I invite you to celebrate with me friends once more as I have tears in my eyes yet again (what a sook).
Martinse Kanda member of Vox Congo (the little shy guy who plays Rhythm and drums) is now a permanent resident in Australia as of today when he received his letter in the mail. This news comes 6 months after Papy received his full residency. This is a huge celebration for Vox Congo and testimony to their faith. I have developed a very close relationship with these 4 guys since they arrived in Melbourne in 2002 and have seen the many heart breaks and disappointments time after time as they we’re told they couldn’t stay, they were told they were non-persons and even their closest advisors told them there was no hope.
Not once did their spirit or faith falter under the pressure. Depression lured many times but their faith and hope lifted them. Martinse and Carmen as well as the rest of the guys have asked me to thankyou all for your tireless support and for never giving up on them. Thankyou for you letters, petitions, friendship, showing up at concerts, your meals, clothing, financial support and a roof over their heads. Often we don’t get to see the impact we can have in lives or hear the good news stories, well here they are, a testimony to your efforts in standing by the neglected and the cast aside in their time of need. Well done.
We ask for your continued prayer and support for Etienne (band leader) and Adolphe (the unforgettable Bass player). I had a series of meetings with them in November last year and they were not traveling well. They miss family, they are feeling lost and confused, yet they still have great hope. I am concerned for my friends and I ask that you please stay with them in prayer and support. After their visit to Adelaide in November I was at a wedding with them in Melbourne and Etienne asked if I could launch an appeal for him and Adolphe to the new immigration minister. Asylum seekers and refugees have a new found hope in our new government who seems to know the meaning of compassion based on recent actions like the release of the prisoners (unlawfully detained refugees) from Naru.
I will be in touch with you when I have something put together which will include information and format on how to write to the minister for immigration. If anyone would like to help me with this I would be grateful. I am still a learner. I will be relentless and will not give up until each member of Vox Congo are heard and have received residency in Australia.
Until then please share this message through your networks as I don’t have contact with everyone who wants to be kept up to date on Vox Congo.
Blessings
Mark Riessen
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Where are they now?
I never thought I’d hear myself saying this but, ‘my how times have changed’. I often catch myself watching or reading certain news items or tabloids about the new generation of ‘celebrity’ and the following they have. I hear commentators talk about the influence they have and my jaw drops.
It seems in this day and age anyone can be a celebrity, and for all the wrong reasons. They are then glorified to positions of stature and looked to for leadership on how to live, how to party, what to wear and who to hang out with. It seems the mentors, teachers and leaders of old are few and far between and society has very easily replaced them with celebrity ‘wanna be’s’.
It’s just so hard to fathom what good leadership and mentoring used to be like and how we can continue to duplicate it. When Jesus was a boy he would have sat at the feet of the great mentors and teachers of his day, and like any Jewish boy would have strived with great ambition to be one of those teachers. Someone who taught the law of society, the law which was to bring harmony to community living and bring out the best in each person, a law which each person was expected to meditate upon day and night.
The Rabbi would pick out the best of the best to continue on as his disciples, to follow in the footsteps of the Rabbi and know and understand every aspect of his teaching so that they may one day be like him.
Every single child of the day had a mentor, a teacher, a leader who would invest in them and build them up to one day take on that mantle. Sadly it seems that mentors and teachers like this are becoming thin on the ground. A position which was once vied for and considered a position of great honor, is now considered a burden or an imposition. With the relinquishing of the honor to influence our younger generation with the teachings about God, faith, justice and community living – the vacant spaces have been left to whoever wants to be the next big thing for their own personal gratification. Society has let this happen and young people will let them be their leaders.
Where are they now? Where are those leaders and mentors who would consider the great honor of teaching the next generation of people who will one day be influencers and world changers?
Next time we has a call out for Kidzone leaders, boy’s brigade leaders, youth leaders and the like, I would hope with great expectation that a number of people among us would put up our hands and say, ‘I would consider it an honor’.
