goodbye...

Cheers; goodbye; totsiens; salani kahle; tschuss; auf wiedersehen; toodles...I'm off!
(well, for 2 weeks at least)
Goodbye then, hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a special New Years.

I've got my camera (bought it today!), still trying to pack, had an early Christmas celebration with my housemates, finished 2 of my papers for school, got loads of reading and a wanderlust spirit! New Mexico here I come!

I fly tomorrow for Albuquerque, New Mexico for a little adventure by myself. I'll be chilling with the monks of Christ in the Desert monastery for 10 days, then a bit of exploring in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, a conference with Richard Rohr to see 2007 in in style, and then i make my way back to Georgia for the January term.
So... until then, make friends with each other, socialise, chat etc - I'll get the blogging back up around Jan 4th. See you when I'm back!

Breathe and Smile

(ancient Christian meditation)

the gospel according to ... LEGO!

(again - some random reading because i won't be posting for a while)

Here is a great site that shows just how foreign some of the Bible can seem. The Bible in Lego! It is really funny! The section on the Law makes me shudder, and shows how foreign some of it seems. Do we still read all of it, and believe all of it? Is the bible really all true? If so, why don't we still listen to it (and do the crazy things it says). Really crazy things!

John 19:16-17, Luke 23:32
So they took Jesus and, carrying his own cross, he went out to the place called the Place of the Skull. Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him.

Other cool websites: there are some very clever T-shirt sites around too. The beauty of being in the States is that i can actually order and get shirts delivered! Have a look at these sites, and hey, if you want a T, get them to mail it to me, and I'll ship it over:
Threadless Tees
Glarkware
Random shirts

The Lunch Diaries... 1,2 & 3

When I worked at Randpark Ridge United, the highlight of my first 3 months there was having coffee with one of my youth leaders. Inspired by that memory, and to get the most out of my time here, I have been having some lunches/coffees/chats with interesting people here too.
Here then are the up-to-date Lunch Diaries Of Gareth Beyers:

Lunch 3: Chris Henry (student) - Tues 12 Dec
(Pic: Chris, Elizabeth & Kendall camping outside Chic-Fil-A in 2005)
We'd been trying to get in touch for ages, and finally scheduled an appointment during exam week (yesterday). Chris showed me a neat sushi place, and we spoke for an hour and a bit, before having to get back to write papers. He has interesting connections to Maake Masango, and would like to come to SA sometime. At Duke he got to know Peter Storey very well. Chris enjoys Hauerwas' virtue ethic, works at a homeless shelter twice a week, likes Paul's apocalyptic, and is rather clever. His explanation for why the Presby church here is dwindling: Presby's have fewer kids (and those that aren't born aren't retained well in the church). We will chat again next semester.

Lunch 2: David Bartlett (Professor) - 28 Nov
This was one of the best days that I'd had here so far. David has a great beard, a quick sense of humour and a great laugh! He was very gracious in wanting to hear my story, and in sharing his. He is a NT prof, though lectured Homiletics at Yale where he was for many years. We spoke about pivotal moments in his life, the CTS community and its atmosphere, honest struggles with faith, and balancing ministry and teaching as callings. He asked if I was a firstborn, and he thinks that there is a strong link between firstborn kids and calling to ministry. He is also very good friends with big name theologians like Wayne Meeks and Miroslav Volf, though he tries not to name drop;)

Lunch 1: Greg Simms (student) - 11 Nov
Greg had been making some very interesting remarks in my Jesus & the NT class, so I told him I'd be interested to chat to him. He thought the same of me too! We met for a breakfast on a Saturday in Decatur. Greg is married to Gina and they have just fallen pregnant with their first child! He worked in NGO organisations (helping resettle refugees) for a few years before meeting Gina and coming to CTS. He is a member of the Nazarene church, and working out where and how to take this degree. We spoke of church struggles, moving denominations, NGO opportunities, theology and married life. Greg thinks that the church needs to be involved in practical things on the ground, and not just 'spiritual matters'.

