hehe

Young Offenders Bill close date

Submissions close for the Young Offenders Bill 2006 Select committee on 7th July. So you have a month to let them know you think this Bill is sucky/unjust/gratuitous/outragously wrong.
We have just finished the Social Policy Units Submission so if you want a copy for pointers let me know. Read Bill here. Get guidelines for how to do submission here.

Sent Free

From Emilio Castro
"The kingdom of God is an eternal reality in God: it is the historical manifestation of Gods trinitarian love. God is in command; he speaks; he preserves; he purifies; he judges; he completes. He will gather up our tentative, parital, ambiguous expressions of obediance. Because we trust in God and believe in Gods plan for us today and in eternity, and we pray "your kingdom come"; because we look to the future with expectation and eagerness; we can, in faith, offer a cup of water, a word of love, the open hand of communion, all in God's name. Preaching the word, interceding in prayer, living in solidarity with the poor- these are all ways to affirm and fulfill our vocation as church. As a preistly people fulfilling our vocation, we obey our calling by pointing to Jesus the King in whose life every life can find a new begining" Sent Free, 1985

celebrity props

So, Brad and Angelina are selling the first pics of their crunchy lil offspring for millions of dollars to go towards Africas plight…. Their joint media release goes: "While we celebrate the joy of the birth of our daughter, we recognise that 2 million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives," the couple said. "These children can be saved, but only if governments around the world make it a priority."

keeping quiet

We watched "No Mans Land" the other night. A great and intense flick. There is this bit where a frustrated UN field worker is getting mad with the UN's inaction on the issue and he says

"Neutrality doesn't exist in the face of murder. Doing nothing is taking sides"

I think the word"murder" in that quote could easily be replaced with injustice/corruption/wrong legislation/bad politics/mistreatment of people. Often I think we keep our mouths shut for the sake of peace and ease and it is a bad and terrible phenomenom. Arundhati Roy (Indian acitivist and Author) puts it in a nutshell when he says

"To stay quiet is as political an act as speaking out".

It is a true thing.

Top 5 ways to waste $2200

5. Put it in the Bin.
4. Eat it.
3. Set it on fire.
2. Use as scratchy loo paper.
1. Buy a mini off the internet that you haven’t seen.


Yes. So on Saturday we picked up the (not so) mighty mini, about half way down the North Island. On Monday- after a fantastic wee holiday with some pals and family- we attempted to drive it back up to Auckland. After about 25 minutes it died. Completely. So we hung out on the side of the road for 45 minutes, banging the bonnet, rocking it backwards and forward, tapping anything that looked like a “solenoid” and lo and behold after 45 minutes it started again. We made it back to Auckland (after buying a tow rope) on the edge of our seats, the little red miniature coughing and spluttering all the way up. We truly bought a lemon/bomb/piece of poo/hunk of junk/insert own word here.

Haha. Oh well. Life goes on, that's rocks n roll, Cape Diem, you're only young once, Vive Las Vegas and all that sort of thing. And it is still very very cute, albeit crap.

The Maori Jesus

I saw the Maori Jesus
Walking on Wellington Harbour.
He wore blue dungarees.
His beard and hair were long.
His breath smelt of mussels and paroa.
When he smiled it looked like the dawn.
When he broke wind little fishes trembled.
When he frowned the ground shook.
When he laughed everybody got drunk.

The Maori Jesus came on shore
And picked out his twelve disciples.
One cleaned toilets in the Railway Station;
His hands were scrubbed red to get the shit out of the pores.
One was a call-girl who turned it up for nothing.
One was a housewife who’d forgotten the Pill
And stuck her TV set in the rubbish can.
One was a little office clerk
Who’d tried to set fire to the government buildings.
Yes and there were several others;
One was a sad old queen;
One was an alcoholic priest
Going slowly mad in a respectable parish.

The Maori Jesus said ‘Man
From now on the sun will shine.’

He did no miracles;
He played the guitar sitting on the ground.

