The following is a prayer penned by Pastor Ray Minniecon after the ground-breaking gathering that took place at Surrender 09 with church leaders and indigenous leaders.

I add my own voice to thIs growing prayer.

National Church Prayer

Pastor Ray Minniecon

February 2010.

God and Creator of our all Aboriginal nations in Australia. You have lived among us since time immemorial. We have always known You.  You gave this land to our ancestors and to all Aboriginal nations. You have not dispossessed us nor destroyed us. You are the only true God of Justice.

People from other lands, who do not understand our unique culture, our unique lifestyle and our unique heritage have come and destroyed much of our way of life. Many of these people from other lands now want to understand and reconcile with us.

But for many of us Aboriginal people, we find this reconciliation business a little difficult because;

Too many of our children are still in jails. Many have died in custody without justice.

Too many of our children are still living in sub-standard housing.

Too many of our mothers are living on the streets or in refuges.

Too many of our children are still uneducated.

Too many of our children have no land and no community to go back to.

Too many of our children have not got opportunities for good employment.

Too many of our children are living in extremely unhealthy environments.

Too many of our children are living among violence and abuse.

Too many of our children are dying to drugs and other soul-destroying substances.

God our Dreaming and Creator of our people, we feel overwhelmed by these things. Many of us feel like we are refugees in our own land.

Today we are coming together again to cry out to You for mercy and justice for our children, for our families and for our land.

We pray that more resources will be given to our local community Churches to help us grow healthy and strong.

We pray that the leaders of our national churches will be given a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone so that they can hear our cry, understand us and support us properly.

We pray that your Spirit will help and encourage us to grow good strong Aboriginal leaders.

Our heavenly Father we want to grow strong and healthy again in our own land. We want to take our rightful place in our land and make our contribution to the re-building of our families, our communities our nation and Your kingdom.

We ask these mercies in the name of Your Son.

Amen.

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Firstly let me apologise. It has been several weeks since I posted anything. So much has happened in the past three to four months, some of which I have twittered or mentioned on Facebook, but neglected to Post here.

So, in an effort to bring you all up to speed…

When I met with TC Knaggs (Territorial Commissioner) late last year about enrolling theSalvation Army into working with Holy Fools to form a mission centre/drop in centre, he invited me to consider joining them in planting a Corps (Church). After a month of prayer, and careful discernment, I said yes and completed a form. After sometime, this became a reality and we moved a suburb over to Lilydale to plant a church.

There is more to it, much more — than I have written here, however, time, yours and mine, leads me to brevity.

That being said, we are happy in a new home, the plant is now in it’s third month. The kids are still in the same school and both Jen and I are enjoying the challenge and blessing of bringing the Gospel and The Salvation Army to Lilydale. That’s not too say the Salvos aren’t here! There is a Salvation Army Employment Plus and Salvo Op Shop and apparently they did have a Corps here that disbanded in 1906!

So, that being said, part of what we are doing is opening a mission centre that will form the nucleus of the church plant and be a centre of our community within the greater community of Lilydale. Linked is a copy of the proposed centre.

We are now seeking for the mission centre;

• 3 x 3 Seater Leather Couches
• 3 x PC’s (or Mac’s with Windows & Office, Network & Internet Capable
• 2 x 4 Seater Cafe Tables
• 1 x Coffee Machine (to make Cappuccino’s etc)
• 1 x wooden coffee table
• 1 x Fridge

Also seeking some paint (not sure of colours at this stage nor how much) and heavy wearing carpet and some quality lino.

If you can help with any of this please email me or use the contact page.

I will be posting more about the progress of the plant and mission centre here as the year progresses. That’s also in addition to whatever I feel I need to share with you all! So, please, keep reading!

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Here’s what Chelsea Church of Christ recently said about my speaking recently;

Thanks for coming to share your story with us.

I have received so many comments from those who heard you.  They have all said what an inspirational message it was.  Some also shared that it really helped them, and others that it challenged them.  Everyone had only positive things to say, and they are still talking about it.  For me, you hit the nail on the head with so much positive encouragement for our struggling efforts.  It was great to hear in more detail what is happening in your ministry.  You obviously have a wonderful ministry among “these little ones” and your impact is spreading far and wide.  Personally I also really enjoyed having you and your family with us.