(Disclaimer - i have had many more meals than this, but often with groups, or with close friends, and they are rarely as theologically focussed as these are. Just in case my friends think they are not interesting enough;)

open-source software

I've been meaning to escape the expensive, monopolising clutches of Bill and his Microsoft world for some time now. Ever since Mark Shuttleworth brought out Ubuntu Linux, and Justin showed me how to use it, I've wanted to switch. My main reason is that it is free, something very viable in South Africa. Similar to John Kerry, I also like it simply because it isn't Windows (or Bush), and that you are encouraged to fiddle with the programming.I haven't achieved my dream in it's entirety, but i did switch internet browsers a few weeks ago. Goodbye Internet Explorer 7.0, hello Mozilla Firefox. So far it has been great. My blog even looks better through Mozilla than IE. So, if you want to try something new, download it here. Even if it is just to read this blog ;) The next baby step is to change email software, and then maybe make the jump to Open Office before I Linux.

friends

Maggie Leonard is a good friend of mine, who just so happens to have been giving me serious uphill about who and what I blog about. So, to appease her anger, and rescue our friendship, this post will have absolutely NO mention of Ultimate Frisbee, Frisbees, Flying discs, Atlanta Flying Disc Club, Jo'burg Ultimate or anything associated with that sport. The frisbee one. A sport she rather enjoys actually!
To show where my allegiance lies, and that i actually have a life and friends and stuff, this post will also have NO mention of 'silly Christmas lights in bottles', artistic flair, ambient lighting, photographs, the decor of my room etc. No mention whatsoever. Not even a little description of how the lights make cool shadows on the wall next to my bed, or give the room a pretty glow, or bring a smile to my heart when i turn them on. Not even a tiny footnote mention.
Instead - I will fill this post with recollections of the wonderful Christmas banquet we had at CTS on Friday, the game of Battleships at Thinking Man's afterwards, and the plans to go booty dancing this Friday. So, now that the ground rules have been set, here is the post:

Maggie Leonard is a wonderful person, who has a mom and a dad, and a brother and a sister. They all lived in Wilmington. Now she lives here. She is very good at putting petrol in her car, and drives around Atlanta in the 3am traffic very well. She was at this banquet on Friday. So was I, and all the CTS students, because it was the CTS Christmas banquet. There was dancing - mainly with Kendall (my date for the evening), and Maggie danced too. There were no frisbee games or cool christmas lights at the dance though. I'm sure of that. Afterward many students went to Thinking Man's tavern and drank Miller lite, and i played Battleships with Cathy (who i learnt actually prefers the name Catherine) and we beat Kendall and Kathy (another one). Then i spoke some to Csaba from Hungary, to Kyle (from California and Florida) and then I went home. To my room with a frisbee on the wall, and these cool light installations in a bottle that i can't mention. Oh, and we made plans to go dancing on Friday - not clubbing though, only booty dancing - it's different. The only similarity is that there are no frisbees involved. Though there may be christmas lights this time of year, and there certainly are bottles.

All in all, it was great fun, and neat to see everyone dressed up. And dancing and eating and being merry. So, this proves that i have a life and friends and do blog about things other than frisbee and lights. Tadaah!

(oh yes, for pics of the banquet, go here. Taken by resident photo champ Adam again.)

lights

I will be getting a camera this week - there's not a chance i'm going to New Mexico without one. Tonight however I borrowed Elizabeth's to get a pic of the 12 Days disc and tee-shirt (below). While i was clicking away, i remembered my 'light creations' by my bed. Some guy left a great big Vodka bottle here after a party, so i kept it, bought some christmas lights, and stuffed them inside (sans the liquid, obviously). I found another bottle later, got some more lights, and now my bedside table looks rather arty. They make great ambient lighting. I'm not really sure why i need that in my room, but it is pretty! Try this one at home yourself! I'm still thinking of ways to hang them from a light fitting.

12 Days of Ultimate

This weekend was the long awaited 12 Days of Christmas hat tournament, run by the Atlanta Flying Disc Club. The weather was perfect - two wonderful sunny days - I even got a bit of sunburn (in winter!) Everyone had told me that it was a great tournament, and guess what - they were right! 12 teams of 12 (that means 144 players if you weren't sure), four games on Saturday and the playoffs today. I was in team 2 - the green team. Our cry was "dos turtelos dovos" - someone thought that was 'two turtle doves' in Spanish. Our team was great and we had a good time. We lost our first 2 games, but then won the next 5 which put us in (dumdumdum) the FINAL! Yay! Most people were surprised that we got there, and to tell you the truth - so were we! Anyway, it was great to play with the sideline full of people hackling the players and cheering. We didn't stand much of a chance against the Aqua team, and lost 12:6 in the end, though not after some good playing. But I can say I played in the 12 Days final 06!