The first day he was arrested
For having no lawful means of support.
The second day he was beaten up by the cops
For telling a dee his house was not in order.
The third day he was charged with being a Maori
And given a month in Mt Crawford.
The fourth day he was sent to Porirua
For telling a screw the sun would stop rising.
The fifth day lasted seven years
While he worked in the asylum laundry
Never out of the steam.
The sixth day he told the head doctor,
“I am the light in the void;
I am who I am.’
The seventh day he was lobotomised;
The brain of God was cut in half.

On the eighth day the sun did not rise.
It didn’t rise the day after
God was neither alive nor dead.
The darkness of the void,
Mountainous, mile-deep, civilised darkness
Sat on the earth from then until now.

J.K Baxter 1966

a global sock reuniting service

Last night Tim bought the washing in from the line and set about the task of pairing the socks up. At the end of his task he had a bounty of nice manly pairs of socks to call his own, whilst I had 2 matching ones and a mountain of odd ones. 17 lonely socks in total.
So, family and friends, if you recognise some of these foot warmers because I have left one at your house (or, as is most probable, because they were yours in the first place and I pinched them) or even strangers, if you have little solitary socks that resemble any of these in some way, lets get organised and hook some of these beauties up.

its boggling.

'One of the wonderful things is how God depends on all of us, which is actually mind boggling because here you have God who is omnipotent and yet waits on human creatures to be God's partners and collaborators. Each one of us has a contribution, each and every one of us'.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

the rubicon

Stunning site: the rubicon.org. Fabulous stuff. Thou shouldst vist it.
A must read article by Geoff Ryan about the Salvation Army as a prophetic movement, and just read another by Dion Oxford called Redemptive Theology of Salvation. Which is also along the lines of my last couple of blogs I guess. Here is a poem I pinched from that very same bloke and that very same article, to enticeth you:

I Wonder

A man once said that the man who lives in hope
dies starving
A girl once told me she’s so alone
She sells her body to feel loved

I wonder what could have gone so wrong
to be so wrong

Someone on Yonge Street begs for money
to buy crack
He says that when people give him money
They put another nail in his coffin but he doesn’t want to die

and I wonder what could have gone so wrong
to be so wrong

The world spins away towards yesterday
and we keep on worshipping money and sacrificing the weak
to appease our god
And only complain when the price of gas goes up or when our stocks go down

and I wonder what could have gone so wrong
to be so wrong

digging dietrich again

One of the main reasons I am loving Dietrich is because he is utterly surrendered to the idea that restoration occurs through God only, and motivated singuarly by the reconciling work of Jesus, yet doesn't take it as a chance to chill and get spiritual. His faith (rightly) compels him to massive, significant action.

People/organisations/churches are divided into faith or action catagories ay... forsaking personal spiriuality for responsible deeds or vice versa. (Well, I know I do that, for sure). Even though, it is as clear as the day that they are intimately tied.

It's not reassuring, either, that James was addressing this tension 2000 years ago, argh. I feel as though Dietrich Bonheoffer is an example of holding the right tension... but am yet to really find out how he did this in other than ethereal terms....

check Jo's comments on the last post.

totally digging dietrich

“Not ideals or programs, not conscience, duty, responsibility or virtue, but only the consummate love of God can meet and overcome reality” Bonheoffer

Wowzas. I have taken on Ethics by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (executed for being on an assasinate-Hitler committee). Intensity of intensity! Its not bedtime reading: it makes my brain ache… but there are a lot of gems in there, shivers…. It is all put in a profound and unique light when you consider that he is writing in the context of of the Nazi regime and the Christian community’s complacency about it.

In his chapter “Ethics as formation” he discusses the 6 orientations that guide behaviour: Reason, ethical fanaticism, conscience, duty, free responsibility and private virtue and how these all fail to impact our world/society/reality.

