Pondering milk

I know I've been quiet for a while on here, but today I've been pondering milk - and particularly where we source ours from. We're moving to Cambridge next year, and I've been remotely exploring who we might get our milk delivered by (I know it's very early to be researching that, but I kind of enjoy it!). It's made me re-think where we get our milk here from.

The other day in the supermarket, I noticed that Coles is now stocking 'Great Ocean Road' milk, which is made by the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory. It's far cheaper than the Parmalat Pure Organic milk we usually buy. I want to be thoughtful about how we use our money, 'voting' for a sustainable food system, without being extravagant (especially since neither of us has much of an income this year).

Here's my research about Warrnambool Cheese and Butter company and their milk:

• Their existing brand is Sungold (http://coffeesnobs.com.au/milk-froth-bubbles/32321-great-ocean-road-milk.html), but WCB and Coles are creating a new brand - but same milk (http://coffeesnobs.com.au/milk-froth-bubbles/32321-great-ocean-road-milk.html);
• They're Australian owned and local (Victorian and eastern South Australia) and 'Great Ocean Road' milk is only being delivered to Victorian supermarkets;
• Sustainability is at least on the radar of WCB - it gets a section on their website (http://www.wcbf.com.au/sustainability.aspx);
• The Ethical Consumer Guide like them because they're locally (Australian) owned, have voluntarily signed the Australian Packaging Covenant and have environmental claims on their website. They rate them as a 'light tick', 'lesser praise, no criticisms' (http://www.ethical.org.au/guide/browse/guide/?cat=172&subcat=197&type=15);
• WCB make it onto a list of alternative milk providers that are preferable to Coles/Woolworths on at least list of more 'ethical' milks (http://flavourcrusader.com/blog/2011/03/family-dairy-milk-organic/);
• "Sungold milk comes from the cleanest, greenest region of Australia and travels from the farm to the shelf in less than 24 hours, ensuring that Sungold is the freshest milk available." (http://www.premierspeedway.com.au/release.asp?NewsId=24520)
  

In contrast, regarding Parmalat's 'Pure Organic' milk:

• Ethical Consumer Guide likes the individual product because it is certified organic, but doesn't like the company because they're foreign owned, have joint ventures with Nestle, recently went bankrupt because of massive corporate financial fraud and their palm oil policy scored 1.5/9 by WWF's measurementsn (although they have signed the voluntary Australian Packaging Covenant). Their overall rating is a strong X, 'criticisms' (http://www.ethical.org.au/company/?company=504);
• They're certified organic by NASAA (National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia), which means that they need to care very well for their animals and are definitely passing on excellent paddocks and soil to future generations;
• Frustratingly they don't seem to think it's relevant on their website to talk about where the milk comes from, or any of the environmental issues associated with its production and transportation;
• Local Harvest say they discovered that "the True Organic coop in Victoria provide the milk for Parmalat’s ‘Pure organic’ brand. The majority of these farms are located within 200kms of Melbourne." (http://www.localharvest.org.au/take-the-challenge/food-audit/)

Anyway, they're my ponderings. I kind of enjoy musing over these things, and definitely enjoy having made a choice that I'm pleased with ethically. Anyone else want to contribute?

Update: As it turns out, I've discovered that CERES Fair Food - who we are hosts for - deliver Schultz milk, which also happens to be cheaper than the 'Pure Organic' milk. I love buying from CERES because I like their buying policy - they buy local and establish relationships with as many suppliers as they can. Although Schultz is unhomogenised, which my daughter doesn't like, so we're also buying Great Ocean Road for her.

Why should Christians care about social justice?

I'm speaking tonight at a youth group about social justice. Here's my list of 10 reasons why Christians should care about social justice. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

The texts that accompany them are meant to give a brief idea of where these ideas come from in Scripture - they're certainly not exhaustive! I'm planning to speak to them tonight (briefly!), so in a couple of cases the links aren't water-tight.