Thanks so mush and god Bless

If you would like me to come speak about homelessness, poverty and the disadvantaged and the mission of the Church, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to come share with you!

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Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

Original at http://bit.ly/9iwiPB (HT Alan Hirsch)

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Currently planting a church — more on this soon — but rest assured, this is not what we are planning!

“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

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In a previous post I mentioned that our car, a Commodore VX II Acclaim Wagon, was badly damaged by the hail storm while in the car park of Belgrave Heights Leisure Centre for the Surrender Conference. So, this is an update to share where we are at with the car.

Well, today I dropped the car off at Phil Mundy’s panel works to get the hail damage repaired! The car, insured through RACV, was assessed a month back and I was told at that stage that it could be written off, but I asked for it to be repaired. So, after a quite from Phil Mundy’s the car is finally in for repairs.

Ironically last Sunday I was reversing out of the driveway of my in-laws in Box Hill North and backed into their neighbour’s daughter’s car, scrapping my car’s driver’s side with hers. So, another claim to cover that accident and the car is also getting repaired for the minor damage from that accident.

The only downside is the excess payable on both claims. The excess is $550 for each claim. I am a little annoyed as RACV did not inform me of the excess for the hail damage until today. However, I am so pleased that I am getting the car, which has just been paid off, repaired!

Shalom!

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If you have been following my series of posts about our housing crisis, it has been over two weeks since I last posted. The previous posts can be found here; Day 15, Day 12, Day 6, Day 1

This is a fairly long post, so please be patient and read to the end.

Today was probably one of the lowest moments in our search for a new home. It had certainly been an eye-opener to the housing rental market in our area and one that reveals some serious flaws in our, read Australian, housing system. But, let me tell the story about the house we found and comment on the issues that arose.

We had been looking at dozens of houses in the area — most are 3 bedroom houses on a sub-divided block, either with a home already built, or the property already subdivided with a fence. In 99% of the houses there was little if not no backyard to speak of. It seems we are trading the great quarter acre home block in for a quick $. No wonder obesity is an issue in kids in Australia, we’re taking the backyard away from our kids, and we’re terrified to let them play in the front or in the neighbourhood in case of abduction or worse (rightly so, I would argue — let’s take our streets back from fear and those who pervert life).

Along with a few other families, many sporting uniforms of the same school our kids are in (remember, a block away), we looked around the property — the kids found a swing set in the backyard beside the granny flat that was sublet to an 81 year old lady that was next to a grand tree house. There was a kanara, a family room and large kitchen — plenty of room to entertain and for the family. One hitch that became evident was the comment by the agent to a gentleman when he asked about the cat-flap (which I personally was excited about — anything that prevented me from opening the door to our cat every few hours was a godsend!). Her passing comment was that the property was with no-pets — quite contradictory to the website listing. I asked the agent about the discrepancy and she said she was sure it was no pets but go ahead and apply anyway. So, we took a couple of application forms away with us, and very impressed and hopeful that we had indeed found our next home.

That night we filled out the applications forms and gathered the required documentation including id requirements and evidence of income etc. In addition to all that, a good friend of our suggested working up a small A4 information sheet about the Taylor family to give to the agency and potential landlord. I worked a flier up with pics and with some points about our family and with a few paragraphs about what we’re doing, our rental history and the fact that we had paid our car off. So, the next morning, armed with all the documents etc we headed into the agency to hand the forms in.

I won’t reveal the name of the agency as I don’t want to single them out but believe that the practices and issues we confronted are typical of most real-estate agents. In addition, the property manager who took our applications is doing her job and indicative of the system and what property agents are taught in the system now days.

