Tedious

Please feel sorry for me. This is 3 days' worth of returned mail and after processing 3 weeks of this mail we have just discovered a glitch in the system which has led me to believe it needs to be processed again.

Unglamorous

Just had a conversation with a friend at our group tonight. She's just starting up a new school chaplaincy and so I handed over a CD of resources. Oh, the days of my youth! I miss my colleagues more than an individual student. 'Specially that crazy critter Marcus. If I've ever met anyone who's a night owl, it's him. The time we all slept in the school gym at Belridge on a 'retreat' - except his idea of a camp is to play Trivial Pursuit (and win) until 2am. THEN he asks who wants to play another game of the bloomin' thing. Or there was the year we spent the night in the Lesmurdie gym. There's nothing glamorous about that place.

Why People Don't Go To Church

Working in a company that researches the Australian church you sure see the absolute best and worst of this institution. I've had some conversations over the last few days that left me assured why people don't go anymore - rude, rude, rude people in leadership. Other interactions have been at the opposite end of the scale but it doesn't balance out the rude ones. I have to clarify that the views expressed here are not those of NCLS but of one fed-up Rachel Catherine Barr. Actually "we've" published a book by the same title as this entry but I can't find any reference in it to rude clergy.

I read nearly every denominational mag or newspaper in the country - every month. It's devastating stuff. Pages and pages of meeting reports and Synod resolutions and church building birthdays and pomp and ceremony. I’m scouring pages for stories of life and initiative within the Australian church and I’m grieved to say there ain’t much being published. One church celebrated its 100th birthday with a vintage car show and certificate presentation. What?

Half of me wills it to die and the other half just wants to slap it around the pulpit and tell it to ‘get a life’.

I’m reading Alan Hirsch’s new stuff at the moment. I want to look where he’s pointing to.

Cranky as anything

Yes, still here. Still working, still sleeping, still doing fun things, still smiling. BUT what we're not doing is eating carbs. It's crazy but it just might work. The weight situation hit a nerve on the night of our anniversary when I tried to put on 3 skirts and one dress before I found something that I could get to fit. (It's Rachel writing but M has similar issues but all his skirts fit fine.)

So, a crazy carb free diet means cranky critters. Who is going to eat that huge slab of leftover carrot cake sitting in the work kitchen? Not me. Who is going to have a simple, tiny biscuit with her cup of tea. Not me - and I'm not enjoying it one bit.

Groan.

 

 

 

 

Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi and down to Bronte. It's great! Here's Mum and Dad and M out and about. Enjoying all that Sydney has to offer. This was just before dining at Doyles where M accidently locked the car before Mum had a chance to get out. We wondered where she had gone!! 

Happy anniversary! One year on Sunday.  

Christmas already! This is the base of a MASSIVE tree right through the middle of the Queen Victoria building in Syd. It goes up 4 floors and is decorated with 40,000 Swvayroskqui (?) crystals. 

Here are our mates Mike and Kate with William and Eleanor (who was being baptised that morning). William always calls me "Rachelbarr" and is a major superhero addict. 

A few weeks back but this is our ARIA party with sista Carms and friend Janine. Champagne and gourmet delights.