1. Stewardship – humans are created in God’s image and given dominion over the creation. We need to express that dominion in a way that honours God and reflects his character.
Genesis 1:26

2. God’s covenant with Israel showed great concern for the poor and needy. We’re not under the OT Law anymore, but it still gives us an idea of what God is concerned about.
Deuteronomy 15:11

3. Biblical worship includes justice and compassion towards the poor. Worship is not just singing, but offering our lives to God in the way that he has directed. Acts of worship without justice aren’t pleasing to God.
Isaiah 58:6-7

4. Biblical wisdom includes a concern for the poor and needy. Foolishness and ignoring wisdom does not honour God.
Proverbs 14:31; 29:7

5. Jesus cared for the poor and outcasts of society. Jesus repeatedly favoured the company of broken, poor and needy people – even when it scandalised nice ‘religious’ people.
Luke 7:22; 15:1

6. Jesus commanded his followers to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves. He makes it very clear that ‘neighbour’ includes those who are different and uncomfortable for us.
Luke 10:25-27, 36-37

7. Jesus shows us that to be truly human is to serve. We must avoid worldliness that urges us to pursue our own interests – career, security, comfort – at a cost to others, and instead considers the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-8

8. God has called a people to himself so that we can do good works. We are not saved by good works, but for good works. Doing good works is part of the gift of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14

9. Being generous makes us more like God, helps us to trust him more and stores up real treasure for us.
2 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Tim 6:17-19

10. Justice is an important part of God’s kingdom. Although his kingdom hasn’t come in all its fullness, it has arrived in Spirit-filled believers. One day, there won’t be any more sin, oppression or injustice.
Isaiah 9:7; Revelation 22:1-2

Little church

I love this little church - nestled under large trees, right in the middle of a residential area. It's not used on Sundays, and I know that sometimes counsellors work out of there during the week. It's a pity it's not better used, though - such an excellent location. It has a feeling of being embedded in the community, even if it has very few (if any?) connections to the local area.

Jesus, justification and justice

There seems to me to be an odd dichotomy in the circles of Christianity that I see. You can either follow Jesus and care about social justice, or follow Jesus and care about Bible teaching and being saved. There aren't a whole lot of people who seem to combine the two well.

I really liked the post (link below) by Scot McKnight on the topic. He says that Christians seem to be passionate about either justification (being saved by Jesus' death) or justice (sharing God's heart for the poor). But Jesus was on about both - if you hold onto only one, you'll miss half of what Jesus cared about. If you focus on Jesus, however, you'll get both justification and justice.

He says it with much more eloquence and nuance: The three "J"s in the gospel debate.

Biblical survey of repentance and forgiveness

Following on from my earlier posts about repentance and forgiveness (why I chose to write about it and a historical tour of the relationship). This is a survey of the Bible's teaching on the relationship between human repentance and God's forgiveness:

Near the beginning of Scripture, God’s self-revelation seems to contain a contradiction. On the one hand, God introduces himself to Moses as one who is ‘merciful and gracious… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’ (Exodus 34:6-7) - fundamental truths about his character that are re-iterated throughout the Old Testament. On the other hand, God ‘by no means clear[s] the guilty’ (Exodus 34:7; cf Numbers 14:18; Nahum 1:3). The Law that God gave to Moses shows God's strong concern for holiness (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:26), another characteristic upheld in the later parts of the Old Testament (e.g. Psalm 71:22; Psalm 99; Isaiah 6).

This leads to a tension between repentance and forgiveness that is not resolved under the old covenant. The Law assumed that sinful acts would occur and provided for atonement – most fully on the annual Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). The Law clearly established the necessity of human repentance in order to receive God's forgiveness. On an individual level, forgiveness required a very full repentance - including sacrifice (Leviticus 5:10, 13, 18), restitution (Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:7-8) and public confession (Leviticus 5:5; Numbers 5:6). On a national level, only the repentance demonstrated by full covenant obedience would lead to forgiveness (Deuteronomy 30:1-3) – a near impossible task for a rebellious people!

The same promise of national forgiveness in return for fully obedient repentance was confirmed after Solomon’s Temple dedication prayer (2 Chronicles 7:12-14). The prophets often reinforced the message, although they shifted the focus to include returned hearts as much as obedience to the Law and practices of the Temple (e.g. Ezekiel 18:21-23). They anticipated a new covenant when God would resolve the tension between his mercy and holiness – when he would give his people new hearts that were capable of fully turning from sin to him (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 36:26-32) and when he would fully forgive and restore his people (Jeremiah 31:34; Ezekiel 36:33).

With the coming of Jesus and the new covenant, this promise was fulfilled. The Spirit enabled people’s hearts to be renewed and for them to walk in obedience (2 Corinthians 4:16; Colossians 3:10). Jesus' life and death provided the full obedience that Israel had never managed (Luke 4:1-13; Hebrews 5:8-10). (Indeed, it turns out that God only forgave in the Old Testament in anticipation of Jesus’ sacrifice, Romans 3:25). 