The percentage system, similar to the one used to determine eligibility for a home-loan, is based on the belief that 30% of your income is for housing expenses, while the remaining 70% is for food, living expenses, and at least 35% of debt. So, whether you have that debt or not, you are already lumped into that category with those who have the debt. In our case, even though we had been paying just $20 a week less than the property we were applying for, it was assumed that we had massive debt and could not meet the weekly rental.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there needs to be some checks in place to prevent those who are struggling to get into a home and cause strife. However, this does not take into account individual situations and financial positions. On a side note — this is my biggest criticism of the social welfare system — that the checks and procedures are designed for a one size fit all situation and do not take into account individuals as individuals and NOT as the same as the last guy.

However, in our situation, we argued our case and the property manager accepted that we would be able to meet the payments based on our individual circumstances. She did quantify that acceptance with the comment that the landlord would not necessarily look at it the same way. She did like our flier and said she would show it around the office as it was unique. We left the office with my wife feeling confident, and myself somewhat sceptical.

And before I continue, I will also disclose that we have been paying our rent in two payments each month for the past year AFTER signing a new lease early last year in which the agency was required to modify the contract and while it was on paper it appears that it did not get transferred into the computer system. We had been paying this way because of the way in which benefits are paid to families. Rent and car payments all last year were very heavy on our budget and required management in which it was necessary to make two payments to the agency allowing us to have funds for living etc.

That being said, the property management from our existing agency tells the enquiring property manager nothing about the fact that we have always paid our rent on time each month or the fact that the part payments were in fact arranged, she just tells them that we made two payments each month as a negative. So, the call I received was just to clarify why that had been done and yes, it was in fact not a great report from our agency. Now, that flies against the letters we received when they notified us of the eviction in which they proposed to do everything possible to help us find a new house.

Later that week, about three days after our applications were accepted, we were anxiously waiting after being asked to supply proof that the car had been paid off, expecting to receive a call with some news. Earlier, the property manager had spoken to my wife and all seemed ok — we were one of three applications that were being considered by the landlord. So, when she did call it was to advise us that the landlord wanted to spend the weekend to review the applications. At this stage we had folk from Australia and the World praying for our application.

But, why do we allow the same people who profit from the sale of houses to control the same properties? Higher rents do nothing but line the pocket of the real estate agencies that already benefit by the sale of the house anyway. There is much lately about the rights of landlords but in fact it seems that the system is skewed to benefit and protect only the agents profiteering from all this.

What now? Well, I am going to be contacting our property manager, try and find out who it is and ask why they did not do what they offered, to help, not hinder our search and application for another home. Then, it’s back to the search, and probably more 3 bedroom homes on sub-divided blocks. We would still appreciate prayers in our search, especially as the deadline drawers closer.

This incident and our search is more than ever showing me the problems with the housing and rental situation in Australia. It is a disgrace.

Shalom.

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It has been a week since Surrender, and while so much has happened since then, I have wanted to really sit and process some of what I listened to over the weekend. If anything, there are two main things that I have come away with. The first is the Church and indigenous Australians. This would have to be the most complex and yet thought provoking issue that I have come away with. The second issue, while complex, would have to be our expectation of evangelism and social justice. This came up with Bart Campolo, but I believe was echoed in talks by Jarrod McKenna,Rudo Kwaramba and Claudio Oliver. I plan to post on both these issues in the coming week.

Over the weekend, I was helping with the audio and video, and was walking back to the auditorium from one of the marquees set up around the grounds when we first heard loud cracks in the bush around. The sound first confused myself and the guy I was walking with, that is, until a couple of pieces of hail hit the ground nearby. Then, it was like a switch had been thrown and the hail started to pelt down, growing in size as the temperature dropped. My companion ran back to the marquee and I told shelter under a large tree.

A couple of the first hail to hit nearby.

I took a couple more pics but then the hail started to fall through the canopy of the tree and hit me on the shoulder and head. The size of the hail by this stage was well over the tennis-ball size and not smooth but jagged and spikey — often a mass of smaller hail balls fused together. I ended up pocketing my iPhone and hugging the tree in an effort to stay out of the hail which was pelting me from above and below as the hail bounced high once it hit the ground!

Hail starting to fall heavier and cover the ground.

Blurred as I was getting hit while taking the pic!

The tree I hit under, later the next day!