All in all, it was a great weekend. Laughs, food, new people and great Ultimate. I learnt quite a bit - really enjoying the depth and experience of players that Atlanta has. Now my legs get to rest for a month over the break, and then I will sign up for the Winter Goaltimate league (I'd never heard of Goaltimate before I arrived here, but everyone says it is great fun).

Oh yes- the best part of the weekend - apart from my hot green tee that i will wear everywhere, all the players got a disc too! Yes please!

Music!!!

YES! finally - some proper dance music!"Electronic dance music from South Africa and around the world."
DTB - (Derek The Bandit) is podcasting! I grew up listening to his "World of Dance" on 5fm, and i guess I owe my love of all things house/dance/electronic etc to him. Here hip-hop and booty dancing is all the rage, but there is still nothing better that real dance music (even though I get laughed at when i mention it). I've just downloaded his latest podcast (an hour long mix), and am dancing around the room gleefully! Hooray for our very own DTB!

More on music - just seen the Harris Tweed Tour details on the 5fm website. Have a look here, and make sure you see Cheri and the gang when they come to your part of the country. Looks like they are starting in CT and moving up the coast. Good-on-yer Tweedies!

I heart the Postmaster

That is something you don't hear too often - in the US or SA - but it is true, so I'll say it again! I heart the Postmaster. She/he has been especially good to me this past week: letters, drivers license, Christmas gift from South Africa and ... just yesterday:
A delivery of books to keep me busy over Christmas! Here they are:

Jurgen Moltmann: The Church in the Power of the Spirit
- a contribution to messianic ecclesiology

One of the primary texts for my thesis, some say the most important ecclesiological work of the 20th century.

Peter Berger: The Sacred Canopy

I already have A Rumour of Angels, and The Social Construction of Reality - all for my thesis. The Heretical Imperative is still on its way (wink, wink Postmaster).

Gordon Lathrop: Holy Things
- a liturgical theology

Required reading for my Winter course - Liturgical Theology - with Martha Moore-Keish. Looking forward to that class.

Richard Rohr: Everything Belongs
- the gift of contemplative prayer

One of the books to read for my New Year's conference with Rohr.

and finally:

Jon Kabat-Zinn: Wherever you go, there you are
- mindfulness meditation in everyday life

A highly recommended book from our Men in Ministry class. Should complement Rohr's book well.


10 days of silence in a monastery is exactly what i need if i hope to finish these all on time.

christmas with the monks

Yay! I received this email today:

From: guestmaster@christdesert.us
Sent: 06 December 2006 12:54 PM
To: Gareth Beyers
Subject: Dec 18 - 28

Dear Gareth,

Thank you for the reservation and deposit information. We look forward to meeting you on the 18 of December. Be assured of our prayers.

Peace,
Br Andre
Guestmaster

Things seem to have been falling into place this week. My International Drivers Permit came in the mail, as did the registration confirmation from the Centre for Action and Contemplation.
With today's email, my Christmas plans are now finalised:
10 days of solitude and silence (and reading for my thesis) with the monks at Christ in the Desert monastery. And then a New Years conference with Richard Rohr in Albuquerque.

New Mexico here I come!

the thesis

Friday was the deadline for the thesis proposals to be in. I was almost swayed by Barry at the last minute to change the theologians - with good arguments - but chose to stick with my original focus. Here then is my Thesis title and statement:

Toward a new South African ecclesiology:
conversations with Moltmann and Berger.

In the changing and increasingly secular South African society, historically white mainline churches need to ask the question “how can we ‘be’ church in the new South Africa?” Within the wider mainline theological tradition, Jurgen Moltmann’s challenging rethinking of ecclesiology and Peter Berger’s secularisation thesis provide interesting conversation partners for sketching this new contextual ecclesiology.

You can read the two paragraph description and motivation over here. Any comments? Now to actually get it written. Next deadline is 4th Friday in January - finish all the reading.

men are back

This weekend's Men in Ministry manly mountain retreat was great! There was food, football, poker, hiking, sunsets, mountains, cigars, afternoon siestas, laughs, beer, friends and rest. I'm sure there were some other things that I've forgotten too. I learnt Texas hold'em poker, walked in a forest and built friendships. For some reason my nickname is now 'Happy'. I guess it's better than Nancy, Slappy or Squeaks. All in all, a wonderful break. Now back to the grind...