The coming of Christ and the Spirit ushered in a new age: ‘a transformed understanding of the relationship between forgiveness and repentance – a repentance contextualized within the announcement of God’s inbreaking Kingdom.’ God no longer waited for people to turn to him in full repentance, but sought out broken and dismayed sinners to offer divine forgiveness and invite them to a life of repentance. 

This message of repentance and forgiveness was to be preached in Jesus’ name to all nations (Luke 24:47), the beginnings of which are charted in the bulk of the New Testament (Acts 5:31, 26:18). 

The promise is not completely fulfilled, however. The New Testament finishes with a vision of a coming day, after which people's repentance and forgiveness, or lack of them, will be fixed: when those who have not repented or accepted the offered forgiveness will face God’s wrath (Revelation 9:20-21, 16:8, 22:15) and his cleansed people will be forever with him in perfect, restored relationship (Revelation 7:14-17, 22:14).

A couple of benefits of gardening

Such a Brunswick thing to do, to have a productive garden:

  

Homegrown peppermint tea

Raspberry harvest

Love and music

Another postcard that I picked up.

I don't even know what it means - except that it's a combination of nice words and ideas.

In what sense does love last forever? Only in the sense that God's love does endure, and will endure forever. The beautiful thing about Christianity is that right at the core is the Trinity - a relational dynamic of pure love between three distinct persons. That's what I believe is at the centre of the universe, anyway.

In what sense does music last forever? I'm not convinced it does - although it seems biblically that the most appropriate response to God's magnificent and awe-inspiring glory is to sing. So maybe music hasn't lasted forever, but from now on into eternity, there will be jubilant and satisfying praise sung in God's presence.

Given that this postcard is advertising MSO performances of 'West Side Story' and 'Romeo and Juliet' though, I don't think this is what they had in mind. But it got me thinking...

Activism

Activism is one of the key features of urban culture, I think. There's a strong optimism about the future, about our ability to deal with the problems facing us, a confidence about voicing opinions, and engaging with large social problems. Our society constantly tells us that humans are incredibly competent, able to achieve just about everything, is hugely confident about our innate goodness, applauds self-sufficiency and sometimes sees it as taboo (sin?) not to 'believe in yourself'.

I see a strong degree of activism in myself as well - I feel a responsibility for those around me, to speak about issues of justice. I often feel competent and able to influence and change the world around me. This year, I'm struggling with this, because I'm having such a passive year (for me). It's all about watching, observing, reflecting, learning for the future.

When I think Biblically about activism, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, humans are commanded at creation to rule over the earth – we are given responsibility for it, and expected to influence our surroundings in a way that reflects God’s character. 

Humans are called throughout both Old and New Testaments to be active in many ways: praising God, calling others to praise him, seeking justice – especially for those who are unable to speak for themselves. We are not to be passive or disengaged members of his people or of society.  

The New Testament particularly presents the church with a compelling mission – to proclaim the good news of Jesus. We are to speak about him and teach each other – all of Jesus' followers are given gifts that are to be used for the building up of the church. We're not to be lazy or selfish with our time or resources.

However - and it is a big however, sin has impacted every part of life, and we often seek things for our own sakes rather than others. Even when we think we are active on behalf of others, we often deceive ourselves and are seeking our own glory or benefit (altruism makes me feel good, fits my picture of who I want to be, brings the approval of others).  

One of the significant characteristics of Christians, and a key factor in following Jesus, is that we recognise God - revealed in Jesus - as the supreme power of the universe. Ultimately, it's God who controls the future and influences world and local events, not humans. This is a basic part of Christian teaching and the practical experience of following Jesus.

God may well have plans that are larger or just different from what we plan. He may frustrate human plans for his own purposes and glory, or bring about things that we would never have chosen. (Biblical examples include the Tower of Babel, Joseph's experience in Egypt, the Israelites being exiled to Assyria and Babylon or persecution of Christians in the New Testament - in fact, just about every page of the Bible. Examples from my own life also abound.)

Christians aren't to be shaped by the culture around us, we're to be defined by what God has revealed - although that takes on different shapes in each culture. Urban, progressive culture highly values self-sufficiency and speaks as though humans are almost limitless. We don't like to think about things like death, which speak powerfully of human limitation and inability. Human self-sufficiency and  confidence can easily become proud - unrealistic and over-inflated. 

