Thanks Wilma

I loved the WIN workshop at the Parliament and have come back to the Northern Territory keen to set a group up in Darwin. I live about 3 hours from Darwin in Kakadu so it will be a slow process but there is support for it in the Northern Synod, we first need a neutral space to meet!

Blessings Louise

Thank you Marilyn for your message and your interest in my world in the top end. I am beginning to loose track of how different our life is up here to what it was in inner city Melbourne. But I know that I don't want to be anywhere else! Especially after spending a day soaking in local water holes surrounded by monsoon rain forest. We recently had a group of young Americans staying with us and they asked me what a waterhole was, I replied, a hole with water in it - but it hardly describes the sense of creation at work when you actually visit one.

love Louise

Thanks for your comment. I agree translation work is a minefield of complexities. Just considering that there are countless translations in English so which one do you pick to translate? In Arnhemland here in the top of Australia people have decided to translate from one indigenous language to another and bypass english completely. Which is exciting and also makes things easier for the translators.

Cheers Louise

Hi Ricky

The views you express in your response to my profile are certainly legitimate and you have raised issues that I have personally struggled with. The issues around indigenous language are enormously important and yes bible translation is not the ideal for language retention but these people do not need assistance retaining language - it is already strong - and they want to be able to read and hear the bible in their own language. The reality that we work with though, is that within the public education system here bilingual education has recently been axed and replaced with english only school. The problem here is that most indigenous people in this remote region speak english as their 3rd, 4th or even 5th language. I did not come to this region of my own volition I was called here by Indigenous Christians - any bible translation work is done with the initiation and motivation and effort of the language speakers. I also owe my Christian faith to the evangelism of indigenous Christians from the Central desert in Australia. I attended many of the indigenous sessions at the Parliament and I was very moved by their strength, spirit and depth of knowledge. Many of the speakers were supported by aboriginal catholic ministries and showed a profound capacity to hold both traditional and Christian knowledge systems and others have chosen (legitimately) to reject the Christianity that assisted in colonising efforts.

I hope that these comments do justice to your words. It appears (in your profile) that you limit God to the masculine gender 'HIM' , perhaps you should consider the exclusive and colonising impact that this might have on 50% of the worlds population, and if as it says in your profile that:

DOOMSDAY IS OVER, GOD’S JUDGEMENT UPON HUMAN BEINGS HAS BEGUN. THIS JUDGEMENT AFFECTS THE ENTIRE WORLD.

This God of doom and judgement isn't going to provide any of us with the love and peace with which you sign off your comments.

I pray that we may be at peace