Conversations

There's nothing like talking to clarify one's thoughts. This is why I talk to myself so much. I don't think very well inside my head, so I say it out loud, even if there is no one else around. Nice as this is, it is considered odd, and I sometimes find that having another person to talk to even more useful, especially since they might think of things that I lack the broadmindedness to come up with. So when I went back to NSW for a few weeks I had some great conversions about MTS with... Well pretty much anybody who would listen. These included: my parents, various friends, current AFES staffworkers at Newcastle uni, and a current MTS trainee. Unfortuanately I am amazingly lazy, especially when it comes to blogging, with the result of forgetting a lot of important things before I ge the motivation to write them down. Here is the summary of my chats with folks, such as I remember them. Parents: they think I should do it, that it would be good for me, but I should be prepared for how hard it will be. AFES workers in Newcastle: would be happy to have me and I should decide by June for financial reasons. I was mildly hoping that they would say something like "it's good that you're keen, but we're not sure this is really for you." It would have been a blow to my pride, but also a lovely excuse to have an easy life. Oddly enoughg, the time limit is a good thing It will (hopefully) prevent some of the more extreme procrastination to which I am prone. Friends: mostly "that's pretty exciting" and listening to me talk about it. MTS trainee LG: probably the most helpful conversation. This was a mostly one-sided conversation where I listened to h talk about her experiences, the good bits, the bad bits, joys and struggles. She is a good talker, and said lots of things, some of which I knew or had thought of, some of which were new and interesting. - Work doesn't just happen when you're working, it can happen any and all the time, and parties can end up being difficult rather than relaxing. - The relationship with the trainer is an odd one. It's not really boss, or friend, or teacher, but a strange mixture of all those things with perhaps a few other things thrown in. - Students are hard to get to sign up and commit to things. This I knew. Everybody knows that. - It gets hard, but there are plentiful holidays. I'm sure there was more (LG talked for ages!) but that's all I can remember right now.

Ash Wednesday Part 2

The last post on this topic was extremely long, so I decided to cut it in two. Hopefully this one will be shorter, although I can't promise anything.

Last time I talked about the church service itself, but now I'd like to consider the content. The catholic church teaches all sorts of things that, as a protestant, I don't believe. Things like Mary being perfect, the pope having the same authority as the bible, their understanding of the Holy Communion. I have problems with all of these, but I didn't encounter that many things I didn't agree with. Bear in mind that I was sitting a fair way back, and couldn't see or hear everything, but as far as I could tell most of the content was pretty similar to the book of common prayer used by a lot of Anglican churches. I participated with most things, although at least once I chose not to say amen because I didn't agree with part of what they said. I think they only mentioned Mary once, and the pope never.

There were two readings, one was Psalm 51, I don't remember what the other one was, but it was a sizeable chunk, probably predetermined and used every year in the Ash Wednesday service. The message was brief and a bit airy-fairy as far as I could tell, but I don't remember anything particularly unbiblical (or, frankly, at all). I've heard worse in Protestant churches.

Although I was told I couldn't take Holy Communion, I think that if I had seriously thought about it (which I didn't at the time, although maybe I would have if I had had the opportunity to decide) I would have chosen not to participate. I think that sharing in communion in any church implies a certain alignment of view, and there is far much that I object to in the teachings of the catholic church, even if it didn't come up in the actual service I went to.

I look forward to having more discussions about Catholocism with my friend. I plan to give her a copy of Nothing in My Hand I Bring, which I found very helpful. It will be interesting to hear her reactions to it.

Ash Wednesday

I had planned to go to a Catholic mass with my friend from work for a while. She had come to Bible study with me a few times, and I thought it fair to return the favour. Also I wanted to have intelligent discussions with about Catholocism, and it's easier to be taken seriously if I have actually been to a mass rather than just reading about it. So, on Ash Wednesday, just before we both went to Bible study run by my church, we went to mass.

It's a worthwhile thing, every now and again, to visit a new church, particularly one quite different from your own. It points out the strengths and weaknesses of your own and other churches. It also makes blindingly obvious the things that are strange and difficult to follow for outsiders. Is it worth explaining every week why we pray, or sing, or participate in communion? How clear should we be about certain rituals, that we do out of habit while a new church-goer is confused and uncertain? Do we stand to sing? Kneel or close our eyes to pray?

