BLACK STUMP REPORT

There were only a few bleary eyes this morning. Mostly the feeling in camp was excitement.

Everyone pitched in to help. These would be common themes for the weekend: eggs and helping others.

The Yarrabah Mob did a worship dance that was very different to what we were used to as worship. We were challenged to think beyond our conventional way of thinking and experienced a wonderfully spiritual dance.

The Shepherds had a sense of Wow. They worshipped a saviour and they came empty handed.

The Magi came as  a sense of duty. They worshipped a king and they brought gifts.

Ali's point was that as long as you come to God it doesn't matter if you come in an excited manner or if you come more quietly. God does not reject us if we come empty handed. There is no prerequisite to come with something to give.

She also made the point that it is easy to worship the saviour as a chummy friend, but we should not forget that he is also the King of our lives.

Both the magi and the shepherd's worship resulted in a response from them. It was not a passive worship. The magi responded with obedience and the shepherds response was evangelism.

Many of us chose to go to see Dave Tomlinson in the Supper Club for Bible study. So many people chose this venue in fact, that people were spilling out of the tent. It was very difficult to hear him if you were unlucky enough to be sitting outside the tent.

He spoke on the Psalms and how it reflects how life moves through the seasons. We can experience warm sunshine and feel the praise and joy of God. We can also experience the bleaker weather but God is always there. 

He said that Faith is a conversation and conversation has two sides. Real faith is based on trust rather than on traditions. We must be able to say what we think and feel. We are part of a real relationship with God and there can be no pretending. We need to trust God through conversation rather than just hearing what is said about God.

Dave warned us not to sanitize worship. He stressed that it is normal to experience great times and bad times. We can't identify with all the Psalms, all the time.

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We enjoyed lunch in the Village this year. Some of us attempted to go healthy by ordering a Thai Chicken Salad, only to find they had no dressing. So, instead we succumbed to the call of the pizza or the potato wedges or simply an apple.
 

It was good music to digest the pizza to. When interviewed, he said that relationships inspire his music. 

He played quite a few songs all of which were good but we felt there wasn't enough worship in his music or even general songs about God. 

There were mixed responses from this. Some said it was brilliant. Some loved the unstructured feel to it and said it was very funny. Others did not respond as well to the odd silliness. 

All those who did go and see him though said that there was almost no mention of God in his music.

Some of us went to see Scottie Callaghan talk about "Great Coffee with a Conscience" at the Plunge, a new venue. 

As followers of Jesus it is our moral and spiritual responsibility to make social justice issues a major part of who we are. So, Scottie spoke about the coffee crisis knowingly created by the four major companies: Nestle, Craft, Proctor and Gamble, Sara Lea. They pretty much destroyed the coffee industry in Brazil where the climate is right for growing good quality coffee and set up an industry controlled by them in Vietnam where it is cheaper to grow but the quality is dramatically reduced. They did this all in the name of profit.

www.freetrade.org
www.coffeegeek.com
www.globalexchange.org
www.worldtrade.com
www.terroircoffee.com

1 Use only fresh coffee
2 Don't bother with putting your coffee in the fridge or the freezer
3 Use only clean equipment
4 Use the right grind size for your brewing method
5 buy a good grinder with conical blades and adjust it every day
6 Don't use boiled water. Water heated to 90 degrees is best.
7 Find  good ethical accessible boutique roaster

I didn't realise there was so much involved with making a good cup of coffee. This was a fascinating talk even for someone who does not even drink coffee.

A point to keep in mind: If the Big Four are willing to destroy lives in the coffee industry in the name of profit, then they won't hesitate to do the same for their other products. Keep this in mind the next time you do your grocery shopping.
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