I thank those all people who invested themselves in me during my developmental years because without them I would not be a leader.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
It seems in this day and age anyone can be a celebrity, and for all the wrong reasons. They are then glorified to positions of stature and looked to for leadership on how to live, how to party, what to wear and who to hang out with. It seems the mentors, teachers and leaders of old are few and far between and society has very easily replaced them with celebrity ‘wanna be’s’.
It’s just so hard to fathom what good leadership and mentoring used to be like and how we can continue to duplicate it. When Jesus was a boy he would have sat at the feet of the great mentors and teachers of his day, and like any Jewish boy would have strived with great ambition to be one of those teachers. Someone who taught the law of society, the law which was to bring harmony to community living and bring out the best in each person, a law which each person was expected to meditate upon day and night.
The Rabbi would pick out the best of the best to continue on as his disciples, to follow in the footsteps of the Rabbi and know and understand every aspect of his teaching so that they may one day be like him.
Every single child of the day had a mentor, a teacher, a leader who would invest in them and build them up to one day take on that mantle. Sadly it seems that mentors and teachers like this are becoming thin on the ground. A position which was once vied for and considered a position of great honor, is now considered a burden or an imposition. With the relinquishing of the honor to influence our younger generation with the teachings about God, faith, justice and community living – the vacant spaces have been left to whoever wants to be the next big thing for their own personal gratification. Society has let this happen and young people will let them be their leaders.
Where are they now? Where are those leaders and mentors who would consider the great honor of teaching the next generation of people who will one day be influencers and world changers?
Next time we has a call out for Kidzone leaders, boy’s brigade leaders, youth leaders and the like, I would hope with great expectation that a number of people among us would put up our hands and say, ‘I would consider it an honor’.
I thank those all people who invested themselves in me during my developmental years because without them I would not be a leader.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
Uninvited and unexpected
Many people I know are really struggling to come to grips with celebrating this Christmas. Some won’t at all. So I ponder the Christmas story and I try to think of an encouraging or comforting word.
I find it interesting in the two Gospel accounts we have of the telling of the birth of Jesus, that even though the coming of a Messiah is expected in Israel, the Jesus event was still somewhat unexpected in many ways. In Matthew this nearly caused Joseph to break off his relationship with Mary before it started. In Luke Mary was deeply troubled when coming to terms with the news that this was about to happen. Everyone we read of who learnt of Jesus birth had to be prompted in some way. No-one expected such an event.
So this Christmas reminds me of unexpected happenings and not exactly events that bring us joy but rather anxiety, pain, questions and bewilderment. I am also reminded however that the Christ breaks in, in an environment where there is uncertainty and instability, where people wait in hope yet have made no room for his arrival. So Jesus comes anyway, and what is it exactly that we expect? Does Christ come invited or uninvited? Whatever the case is Christ’s presence welcome?
I have found the following reflection from Thomas Merton very helpful.
‘Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, His place is with those for whom there is no room.
His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied status of persons, who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world.’
If you won’t be joining us at Blackwood this Christmas, may your Christmas be filled with the unexpected peace, love and presence of Christ our Savior.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
I find it interesting in the two Gospel accounts we have of the telling of the birth of Jesus, that even though the coming of a Messiah is expected in Israel, the Jesus event was still somewhat unexpected in many ways. In Matthew this nearly caused Joseph to break off his relationship with Mary before it started. In Luke Mary was deeply troubled when coming to terms with the news that this was about to happen. Everyone we read of who learnt of Jesus birth had to be prompted in some way. No-one expected such an event.
So this Christmas reminds me of unexpected happenings and not exactly events that bring us joy but rather anxiety, pain, questions and bewilderment. I am also reminded however that the Christ breaks in, in an environment where there is uncertainty and instability, where people wait in hope yet have made no room for his arrival. So Jesus comes anyway, and what is it exactly that we expect? Does Christ come invited or uninvited? Whatever the case is Christ’s presence welcome?
I have found the following reflection from Thomas Merton very helpful.
‘Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, His place is with those for whom there is no room.
His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied status of persons, who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world.’
If you won’t be joining us at Blackwood this Christmas, may your Christmas be filled with the unexpected peace, love and presence of Christ our Savior.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Are you really the one?
We held a ‘Blue Christmas’ service at our church on Thursday night in partnership with our two local Anglican and two local Uniting churches. We name it Blue Christmas for those for whom Christmas will not be so great this year. Maybe there is an empty chair at the table for Christmas lunch that would normally have seated a loved one you have shared many Christmas’ with. Maybe there is no tree or presents this Christmas because mum & or dad suddenly find themselves unemployed. Our service was held with these people in mind.
It’s times like this that bring memories of expectations you once had flooding back, and the questions you long to be answered begin building up. Expectations like, ‘I thought it would always be this way’, ‘we still planned to do so much together’.’ They are shattered by the unexpected and sometimes the misunderstood assumptions of what seems to be according to the realities of the world we understand and know.
In Matthew 11:2-11 John asks the question of Jesus on all our lips, ‘Are you really the one, or should I expect someone else?’ The question comes as a deep personal question of doubt under circumstances where life has taken a turn for the ‘not so great’. While many commentator believe John’s question is for the benefit of his disciples learning and choose to leave John as the all knowing prophet, I disagree and here’s why.
Jesus’ response to John’s disciples is: ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’ (Matt 11:4-5 NIV) So I guess that settles it, it’s all good news and Jesus is the guy we’ve been waiting for. Or is it really as simple as that for everyone? John’s changed circumstance is that he is in prison which is why he sent his disciples to ask the question of Jesus. Jesus’ response lacks one critical thing that John is waiting to hear. What I discovered (with the help of a colleague) is much of Jesus’ response comes direct from the book of Isaiah, the prophet who speaks the promises all of Israel are waiting for. You’ll see Isaiah 61:1-2 quoted nearly word for word in Luke 4:18-19, but what’s missing in Jesus’ response in Matthew is the line, ‘proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners’.
John is still captive and will continue to be held captive. ‘Is this the guy Isaiah was talking about, or should we expect someone else?’ Often tragedy strikes us when it’s actually supposed to be a joyful time and we are stuck with a hit in the guts and a crisis of faith. So what do we do with that, when we know the good news is come yet we are still held captive? The only hope we have is that we awake to a new day with a new reality in which the one who bears good news has come and we long even more to share and experience it with one another.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
It’s times like this that bring memories of expectations you once had flooding back, and the questions you long to be answered begin building up. Expectations like, ‘I thought it would always be this way’, ‘we still planned to do so much together’.’ They are shattered by the unexpected and sometimes the misunderstood assumptions of what seems to be according to the realities of the world we understand and know.
In Matthew 11:2-11 John asks the question of Jesus on all our lips, ‘Are you really the one, or should I expect someone else?’ The question comes as a deep personal question of doubt under circumstances where life has taken a turn for the ‘not so great’. While many commentator believe John’s question is for the benefit of his disciples learning and choose to leave John as the all knowing prophet, I disagree and here’s why.
Jesus’ response to John’s disciples is: ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’ (Matt 11:4-5 NIV) So I guess that settles it, it’s all good news and Jesus is the guy we’ve been waiting for. Or is it really as simple as that for everyone? John’s changed circumstance is that he is in prison which is why he sent his disciples to ask the question of Jesus. Jesus’ response lacks one critical thing that John is waiting to hear. What I discovered (with the help of a colleague) is much of Jesus’ response comes direct from the book of Isaiah, the prophet who speaks the promises all of Israel are waiting for. You’ll see Isaiah 61:1-2 quoted nearly word for word in Luke 4:18-19, but what’s missing in Jesus’ response in Matthew is the line, ‘proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners’.
