Category: <span>Social Justice</span>

Published April 10, 2008 by

The Oasis

Geoff and I have been totally fixed to the box (television) for the past few hours.

The ABC have shown ‘The Oasis‘ and are now talking through issues of youth homelessness.

The film is unbelievable, it is real, it is heartbreaking, it is inspiring. And you can watch it online. Please, please take some time and watch this film. You’ll want to do something else with your life.

Social Justice

salvation army youth homelessness

Published April 2, 2008 by

Engineers without Borders

My response to an interview in Dumbo Feather on Design Hub (A uni thing that could be written as a blog comment and I did it pretty quickly):

Does Engineers without Borders Give a Damn?

I was blown away by the impact of Engineers without Borders. I’ve heard a little about them through a friend (Susannah) but didn’t quite realise the vision and the heart behind what they do. Engineers without Borders goes so much further in considering humanity over the immediate environmental or surface level social issue. They approach issues of poverty and need willingly with their skills. Engineers without Borders design for the community, there is an interview with designer Cameron Sinclair and he talks about providing a soccer balls before shelter to meet the social and emotional needs of the people before treating refugees as simply numbers in need of shelter. Engineers without Borders present their own soccer ball yet in their own expertise, sometimes this is shelter, sometimes water but with people in mind before environment. They work collaboratively with young and old to harness passion and wisdom. This goes further into creating systems that established to meet great needs that cannot be as strongly impacted by one. Yet engineers without Borders is the brainchild of one dissatisfied person, Danny Almago and there is something to be said for the impact that one can have on others. From initial failure to see where his aesthetic and technical background fit with ethical issues, Engineers without Borders now exists to include students in a holistic approach to work and life and the world.

Design Social Justice Uni

design article engineers without borders poverty social sustainability

Published March 30, 2008 by

No rules

Writing a post now is some kind of evil-forced reflection on the past week.

I have been up at Soul Survivor for it’s entirety, bar the last afternoon/evening and one night session hiatus for a 21st. This is the third year in a row – I think. It could be the fourth. It’s always interesting seeing what goes on. God generally uses it as a grand old chance to mess wildly with my head. Last year’s highlight was found in leaving a ‘main session’ going off on a walk and having God speak pretty clearly to me after catching my attention with possibly the most mind blowing moon ever (the same one that frequents your night sky actually). Nothing so gobsmackingly obvious and beautiful naturalistically this year.

Here’s the bare honest truth. I love Soul Survivor for the chance to step out of my ‘daily patterns’, I love the people, I love watching my youth kids pray for eachother, rally around others (and they around them). I love watching people change and grow. But I pretty much spend the whole time, every time frustrated in trying to work out what the hell is going on. Not so much in a bad way – it’s hard to explain. I guess I have this enormous dissatisfaction at the moment with the type of stock standard basic life that I live and although I know, I know there is stuff I do that is good and hey stuff that even is a bit on about bringing about God’s kingdom – I struggle to see it. And even when I do, I don’t think that I’m quite on the right track.

My (kinda) friend Steve Said ran some seminars about the Kingdom of God and if you ever get the chance to hear him do. I’m sure he’d be happy to assist busting some misconceptions. I’ve heard him before, but I needed to hear it again. The VERY short version:

The kingdom of God and following Jesus is not about what you eat – it’s not about prescribed rules at all.

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” – Romans 14:17

And before you approach that directly, go and blow the brains out of your standard understanding of righteousness, justice, peace and joy. Erm… take some time and learn Greek and have conversations with lots of wise people or shortcut by going and buying the recordings off the seminars.

Prescribed rules are easier but I don’t think they’re what I want.

(and that my friends is why I’m going to add this stupid little mid-post footnote – calling you my friends – and saying that I think you’re a tool if you think you can go to church on Sunday, lead a “moral” little life, don’t swear and think that you’re following Jesus. Harsh? Hey well I need to hear some of it too and I really wanted to use a different word than tool btw… but I figure I’d better keep this vaguely respectable.)

The other thing I was reminded about was the word Vocare (oh yes, remember that thing I started and pulled out of due to wedding insanity?)

Vocare (latin) basically is on about vocation – where your deepest passion meets a great need in the world. I’d really like to be living my vocation, vocare.

If someone could tell me what my deepest passion is, I’d be greatly obliged.

Christianity Holidays Life Relationships Social Justice

kingdom of God Romans is a good book Soul Survivor Steven Said

Published March 2, 2008 by

Church outside

cleanupToday a percentage of our church participated in Clean Up Australia Day.

It was interesting, because last night I confessed to Geoff that I really didn’t want to be a part of it and then went on to try and justify that I thought it wasn’t a good idea and ‘how was it really helping the community’/’we could do other things better with this time’. He heard me out – knows me far too well, and told me I was wrong. Then about ten minutes later I worked out that it was really only just about me not wanting to do it and felt guilty so I told him and he let me know he knew that’s what I was all along and rightfully laughed about it. As it was, I did feel bad about not wanting to do it, but I still didn’t want to take part – is there really much point forcing yourself to want to when you simply don’t?

Anyway as it turned out, church today (which was just music and communion before the cleanup during normal sermon time) felt very flat and fake.

And here it is. I enjoyed myself cleaning up. The sun was beautiful, the people were fun and talking and interacting with people they didn’t know so well and doing something. And really it felt a whole lot more like how church should be.

I do like it when God sticks it to me.

Christianity Church Social Justice

Church clean up Australia Day doing church living church people

Published February 27, 2008 by

Make it sustainable

Aside from having a fun name, Ezio Manzini is my new design hero… I don’t know if I’ve had one of these before, but we’ll give it a shot. I don’t mind Ray and Charles Eames either for their funky chair.

I found out about him today courtesy of my class on, ‘Contemporary Issues in Design’.

He blogs here

and better still, runs/contributes to (?) Sustainable Everyday

Blogging Design Social Justice Uni

Design Eames Ezio Manzini