Ultimately, it is God who will build his church, transform individual lives and societies, establish justice throughout the earth, bring healing to the countries of the world. We need to work towards these things, and doing that reflects God's character, but if we as humanity take that on as our sole responsibility, we will exhaust ourselves and distract from the one who is actually able to achieve all these things - and has promised that he will.

Historical tour of repentance and forgiveness

This is a - very brief! - historical tour (Historical Theology) of the relationship between repentance and forgiveness, and follows on from my previous post on my essay about the relationship between repentance and forgiveness. I've confined it to Christian thought here, although later I'll consider the perspectives of some other religions a bit.

Early church
At the heart of the early church debate about the relationship between repentance and forgiveness are 'the lapsed.' These were believers who had denied Jesus under persecution. The early church understood that baptism was an act of repentance that cleansed an individual of all their sins up to that point, but didn't know how to deal with any sin committed after that. The lapsed presented a real problem - here were Christians who had already been baptised and cleansed, and had then 'lapsed'. The discussion was focused around whether the lapsed should be allowed to participate in communion (the Lord's supper) again - which would be a visible symbol of their forgiveness and restoration to the fellowship of the community. There was a wide range of responses:

• People who said the lapsed should never be restored to communion, no matter how repentance they were, because it could not be a genuine repentance;
• Those who admitted the lapsed to communion on their deathbeds or if they proved themselves faithful under another persecution - although this was tricky because you needed to know when someone was about to die, or needed another persecution to come along;
• Those who restored the lapsed to communion after strong signs of emotional and public repentance (including lots of tears, hand-wringing, etc), when they were accompanied by 'intercessors' (Christians who had proved themselves faithful);
• Those who re-admitted the lapsed with no requirement of repentance.

This problem of how to deal with the lapsed caused deep division within the early church, with different factions and regions adopting different approaches.

Middle ages and Reformation
Throughout the middle ages, the acts of repentance that a believer needed to demonstrate before being offered forgiveness developed into an intricate system of sacraments - confession to a priest, heartfelt contrition and satisfaction (‘penances’). These practices were upheld by the Council of Trent in the counter Reformation.

The Reformation moved away from this visible acts to demonstrate repentance, and re-defined repentance as a ‘change of mind.’ They said 'penance' wasn't a sacrament and that believers didn't need to confess to a priest to be forgiven - Jesus is our great high priest and we can approach him directly.

Luther’s ‘justification by grace alone through faith’ assured forgiveness for those who demonstrated this new understanding of repentance. The implications of this doctrine were developed by Calvin, who saw faith as the key framework for relating to God, by which ‘both [repentance and remission of sin] are obtained’. Calvin taught that repentance does not earn forgiveness, but is a gift with an end in itself.

Recent centuries
Much theology - natural theology, liberalism, parts of the emerging church, to name a few - have moved away from questions of sin and repentance. This makes forgiveness also a redundant topic.

However, forgiveness has become significant in other fields such as social science, politics, philosophy and literature. Research in their fields has been a response to the Jewish holocaust, apartheid in South Africa and the genocide in Rwanda. Questions of how to reconcile vast relational gulfs have produced many explorations of human-human forgiveness - and many have focused on whether forgiveness should be offered to perpetrators who do not repent. Secular writers have tended to exclude the vertical relationship between God and humans. This leaves a strong tension between justice and grace, which is difficult to resolve at a human level.

Brunswick houses

I often notice this house with its enormous dish in the front yard as I ride past on my bike. I've mentally noted that it's somewhat incongruous and counter-cultural for the area, until I stopped today to take a photo. And noticed the solar panels all over the roof, huge water tank and solid sun blinds for carbon-neutral climate control.

I love the appearance of this house - very natural tones, slightly arty design, neatly presented, native garden. This kind of look is increasingly popular in the area - I wouldn't be surprised if there was lots of wooden floors, exposed beams, light and airy.

I doubt I'll ever afford that kind of thing, though, and although I love it, I'm not sure I'd spend the money on my house even if I had it.

Signs of Brunswick's cultural diversity - I don't think this is the house of a young Anglo professional.

Social justice: speaking about motivation

I've been writing a fair bit on social justice issues, and that's something I have planned to write about a bit. Although there are lots of voices speaking out about issues of social justice, it's rare to hear evangelical Christians - who care deeply about the Bible and what God has revealed there - speaking  about these issues.

