Bishop John

The Revd Will Briggs writes about his and wife Gill’s coffee hobby.

Gill and I are unashamed coffee snobs.  We were “corrupted” when we were in Melbourne and our fellow trainee theologians taught us this essential ministry skill.  Now we look for the best place for coffee wherever we go.  We are also partial to an excellent cup of tea and enjoy experiencing different blends and flavours.  Whatever we say about coffee here, also applies to tea!

There is substance behind this possible pretentiousness.  A few things that come to mind are:

1) Conversation.  Coffee is for sharing, talking, and relating over.  Deep conversation benefits from an appropriate space, a conducive ambiance, a setting of safety and common ground.  The coffee shop table provides that.

2) Hospitality.  Good coffee has a richness and freshness.  It allows us to bring out the best for our guest.  It’s aroma bestows homeliness and welcome.  It is a framework for welcome and inclusion.

3) Community.  The coffee sub-culture is real.  I see little competition amongst the coffee shops (I mean the real _coffee_ shops, not just shops that sell coffee).  There is mutual respect, and recognition of skills, appreciation for artistry.  Loyalty and familiarity eventuate.  To walk into a coffee shop, to be greeted by name, to be understood (“I know you’ll enjoy our single origin today!”) and invited to take a seat to receive “the usual.”  It’s the stuff of life.

4) Diversity.  Are you a latte person or a ristretto person?  Are you in the mood for a gutsy long black or a piccolo latte made with a roast that has a fruity zing?  Or are you (to prove to you that we’re not absolutely purists) a soy mochaccino, or even a skinny large cappucinno with a shot of caramel sauce?  It’s an instant personality test.  And it does not exclude – the chai lattes and devonshire teas are also most welcome.

5) Beauty & Creativity.  Every coffee has nuances.  Each part of the process leaves its mark – from the drying, to the roasting, to the extraction and presentation.  Each part can be appreciated:  The light roast with the fruity layer or the darker roast with earthiness and dark chocolate nuance.  The doppio ristretto bringing out the sugars and oils and accentuating the high notes.  Or the deep strong flat white or long black that brings weight and oomph.  I had a ristretto the other week that tasted like blueberries and cream.  It was, simply, a beautiful work of art.

6) Global Connection.  Good coffees, like good wines, bring the flavours of their region.  Most coffee roasters work through direct trade (even fairer than fair trade!) and can connect the beans to their farm of origin.  Put a little bit of Kenya, or El Salvador, or Tanzania, into a mug.  Savour the flavour of a global coffee citizen.

So it’s not about caffeine, or needing something to get us awake in the morning.  Like all hobby-like appreciation its part affectation and nine-tenths leisurely enjoyment.  But it is a shared experience.  If someone asks you “Let me buy you a coffee?” or “Come around for coffee?” they are doing much more than offering to quench your thirst.

I have attended a Hobart seminar and regularly receive email updates from the euthanasia expert, Alex Schadenberg, from his website: www.noeuthanasia.org.au. These resources from around the world can help us to further our knowledge on this important issue.

Mr Schadenberg  is head of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition based in Canada and is also chair of its international arm.

Alex has been working on the issue of euthanasia in a professional capacity for 13 years now across Canada, the United States and internationally.

When: THURSDAY JUNE 28th at 7.00 pm
Where: HOBART CITY CHURCH OF CHRIST, 203 Liverpool St, Hobart
Cost: A collection will be taken up to assist with covering costs

I encourage you to come along to this important event.

For more information, see the flyer here.

See also, Euthanasia a mistake: Former Dutch Health Minister.

These are the notes from which I spoke about our dear sister in Christ, the Revd Jill Martin at her funeral this afternoon at St Clement’s, Kingston.

Jill was passionate about Jesus Christ. She loved to tell others about him and to invite other people to know him and to follow him. Jill was an intercessor. Jill enjoyed praying and in fact she enjoyed walking and praying and was often seen at Kingston Beach walking along the foreshore praying. Jill was a lively person spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. Jill had a capacity to discern what was actually happening and in her winning way ask really good questions that helped people discover more about a situation. Jill was a likable person. Jill was a real people person who related easily and readily to people in all circumstances of life.

