sustain:if:able kiwi

sustain:if:able theology at Camp Coorong

Team Taylor are looking forward to a rich weekend here

It is part of About face, a ministry of the Uniting Church, which offers people the opportunity for intensive experiences for building faith and friendship cross-culturally. We’re looking forward to an indigenous welcome and cultural teaching, a 42 mile trip, camp fire, basket weaving, cultural and historical teaching.

Last time I went to the Coorong, it led to a change of name for my blog. It wrote of this experience:

Suddenly our guide bent down and started digging. In a few minutes, he offered us fresh water. In the middle of these desolate sand dunes, there was water. A bit further on, he showed us the piles of cockles, and the eating place of the Ngarrindjeri people, who have been the traditional custodians of these sand dunes for over 6,000 years.

I stood there astounded. Put me in that place, amid those barren sand dunes and I would die. Yet other humans have learnt to live within this environment.

I pondered the implications for spirituality.

And then started to chart a “sustain:if:able” spirituality

• It would honour the faith of ancestors, glad that historical resources have proven lifegiving in the past.
• It would be sensitive to contemporary culture, acknowledging that this is our environment and needs to be read respectfully and lived in sustainably.
• It would make formation and discipleship of the next generation a priority.
• It would network widely and broadly, aware that only in collective knowledge can one small part make sense of a wider whole.

(For more, go here). I’m not sure what will happen this time, but we are looking forward to a rich weekend together as new migrants to Australia ….