The Riverina floods: reflection: entering the mindset of O'Brien’s Hanrahan

Grapegrower Steven Barbon, accompanied by Fido 

on his sodden property near Griffith yesterday, 

believes proposed water cuts will destroy regional Australia. 

Picture: Amos Aikman Source: The Australian

See story that goes with picture here.

In Australia, the driest inhabited continent on earth, we have gone from The Big Dry of the ten to twelve years of drought to 2010 and The Big Wet.  Floods again in the Riverina.  I believe we have entered the mindscape of John O'Brien's Hanrahan - and the poem - in spite of its humour - provides much food for reflection both in terms of Earth's current ecological crisis but also our own ability to find our place in the purposes of the planet.

Lockhart, NSW - Photo from here

More pictures and 

Flood infromation from the ABC available here.

SAID HANRAHAN

by John O'Brien 

"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
In accents most forlorn,
Outside the church, ere Mass began,
One frosty Sunday morn.

The congregation stood about,
Coat-collars to the ears,
And talked of stock, and crops, and drought,
As it had done for years.

"It's looking crook," said Daniel Croke;
"Bedad, it's cruke, me lad,
For never since the banks went broke
Has seasons been so bad."

"It's dry, all right," said young O'Neil,
With which astute remark
He squatted down upon his heel
And chewed a piece of bark.

And so around the chorus ran
"It's keepin' dry, no doubt."
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

"The crops are done; ye'll have your work
To save one bag of grain;
From here way out to Back-o'-Bourke
They're singin' out for rain.

"They're singin' out for rain," he said,
"And all the tanks are dry."
The congregation scratched its head,
And gazed around the sky.

"There won't be grass, in any case,
Enough to feed an ass;
There's not a blade on Casey's place
As I came down to Mass."

"If rain don't come this month," said Dan,
And cleared his throat to speak-
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If rain don't come this week."

A heavy silence seemed to steal
On all at this remark;
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed a piece of bark.

"We want an inch of rain, we do,"
O'Neil observed at last;
But Croke "maintained" we wanted two
To put the danger past.

"If we don't get three inches, man,
Or four to break this drought,
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

In God's good time down came the rain;
And all the afternoon
On iron roof and window-pane
It drummed a homely tune.

And through the night it pattered still,
And lightsome, gladsome elves
On dripping spout and window-sill
Kept talking to themselves.

It pelted, pelted all day long,
A-singing at its work,
Till every heart took up the song
Way out to Back-o'-Bourke.

And every creek a banker ran,
And dams filled overtop;
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If this rain doesn't stop."

And stop it did, in God's good time;
And spring came in to fold
A mantle o'er the hills sublime
Of green and pink and gold.

And days went by on dancing feet,
With harvest-hopes immense,
And laughing eyes beheld the wheat
Nid-nodding o'er the fence.

And, oh, the smiles on every face,
As happy lad and lass
Through grass knee-deep on Casey's place
Went riding down to Mass.

While round the church in clothes genteel
Discoursed the men of mark,
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed his piece of bark.

"There'll be bush-fires for sure, me man,
There will, without a doubt;
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

Around the Boree Log and Other Verses, 1921

This has been republished from the free e-book

available from Project Gutenberg here.

Blog Action Day on WATER : Global Handwashing day - The Wiggles & Nelson Mandela

Not only for Christians, but for so many faith traditions, water and cleanliness are distinctive spiritual features. People of faith use these features in two ways usually: in relation to the body and to the spirit. Psychologically water does so much for us as well. A cool stream, the sound of water running.

I love the picture at the top of this blog. In many places this many made water would be called a dam, perhaps a turkey's nest dam. In western New South Wales, people refer to them as tanks. Without these human-made water diversions and storages animals would not be able to survive, and human beings would not be able to rest a livelihood from an arid landscape.

