Pacific juggling

I guess Pacific juggling is done with coconuts at it's best. Being wary of ones big toe. At the moment, mission and ministry here feels a bit like juggling coconuts (or parrot mangoes, now in season and an excellent thing, by the way). Not quite sure why at this time particularly, but it just does. Here's what I mean.  

Saturday - it's the last of the year's College sports days and I should be at that, cavorting with the white team (not skin colour). But there's more than a bit of pressure coming from the women of the Dudley Circuit to go to the Women's Fellowship rally an hour's minibus ride away because they're doing things about trauma healing. And because I help out at the Nanuku settlement church and some women will be going from there. Do you toss a coin or pray for God's direction? A bit of both. In the end I give a jar of chocolate 'medals' for distribution and a profuse apology to our student sportsmaster Filemoni, and pitch up at the rally which means catching the minibus at 7am. Rev Dr Jerusha Neal speaks with trademark energy on a 'footwashing' theme in the morning and the trauma healing sessions with local Pastor Umila Prasad are in the afternoon. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it all, to be frank, but that's not the first time I've felt like that at Women's Fellowship rallies. In a number of countries. Is it me? Probably. But then, it's not about me. Here's Aunty Lala, Shelley, Daisy and Mala.

Sunday - I take a 0730 Communion service at Dudley church and a 10.45 preaching service at Wesley, pausing in-between for a cuppa with Dudley's youth fellowship. Here we are.

Tea and buns evolves into an in depth conversation with the school chaplain - about truancy and suicide, among other things. And there's a whole blog entry in itself... 

Back to base for some marking, drafting a long overdue article, some e-mails and a 6.00pm student led ecumenical service in the PTC chapel followed by food of course, and fellowship in the Fale. 

Juggling far too many 'f's there.

Monday. In the office at 7.15am and make a list......  Produce 2016 draft budget by 30th and see Finance Director; read papers for PTC Executive on 24th; mark Worship and Liturgy Diploma assignments; fill in questionnaire on global trends in theological education; set up potential 'immersion' visit for a British mission partner in training, progress communications with the Anglican Diocese of Melanesia and the Uniting Church in the Solomon Islands about going to do some workshops there; see student from American Samoa currently on campus to make sense of inherited, indecipherable scribbles on her file about cross-credits; research best books to buy with remnant of library budget for 2015; plan Wednesday Bible Study for Nanuku, plan Chapel worship and write morning reflection for next week; continue with article I'm writing for SPATS journal; rehash the script about PTCEE currently in the 2015 handbook so it's updated for 2016 and submit to Academic Dean; go through the most up to date version of accreditation standards (only about 90 pages) and see that our courses and credits fit the bill; oh, and look for a pregnant cat around the campus (or possibly camp-puss) because I've got mice and want to raise a lean n mean little tiger to sort them out.

Tuesday: The list winks at me and flaps an accusing paper corner in the gentle breeze that wafts through the office as various other things occur. One student wants an in-depth conversation about King Uzziah. Another wants to know about Pishon. (It's a river in Eden, Genesis 2.11). I have a gentle and good natured session with both of them about how enlightening it can be to use a Bible concordance or dictionary and how satisfying when we take responsibility for our own learning. I think it sounded less pompous than that... Anyhow, they potter off to the library unoffended. I start to tackle the budget but am now mentally exercised by King Uzziah. (2 Chronicles 26). Pride goes before a fall is his main lesson to humanity. And don't try pretending you're a priest when you're not unless you want a nasty skin disease. 

Some of the morning is taken up with farewell-ing Dr Emily and hello-ing Dr Michael. There's a speech or five and then morning tea. Welcomes and goodbyes properly done are crucial here, culturally. A mature student comes to restart his lapsed BD by Extension (Hurrah! All that editing IS worth it!) and pays up for his next course. But he wonders if I can sort out some complications from way back when he did some contact classes but didn't seem to be credited for them. He needs to explain at length about this and I gladly listen but haven't got a clue really. Will raise it with colleagues and see if we can untangle this particular washing line. The phone rings and it's the Manager of Church Partnerships in the Pacific for Uniting World, Australia. May she call in Thurs to consult about a conference on Women's Theological Education. She may, but Thursday's the College Executive all day. (Papers still not read). We'll make time at some point during the day. I faff about with some of the business on Monday's list, but then it's 3.00pm all of a sudden and I've promised to wave off Lek and his friend Liam, two young Korean students who've been studying English at the University of the South Pacific for the past 5 months and are now leaving Suva for Nadi (place of holiday resorts and the international airport). I leap in a cab, zoom downtown and fortunately locate them already sitting inside a big bus which is loading passengers outside Holiday Inn. Lek looks touchingly pleased to see me and miserably crestfallen at our parting. I've been a bit 'Aunty Val',  had them 'round and cooked the occasional meal. We do pseudo-parental hugs, I tell them to let me know they've arrived safely, and off they go. It's very unlikely we'll lose touch as Lek, with a Church media background, is ever present on every imaginable form of social media. 