John is still captive and will continue to be held captive. ‘Is this the guy Isaiah was talking about, or should we expect someone else?’ Often tragedy strikes us when it’s actually supposed to be a joyful time and we are stuck with a hit in the guts and a crisis of faith. So what do we do with that, when we know the good news is come yet we are still held captive? The only hope we have is that we awake to a new day with a new reality in which the one who bears good news has come and we long even more to share and experience it with one another.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
Friday, December 07, 2007
Is there any joy in the Christmas insanity?
So what do we make of this silly season we call the lead up to Christmas? Our TV’s radios and junkmail are yelling at us, ‘buy, buy, buy!’ and we groan one more time as we frantically try and fit in another meeting and get our last scraps of work done before the office closes for the Christmas break, and we lament the calendar that tells us we will no longer see our home except to lay our heads on our pillows at night because we have yet another gathering to attend.
Does this kind of thing give you much joy at all! I find it interesting that the majority of people I talk to don’t find any joy in these activities at all, in fact they can’t wait until it’s all over. So why on earth do we subject ourselves to such grueling and painful rituals? Because it’s tradition? Because that’s what is expected of us culturally? I suspect we’ve lost the meaning of tradition to an extent and in fact we no longer even acknowledge the traditions that were supposed to bring us life, hope and joy in the Christmas season. The traditions we subject ourselves to and desperately try to keep up with today have been around less than 100 years.
Let me draw your attention to another tradition. These weeks leading into Christmas is called advent. The fist Sunday of advent (last Sunday) is traditionally the beginning of the church year. It is also the beginning of the 40 days leading up to the feast of Epiphany, the day of celebration when new believers were baptized. There are a little over 4 weeks in the advent season when believers are called to a time of praying and fasting. It is actually a time to slow down and prepare for the coming of Christ. Very countercultural to the 21st century, maybe shopping centre advertising wasn’t so aggressive 1600 years ago.
For me advent is a time of slowing down long enough to recognize that actually, Christ is among us. It is only in the slowing down that we can acknowledge this and truly sense the hope, joy, peace and love we celebrate for the Christmas season. Next time to bump past someone in the shopping centres in your frantic Christmas rush, remember this pondering from the late Archbishop Oscar Romero:
‘Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother and sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them, Christ will take as done to him. This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.’
Shalom
Mark Riessen
Does this kind of thing give you much joy at all! I find it interesting that the majority of people I talk to don’t find any joy in these activities at all, in fact they can’t wait until it’s all over. So why on earth do we subject ourselves to such grueling and painful rituals? Because it’s tradition? Because that’s what is expected of us culturally? I suspect we’ve lost the meaning of tradition to an extent and in fact we no longer even acknowledge the traditions that were supposed to bring us life, hope and joy in the Christmas season. The traditions we subject ourselves to and desperately try to keep up with today have been around less than 100 years.
Let me draw your attention to another tradition. These weeks leading into Christmas is called advent. The fist Sunday of advent (last Sunday) is traditionally the beginning of the church year. It is also the beginning of the 40 days leading up to the feast of Epiphany, the day of celebration when new believers were baptized. There are a little over 4 weeks in the advent season when believers are called to a time of praying and fasting. It is actually a time to slow down and prepare for the coming of Christ. Very countercultural to the 21st century, maybe shopping centre advertising wasn’t so aggressive 1600 years ago.
For me advent is a time of slowing down long enough to recognize that actually, Christ is among us. It is only in the slowing down that we can acknowledge this and truly sense the hope, joy, peace and love we celebrate for the Christmas season. Next time to bump past someone in the shopping centres in your frantic Christmas rush, remember this pondering from the late Archbishop Oscar Romero:
‘Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother and sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them, Christ will take as done to him. This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.’
Shalom
Mark Riessen
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