Slowly the hail subsided and as the rain started I ran to the auditorium through the hail and rain, crossing what was fast becoming a river of mud and water flowing from the top of the road to the overflowing drain besides the auditorium. Wrenching the door open, I ram inside as a flood of water followed me into the building. The rain fell for at least an hour and the onslaught flooded much of the drainage.

The aftermath was that while no-one was seriously hurt, there were a few scratches and bruises. I had a large lump on my head from being hit and my left shoulder had two huge red welts that have developed into deep and painful bruises! Overall, considering that we had a couple of hundred people there and many were in tents camping and marquees for workshops we were very blessed that no one was hurt, and that the tents etc all survived.

Some of the most obvious damage.

Our cars however, were not as lucky. There were a few cars that had windscreens and windows smashed through, but nearly all had severe hail damage. My car was one that suffered both hail damage on 90% of the panels and a cracked windscreen. I have heard since that many cars have been written off or folk have opted to just have the windscreens replaced and the panel damage ignored. I’ll know this Friday when I see the RACV assessors.

Hard to see, but the windscreen has some awesome cracks from getting hit where the rubber meets the glass.

The passenger side was harder hit, most of the damage occurred on this side.

The bonnet and roof have the worst damage.

So, that was the natural disaster that struct Melbourne and caused flooding and damage to the city and many homes across Melbourne. There were jokes that it was sent due to the preaching of so and so and that locusts would fall next, but overall the hail served to remind us of how vulnerable we are and that many folk who may have experienced the hail and storm may not have been as lucky.

That was Saturday, the second day of Surrender. The rest of the weekend was quiet on the storm front but amazing and powerful on the topics and people front. I hope to post more on the two issues as I digest them.

Shalom!

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Today, just over two weeks since we first received the notice to evict, we had a look at a couple of houses that we were interested in. It didn’t start too well — the first place we went to look at, we found the agent sitting out front with no-one else around. Wonderful, we thought — either the place is a secret or there’s something up! Turns out the landlord had decided to sell the property rather than rent.

The realestate agent gave us a listing for another place so, having a bit of time, we stopped to grab a 50c cone from Macca’s then headed up the road to the second house. Not too far from the shops, and half-way to Croydon and Mooroolbark — pic looked good.

We turned onto the street and started looking for the right number and easily spotted the house at the end of the court with the myriad of cars and people out front. Seems that the house was popular and everyone looking for a decent rental was present! There were young couples, married couples with kids, older folk and folk from all sorts of ethnicity. So, we joined them and had a look at the house.

While nicely presented, the smell of cat pee was the first thing to hit me. Getting over that, we entered and had a look around. Not bad, two of the three bedrooms had walk in robes, great as the girls would have to share and Oscar would have his own room. The place had a kanara and renovated kitchen etc. Problem was, there was no backyard as the property had been subdivided and yard sacrificed, so no space for swing set or cubby house. Another problem we seem to come up against often, is that our fridge won’t fit into the spaces allocated for it in many of the older houses!

So, I must admit I left fairly despondent and depressed, not just at the quality of the house, but the sheer volume of people looking and how it seems to be a mammoth task to find something suitable! We swung past another house that has an open day on Monday, that, as we drive there, we found that it is very close to another school in the area. All I could do was laugh at the situation!

We’ll go look at this place on Monday. Meanwhile, we continue to pray and look for a suitable place.

Shalom!

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Just a quick update. No news on any houses, although there are a few out there but many are beyond our budget. We did take a look at one last week that was promising but a drive-by convinced us that it was not in a great location. We even spoke to the current tenants who told us that they house was crap, cold in winter with leaks in the ceiling and walls!

There are many folk out there looking for us, praying for us, and we thank you for that! We trust that we will be able to post some better news in the near future.

Meanwhile, the packing has continued and the filled boxes crowding the rooms. The kids and Jen have been awesome packing while I was away at Surrender over the weekend. My turn is coming! I have yet to even start with all the books and gear in the spare room/study — a task that I am not looking forward to it. We are hoping that we won’t have huge amount of boxes to move, that it will be a case of getting a place soon so we can start ferrying gear to the new place.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers and thoughts!

Shalom

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