There's a cheap and cheerful food court not far from Holiday Inn where you can get a mug of instant and a splash of milk for the equivalent of 33p, rather than tourist designer coffee at enormous expense. I trundle off there for a sit down and stare into space for half an hour feeling guilty about not going STRAIGHT BACK TO THE DESK! The Principal tells students off - and by implication staff too -  if we're spotted committing the terrible sin of 'going into town' during the day. But I figure that if you're at the desk by 7.15, rarely take a proper lunch hour and quite likely do something work related at home after sundown, it's a healthy thing to go for a walk by the sea wall or pop into town for the essentials at some point during the day. I feel sorry for our students; the majority of them perfectly experienced, mature, Church leaders in their own right, well able to make decisions about use of time, being ticked off like naughty primary school children if they dare to hop on the bus - maybe to go to the medical centre or the bank (which doesn't open on Saturdays anyway). Especially if they're glued to the seat  writing a long, drawn out thesis. The brain needs a break and the legs need a stretch.

Ah yes, Pacific juggling. Not only between the myriad competing priorities and pressures that ministry and mission here raises. Lots of us have those in bucketloads. But - how to improve at the trickier, more ideological juggling, where it's so easy to drop the coconut? And difficult to know exactly what service in Jesus's way demands. How to keep a steady eye and a firm hand on an ever-circling and interchanging set of attitudes and assumptions, conformist and nonconformist choices, opportunities for compliance or rebellion, staying with the herd or exploring new pastures, speaking up or shutting up.

You can't keep them all in the air.

And Jesus said...
Consider the lilies, how they grow,
they neither toil nor spin.

Luke 12.27

This week's sermon in flowers

PTC Chapel

Thanks be to God

Ecumenical, botanical, recreational, educational...

Well, in ecumenical news, great to have meetings this week with the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and some of their theological education and ministerial formation team at the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership. This is a Centre that works in partnership with a whole variety of groups and networks, including Te Aka Puaho, the Pacific Island Synod, the Council of Asian Congregations, Presbyteries, United District Councils, and congregations. Here's a picture of some of the Knox Centre community

The visitors came to us, we didn't go to them, though I'd love to return the favour one day. As you can imagine, if you're familiar with this blog, they were well feasted and festooned Pacific-style here at the College, and lots of constructive conversations went on about ways we could perhaps serve and support one another's work. They might, for example, opt into some of our Bachelor of Divinity by Extension courses. They could also help to widen our pool of potential writers and resource persons, maybe. There's already a long history of relationship with the Pacific Theological College and the PCAZ; you can see some of the archive photos here. We hope the latest encounters have given it a bit more oomph!

In botanical news, things are blossoming and blooming around House 12, The lemongrass (left) is lush, and I enjoy breaking off some stems, tying them in a knot, and steeping them in boiling water with a tsp of brown sugar or honey for refreshing lemongrass tea. Smacks lips.

The chillies are doing OK too. Need to redden up a bit but they'll get the hang of it shortly. See below.

Then the pineapples are popping up. I was completely amazed and admiring of Dikesh, Shelley's teenage son, who willingly came to weed the pineapple plants in their stubborn spikiness. He refused all protective garments and didn't seem to mind having shredded arms by the end of it. What a star.

And then of course, the fascinating, fiery and utterly exotic - to the English eye - crabclaw plants which I never, ever tire of. Used to pay an admission fee to Birmingham Botanical Gardens to see those and now they're just outside the back door. 

It really is a  most beautiful, fruitful campus, of which I never tire...

In recreational news, Rugby World Cup fever is upon us of course. Here's this morning's Fiji Times.

'...what we have over other teams is the brotherhood we have with each other. We look after each other and we'd die for each other, and that's the spirit we'll be taking through into our first game'.

Against England. Did I mention that?

And in educational news, we're all muscling in to plug a gap or two in the residential programme because of staff shortages. Here I am about to tackle the marking of the MTh Book Review assignments. The kettle is on, the pen is twitching, the brain cells are being cranked into life. Well, it is Saturday afternoon! All good stuff and genuinely looking forward to the new or refreshed learning I'll benefit from while doing it. Because that's always the way. Eyes down for a full house! 

The MMPs

What a pleasure it's been to have Wande Ebofin staying at House 12 this week. 

Wande is another of that weird and wonderful species, the lesser spotted Methodist Mission Partner, often seen nesting around hospitals, schools, community projects and churches. You can read her blog here. 

MMPs come in different plumage and inhabit various territories. Wande is currently in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea and was born in the UK, raised in Nigeria, and has felt a powerful call from God on her life to move in mission. So it was fascinating to hear of how her gifts and graces have been put to use in Nigeria, the UK, the Bahamas, Sierra Leone and now PNG. Amazingly, the 5 MMPs serving in the Pacific all touched base in Suva this week, and here we are. 

From the back row left it goes Wande, Jenny Longbottom, Julia Edwards, Yours Truly. And then front row right to left, Graham Longbottom and Rev Dr Donald Samuel  - not an MMP but now on the Faculty here at College who kindly led some devotions for us on our Retreat day. Donald knows about moving in mission too, having served in South India, Botswana, American Samoa  and now Fiji. 

Jenny and Graham are medical doctors and have been at Helena Goldie hospital in the Solomon Islandsdoing fine work. You can read more about them on their blog. Julia is already a Suva colleague and you can find her latest news here.

At which point, I shall leave you for a while, because I'm the one cooking dinner for us tonight and I need to go and tackle one of our remarkably tough and unyielding pumpkins with a sharp instrument. The pumpkin usually wins.

I'd invite you to join us, but - honestly - would you want to have dinner with a bunch of Methodist Mission Partners? You know what they're like....