Central Church Port Kembla

We engaged with the writings of French priest and paleontologist Pierre Teihard de Chardin who once said that to plunge into matter is to plunge into God. In honoring the Season of Creation we meditated on a chosen leaf, flower, shell or strawberry and then finished with a Lectio Divina on some of Teihard’s writings on trusting Gods slow work in our lives. Ambient background music is by https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/

“Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” These striking words from Christ, spoken during the Sermon on the Mount, carry an enormous weight. How are we supposed to grasp such a command, let alone live out a life of perfection? In this episode, Oran explores the idea of “perfection,” considering both its ancient meaning and our modern assumptions, to uncover how Jesus may actually be calling us not to flawlessness, but to wholeness.

We looked at the disorientation of desert seasons in our life, used Lectio Divina to reflect on a passage from Isaiah 35 and meditation on images on deserts across Australia and how those places might connect to our own lives. Background music to use: https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/track/db-pad-base

Caro unpacks John 2:1-11 and looks at some of John’s deep wisdom and connection with other parts of Scripture.

John 2:1-11 is a story of Jesus’ first miracle in John’s gospel as well as a reflection point on how we can be moving from scarcity to abundance in our lives and communities.

Caro unpacks the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12 and we wrestle with what Jesus might have to say to us about surplus wealth.

The tension between the ideologies surrounding Capitalism and Care can be viewed as a spectrum. Henri Nouwen captures this contrast poignantly: “In a capitalist society... we are often measured by what we have. In the kingdom of God, we are measured by what we are willing to give away.” In this message, Oran brings both concepts into focus, inviting us to reflect on how they shape our values, choices, and daily lives.

We do a few short practices to help us be present to the moment and engage in a Lectio Divina from Jean-Pierre de Cassaude’s classic ‘The Sacrament of the Present Moment’. Ambient background music is by https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/

Bryony considers how Miriam could be a queer icon while exploring the stories of Miriam as an adult in Exodus and Numbers. Miriam’s significance to the people as a leader and prophet is contrasted with Moses.

Caro looks at the often overlooked women in Exodus 1 and 2, without whom there would be no Moses and no liberation from Egypt. She looks at the different ways each woman resisted and disobeyed the powers and we celebrate the significance of small acts of mercy and justice.

It’s Palm Sunday and we immerse ourselves in the story of the Son of Man who stands as antidote to empire. We explore the quiet ways we also practice resurrection and live lives of resurrection.

We wrapped this gathering around the story in Luke 17:11-16 where Jesus raises a widow’s son. The story is a collision of celebration and mourning, life and death. We begin with doing a lectio divina on the passage and then do a short imaginative prayer exercise. Ambient background music is by https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/

The mystery of the cross lies in how Christ’s death reconciled us with God. While many theories exist, none can be known with absolute certainty. In this episode, Oran explores two perspectives, reflecting on how Christ’s death and resurrection signify the end of death itself—and what that means not just for Christians, but for all of humanity.

Caro shares how the Cross makes plain a pattern of death and resurrection that is built into the universe; a pattern that God undergoes in Christ and one that we experience in our own lives.

The term scapegoat comes from the Ancient Israelite practice on the Day of Atonement. The priest confessed the wrong doings of the people over the head of the goat and the goat carried that guilt far away from the people. Rene Girard observed that all cultures have participated in scapegoating. Jesus was a scapegoat and his death and resurrection revealed the mechanism.

We start off with some cantering prayer and then using Gary Thomas’ content we dive into the nine different ways we can connect with God. We consider the ways we naturally experience God’s presence and acknowledge what feels foreign to us. Ambient background music is by https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/

Becca shares about the “weirdness” of Christian community as well as the gifts of shared grief and hope.

Caro talks about hospitality as welcoming the stranger.

In many ways our spirituality is personal and private, and in other ways we cannot walk this road of faith alone. This month we engaged in lectio divina and an examen to explore the gift of community and remind ourselves of the gift other people have been in our own journey of faith. Ambient background music is by https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/

Caro shares some of our journey as a church, highlights some of our values and shares some changes for us in 2025. Those changes relate to leadership structure and to our rhythm of gatherings.