I was going to elaborate on this further, but first let me tell you a little bit about Jill’s former ministry positions. Jill was ordained a deacon in 2005 and a priest in 2006 and served children’s ministry coordinator, Holy Trinity 2005, Assistant Priest, BayWest 2005-2008, Chaplain, Mission Afloat 2005-2009, Enabler, Hamilton and New Norfolk 2008-2010, Priest in Charge as locum tenens, Moonah 2010-January 2012, and Prayer Development Officer for the Diocese in 2011. I had invited her to be Priest in Charge at the Parish of Buckland, although Jill had accepted the offer verbally, her illness prevented her from taking up this position.

Jill preached a sermon to the Synod of the Anglican Church of Tasmanian in 2006 with the title “Life of Joseph”. Jill said, “I want to examine the process that took Joseph from a self-centred little know-all kid in chapter 37 of Genesis, to a gracious, forgiving and generous man in chapter 50 who was able to say to his brothers, ‘You meant it for evil; God meant it for good, so that many people should be kept alive.’”

Jill demonstrates that Joseph was transformed “through many dangers, toils and snares” because he had “a clear vision of the hand of God behind the whole series of events, and he is able to say, ‘You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good . . in order to keep many alive’.”

In applying the transformation in Joseph’s life to ourselves, Jill challenged the Synod, “it’s no good attempting to transform our parishes, our diocese or the world; unless our own hearts have been transformed like Joseph’s.”

And Jill, the preacher and science teacher, illustrated the transformation needed in this way, “A caterpillar crawls around just surviving, just eating, not much to look at, not
attractive. But while it’s in that cocoon did you know that all its internal organs
dissolve completely into mush and are re-formed into a butterfly’s organs? Then
out it comes, a difficult process, and there it is, beautiful, graceful, ready to fly.
And that’s the best picture of transformation I can give you.”

Jill concluded her Synod address with what I believe to be a fitting concluding word to us here today:
“Where is your life, your parish, in this continuum? Maybe still crawling around like
a caterpillar, or perhaps you feel like things are dissolving around you, and you’re
restricted in a cocoon. Perhaps you see flashes of the beauty of a butterfly, in
what’s going on in you and around you. Do you feel like Joseph, perhaps, and
can see a little of what God’s doing? Perhaps you feel more like Job, and can’t
see a foot in front of your nose! However, whatever you do feel; whatever you do
see; the glorious truth is that God remains committed to totally transforming your
heart, your parish. God’s relationship with you is his very highest priority. And of
every circumstance, we can confidently say, ‘This may seem an impossible
situation, but God means it for my good!’”

Jill, we thank you.

If you want to read Jill’s sermon on ‘Life of Joseph’ please click here.

In light of the current debates in Federal Parliament, I thought it would be appropriate to share the Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia’s view on the matter as moved formally on Saturday 2 June 2012:

MARRIAGE REDEFINITION

It was MOVED (R Humphrey/A Bulmer) that this Synod, recognising that two private members bills in the Federal Parliament seek to redefine marriage in the Commonwealth Marriage Act, reaffirms that marriage is “…the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life” and

(a)      calls upon the members of the Federal Parliament to retain the current definition of marriage in law, and

(b)      encourages a wider discussion on the meaning of marriage and the nature of the life long promises made.

The debate was suspended.

The debate on the General Motion about Marriage Redefinition resumed.

The motion was put.

CARRIED

I’d like to extend my congratulations to these outstanding people on their receiving medals of the Order of Australia and/or being named a Member of the Order of Australia:

1. Mr David Llewellyn AM: for his service to the Tasmanian Parliament, community and Anglican Church in Tasmania.
2. Mr Dugald McDougall OAM: for his service to youth in the community and to the Anglican Church in Tasmania.
3. Dr Carey Denholm AM: for his contribution to higher education and psychology.
4. The Revd Canon Dr Peter Adam OAM: for his service to Theological Education and the Anglican Church of Australia. He served for 10 years as Principal of Ridley Melbourne. Read about Dr Adam here.

You can read more about the achievements and contributions these folks have made in The Mercury & The Advocate.