Continuing my journey through Frantz Fanon's 'The Wretched of the Earth' and i came upon this passage. Some of this is a little scary. Some of it is helpful and inspirational. But i think it is all so important for us to read and take on and understand, that even if some of the bits on violence do not feel palatable to us, there are completely being welcomed by a number of other people who [...]
To 2017 and beyond... i imagine this might come as a surprise to some people... or maybe not. But in the last week or so i've had a strong sense that God has been telling me that i need to get a little more hectic in 2017. You might not agree with this if you were one of the people who responded with a strongly worded response to my 'The Passion of the Chris' blog [...]
'I began to understand something quite important about South Africa: My fear of blacks was obscuring my understanding of the fear blacks felt for my white skin.' [Rian Malan, My Traitor's Heart] i am almost finished reading 'My Traitor's Heart' by Rian Malan which was highly recommended to me. The tagline of the book is 'A South African exile returns to face his country, his tribe, and his conscience.' Hm, it's been an interesting book [...]
i took a taxi today for the first time in a long, long time. Two actually, and it was great. This morning my friend and Improv aficionado [always wanted to use that in a sentence] Megan and i went to a primary school to volunteer run four thirty minute classes of Improv with grade 5's and 6's. It turned out to be a lot more fun than i was expecting. Especially cos we made it all [...]
i preached at St John's on Sunday about Jesus as king. The passage was Luke 23.33-43 - Jesus on the cross. It was Christ the King Sunday in the Anglican church, also known as The Feats of our Lord Jesus Christ the King. So i decided to look at Jesus as King. The feast was initiated by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and was connected to an increasing denial of Christ as King as well [...]
For months i've been speaking about the idea of #NotOnOurWatch as a movement worth joining. i know a lot of people have been challenged by that and in their own ways are joining in [i know because i am having conversations with some of them and assume there are a lot more] But i think it's helpful to clarify something. Just read an article that suggested calling someone racist isn't helpful at all in terms [...]
i attended the Restitution Conference yesterday at the Castle in Cape Town, cos slavery. [And am going back later today for part II] Which in some ways just feels like a thing i did. Oh i went to this thing and stuff happened and people spoke and it was good. Excepting that it wasn't just a thing. It was the first ever Restitution Conference in South Africa. And that something like 21 years after our [...]
When it comes to things about race, i have been on a journey for just over two years. i have certainly not arrived and assume this will be a life long journey. But i did realise that i couldn't ignore it any more or choose to get involved if, when and how it suited me. Living in South Africa right now means that issues of race, justice and poverty have to be forefront in my [...]
If you're never offended, you're probably dead. i remember hearing an excellent preach by my friend Albert, a Korean-American pastor in Americaland, on the subject of intolerance. He suggested that we are all intolerant, but that we choose what to be intolerant towards. If you believe in a clean and appealing neighbourhood or city, then you will rightly be intolerant towards litter. If you believe in the basic human right of living, then you will [...]
i was driving to a university campus to do a Peace Justice Witness shift and listening to the band Bastille on a cd in my car. And the walls kept tumbling down In the city that we love Great clouds roll over the hills Bringing darkness from above And i thought to myself, "Wow, that seems like familiar imagery. i wonder if this is the #FMF theme song?" But if you close your eyes, Does [...]