Yet like everything in our not-quite-perfect world these water interventions can be problematic.  Australia is only just beginning to devise a system of accounting for all our water...but some things, like this tank, for some reason best know to those devising the system will not be included.  And as those of us who are Spirit-ed know, unless we tell the whole story - not just a part or a biassed perspective - we kind of meet ourselves coming back sooner or later, don't we. 

~~~~~~~~

To-day, as you can see from the post below is Blog Action Day and the theme for this year is WATER. I am trying to kill two birds with one stone so I am combining the Water theme of Blog Action Day with a little soap because to-day is Global Handwashing Day.

A little water and a little soap can make a huge difference in saving lives and helping us to ward off disease.  I love the emphasis on the kids because we want them to grow up strong and resilient, don't we.

The first Global Handwashing Day was in 2008.

Our very own Wiggles wrote a special tune.

It is catchy and easy to teach to your kids.

And here is the video for 2010

Please value water.

It is our life.

Please support the human right to water and its understanding.

Article 31

In Australia, water was unbundled from land

by a COAG Agreement in 1994.

This made water a tradeable commodity -

when once it was part of the Commons -

it belonged to all of us.

This definition of water rights comes from Wiserearth:

Definition: Water rights are the legal rights that define ownership of water and water sources (surface and subsurface), the use of water and the priority of water use. Water rights allocate water to different users and can be contentious in areas where water supplies are insufficient for the demands upon the supply, and where people are denied or deprived of access to water. The right to water is increasingly considered as a basic human right that has to be reconciled with legal water rights already in existence.  Unfortunately, privatization and commodification of water often undermine this right by cutting off supply to those who cannot afford to pay.

Related reading:

 If you go here, you will find books and other material

from Rous Water about water, including Aboriginal stories.

Rous Water is the regional water supply authority

providing potable water in bulk to the Council areas of 

Lismore (excluding Nimbin), Ballina (excluding Wardell), 

Byron (excluding Mullumbimby) and 

Richmond Valley (excluding land to the west of Coraki).  

~~

 John Archer

  W

Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water: Reflections on Stress and Human Spirituality Revised and Expanded Tenth Anniversary Edition 

Walking on Water: The Spirituality of the World's Top Surfers 

 

 Waters of Eden: The Mystery of the Mikvah 

The people of the towel and the water: The spirituality of Madonna House 

  

Water (Quiet Spaces: The BRF Prayer & Spirituality Journal) 

  

Sacred Waters: Stories of Healing, Cleansing and Renewal 

  

Sacred Water: The Spiritual Source of Life 

 

I Drink the Living Water: Finding the Spirit in Nature with Father John B. Kirsch 

  

Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps 

Blog action day on Friday 15 October : we’re blogging about WATER

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

I wanted to let all bloggers know about an important online event I'm taking part in on October 15th, called Blog Action Day.

Each year bloggers from more than 100 countries come together and blog about a single important issue, and this year's topic is clean water.

The event includes thousands of blogs - including the White House blog and The Official Google Blog - and they're looking for as many blogs to participate as possible, regardless of their size and focus. 

I hope you'll think about joining me for this event. If you want more information, check out the Blog Action Day site at http://blogactionday.change.org/. 

So to those of you  who blog - look forward to seeing your post on this coming Friday.

Earth Quaker Action Team: Faith, Creation, Environment

In case you hadn't noticed, Miss Eagle is a Quaker.  She attends Eastern Suburbs Local Meeting (part of Victoria Regional Meeting) in Melbourne, Victoria. I want to share with you what American Friends (Quakers are  properly known as the Religious Society of Friends) are up to.  Over at Huffington Post, Eileen Flanagan has written Quakers Advocate Living in 'Right Relationship' with Creation about the activities of Quakers on the front line of the mess which is coal-mining in Appalachia.  And we have our own coal-related messes here in Australia in the form of open-cut pit mining and coal seam gas exploration and extraction.

Unfortunately, Friends in Australia have been a bit slow in getting their collective act together and really moving their Meetings into concerted action.  Sure, there are individuals like mois and like Andrew Bray from BREAZE in Ballarat to whom I have done  a shout out on The Network.  But the powerful collective factor is absent from Australian Friends at this time - although there are stirrings across the States.

