Shady Saints – Samson

(Judges 16.4-22) 24 November 2019 – © Neil Millar Of all the Judges, Samson – the strong man, the last of the twelve, is probably the most famous. Who of us hasn’t heard of his penchant for riddles, or of his daring feats with a lion, foxes, and a donkey jaw bone? The story is … [Read more…]

Shady Saints – Deborah

(Judges 4.1-16)17 November 2019 – © Neil Millar Well, here we are, parachuted into another episode in early Israel’s tumultuous history. Tell me, as you heard the reading, did you feel a touch of déja vû? Verse 1: ‘The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord’. Sound familiar?? It’s how … [Read more…]

Shady Saints – Ehud

(Judges 3.12-30) 10 November 2019© Neil Millar Last week, we celebrated All Saints Day, and in her sermon, Sarah reflected on what it means to enter into ‘the communion of Saints’ – to become a saint. The saints are people committed to journeying with Christ deeper into the life and love of God; letting go … [Read more…]

Becoming Saints

(Luke 6: 17-26)3 November, 2019 – Sarah Bachelard As you know, Neil and I have a practice of pilgrimage, and in particular we love the Way of St James, the Camino. Twice now for me, and three times for Neil, we’ve walked hundreds of kilometres to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain … [Read more…]

‘Seasol’ for saints – nurturing radical trust

(Luke 18.15-30) Pentecost 2027 October 2019 – © Neil Millar If you’re a gardener, chances are you’ll know about this product [container of Seasol]. It’s called Seasol, it’s a seaweed extract made from the bull kelp that washes up on the beaches of King Island, Tasmania, and it’s a great tonic for plants – especially … [Read more…]

Vulnerable in prayer

(Luke 18.1-14) ( Pentecost 19) 20 October 2019 – © Neil Millar So, what is it that hinders your praying? If we had a congregational discussion about this, I imagine there’d be various issues raised: busyness; distraction; disappointment; frustration; not sure how or what to pray; not sure if God hears my prayers; or if … [Read more…]

Gratefulness and faithfulness

(Luke 17: 11-19) ( Pentecost 18)13 October 2019 © Neil Millar In recent years, I’ve heard and become interested in the concept of ‘liminal space’ and the associated notion of ‘liminality’. A liminal space is a transitional or in-between place, an in-between time. Corridors, staircases, ruins, alleyways, bridges and crossroads are examples of in-between places. … [Read more…]

Half a Million Steps Screening

Organised by Uniting Tuesday, October 29, 20196:00 pm – 8:30 pmat the Palace Theatre Canberra2 Phillip Law StreetCanberra, ACT 2601 Please invite your family and friends and ensure you all register for the event here. Please don’t miss this powerful and insightful film. In October 2018, as part of Uniting’s Fair Treatment campaign, 100 people … [Read more…]

On Being Earthlings

(Luke 12. 22-34) 5 October 2019 – © Sarah Bachelard Over the last few weeks at St Ninian’s, we’ve been observing the Season of Creation and the theme of care for the natural world. We’ve explored our relationship to oceans, trees and the cosmos – focusing not just on the need to solve particular environmental … [Read more…]

Making it Real: Genuine Human Encounter in the Digital World

(Luke 16:19-31) (Acts 10:9-28, 34-35) Social Justice Sunday29 September, 2019 – Judith Shaw Today St Ninians is joining with many other churches throughout Australia celebrating Social Justice Sunday, focussing on the theme “Making it Real: Genuine human encounter in our digital world”. Your Social Action Group would like to share some thoughts on the Digital … [Read more…]