This seems really strange to me, since when I read the great story of the Bible, I see that God is concerned about poverty, oppression, alienation, refugees and more, from beginning to end. It's because of reading the Bible that I've developed an interest in these areas - I'm called outside of my own needs and concerns to care about the circumstances of others, some of whom I have never and will never meet.

There's lots of voices speaking only about justice, though, and just presuming that people will care because it is a 'good' or 'right' thing to do. I think that can be a bit naive, since a lot of people are selfish and need something more than that to persuade them to action (unfortunate, but true - it certainly was in my case).

My aim on this blog is so explore what it looks like to be following Jesus in an urban environment. But I'm planning, when I speak about justice, to always talk about motivation and why I think these things are important. 

Brunswick photo: Discarded TVs

On the way to school. During the last hard-waste collection, there were old TVs almost every 10 steps. It's not collection time at the moment. What will happen to them next?

Repentance and forgiveness

Last year, I wrote a theology essay on the relationship between repentance and forgiveness, and particularly our human repentance and God's forgiveness. I chose the topic for a number of reasons:

• Repentance and forgiveness are deeply significant for any relationship that includes an imperfect person, which is almost every relationship. The relationship between repentance and forgiveness determines how offenses are dealt with and how reconciliation is achieved. This is important for any relationship, and especially a relationship as important as the one between us and God.
• I've wanted to look more deeply at the topic of repentance for years, because I'm not convinced we use the language the way the Bible does.
• I'm often uncomfortable with our attitude in church to confession - both my own attitude (feeling like I need to dredge up sins to confess) and the perspective conveyed from the front - this topic has big implications for how we view confession.
• Lots of work on the relationship between repentance and forgiveness looks only at human-human relationships (e.g. Jewish and Christian responses to WW2, forgiveness in Rwanda, in South Africa after apartheid), but not nearly as much covers the dynamic between God and humans (surprisingly!).
• I wanted to think about how saying sorry and reconciliation work in my own family, because sometimes I wonder where the line between grace and justice is - how much do you insist that sorry is said after something wrong is done, how sincere does 'sorry' have to be, how do you measure sincerity anyway, when do we overlook an offense, etc.
• The topic has implications for urban culture, and especially urbanites who want to start following Jesus. Given the huge unpopularity of 'repentance' and even language about 'sin' in urban culture, it's not very attractive to call people to repent.

I really enjoyed the essay, and it's impacted my thinking a lot since. I thought I'd re-live the essay by blogging through it. I'll post the entire thing at the end, if you prefer reading a more academic version (with footnotes) or all in one hit.

History of street names

Recently, lots of these green signs have been appearing next to street signs around Brunswick, providing a few historical details about the streets the people were named after.

It's interesting to read about which people and positions were considered important, and when the streets around here were mapped out (or named, anyway). There seems to be a desire in Brunswick to remain connected to the history of the place - it's part of the identity.

I'm not sure this is something that all suburbs value - sometimes it seems like the 'new' steamrolls over the 'old' and after a few years, you can't even tell what used to be there. There's plenty of Brunswick's history that has been lost, but I like this move to retain at least some connection to the past.

Household rituals - cultivating generosity

Our family has a number of rituals that reflect and cement some of our most precious values. One of those rituals is being part of the TEAR 'Gift-a-month' program. We're trying to cultivate generosity in our family, because of the amazing generosity of God:

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Cor 8:9)

We pay $40 a month, and TEAR uses that money to buy a monthly gift for poorer people in developing countries - goats and other animals, peace building, literary and education, leadership and human rights training, tree seedlings and other food producing items, toilets and other infrastructure.

TEAR provide us with an advent-style calendar that has a little flap for each month. Behind the flap is information about how the money is being spent that month. We also receive a monthly email letting us know more information about that month's gift.

It's become a fun thing in our family at the start of the month. Everyone has to try to guess what the gift will be - someone always guesses that it's a toilet, others vary our guesses based on what areas have been chosen lately.

It achieves a few things:

• it encourages us in generosity as we see monthly that it's not so hard to give money away;
• it grows us to continue becoming like God as we reflect his generosity and concern for the less advantaged in our world;
• it's visible - the larger part of our giving is done through direct debit and 'invisible' to P, so it's good for some of it to be done in a way that she can appreciate;
• it grows in us a concern for those who are poorer than us - realising that our gift is primary schooling, seedlings or some chickens makes us realise that some people don't have them;
• it helps us realise how rich we are - because we do have all of these things;
• it's a fun family thing to do together - we enjoy guessing and having a sense that it's one of the things that makes our family what it is.