I actually found the mass reasonably easy to follow. This surprised me because I had expected a lot of strange ritual and things I didn't understand. Maybe it was easier to understand because it was a special mass, which even semi-regular and lapsed Catholics, and even the non-religious might attend. Maybe my keen Catholic friend sitting next to me and whispering hints into my ear helped me out. There was also an order of service printed nice and large and laminated in all the rows, although I didn't get my hands in this till the end. Still it was quite well done.

They did a few other things well. The two times that we interacted directly with the priest (the Ash bit and the holy communion) were done with tremendous efficiency. We all lined up, ash on head/bit of host and wine, then went back to our seats. It was much faster than any other communion service I've been involved in, although less communityish and more individual servicy.

The building was less ostentatious, with fewer stained-glass windows and statues, than I had expected. It was far less decorated than most of the Anglican churches I have been in. Also, the priests were pretty relaxed, making sure they were shouting loud enough for the people at the back and assuring us that it wouldn't take to long, just like in lots of church services and professional presentations.

It was not without its weaknesses though. If I hadn't been with my friend, I would have missed out on important things. Apparently I'm not supposed to take communion if I haven't done the confirmation course and had my first holy communion. I can still go up to the priest, but I cross my arms over my chest and he blesses me instead. That was nice, in its way, but I think it would be helpful to clarify beforehand otherwise I might have eaten some cardboard and sipped some port unaware of the evil I was perpetrating. I suspect I still made a fool of myself though, because when he blessed me I said "thankyou" instead of "amen." It made more sense at the time.

There's no place like home...

At some point I'll have to decide where I want to do my traineeship. I want to work at a university, but there are plenty of unis, all around Australia and the world where I could conceivably complete MTS. So how do I decide where to go?

The first place I think of is Newcastle uni, where I studied. I have a historyther, already know the staff, the culture, the geography, some of the students, that sort of thing. On top of all this, mosquitoes notwithstanding, I miss Newcastle. So that is an option.

I could stay where I am and work in a uni in Perth. I only know one staffworker in all of the unis here, so I would most likely be with a trainer I have not known for a long time. That could be an issue. My current home is not really that close to any unis. All that being the case, there is a very strong argument that there is a greater need in Perth. There are just less Christians here. Also there are bunch of unis, some of which are quite small, an option I rather like.

Along with these options is the fact that I could go anywhere, providing it has some sort of uni ministry for me to join. I am not restricted to where I have already been. This seems to me like making a difficult road even hard, so I will probably not follow it, but God may have other plans.

My next jobs are then to talk to the people who work here in Perth as well as in Newy to work out what... to do...

Back to the Future

So I'm a little into Back to the Future right now, been introducing my housemate to the franchise and reading a blog about the novelisation of the movie, and basically having a good laugh at it. Btothef.tumblr.com is pretty much my favourite place to hang out at the moment...

Aside from that, it loosely relates to the topic of this post, which is, when do I actually plan to start my MTS traineeship? Short answer: not the foggiest. Slightly longer answer: beginning either '13 or '14.

The longest answer is actually a question: do I want to get stared right away so as not to waste time in a job with no eternal significance, and to make the most of my youth and enthusiasm? Or do I keep my job a bit longer, save some more money, and get a bit older and wiser?

I will make this decision... Later. Talking to people, praying, thinking... These activities will play a big role in my life for the next year. Or two.

Mission statement

So I have decided to do an MTS traineeship. That much is pretty well set, not much else is.

Here is what I know:

MTS

Soon

At a uni

Here is what I am yet to discover:

Where?

When?

With whom?

What is it going to be like?

Pretty much everything.

So this blog is to follow my discovery of these unknowns. I will share my decision making process as I speak to people, think through all the options, stress about everything and generally turn my life upside down. Then it will follow through my two years in MTS, what I do, who I meet, interesting stuff that happens, and my reactions. If I'm really keen I might even continue past MTS but that is for future me to decide. There will also be some amusing asides thrown in, so it's not all heavy stuff.

Basically I'm hoping to be super honest, or as much as I can be. For this reason, and for general coolness, I have adopted a nom de plume. Pearl is not my real name, but if you know me, it shouldn't be too hard to work it out.

I hope that you enjoy, or at least are mildly interested by, this blog, but mostly I pray that God be glorified, and that more people hear his word and trust in the name of Jesus to be saved.

PS. If you don't know what MTS is, check out www.mts.com.au