when I am putting my foot in it. Nothing I say seems to come out the right way and I can see myself leaving a path of clumsy destruction in my wake. My bumbled apologies seem only to make things worse and I would seriously consider locking myself away in a dark room and sleeping if the majority of staff had not decided to take the day off and leave only one person to cover reception.

To be honest it’s probably not just today. My uncoordinated verbal bumbling has been going on for a few days coupled with a less than gracious attitude that has simmered beneath my tight smiling exterior for people who seem to annoy me for no other reason than they are breathing and I am a total wench at the moment when stressed.

This weekend we have the Diocesan Ordination Training. Bishop Victoria is coming this evening to speak to us for the first time as a group. I would rather be a little more in charge of myself at what is a pivotal meeting for us and our future. When all else fails I think it is perhaps best to resort to silence and a really big can of V.
Lord give me the patience,
The words,
The wisdom to shut up,
And blessings upon all I stumble over in the days ahead.

Meg stumbling about in the wind in search of sanctuary.

Thursday, 9 October 2008

My Kingdom for some space

Well there is certainly a lot to think about at the moment. People around me have as much as possible adjusted to us moving to Auckland. I am aware of the little community builder in me that at such times thinks of what it will take to settle in comfortably there. Shawn has found a church for himself, being a part of the vineyard movement he is in Wimber heaven with 7 churches to choose from.

What sits with me at the moment is a desire to find a creative community either some where to paint or learn. Ideally I would like to find a fellow icon writer in Auckland. One of the painful sides of leaving Christchurch is that I will not be able to study under Father Acardy here who had agreed to teach me the traditional Russian way of icon writing. I have some grief over that as I saw in his work something extraordinary.

So I am trying to be patient and not jealous that he is talking about having a school here in Christchurch. If anyone knows of a teacher of icons in Auckland please please let me know.

Aside from that I now have a hectic study schedule (see below) which I hope will make sense as to why I have not written here for some time. Blessings

Megan
HS101 Assignment 3. Due Date: 15 October 25%
Write an essay of 2000 words: First, outline the historical background within which Second Isaiah ministers. Then, describe the major themes found in his writing (Isaiah 40‑5 5). Finally, what is his central message?

MM102 ASSIGNMENT Three DUE DATE: 28th October 20%
Completion of 2 worksheets which will be based on questions related directly to the course reader.

NT101 ASSIGNMENT ONE – Part Two
DUE DATE: 10th November LESSONS 8‑14 15% Course Log

NT101 ASSIGNMENT FOUR DUE DATE 15th December 40%
For Sandra Schneider’s the challenge facing New Testament interpretation is to find a way(s) that "can ground a reading of the text that is unreservedly critical, on one hand, and that interacts meaningfully with the personal and communal spiritual life of the believing reader ..." (Sandra Schneider’s Revelatory Text, 13).[Select one of the following texts and show how a new reading or interpretation is possible when new critical questions are asked of the text from a particular perspective (hermeneutic). Show that you that understand the questions raised by the hermeneutic which you chose and then demonstrate your understanding by applying that hermeneutic to the scripture passage:
Either: A Liberation Hermeneutic: Luke 6:20‑26 (make brief reference to other linked texts/verses in Luke)
Or: A Feminist Hermeneutic: Matthew 15:21‑28 (make brief reference to other linked texts/verses in Matthew)
Or: An Earth Hermeneutic: Matthew 6:9‑14 (make brief reference to other linked texts/verses in Matthew)
Or: An Earth Hermeneutic: the use of heaven/earth imagery in a particular NewTestament book

HS101 Assignment 4 Due Date: 24th November 35%
This assignment is intended to help you get your head around what you have learned this year. It should be longer than the previous assignments, but its length depends on how much you want to say. You may structure it in any way you like, but follow the advice in the EIDTS Study & Writing Guide. You are expected to reference your quotations correctly.

In what way were the people of Israel different after the Exile?
Consider the following: religious institutions, literary concerns, political structure, attitude to other nations, social situation, role of prophets, attitude to women, self-consciousness, etc. Choose some of these issues and explain how things differed before and after the Exile.

MM102 ASSIGNMENT Four
DUE DATE: Dec 31st 2008 20%
Write a 1500 word Book Review on the Course Text by Cornfield, Margaret Zipse. (1998). Cultivating Wholeness. A Guide to Care and Counselling in Faith Communities. New York, Continuum.

MM102 ASSIGNMENT Five DUE DATE: 20th January 2009 25%
If you were writing a comprehensive theology of pastoral care giving, what biblical resources would you use and why? (This topic must be dealt with thematically, not by simply quoting endless passages from scripture) 1500 words

MM102 ASSIGNMENT Six DUE DATE: Feb 10th 2009 25%
In what ways could you give pastoral care during a rite of passage in your particular cultural context? What will be your pastoral theological understandings underbidding the provision of this care? 1500 words