In fact, my own experience of faith and interfaith environmental groups here in Victoria is that they tend towards quietism on environmental matters or, not to put too fine a point on the matter, people of faith seem to be more inclined to the warm and fuzzy and personal with regard to the environment rather than getting stuck into the pointy end where decisions are made and decisions affected.  

At my great age and antiquity, I am hardly the essence of activism anymore.  Most - although not all - is done on my posterior in front of the computer.  I could never be the chain-myself-to-a-coal-facility person even in my more active days.  However, I have to be where the people are.  I have to be where those who are affected by poor decisions are.  I have to be adding to my knowledge of issues and people to ever press for community engagement and increased knowledge of community impacts.  And I find so few people of faith - any faith - there.

For me planet and people are an outworking of my faith and an essential part of my faith practice.  I firmly agree with Paul in his Letter to the Romans (1:20) where he says - For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. And if creation so manifests the qualities of its Creator, surely it behoves people of faith to sit up straight, pay attention, and plan their next activity!  In fact (I am not wanting to sound extreme here) I think the other side of the coin is that destruction of creation, in this context, is blasphemy and sacrilege.  

You can see that I don't regard my activities - simple as they are - as warm, fuzzy, personal or self-centred.  I might not always hit my target - but, from time to time, acting in concert with others we do.  And, if I/we don't?  Well, I/we are the voice/s of the prophet/s alive in the land!

The Earth Quaker Action Team is a group of people 
dedicated to ensuring the well-being of our planet 
by using nonviolent direct action 
to stand up against destructive and unjust practices, 
This video explains the groups mission, how it came about, 
and its BLAM (Bank Like Appalachia Matters) campaign, 
It was filmed at Appalachia Rising on 9.21.10.

The day no birds would sing…

…and no bees will buzzz. 

Picture from here

It seems this week that I have a focus on the birds and the bees.  Perhaps it is just spring.  I think that’s the reason.  Spring has an expectancy, a longing.  We love to see the blossoms, we love to hear the birds coming out from the rain and singing, and we do like to know that the bees will do their vital part in the continuation of this precious cycle.

I would ask you, Networkers, to pop across to Duncan’s blog where he says

As I walked through the bush I saw and heard no birds, and failed to see the flowering shrubs and plants that used to delight the eye, and as things stand I can only see the situation getting worse with further losses of biodiversity.
Birds and plants are not the only groups suffering of course, In the sixty five years I’ve been observing nature in the local area, native mammals have disappeared, frogs and reptiles have declined, and native fish and other aquatic life have taken a big hit from reduced stream flows and the introduced European carp.

Have we done this or is this just nature doing its thing?  Is this changing climate or a change in the cycle?  Let’s not ask questions.  Instead, let’s put our energies into thinking about our behaviours, what we consume from the planet – to the extent that there is not enough water, air, food for the birds, the bees, the fish and us.  And please read Duncan’s blog.

An Aboriginal discovery - Lake Mungo Indigenous Immersion 2011

Lake Mungo is a unique and precious Australian heritage site. 

Lake Mungo Indigenous Immersion 2011

 is an opportunity to connect with 

Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal sense of country

under the leadership of distinguished Aboriginal woman,

Vicki Walker Clark.

Postcolonial theology network

Have just received an invitation via Helen Mary Hill - former political staffer, now academic, writer, East Timor advocate and activist - to join the Postcolonial Theology Network on Facebook.  In case this sounds like heady stuff, in simple terms it is about reaction to colonialism and colonisation.

People might be tempted to think in terms of Africa and Asia and so on where former Empires invaded parts of the world and subjugated the local population.  Oops!  Wait a minute, isn't that what happened in Australia?  Oh yes, but the British went away.  Did they?  In Australia, we tend to think that colonialism disappeared magically on the 1 January 1901 with Federation.  We don't look at ourselves critically to see that we have not left behind colonial attitudes, Great White Father patronage and arrogance either within our own nation or in relationship with others - and I think particularly of our attitude toward the Pacific Island nations in this regard.

So I have signed up and accepted Helen Mary's invitation.  Hopefully, I will learn a lot.  Hopefully, I can make some contribution.  Hope to meet you there.

The Intervention through the eyes of indigenous people from outside Australia

The Living Letters Team

Back Row l - r: Rev. Sealin Garlett, Dr Hanna Grace, Second row l- r: Ms Georgia Corowa, Ms Maria

Chavez Quispe, Rev. Dr Anthony Dancer, Rev. Dr Mindawati Perangin-Angin, Fr Rex Reyes, Mr Graeme

Mundine. Front row l-r: Ms Renée Grounds, Ms Hera Rere Clarke