I was struck by Ethical Fanaticism - those motivated by strong principles of justice and truth but get caught up in insignificant battles rather than seeing the whole picture. That is me. I fumed my way through our visiting preachers talk this morning because of a few unthinking remarks he made. Blinded by my principles.

Bonheoffer describes the orientation that can impact reality:

“the one who keeps in sight the single truth of God… not fettered by principles…this single minded person does not also cast glances at the world while standing next to God, and therefore is able, free and unconstrained to see the reality of the world. … so they know that reality can be helped neither by the purest principles or the best will but only by the living God”

crunchy mini

we just bought a mini from trademe! We are mental. Tim won't even fit in it. It's well cute though.

fatal narcism of spiritual perfectionism and superwhatevers

Shiver. Me. Timbrels. I am reading Velvet Evis. I had this subconscious determination not to read it because everyone was harping on and I was a bit sick of it. (weird ay) But succumbed (by the spirit?!!hehe) and have been totally stirred at every page. Sometimes when I pick up a book I get this impression that I am perfectly ripe for it: every word just penetrates. I had this with Messy Spirituality, and now, Velvet Elvis. So I join the throng of Velvet Elvis appreciators.

Last night I read the bit about shooting your superwhatever- this idea that we are all plagued by expectations of what it means to be the superpastor/ superyouthworker/ superChristian/superwhatever and its got to go.

It reminded me of a bit in Ragamuffin Gospel which utterly beset me.

The kingdom belongs to people who aren’t trying to look good or impress anybody, even themselves. They are not plotting how they can call attention to themselves, worrying about how their actions will be interpreted or wondering if they will get gold stars for their behaviour. Twenty centuries later Jesus speaks pointedly to the preening ascetic trapped in the fatal narcism of spiritual perfectionism to those of us caught up in boasting about our victories in the vineyard, to those of us fretting and flapping about our human weaknesses and character defects. The child doesn’t have to struggle to get himself in a good position for having a relationship with God; he doesn’t have to craft ingenious ways of explaining his position to Jesus he doesn’t have to create a pretty face for himself; he doesn’t have to achieve any state of spiritual feeling or intellectual understanding. All he has to do is happily accept the cookies: the gift of the kingdom.
Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning, pg 53

he came to set the captives free

MAN! Sometimes something just grabs a hold of you and stirs you up- gets your heart pumping and you feel like grabbing a megaphone!
There is, sitting at parliament, a Members Bill that seeks to reduce criminal responsibility from age 14 to 12. Yes, 12. It also wants to widen the scope for more young offenders to go to prison and make punishment harsher etc. You can read it here.
Christians, awake! This is a hideous Bill, which has already gone through to select committee- National, First and Labour are supporting it.
“Never in any part of the Bible are prisons part of Gods way. Always they are used to oppress. Always they are an affront to the divine. There are no good prisons. None” (Olson, God who dared)

Kiwi’s, make a submission- guidelines on how to do that are here. For inspiration, read the Social Policy Units Prison Report, Beyond the Holding Tank. Or have a look at my initial thoughts below. Sorry to pop such a big fat post up, but it may be helpful to a few.
“While men go to prison in and out, in and out, I’ll fight” (Booth)

Jesus lovers in NZ :I urge you to consider writing a submission.

