Philippians | In the depths of anguish, joy

In these days of terror and sadness, in this time of myriad personal and public griefs, in the bleak and terrible NO from the Australian electorate, in the anguish of many First Nations people, in the wounds of the earth and the worries about climate and the cries from Israel and Palestine and everywhere else, we can still know joy.

Read here or listen here.

Matthew | Called to be custodians

In a world racked by climate change, we need the wisdom of custodians. Read here or listen here.

Exodus | Agents of joyful rebellion

The story of exodus points to the joy-filled possibilities of civil disobedience.

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Matthew | Redeeming Joshua

‘I’m from one of the oldest families,’ he said. ‘We’ve been here since the beginning.’ And with that he effectively erased 60,000 years of continuous living culture, just as his Irish ancestors had tried to erase the people from the land. He’s a lovely guy, straightforward and well-meaning, and totally oblivious to what he had just done ...

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Genesis | Abram: Our ancestor-colonizer

Leave your country, your kin, and your ancestral home, you poverty-stricken Cornishfolk, for a land which I will show you. It’s the colony of South Australia ... the story of Abram points to a more just settlement, paving the way to Voice and Treaty.

Read here or listen here.

Ezekiel | Dem dry colonial bones

It is tempting to reflect on the bones. The massacre site that is now a fast food restaurant just a couple of blocks from Sanctuary. The bones which still wash up from time to time on the beach near Peterborough. The babies’ bones buried six feet under at the missions. The bones which were scattered throughout the landscape, left to rot in every lake, valley and hollow, left lying in the paddocks to dry out in the sun. It’s tempting to focus on the bones: because our history and geography are studded with other people’s bones ...

A reflection for white settlers living on stolen land. Read here or listen here.

Deuteronomy | In the face of climate catastrophe, choose life

This week, as cataclysmic floods pour across Pakistan, destroying farms, roads, towns and infrastructure and displacing over 30 million people; as unprecedented heatwaves and wildfires continue to threaten much of Europe; as long-term drought impacts water security for millions of people in the southwest United States; as we brace ourselves for the likelihood of another La Niña cycle and further devastating floods; as we learn that the catastrophic bushfires along the Great Dividing Range burned six metres deep in places, rendering regrowth impossible, the most famous words of Moses’ most famous sermon should ring loud and clear ... Read here or listen here.

Aunty Sandra Onus, Lidia Thorpe, and the pharaoh with no name

On the other side of Gariwerd, along the Western Highway, you’ll find a camp. It’s the Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy ...

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Dear Hagar: Letter from a white woman

The stories of Sarah and Hagar have been appropriated by white colonial peoples to devastating effect. This is one white woman's acknowledgement and response.

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In the face of chaos, a new story

As the Black Lives Matter protests unfold, let us remember an old story, given to a people who were also invaded, removed from their land, forced into slavery and subject to state sanctioned violence. Read here or listen here.

This 26 January, pray for an invasion of light

Once upon a time, the land was fertile and good. Sparkling rivers threaded through it; lakes teeming with birds dotted it; and on its edge the sea thundered, shimmering with fish. The people of the land tended it for millennia, creating intricate patchworks of forest and field. They enriched the soil and made it friable; they selected plants for abundance and ease. The people caught fish; they hunted and traded; they tended their crops. They built houses and raised children; they passed on law through story and song.

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Peace and plenty for everyone

Twenty years ago, Cudgee was a depleted paddock. Now, it’s an oasis. Families have built sustainable homes, and are raising their children there. People have planted countless Indigenous trees, grasses, and shrubs. The creek is overhung by eucalypts; blocks are lined with wildlife corridors; koalas grunt and roam. There are organic gardens and orchards; happy chooks; contented ducks; an Indigenous plant nursery; and the best garlic in Victoria ...

Read here, or listen here.

The loneliness of the Australian colonial capitalist

The deep loneliness of colonial capitalism: and some pointers to an alternative economy. (Read here, or listen here.)