An Aussie in the World: lamb

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Sunday, 1 April 2018

A SMALL TOWN EASTER

Today Christians celebrate the Sunday when Jesus rose from his grave.

Australians celebrate Easter in a variety of ways. Christians go to church , usually. There might be a special meal, the contents depend on what culture families come from, as we are a multicultural society. Lamb is traditional for many, to signify the lamb of God (Jesus. ) In the morning, many children rise from bed to find chocolate treats in the form of eggs or bunnies, traditionally, signifying new life. People also gift them to each other. My hubby likes chocolate bilbies, which look a bit like rabbits, but are a native Australian marsupial, and very endangered. The chocolate versions raise money for that cause.

The following are some photos of our backyard today, our Easter celebration, and an excursion for breakfast. After that hubby took Acerules to the Anglican Church. I was pleased to hear they had a morning tea afterward, and the people were very welcoming, that’s the spirit!

(Photo filters by Photolab. All photos below copyright Runningonempty. I was not recompensed to feature items in my photos. )

🌼🌼🌼 For those who can’t see emojis on their monitor, that’s a row of yellow daisies.

I love my embroidered Easter tablecloth, so cheerful:

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We grew three different types of tomatoes this year:

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Our ducks:

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Garden photos taken this morning:

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Antique English jug belongs to Acerules, one of a pair. Makers marks says Rubiyam art pottery Oxford. Eggs by Lindt and Kinder. The yellow flowers are banksias:

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Some pruning needed here:

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Detail of tablecloth:

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Banksias are native to Australia:

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Tablecloth and doiley were very cheap on eBay:

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Red Cross fundraiser, Easter Pancakes in the Park, where we had breakfast (delicious. ) They also serve bacon and eggs:

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After church, a roast lamb lunch was at home:

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Handmade glasses were a wedding present. Vegetable dish by Nova of Italy, purchased about three years ago new:

Happy Easter to you and your family.

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Friday, 30 March 2018

“IF I SPEAK WITH SILVER TONGUE”

Holy Thursday

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Curious this week, I went to look at the Twitter page of a very young activist. David Hogg is one of the teen leaders of the youth movement pushing for gun control in the US. From the day his school was shot up with an automatic weapon, he’s been speechifying to keep momentum going. He’s polished, and prepared, usually. (A couple of times he’s been heard to swear). I went to his page and was pleasantly surprised to see one thing.

He’s promoting love. Not once but multiple times. He wants cooperation between opposing political parties, tolerance, and love , not hate.

Excerpt from The Proof of Your Love

- For King and Country

“If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say”.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. Ok, now substitute the word church for country. With that approach, I should be smiley and open at church, not wait for the congregation to be friendly and open with me, yes?

What if I had tried that for nearly ten years and the congregation were still not chatting with me? What if they preferred to talk to people they’d known a longer time? I’d probably stop going as often, yes? I’d go less and less frequently until I only went a couple of times a year. It’s less lonely to stay home and listen to the familiar songs and preachers on Christian Radio, than to go to church and feel isolated. God’s tithe? I’d pop it in a charity group’s collection box at the Supermarket.

Catholic Church, Anglican Church, other traditional churches in the Western World, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, you are bleeding congregations!

On Holy Thursday He gave two main instructions. “Do this in memory of me.” You got that part down pat. The ritual/small victual bit you all do as well as any ancient civilisation or returned soldier league ever did. You even print it in books, so, “this is how we always do it. “

Then we all go home and in many cases, forget all about being Christians until same time next week.

HUH?

That doesn’t seem much like the Last Supper to me. Where is the camerarderie? But wait, there was another, greater instruction on that night with his friends:

“Love one another as I have loved you. “

We live in a world that is getting harsher. We need comfort when we venture through your big doors. If a young family, or homeless person, or new people to town come into your church, are you making them feel welcome? Are you giving them tasks in the church service so they feel useful, wanted? Or are existing members jealously hugging tasks to their breasts as part of their identity (I’m Jack and I’ve been a lectionary reader every week for ten years. I’m Kitty and I do the flowers. Betty over there always cleans. )

So what are the congregants saying to their long time friends after church? Something that often comes up is the ageing of the group. “So few if any of those youngsters doing their Confirmation today are going to come back.” Sure, it’s true. They and their parents are staying away on Sunday mornings, and keeping their church donations, that could have fixed the church roof, or paid the minister’s wages. Lots of churches are getting deconsecrated, closed, and turned into restaurants, art galleries, or private homes. More evidence of the death of IRL (in real life) communities, in a virtual world.

WAKE UP!

Just ask yourselves why? Then ask yourselves, what benefits could accrue to your church from being more inclusive?

Jesus was born into the Roman Empire. Business as usual there was to live with ruinous taxes, rise up, protest, get crushed brutally, crucified on the sides of roadways, then mutter darkly until another foolhardy lot tried again.

Jesus effectively said, well it’s like this: if you do as you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always had.

His radical point of difference? Love. It is the thing that kept the Christian Church alive for 2000 years, and without Love, the church will die.

We had a Holy Thursday barbecue in the park, with lamb, to symbolise the Passover that Jesus celebrated with his disciples at The Last Supper. We said Grace, and talked about the story of the Jewish Passover. The lamb chops were much more expensive than in the the days before Free Trade. Six cost over $15.00 au. They were beautiful, though, he’s a good butcher. I always cut off the fat. The magpies that are always in the park got that. Ace and I passed our olives to hubby, as we are not into them. The tomatoes are from our back garden, from the raised vegetable bed.