• Youth crime is portrayed as increasingly prevalent and acute. The public is terrorised by headlines of young violent law-breakers despite 2005 assertions by NZ police that most youth offences are not serious, and very few become persistent and serious offenders (http://www.police.govt.nz/resources/2005/youth-policing-plan/youth-policing-plan.html.) There is an obvious lack of communication of this information to the public. A Bill with such dramatic implications needs to be based on relevant and accurate statistics, not distorted media reports and irrational public fear.
• This Bill will result in more young people being imprisoned which exacerbates rather then deals with the underlying causes of offending. The young people this bill impacts- the persistent or serious offenders- are the ones who are in greatest need of holistic help. Last year NZ police recognised that the majority of persistent youth offenders come from backgrounds of disadvantage and have been victims of abuse and unstable family environment. Giving harsher punishment rather than dealing with the root issues such as abuse, family stability, truancy and deprivation will result in a high probability of recidivism.
• Increased imprisonment of young people needs to be avoided as it takes away hope for their future. Research has shown that those who have been imprisoned face poor living conditions and less access to health care, education, employment, housing and social connectedness than the general population (Beyond the Holding Tank, p47). Young people should not have to face such great barriers to reintegration into society at such an age for an offence committed whilst they were still a child.
• Increased imprisonment of young people is ineffective. Harsher punishment has been found to be the least effective way to change a person’s behaviour by over 23,000 studies (Beyond the Holding Tank, p50). If a reduction in crime is the aim alternative methods other than imprisonment need to be found for all lawbreakers. Yet this is an increased need for young people who are still developing behaviourally and socially.
• The need for alternative methods of justice for young people in order to deal with these root issues and prevent further offending has been recognised by the labour government in its development of a long term strategy put in motion with the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1989. Family group conferences, Youth Offending Teams and a variety of other creative initiatives form an integral part of a great investment by the Labour government to tackle youth crime.
• These alternative methods of the youth justice system have been perceived as a soft response, which is perhaps why this Members Bill has been proposed. This is despite the success of Family Group Conferences. Research shows that young people do not find Family Group conferences an easy option, and that overall FGCs hold young people accountable for their offending and prevent re-offending. (Beyond the Holding Tank, p64)
• The restorative methods of the Youth Justice System have not had opportunity to take full effect due to a lack of resources and insufficient time. The full impact of alternative justice is yet to show on youth crime rates, but most project it will be positive (NZ Police). More resources should be invested into the alternative methods of the current youth justice system so that FGC’s can be undertaken more efficiently and young offenders can receive greater assistance to prevent re-offending.
• The government should persist in its restorative approach for young offenders and not relinquish the significant investment already made. This Members Bill wholly contradicts the principles and methods behind the progressive moves undertaken to curb youth offending. To implement this legislation would be a step backward that will result in more damaged lives; for the young offenders and their victims.

Please get in touch 4 more info/links etc.

graduation exploits

Well, graduation was a raving success. We had these fab banners and I carried mine in the parade while Tim ran on ahead to critical high points and corners so as to wave it around as all the graduands passed him. He was the total veteran activist.
People dug it! Talking to us about it and cheering, I think there was a general consensus that indeed brains should be used to make a difference in this corrupt world, thanks. At the end of the parade we amassed in the square and for a speech by the deputy mayor who said “I see a sign out there that says Use your brain for change (it was about 2 metres in front of his face) and its so true, we must take it into the organisations and institutions and bring about positive change”: he loved it.
While he was speaking Tim was up behind the band and academics waving his huge banner, it was awesome. I was totally proud.
I left my hat in the car so I was the only one with a bare head in the parade. But I think my banner compensated for it.
The rest of our 3 day excursion in Wellington was spent drinking delicious coffee in Cafes and reading (Tim: Da Vinci Code, Lucy: Reader in Social Christianity and Dicken's The Curiosity Shop). Oh, what a beauty. That is my dream activity. I have the most amazing friends down there, hanging with them was sooo wicked.
Here are some pics of the parade:

Outside my old flat

Walking on Lambton Quay

"I see a sign out there..."

None of us could figure out what was with the bag pipes.

Then I did a speech.(Just kidding)

taha maui

Tim and I went to our first Tikanga/Te reo Maori class last night- Maori language and culture. It was wicked ay, such a wide variety of people- all ages, all ethnicities, all motivations. Heaps of people just saw it as important to know, appreciate and understand the indigenous culture. Kia Ora and Amen to that.

