Conference + finished!

Phew.

Time to catch up on sleep. spend time with Julie, call home and move out of my apartment. (Oh - almost forgot - and to write an autobiographical essay for CPE).

The SACC Child Rights Symposium is over. I can finally breathe, relax and enjoy my pay-check. Three weeks ago I wasn’t so sure it would be pulled off, but the good news is that it was. The only hiccup was two delegates stranded in Jo’burg with no accommodation and three people from Free State who didn’t get on their flight (still have no idea what happened there). I’ve been to the airport and back 11 times in three days, and now have to collect invoices and account for R200 000! Thankfully I have five years of theology degrees to equip me for all these tasks! Teehee.

I wish there were a website or something with all the info and papers presented, as there was very good stuff that was said, but there isn’t. Part of the budget is for a publication to follow the Symposium, so I’ll be doing that for December and maybe can make it electronic. (I’ve added the programme for the two days here if you want to see what we covered). What made it all worthwhile were the comments during the closing session. People had their thinking around corporal punishment, discipline, and parenting changed and were moved towards restorative justice and positive discipline alternatives. Hopefully they will take their gleanings back to their local constituencies, as well as interact on a political level to ensure that the Children’s Amendment Bill gets passed in its entirety.
My highlight was when a senior minister from a rural area actually said that he was going to go home, call his son and apologise for the times when he had beaten him, thinking then that that was the best form of discipline. Joan Van Niekerk, the head of Childline SA responded in tears saying one of the most healing times in her life was when her father apologised to her for the way he had disciplined her as a child.

So - don’t smack your kids, apologise if you did, and help us to end corporal punishment and promote positive discipline!

Umm.. yeah that’s about it. Not too much news else. This conference has been all consuming and I’ve neglected quite a few things that I’ll have to catch up on next week (in between the accounting). First though - time to sleep!

disc diving

Ariel and I had a bit of fun on Clifton beach on Sunday afternoon throwing our bodies after a piece of plastic:
Thanks to Whitney and Sarah of Team Afrika for the pics.
(click image to enlarge and experience full awesomeness of aerial manoeuvres by us)

I tried a similar stunt during our league game last night. The only difference was that this time i wasn't landing in soft beach sand. Needless to say, I now have a pretty roastie to show for my efforts.

growth expected next year

Yesterday I went to Groote Schuur hospital to ask about the CPE program that I hope to do next year April. The current students are almost finished a tough course, and I’m beginning to realise that this will be a very hard program for me. The chaplaincy visits to patients, being faced with death, abortions, violence will all take its toll. However, the main challenge is the internal growth that this program is really about. I am so good at deceiving myself, avoiding the questions, running around conflict, that 3 months of intense inner growth will be tough. But, it is something that needs to be done. The supervisor told me that we aren’t allowed to read any books during the course, the only book we are reading is ourselves - the ‘living human document’ as they call it. So, God willing, I will start level one CPE in March next year. Pray that a more self aware, gentle and humble Gareth will emerge after the 3 months. Until then I’m biding my time with the SACC and maybe a stint helping organise the Design Indaba. And, as ever, playing Ultimate and enjoying Cape Town in the summer!

In case of fire

You’ve got to love the optimists! (and I count myself amongst them) This is a recent Threadless Tee’s design. Visit their page for wonderfully clever and artistic tee designs:

In Case of Fire
by Bruno Acanfora

You do of course get the cynic designers - such as this shirt that’s been recently reprinted. I remember Asher wearing it to my farewell party last year, though I doubt he was alluding to me:

Emotional Trip

by Glenn Flanagan-Dutton

Do you have a question?

The devotions from inward/outward lately have been all about questions. I share a few below:

Afraid to Ask
Thomas Merton

• Anxiety is the mark of spiritual insecurity. It is the fruit of unanswered questions. But questions cannot go unanswered unless they first be asked. And there is a far worse anxiety, a far worse insecurity, which comes from being afraid to ask the right questions--because they might turn out to have no answer. One of the moral diseases we communicate to one another in society comes from huddling together in the pale light of an insufficient answer to a question we are afraid to ask.

Source: Prologue to No Man Is an Island

The Courage to Ask
Dawna Markova

• Questions can be dangerous. They can take us right to the edge of what is known and comfortable. They can require tremendous courage to ask, because we know that new questions can lead to new ways of perceiving, and new perceptions can lead to new explorations of our world. Pick any question you have been avoiding asking yourself and you'll see what I mean.... The asking of new questions often leads us to the perilous, growing edge of our minds. That’s because all new and original thought begins with a question, which leads to an exploration…. Can we embrace the unanswered? Can we live in the mystery?

The Question
Jesus of Nazareth

• What do you want me to do for you?

Source: Gospel of Mark

Hat tournament!

I am an unashamed Ultimate Frisbee addict. Yes, it gets a bit much at times, but I’m cool with that. It is a most healthy addiction that gets me out of my head, back into my body. I also get to hang out with cool people. Tonight is therefore only a mild evening out, listening to a friend’s guitar concert in Rondebosch, because tomorrow (at 8:30) I need to be on the field for my first Tournament since being back in SA. Can’t wait! Hooray for flying plastic discs.


UPDATE: read about the tourney and see cool pics on the new CT ultimate site here.

seattle evidence

Yes, we were there, albeit for only two weeks. Had a fantabulous time seeing the sights, visiting Mt Rainier, ferrying between the San Jaun islands, exploring the cool areas in the city, and catching up with friends. Here’s a pic or two:

the SACC Parliamentary Office: Mr Researcher

So, I finally have a job, as of last week Thursday. I’m quite enjoying the structure (or bondage) of office hours, and still enthralled by the trains and working in the city centre. My official title is something like researcher or intern at the SACC PO (South African Council of Churches Parliamentary Office) and it’s a two month position for now. I was hoping to do some research and follow some Bills in Parliament, but it looks like my job spec had changed to office administrator and conference planner. Hmm...

I’ve been rather stressed out because I (with all my realms of event co-ordinating expertise) have to plan a conference for a 100 people, accommodation, speakers, flights and a big budget IN 3 WEEKS TIME!!! Keith (the PO director, and as such my boss-type guy - who isn’t really around much) thinks it can be done. No, rather, says it MUST be done. So, it will happen, and hopefully I’m still sane when the date comes around!

If any of you happen to be in Cape Town, and interested in the current Children’s Amendment Bill concerning the banning of corporal punishment in homes, please do come along! Here’s our flyer that I’ve just emailed to the heads of 26 denominations in the country:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Symposium on Children’s Rights
28 & 29^th November 2007
Cape Town, SA

An Inter-disciplinary Dialogue on Children’s Rights
to engage various perspectives on the abolition of corporal punishment
and for the promotion of positive discipline.

“Creating space for the important conversation between the fields of Law, International Human Rights, Child Work, Theology, Politics and Psychology concerning the current Children’s Amendment Bill, in the hope of harmonising international norms with current religious beliefs and traditional practices in South Africa.”

Hosted by the South African Council of Churches, SACC Parliamentary Office & Save the Children, Sweden

For more details or to reserve your seat, contact:
SACC Parliamentary Office – Gareth (021) 423 4261
SACC Head Office – Theresa (011)241 7813
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teehhee - what a nice little rant from an office desk! I need to play Frisbee soon to clear my mind!