All the table items we already had, most of them for years, except the flowers:

Jesus broke the flat bread, and passed the wine around to his friends, so we had grapes to symbolise, and pita bread:

Last year’s Holy Thursday post:

link to 2017 post

Monday, 26 December 2016

OUR CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA 2016

SCENES FROM THIS SEASON

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead". Oscar Wilde

My blog documents seasonal sights including my garden and local towns as I go about my life, and also some supporting media that appeal to me. I live in a beautiful part of the world, South Gippsland.

Me:

Daughter:

CHRISTMAS DAY 2016 in a remote South Gippsland town in
Victoria, Australia

We went out for our meal after going to church in the searing
heat. 38 celcius ! (100 f)

Christians going to church on Christmas Day in Aus.

It wasn't as hot inside the church, but was still warm, and I fanned myself with a laminated pew sheet. We had donated flowers from our garden and from the florist, those and others were arranged by church ladies:

We donated White Christmas Lilies from the terrific local florist:

At the rear of the arrangement are kangaroo paw flowers, native to Australia.

Red roses from our garden and onion flowers from our vegetable garden! Not arranged by me.

It is traditional to put the three wise men in the nativity crib later, on the feast of the epiphany. Here they are still looking for the predicted baby.

A Traditional country Lunch:
We had lunch at a motel /function room. The food was traditional Australian fare. It was a relief to get into the air conditioning, and not to have to cook over
a hot stove. Drinks were welcome, I had a lemon squash and lots of water. Daughter had lemonade and hubby had a lemon/lime bitters. He had a rum and cola too, as he doesn't like wine or beer. Neither of us drink alcohol often. Both of them drank lots of water too. Table setting:

The staff were very welcoming and attentive throughout. While we were waiting for the meal , daughter played a Minion game on the iPad and we watched three You tube video clips on the iPad: two from A Christmas Story, the Chinese restaurant one, and the leg lamp one. Then we watched a Mr Bean one, the link is provided later.

There was Christmas music playing.

First course was a choice of prawn cocktail or chicken and cranberry sauce. I had the prawn cocktail which was refreshingly cool and light on such a hot day. The decor is mid 20 th century, so the dish was appropriate. Warm bread rolls and butter were brought to the table.

The main course buffet was traditional Australian. There was luscious lamb with mint sauce , chicken with gravy, pork with apple sauce, crispy roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, peas, cheesy broccoli with cauliflower, and carrots. One couldn't fault any of it. Hubby went back for seconds. Here is that plate, the pork on it was for daughter, as hubby doesn't eat pork, not for religious reasons, he simply doesn't like it.

Desserts on the buffet were the traditional Christmas pudding (made containing dried fruit) with brandy custard,

cheesecake, and Pavlova. Pavlova is a dessert you will often find on special occasion menus in Australia, and was named after Anna Pavlova, the ballerina. It's made from sugar and egg whites. It's good to feed a large crowd, and is usually filled with cream and fruits.

At home hubby dragged out the water air cooler from the shed and they watched "A Christmas Carol" while I dozed. Then we watched DVDs of "Little House on The Prairie" from the library. Still hot inside, but outside it was cooling down.

None of us were really hungry at dinner, so he barbecued some eggs from our chooks and ducks, for sandwiches. They had traditional mince fruit pies, made with dried fruit.

Our two cats, and two dogs had special tinned food including turkey in it.

BOXING DAY:

This is the name of the day after Christmas Day in Australia. Many people go shopping for bargains on that day. It can be bedlam. Some go to sporting events. We stayed home and relaxed. It was hot again, 30 deg c at 10.00 am, but a cool change came through earlier. It rained for a prolonged period.

For dinner we had a meal of leg ham, given to us as a Christmas bonus by Hubby's employers. It is always very good. Hubby doesn't eat it, but daughter and I do enjoy it. There was also chicken, and salads. Christmas biscuits in the shape of Christmas tree s, given by a neighbour, and spearmint leaf lollies finished off the meal.

We watched the Dr Who Christmas special, which manages to mix up Dr Who with a superman, unusual!

THE NEXT DAY :
Thank goodness it was not as hot.
The evening meal consisted of turkey breast fillets from the supermarket, barbecued by hubby in foil. There was leg ham too, and BBQ onions, in a sandwich. Afterwards there was traditional Christmas Cake containing dried fruit. This is sold by the Lions Club to benefit not for profit groups they support. There were also Walkers Scottish shortbread biscuits in the shape of Scottie dogs, also luscious cherries.

***Christmas links

Christmas in Australia:

http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/australia.shtml

Mr bean Christmas:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Se5CBogDuYU

Christmas:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/australia.htm

John and Yoko, 10 mins but well worth it:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CbKsgaXQy2k

David Bowie and Bing Crosbie : The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth 1977
2.45 mins:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ADbJLo4x-tk

Faith Hill - Where are you christmas
Christmas Music Videos 54,794 views
4.02 mins:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P14jxKY3Gy8

Colbie Caillat - Christmas In The Sand
ColbieCaillatVEVO 1,243,763 views

3.52 mins:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YnvzsZCJjZ0

An Aussie in the World