Stayed up late making my sign for the graduation march (see post below somewhere) it says “The worlds three richest people control more wealth than the 600 million poorest” and on the other side “USE YOUR BRAIN FOR CHANGE” (haha when I first typed that it said “use your Brian for change”- but what if I don’t know a Brian!)
It is on wall paper with felt tip pens, and I am gonna put it on 2 big bamboo sticks. I think it’s a bit lame but Tim says its pretty. I hope it doesn’t rain because it will drip on my head and I will have a rainbow face. I am not convinved about mooning at the graduation ceremony, and Tim is not convinced about blowing a hooter and letting down a banner, so we are stil working on another awareness creating stunt.
The NZ 2006 Budget comes out tomo… we might do another protest at parliament about the lack of foreign aid and reflection on NZ poor (which will be missing, guaranteed). So off to Wellington for a few days tonight: Haere Ra, kia kaha and keep it radical, cuzzys.

25/11/06 SORRY I AM JUST GOING TO MUTILATE THIS POST BY ADDING PICS FOR illumiate!

bit of inspiration there

The Centre for Social Justice (UK) has annual awards to “recognise, reward and celebrate grassroots organisations making an exceptional contribution to tackling poverty.” Check the shortlisted groups… some real creative and significant stuff going down.

sheeps n goats

Been thinking about Matt 25 a bit. “Just as you not do it to the least of these, you did not do it to me”…
I am reading Gods Politic's by Jim Wallis at the moment. It is a flipping great book., not just for Americans or people into politics at all. But anyway, he discusses Matt 25, with a brilliant story about his pal Mary Glover, who he used to run the food line/soup kitchen with. Before opening the food line each lunchtime she would pray “Lord we know you’ll be coming through this line, so lord, help us to treat you well”.
Someone wrote a song about Mary Glover:
“I’m a coal black Jesus with a hole in his shoes,
On a D.C street with no more to lose,
Get into line and there you’ll stand
And sing “Sweet Mother Mary, put some food in my hand”

I guess its what NZ Poet, J.K Baxter was getting at too with his Maori Jesus.

What’s Jesus getting at with this story…. Is it about judgement? Or is it illustrating right priorities here on earth? Or both? Or is it about knowing God i.e- our knowing God leads to right action toward the least of these? (As a friend put it on Saturday night) Or Jesus’ location?

trade justice galore

A fair cuppa on sat went excellently, the speakers were fantastic (although the Sri Lankan tea man dwelt a bit excessively on the organic factor of Fair Trade: slides of people stirring bowls of cow pat etc-eek!) About 70 came and I'd dare to say that a majority of these made decisions towards fair trade. I guess when people see the issues, they are stirred to do something about it. Some pics:

People get into the resources and take part in the Chocolate Kiss Protest!

Classy as Jazz...

Succulent food...

Fabulous coffee!

Lucy, Linda from Oxfam, Mr G from Sri Lanka Tea Plantation, D.C Ross Gower Did a message about trade justice/global poverty at church yesterday (Amos 8)... it was fascinating speaking there, ay. Like, people discussed these facts at their tables:

1. International trade is worth $10 million a minute.
2. But poor countries only account for 0.4 per cent of this trade. Since 1980 their share has halved.
3. Rigged trade rules cost the developing world $700 billion a year, according to the UN.
4. Income per person in the poorest countries in Africa has fallen by a quarter in the last 20 years.
5. The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries.
6. Nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion people) live on less than US$2 per day.
7. The prices of many poor countries' key exports are at a 150-year low.
8. The world's 50 poorest countries have less than three per cent of the vote at the International Monetary Fund, an institution whose financial decisions spell life and death for ordinary people around the globe. Just one country – the US – has sole veto power.
9. At one full meeting of the World Trade Organisation (an international group who settle on global trade rules) the EU had 500 negotiators. Haiti had none.10. After one round of trade negotiations, rich countries calculated that they would be $141.8 billion better off, while Africa would lose $2.6 billion.

And people were saying things like "Yes, back in my village in East Africa we really felt the brunt of plummeting prices etc" because it is such a multiethinicity place. Surreal.