at the heart of what we do

A note from Adam

When I talk about Mosaic to my grandma, she thinks I am a part of pottery class. As I try to talk to her about what MosaicPerth really is, she responds by saying, "How do you have the fine-motor skills to do pottery?" So I go on the internet to show her our blog, and unfortunately a pottery site came up. She once again looks baffled.

MosaicPerth is simply a community of followers of Jesus who attempt to live by faith, be known by love and be a voice of hope to those around them. We are a church, constantly changing what we do, based on who is in our community. If there are artists in our community we seek to connect with people through art, if there are kids in our community we seek to serve them.

We look for opportunities to connect and engage with people in the community and reveal God's kingdom (love, compassion, justice, mercy, kindness, truthfulness etc.) through our actions. We believe that no matter how dark a place may seem, there is always hope.

Practically we have people in our community being a voice of hope, in love, and with faith all across Perth. Some people go to university, others work with children, and others are self-employed. We believe God has called us to unleash those in our community to awaken humanity, so that people live their lives to the full, understanding that God's idea of what this world can be is so starkly different to what we hear on the news.

Since Mosaic is a community of people, how we engage the world around us changes as our community grows and brings new people. We believe that God wants to use all to change this world...

So in the upcoming weeks at Mosaic we are going to explore in more detail what are the core values of Mosaic, what is the type of clay that makes up our community (Dammit, I should get away from the pottery analogy, no wonder I confused my Grandma).

So please come along on Sunday as we continue to dream of what this world could be...

"Draconian" yeah that's a word for it

Next Sunday (June 20 - World Refugee Day) Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) with Amnesty International Australia are holding a rally in response to the government's new immigration policy, which "freezes" visa applications from people arriving from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Check out this video below from GetUp:



The ARTillery crew will be down there, getting creative to raise awareness about the issues. They'll be providing all the rally-ers with shipping tags that are personalised to asylum seekers and say "I AM NOT ILLEGAL". If you're keen to help make the tags, then shoot an email to artillery@amnesty.com.au.

Or just come down to Wesley Church cnr of Hay St and William St at 1PM.



P.S. Check out the header link. It's an article from the west online about the reopening of Curtin Detention Centre.

Adam, Sean and Jeff's Indo adventures cont.

The illustrious Adam, Sean and Jeff spent some time with Paul Richardson, the man being interviewed in the video below. Pretty amazing guy, we could learn a lot from his faith.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
- Wendell Berry

How can we find the peace of wild things in our lives?

A thought for Easter

A post from Adam Martin.

I once met a man who was a hospital chaplain and he uttered these wise words: "God simply wants us to stay with people during their pain, the type of pain that only God can fix or heal." As I contemplate these words I cannot help but think about the pain that I have endured in my life thus far. But when this pain comes to mind I am strangely filled with hope, because of the loving actions of those around me.

For example one and half years ago my mother sadly passed away. However, what overwhelmed me was the response of the Mosaic community. Instead of trying comfort me with a catchy saying like, "It will pass" they took time off work to attend her funeral. Instead of simply saying, "Let me know if you need me, I am here for you" they stayed with me and grieved with me. In fact, my family were amazed that so many of my friends attended my mum's funeral.

Staying with people in their pain is awkward and hard because we cannot fix their pain, only God can. If he chooses to.

As Easter has just passed it reminds me of how God endured so much for us, how Jesus became a man, and stayed with humanity in its pain and brokenness. I hope that because of this we too as a community (of love, faith and hope) can stay when painful circumstances hit those around us. That we can be known for our love in a crisis, that we shower others in patience and grace when they hit rock bottom. That we do not expect those around us to finish grieving for lost ones in two weeks, and that we love people regardless of whether they change or not.

How can we simply stay with others in their pain this week?

Sojourners April Fool's

Recently in America, Glenn Beck, a Morman TV and radio host, has claimed that preaching social justice as a part of the gospel is a perversion. Rev. Jim Wallis, famous social justice advocate and Christian, has condemned the accusations, saying that social justice is at the heart of the gospel, and has invited Glenn Beck to discuss his views. Go here to check out a news article with some more background of the situation, and a video too. Very interesting!

Sojourners: faith, politics, culture is a great website/resource/community/all-round hub of awesomeness for learning and understanding the relationship between the gospel and justice. Below is a video they made on April Fool's Day to highlight the hilarity of the Jim Wallis v. Glenn Beck debate. FUN!



HAPPY WATCHING AND HAPPY EASTER!

Living Easter

The ethereal Sarah McLachlan took the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi and turned it into an amazing song of reflection and hope. This is the prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love
where there is injury, pardon
where there is doubt, faith
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy

O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console
to be understood, as to understand
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen

It is a prayer that I think is a fitting meditation for the time of Easter. The death, burial and ressurection of Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and its reality in our lives has enormous repercussions. St Francis describes a life that reflects the image of Jesus we find in the Scriptures and is an encouragement to continue to follow Him as He asked us to do.

One practical thing you can do at Easter time to be an instrument of peace is to think about the chocolate you are buying for your friends and family. This may seem a little left of centre as Easter is often portrayed for Christians as a time to think of Jesus' sacrifice and it's importance in our lives. This is true but these reflections are almost useless if they aren't transformed into the outpouring of love and hope that Jesus showed in His resurrection.

A simple choice regarding what chocolate you buy really does have a massive impact. Watch the video below to hear about the benefits of fair trading in Ghana.



You can buy Fair Trade Certified Chocolate in most supermarkets now and Oxfam have a great selection of festive chocolate delights. Your decision has a person at the end of it, so it's kind of a big deal. Plus, fair trade chocolate tastes way better, with none of that nasty guilt!



ALSO!
A cool art video: