thorts of other people : Brett Fish

Stories of Hope: Interview with The Message – Affecting the community and changing lives

Message South Africa is part of the Message family which is a worldwide movement that exists to share the Christian message with hard to reach young people through Prisons Ministry, Community Transformation and Christ-Centred Enterprise. I had the privilege of sitting down with three of the local members to talk a little bit about the impact they are having and hear some of the challenges and opportunities that have opened up. Jess is the Message [...]

By brettfish|2015-08-11T08:26:17+02:00August 11th, 2015|change the world, inspire-ations, local news, pain and Hope, thorts of other people|1 Comment

Whose Poverty is it Anyway?

i have just started reading a book called 'With Justice for All' by John Perkins, who was very much involved in the American Civil Rights movement and who i got to listen to at a CCDA conference when we were in Americaland. This first passage, although speaking about his country, resonated with much of what we see, feel and experience in South Africa. His definition of poverty is one i wish all of those who [...]

By brettfish|2015-08-10T10:10:40+02:00August 10th, 2015|inspire-ations, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|0 Comments

Taboo Topics: Parents of young children – Meet Terran and Julie [and their 5!]

My friends Terran and Julie Williams were going about life with their three delightful children, sharing regular stories of funny statements and learnt lessons and chaotic moments, when suddenly the news of a 4th child on the way... and then further news that their 4th was a set of twins... If you think three young children is hard, try to get your head around five! Terran shared this piece on Facebook yesterday and gave me [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-27T15:31:11+02:00July 27th, 2015|family, pain and Hope, Taboo Topics, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|12 Comments

Deep Dive Conversation Dinner: Money and economic type things

I know that I am cared for by an abundant Provider I choose to be grateful and trusting, I believe I have enough and that what I need will always be provided. I choose to be content and generous. I know that my choices matter for myself, for others and for future generations. Help me to live consciously and creatively, celebrating signs of your new creation that is present and coming. Creator, who made me [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-26T09:18:34+02:00July 26th, 2015|activities, challenging thorts, inspire-ations, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|5 Comments

The drum beats on…

i have read some REALLY helpful articles about privilege this week. My fear is that the appearance of the word 'privilege' with the assumption of it being specifically 'white privilege' on my blog immediately drives the very people i am wanting to hear and engage with this stuff away. But my hope, which is so much stronger than my fear, is that there are people like Bob [who a bunch of us had this long [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-24T13:34:38+02:00July 24th, 2015|challenging thorts, inspire-ations, local news, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|0 Comments

Getting Real with some White South Africans

This rollercoaster looks familiar. i had just posted a link to an article titled Get Real White South Africa, written by Milisuthando Bongela on the Times Lives site. It contained this challenging and eye-opening statement: Only white people can end white supremacy from within their communities - from their churches, schools, dinner tables, clamber clubs, sports clubs, boardrooms, banting restaurants, neighbourhood-watch WhatsApp groups, advertising agency brainstorms, rebranded Broederbond organisations, newsrooms, coffee roasteries, and homes. Which [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-23T09:10:06+02:00July 23rd, 2015|challenging thorts, change the world, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|4 Comments

If i die in police custody…

If i was a pastor in Americaland this coming Sunday, my sermon would definitely contain the words 'If i die in police custody' which is a trending hashtag on The Twitterer right now. TAKE A MOMENT WITH THAT. #IfIDieInPoliceCustody Last Friday, a black woman was returning home from a job interview in Waller County, Texas, when she was stopped by police after failing to properly signal a lane change. Two days later, she was dead [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-17T08:54:16+02:00July 17th, 2015|challenging thorts, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, world news|1 Comment

How to be One bit Less Racist: part ‘The They’

i have decided to resume the series on 'How to be One bit Less Racist' with this piece by my friend, Andy Vaughn. The interruption and focus on some of the bigger questions i though was completely important and necessary, but i also still see these seemingly tinier aspects as crucial to us starting to retrain our minds and thoughts and become less racist in the day to day interactions we have with people, while keeping in [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-13T13:23:35+02:00July 13th, 2015|change the world, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|2 Comments

How to be One bit Less Racist: We interrupt this series to take a bit of a step back…

i received two sets of comments after the last post in this series and felt that both were worth sharing. The first was from Sabrina and was really helpful in reminding me that racism can be localised. One strong example we came against when we were in the States is that the term 'coloured' there when referring to a person of colour, is very strongly racist, whereas in South Africa, for the most part, it [...]

By brettfish|2015-07-09T15:49:50+02:00July 9th, 2015|challenging thorts, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|10 Comments

I Write What I Like – Steve Biko: Part human face

Another passage from the chapter titled 'Some African Cultural Concepts': 'Yet it is difficult to kill the African heritage. There remains, in spite of the superficial cultural similarities between the detribalised and the Westerner, a number of cultural characteristics that mark out the detribalised as an African. I am not here making a case for separation on the basis of cultural differences. I am sufficiently proud to believe that under a normal situation, Africans can [...]

By brettfish|2019-09-12T16:38:44+02:00July 9th, 2015|things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|2 Comments