Details of The Living Letters Team:

The Living Letters team travelling to Australia in September will be composed of:

International delegates:

• Ms Hera Rere Clarke, WCC Central Committee member, New Zealand, Anglican
• Ms Renée Grounds, United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, United States
• Dr Hanna Grace, Egypt, Coptic Orthodox
• Rev. Dr Mindawati Perangin-Angin, WCC Central Committee member, Indonesia, Karo Batak Protestant Church
• Fr Rex Reyes, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Episcopal
• Rev. Dr Anthony Dancer, Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia (accompanying member)

Local delegates:

• Ms Georgia Corowa, coordinator, Queensland Churches Together Indigenous People's Partnership
• Rev. Sealin Garlett, deputy chair of the NATSIEC Commission, Uniting Church in Australia

WCC and NATSIEC-NCCA staff:

• Mr Graeme Mundine, NATSIEC-NCCA (local coordinator)
• Ms Maria Chavez Quispe, WCC (team leader)

World Council of Churches Living Letters Statement

At the invitation of the National Council of Churches of Australia (NCCA) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) to the World Council of Churches (WCC) a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Christians have come as a Living Letter to the Aboriginal Peoples of the Northern Territory in Australia.

We come from around the world; from Bolivia, Egypt, The United States of America, The Philippines, Indonesia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia and bring with us our own stories and experiences as Indigenous and marginalised peoples. We have come to hear the voices of Aboriginal Peoples and to bear witness to the injustices they face on a daily basis.

We thank our Aboriginal brothers and sisters for the very warm welcome we have received everywhere we have travelled. We have visited communities and peoples in Darwin, Galiwink’u, Mapuru, Wadeye, Hermannsburg, Amoonguna, Mount Nancy Town Camp, the Anglican Northern Territory future leaders and the students of Nungalinya College. We deeply appreciate the generosity people have shown us by inviting us into their homes and lives. Our only regret is that time and distance did not allow us to visit more communities.

We have gained valuable insights and have been profoundly moved by what we have heard. We are concerned to observe the discrimination, oppression and racism that Aboriginal Peoples experience on a daily basis. We are dismayed by the lack of consultation and negotiation from Governments of all levels as they make and implement policies and programs that have significant impacts on Aboriginal Peoples.

Many of us are shocked because we did not realise this is still happening in Australia. We have had insight into the “other” Australia. The one that is hidden away and not talked about honestly. Our shock was compounded by the fact that Australia is quick to condemn human rights abuses in other countries, and yet perpetuates them in its own backyard.

We too say “enough is enough!” As Christians we affirm that respect of the whole human person is important. We have heard of the injustices being perpetrated against Northern Territory communities and believe that they are not just against the Aboriginal Peoples of these places but they are being perpetrated against humanity and against the will of God.

The things we have heard about and seen this week remind us that colonisation is not something that happened two hundred years ago, it is ongoing. As Indigenous and marginalised peoples from other lands, we feel a connection to the struggle of the Aboriginal Peoples. We too experience colonisation and systemic racism in our own contexts.

We have heard about the Northern Territory Emergency Response, also known as the Intervention which was initiated by the Howard Government ostensibly to address child

abuse.

We have heard the Intervention has taken control of the lives of Aboriginal Peoples through such measures as compulsory income management and compulsory acquisition of leases over Aboriginal land.

We have heard that it was necessary to suspend aspects of the Racial Discrimination Act in order to implement these measures.

We have heard of the people’s confusion and despair at these extreme measures and their hope for change with the change of Government in 2007. Despite this hope, the Labor government has continued the Intervention which remains a blight on Australia’s reputation.

We challenge these unjust and racist structures and systems and question the Australian lawmakers about how they conduct their business just as Jesus questioned the Pharisees and lawmakers of his time.

The Intervention has been a failure because the Government has not listened to Aboriginal voices and has not negotiated or properly consulted about any aspect of these policies. The Government used armed forces to implement the Intervention. People continue to be forced from their homelands and outstations. People are being treated like criminals without just cause.

The Government and the media continue to paint a picture of Aboriginal dysfunction and yet refuse to look in the mirror at the devastating effect that their own cultural practices have on Aboriginal communities.

