sustain:if:able kiwi

sabbatical update 8

Monday morning update

the weekend that was: in Melbourne with friends. they were unable to come to Adelaide, so I had to go to them.  Good to renew relationships with 4 groups of people.

where i am at the moment: Parkin-Wesley, having flown in from Melbourne this morning, but heading off for lunch with a local church leadership team. I’ve got three such conversations this week, joining with local church leaderships for conversations sparked off by my presence and speaking here in Adelaide.

on my to-do list this week: Speaking at Uniting Church Synod, doing a 50 minute Bible Study on Friday morning and again on Saturday morning.  And leaving Adelaide, Saturday, to return home.  So this week marks the end of my “church” sabbatical, although my Laidlaw College sabbatical continues through until the end of the year. I’m sad about that, as it has been such a richly refreshing and profitable time.

reading: Derrida’s Bible. Picked it up at a book sale yesterday for $5 and appreciating the provocative insights around Scripture.

music that’s caught my attention: Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing, and that line “without you it’s a waste of time” and thinking of my family and really missing them and wondering what I’m doing here when they are there.

how i’m feeling about this week: nervous – speaking at the Synod is a big deal and I’m trying some creative stuff and I don’t want to stuff up – and stressed – I have to clear up the relational and physical debris of my last 10 weeks – and unsettled – I have not eaten a meal at home in the last 10 days, what with all the goodbyes and relational stuff – and sad – sad to go, yet I’d be sad to stay. In other words, I’m a complex mess of feeling.