It's an good thing to think about what family/household rituals you have or want to have - and what values they reflect. I'd be interested to hear about other family/household rituals that cultivate an awareness of how rich we are as Westerners, and how to encourage generosity towards others.

Why "Urban Daughter"?

"Urban" because:

• I live in the inner city, and specificially in Brunswick;  
• I love this area and particularly love thinking about what makes it unique and what defines it;
• This blog is partly (mainly?) about what it looks like to follow Jesus in this place, rather than any other.

"Daughter" because:

• It's my identity - first and foremost, before anything else, I am God's daughter;
• It's relational - and I think relationships are the most important things in our lives, and also key to lots of what drives how I live;
• It's communal - being God's daughter means being part of his family and getting involved with the other members of his family.

Brunswick photo: fence weaving

Along the Upfield Bike Trail, near Safeway.

Our family's food priorities

When I first started exploring food priorities - other than 'cheapest is best' - I wrote these thoughts about what changes we were planning to make and why.

I have more thoughts than these now, about why each of these are important - but they're a good basic summary of what we're thinking about when we shop. And why in some cases, cheapest isn't necessarily the most ethical or godly choice.

I really wanted to bring it back to how these are relational issues, too, which is why put the reminder of the second commandment, 'Love your neighbour as yourself,' and also included the bits about who we were trying to love by making these choices. (And also remind us implicitly that there is a first commandment as well, to love God with every part of our lives.)

 

I wrote these mainly for our family, to avoid the activism fatigue I wrote about the other day - it's easier to establish new habits if I'm reminded of why we adopted them. Because they're stuck up in our kitchen, though, they've prompted a few interesting conversations with guests.

I'd be curious to hear about what food priorities your family/household use, and why.

Brunswick photos: Free speech monument

Outside the Mechanics Institute on Sydney Road. Historically a significant site for freedom of speech protests.

The resurgence of craft

Craft seems to be experiencing a new wave of popularity, especially around my area. I've been pondering why this is.

I think there's a number of features of craft that align with urban culture. Craft is:

• Unique - moving away from mass-produced items to hand-made, one-of-a-kind, with all the associated quirks;
• Creative - art and self-expression are so highly valued in this culture;
• Self-sufficient - being able to sew, knit, crochet, mend clothes, etc, means that you're not as reliant on others;
• Eco-friendly - if you are crafty, there's so much more potential to re-fashion old items of clothes, or recycle vintage bedsheets or op-shop finds;
• Genuine - that is, a hand-crafted present takes a lot more thought and time than a purchased one - it reflects an added level of investment;
• Productive - a way of resting that is still useful and has something to show - this can be problematic, if we think that rest is only justified by what is produces - but also fun and can bring a nice satisfaction in completing something;
• Fostering of community - lots of my craft enthusiasm has been inspired by others. Friends have taught me to knit and crochet, given me hand-crafted presents, shown bags, talked about sewing projects, and I've spent many enjoyable hours sitting around casually with friends while crafting. It facilitates casual, low intensity time together.

There's probably other things, too, but that's what I thought of while hanging out the washing. This scarf is my latest craft project, which I finished this morning.

The end is not the end

A postcard I found in a cafe today.

So many things that we use everyday will have a long life after we get rid of them. All our old clothes, mobile phones, other gadgets, toothbrushes, plastic containers, computers, papers, bags, couches, TVs, kitchenware, etc - and even ovens (as this picture points out).

Lots of them will end up in landfill, some will end up in the ocean, a few will be re-used or re-cycled.

We have been given responsibility for this earth, and responsible stewardship calls for us to consider the whole life-cycle of the items we use, and especially what happens to them after we decide they are obsolete.

Brunswick photo: Rest peacefully

A side street off Sydney Road.

Sustainable Table: What you can do

I posted last week about The Sustainable Table.

Here's their top 10 'What you can do' points:

1. Change the way you shop
2. Instigate household meat free days
3. Buy local, seasonal, certified organic produce
4. Reduce waste and buy a compost bin
5. Ethical and sustainable meat and seafood
6. Eat whole foods, not processed foods
7. Grow your own food
8. Avoid packaging
9. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
10. Ask questions

It can be hard to know what steps would make a difference, and which are the most significant ones. So I really appreciate lists like this, because it's really hard to find time to do all the reading and research myself. I like the look of what these guys are doing, and how they are thinking - lots of their arguments are backed up with stats and quotes from relevant organisations.

