Weekend away with Solace

 

This weekend we have been away to Solace church camp at Sorrento. Its a community which Christina and I certainly identify with. The last few days confirmed why. The whole idea of accepting people be it with health issues, sexual orientation, or unorthodox beliefs. It is a safe community where the centre set model of which I loved talking about in the Vineyard Church actually exists!

We finished up the weekend with 'Clean up Australia' day down on the Serreneto foreshore. The environment and God is certainly high on my agenda as a Christian.

After the Vineyard there was for us a bit of a feeling that we had left home, through moving in a different direction. Now traveling with Solace for well over a year I think we have found a new home.

 

 

Clean up Australia day, and Thin places.

Today we all went off to Clean up Australia day. It was pretty wet, all up there was seven of us including us four in our family. Our area to clean up was from the entrance of the Koala park on Phillip Island Road and Harbinson Road along the bike path.

There was quite a lot of Rubbish, we collected two bags full. Lots of odds and ends, a car headlight, hubcaps, lots of golf balls, from the mini-golf at a-maze-n-thing over the road. As expected plenty of Mc Donald's rubbish even though we are 30km away from bass the nearest store. Plenty of hyper caffeinated drink cans, 'Mother', yet no Coke! What I didn't expect to find was Bakers delight bags, there was plenty.

I had one of those 'Thin Places' experience. Just walking along in the drizzle picking up rubbish thinking to myself that even on this miserable day there is a beauty. Pondering how God made the earth and it was 'good'. That He would be happy at my very very small contribution today, my act of Worship. Caring for what God made.

Even though we had previously done this type of thing at our old Church quite, we were often the ones who were leading or instigating. This time it was just us as a family, no agendas. Strangely it did feel different. I could almost meditate/pray while I was picking up the rubbish.

One of the ironic aspects of the whole day was a little thank you from McDonalds. Maybe they felt guitly? A few people gave me some dirty looks when I accepted the card; but like the Gherkin.