We say to the current Government you have had three years to “reset the relationship with Aboriginal Peoples”, yet you have failed to do so. In fact we have heard in every place we visited that life has not improved under the Intervention, it has in fact deteriorated. We have heard of despair, anguish and confusion throughout the Intervention years and the dismantling of communities.

We have also heard and seen the strength of resistance. “The oldest living, surviving culture in all the world” has not been crushed. The will of the people to stand up for their rights has heartened us and inspired us to action. We feel a great responsibility to ensure that the time and stories that was generously shared with us will produce positive outcomes and that their voices will not go unheeded.

To our Indigenous brothers and sisters we say; “You do not stand alone”. We will endeavour to support and encourage your resistance against injustice. We affirm your right to self- determination. We affirm your right to live in your own Traditional Lands and we affirm your right to maintain and enrich your cultures and ensure your traditions are strengthened and passed on for generations to come. We encourage you to continue to draw on the strength of your cultures to resist the debilitating effects of the ways of the colonisers.

We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Australia, but more than that we commit to speak out and tell the world what we have seen and heard. We strongly encourage the Churches in Australia and the World Council of Churches to commit themselves to take action to support your political rights, your human rights and your rights as Australian citizens. Our first action will be to produce a report which will detail our observations, concerns and recommendations arising from this visit and through our actions we will show that this Living Letter visit is not a “breeze blowing in the wind.”

To our Indigenous brothers and sisters we say 

“Your fight is our fight.”

The real cost of discipleship: whatever - and all - that it takes

Picture from here

To-day's Gospel reading for the 23rd Sunday in the Green Season, comes from the good doctor, Luke, Chapter 14.25-33.  The story is told below in contemporary language from The Message by Eugene Peterson.

Luke 14:25-33 (The Message)

Figure the Cost

 ^25-27One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.  ^28-30"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.'
 ^31-32"Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?
 ³³"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

The words of this passage can be counted among the hard sayings of Jesus.  

We are asked to count the cost befor embarking on the journey.  To give up or run out of puff before journey is complete is foolish.  But how do we know what cost is required for this journey?  The future is not held in our hands.  We cannot see far ahead.  Except.... except that Jesus has told us ahead of time that the cost of this journey, this enterprise, will take all that we have.  

There is a corrollary to this.  If this journey does not take all that we have, if we are not prepared to pay the cost in full but only in part - then we are not in the right place, nor are we on the right path.

In the time we live in, we hear much of the prosperity gospel and what - so some say - we can expect God to give those who serve him and follow him.  Yeah?  Really?

What did Jesus get? 

He got poverty, ridicule, exclusion, and, finally, suffering and death.  Jesus asks us to remember his words:

Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you' - John 15: 20 (a)

Discipleship does not exist in an aura of prosperity; froth and bubble; nor in a meek and mild Saviour.  Discipleship is where the rubber hits the bitumen.  It is gritty stuff.  It is not lovey-dovey.  Nor is it soft and cuddly or happy-ever-afters.

It is serious business that Jesus demands we consider seriously - before we make the discipleship decision.  That is not the end of it, though.  Discipleship is an on-going process of submission; a case of continuing commitment renewed day by day.  Are we up to it?  Some will be.  Some, sadly, won't be.  Time will tell.

But as the old hymn says 

"Mercy there was great and grace was free."

Reconciliation - with the Crucified Man

Photo from here

The story of the Reconcilition Statue pictured above.

The story of the sculptor, Josefina de Vasconcellos.

I’ve abandoned my trust in the wise and the proud
For this fragile, mysterious weakness of God
And I dare to believe in his scandalous claim
That his blood cleanses sin for who ever
Will call on his name
Live or die here I stand
I’ve placed my hope in a crucified man

Read all the words of

Crucified Man by 

Graham Kendrick here

CHRISTIAN AID WORKERS KILLED BY THE TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN

 The blood of martyrs has been shed

This is the report  

of the killing of Christian aid workers in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Titus on Mission 

has an empathetic and balanced post on his blog.

Are we up to the task given us? Our own need for transfiguration...

My long-time internet friend, Steve Hayes,has posted his last Sunday's sermon here.  It is worth a read - particularly since the Feast of the Transfiguration is all but upon us.

Picture of The Transfiguration from here.