However #1: It's never productive to feel overwhelmed and like that long list of things would take too much effort to ever implement in your shopping choices. Much better - and more gracious - to choose one new step at a time, implement those changes, and then come back when you're ready for another step. In the long-run, you're likely to make more progress than if you try to do them all at once and get exhausted.

However #2: I always feel slightly nervous taking any organisation's recommendations as true, and not looking into them for myself. My preference is to read a bit more broadly, listen to different views, and try to come to my own conclusion. I've said above why I think I like these guys, but I might not agree with everything they say. Taking one step at a time is good also because it allows you to research and become more informed about those issues. Organics and food ethics is an area where there is a lot of hype, and not always a lot of critical thinking - so I'd suggest that enthusiasm and careful evaluation of what actually makes a difference should go hand-in-hand.

That being said, I think these are really important issues and a significant way that our generation is responsible for stewarding this earth and loving future generations. So please let me encourage you to pick one of the areas above, become more informed, and implement some changes!

Sustainable Table

I'm really excited about this excellent new resource for thinking about food ethics:

http://www.sustainabletable.org.au/

There's a blog, book and website. I saw this book in a cafe over summer, and it's a recipe book with a summary of different food ethics issues at the back. I've already reserved the book at the library, and really looking forward to reading it.

The website has a wonderful section called 'Hungry for info'. They have information on the problems in our food system ('The coming famine), seasonal produce guide, info about meat, fish, eggs and chicken, as well as a section for sceptics.

The best bit, I think, is that this is an Australian resource. Praise God! So much of the information is designed for a UK/US audience, and our food system has different particularities. The issues and statistics used by these guys are all Australian.

Mary Maclane 4: Fascination with darkness

Following on from my first,  second and third post about The Story of Mary Maclane by Herself:

Mary Maclane is fascinated by darkness. She's almost ecstatic at the thought of suicide, giving herself up to the dark power of the devil and destruction. Darkness and destruction are alluring, the idea thrills her - and this is the area that she suddenly is uncomfortable with her level of self-disclosure and vulnerability. There's something that she finds difficult to share with others - not like sexual exploits, dismissal of social customs or her opinions about other people. It's this desire that she feels she needs to hide, although throughout the play it's the main place she looks for happiness.

Once again, I see reflections of high school - how attractive darkness can be. It wasn't uncommon for people I knew to be depressed, moody, bleak, withdrawing, even suicidal. There was something exciting, seductive about it. The imagery of moths drawn to a flame - almost unable to resist although it's so destructive. When we were in bleak moods, we didn't necessarily want to be out of them. There's a sense in which it was a rejection of shallowness, superficiality, that ignored the meaningless and pain of life. It felt real to feel these things - so much more deep and honest than drifting along without reflection, superior to getting caught up in mundane life and pretending everything was okay.

Unlike some of the other things that I've written about in Mary Maclane, I don't think that a fascination with darkness can be turned around to be healthy or good. There are very, very few things that I think need to be rejected outright - even the worst things in our world are usually distortions of good things, and there is something that can be affirmed. Evil and darkness as a power seem to lead only to destruction.

A fundamental part of following Jesus is to reject Satan and all evil. It is to choose life - real life, with all its pain, mess and need for forgiveness - rather than death and destruction. It's the choice put again and again through the Bible: 'life and death, blessings and curses' (Deut 30:19); wisdom and life, folly and death (Proverbs 1-9); light and darkness (John).


What I'm not saying is that I reject being honest, or dealing with the reality of how life is, or shallowness and superficiality. I still think those are terrible, and that the church hasn't always had a good history of avoiding those things. But I am saying that you don't need to hold on to destructiveness in order to be real or happy, and you can't follow Jesus and Satan.

Brunswick photo: "I thought of you"

Art from RMIT? At the train crossing near Brunswick Baths.

Activism fatigue

Sometimes I feel like it's just too much effort thinking about how all my choices impact others. Or there is so little understanding from others and so little attention given to these matters that I wonder if it really is as big a problem as I'd thought - and whether it is deserving of as many of my resources (time, money, energy, etc). 

Recently, I watched this video, and it was so refreshing for me. It was a resounding "YES, these issues are significant". I found it sobering, but also really motivating and renewed my enthusiasm for carefully considering my family's food choices particularly.


The global food crisis from SustainTable on Vimeo.