The last men standing:
Adam/nancy, G/happy, Keith/squeaks, James/tina, Jeff/slappy & Tom/moose.

Adam took some great pictures of the weekend, to see the album, click here. Look out for my poker skill picture, huge burgers, and a great sunset.
While you are there, you may want to actually explore his blog pomomusings - it is rather well known, especially in the emerging church/alt worship circles, and makes for good reading. He said there have been some South African hits on his site already. For even more reading, other bloggers on campus are his wife Sarah, and my friend Whitney. All worthwhile! Meet my friends!

biltong anyone?

Atlanta has just got a new South African restaurant!SAGA opened in Midtown last month. I'm not sure if i will go visit just yet, but it is nice to know the SA community is doing things. I actually heard about SAGA's chef from a Frisbee friend who lives in Midtown. The menu seems rather pricey, and not too South African actually. There is biltong and kingklip and a potjie of the day, but that is about it. Not even a melktert for dessert! Maybe I'll take some peeps over to try Amarula or a Springbok shot before we explore the nightlife of Midtown. Exploring Midtown really is something still to do - it is a great part of town, and the architect in me loves all the tall modern buildings.

Atlanta's original SA restaurant is 10degrees South. I went to look there on a Sunday. It was closed, but there was a Lamborghini and a Beemer parked outside. Pricey!
On more SA things, there is a store in town that sells Ouma Rusks, rooibos, koo, biltong, wines etc. If i feel home sick I'll pop in. So far I'm doing okay - coke, chocolate and microwave meals! yeah! ;)
There is also a jeweller/art gallery in Decatur whose owner is South African. She has been here 40 years, and still sounds foreign.
Proudly Seffrican!

boundary leadership

Here are some great quotes from the book Boundary Leadership by Gunderson that I had to read for Men in Ministry class on Thursday:

• becoming who you are is less like performing others tricks, and more like waking up
  
• all brokenness is connected
• discrimination is real, race is not (!!)
• 90% of everything is showing up
• boundary zones create leaders who are able to risk asking open-ended questions of the whole system, and then are able to imagine responses that are consistent with those answers
• who are these people drawn to where the future can be envisioned?

It was a neat little book, challenging me to unorthodox, non-conformist boundary leadership. His descriptions of 'boundary leaders' reminded me of people I've met in South Africa - special people doing faithful and innovative things. Hopefully I can hang around similar folks here and learn from them.

break the silence

Tomorrow is World Aids Day, but this post isn't about AIDS just yet
This silence is due to the fact that tomorrow is also Thesis Proposal Deadline Day - so that has been keeping me rather busy this last week. It is almost finished, so watch this space, I'll post it up soon. For now, to fill in the week's silence, here are some updates:
Thanksgiving was great - it was neat to get away from the seminary for a bit and just relax in Huntsville. I ate turkey, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie with baby marshmallows on top, cranberry sauce and a whole bunch more things that i can't remember. Thanksgiving is about eating! ... and shopping evidently! I went at FIVE in the morning on Friday to the Mall for the black Friday shopping experience. Crazy! I made sure to visit the Space and Rocket Centre, watch a Huntsville Havoc ice hockey game, and even eat barbecue, fried squash and turnip greens at a very Southern restaurant - with a live gospel/barber shop quartet! Fun times! Thank you to the Rasses.
Tuesday was one of my best days here yet, mainly because i went for lunch with one of my professors - David Bartlett. We went to the Brickstore Pub and had a sarmie and a beer. It was great to sit down and hear his story, and to share mine. I need to do more lunches like that! It was very inspiring and energising. I had a meeting with my advisor and managed to fine-tune my proposal, did some work in the library, and finished the day off by jumping on Anna Carter Florence's trampoline at night. What a wonderful day!
This weekend I'm off on my Men in Ministry Man Mountain retreat at at a retreat centre in the North Georgia mountains. Apparently there are bears there, but i'm sure confronting elephants and lions daily in Africa has prepared me well for these cute furry animals. Famous last words? We will have to see.
I have also signed up for a conference over New Years with Richard Rohr in Albuquerque. I'm still waiting to hear from the monks about my new Mexico monastery visit hopes.