One table at the introductory dinner for the Rev Andrew Bell, director of the Global Mission Office of the Presbyterian Church, on his first visit to Invercargill.
Front left, Bill Blaikie and Bruce Hoffman. Front right Bev Blaikie and Chris Williamson

Parish Register

Deaths

Helen Cowie, died 25 July 2007. Funeral service in First Church on 28 July 2007 conducted by Rev Richard Gray.

Kathleen McLew, died 2 September 2007. Funeral service at First Church on 5 September 2007 conducted by Rev Richard Gray.

Thomas (Tom) McDowall, died 6 September 2007. Funeral Service at First Church on 11 September 2007, conducted by the Rev Alistair Taylor. Tom, a master bricklayer, did much of the restoration work on the First Church building and in his youth sang in the church choir.

We extend sincere sympathy to the families concerned.

Dates to Note

October 6 Concert "From Baroque to Contemporary" in First Church at 7.30pm
October 9 Closure of voting on LOM proposal
October 14 First Church Annual Meeting after service and Tay Music Trust Concert at 2.30pm
October 27 Garage Sale in Stobo Hall.
November 1 All Saints Day Service 7.00pm

Morning Tea Roster

October 7 Torri Ross, Valda Peattie, Margaret Price
October 14 Val Adams, Alan & Yvonne Smith
October 21 Betty Ellis, Wilma & Peter Muller
October 28 Valda Peattie, Barbara Clark, Frances Tait
November 4 Cheryl McMath, Shirley & George Shields
November 11 Hugh & Heather Joyce, Marion Pinkney
November 18 Donita Crombie, Moya Twaddle, Sami Steele
November 25 Anne Kuijpers, Joan Poole, Janice Brown

If you find the date you have been rostered on unsuitable,
please find a replacement. Would the first person named
on the day please bring milk.
Still looking for volunteers to take a turn making morning
tea. Please don't be shy, I would love to hear from you.
Thank you. Valda Peattie 216-0970

What Simon and Marion Rae are up to

Building Bridges in a World of Diversity', is a programme statement of the Centre for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), in the Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, in Central Java, Indonesia.
Rev Dr Simon Rae
Marion and Simon Rae have been invited to accept a six-month secondment to the Centre as part of the New Zealand Government's active support of inter-faith dialogue in our region. If all goes to plan Simon will go up for six weeks from late October and they will both go for semester 2, 2008, after Simon has presented his semester 1 Otago course on Intercultural Theology.

The Raes began their language study in Yogyakarta, 'the cradle of Javanese civilization', in 1972, but expect to see a city much changed - not least by the recent devastating earthquake. Gadjah Mada, named for a famous chief minister of the Majapahit Empire that once spanned much of Southeast Asia, is one of the region's finest universities, with 55,000 students drawn from Indonesia and abroad. Its strengths are in medicine (which draws many overseas students), humanities and the social sciences, science and technology. In 2005 it was ranked as one of the world's leading universities in medicine, social sciences and humanities

CRCS offers an MA programme for a wide constituency, for Indonesian and overseas students, women and men of all the major faiths. After five years its graduates are now engaged in religious education (Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu) at secondary and tertiary levels, Christian ministry, University teaching, social activism (HIV/Aids, sexuality issues, women's participation in religion and society, fundamentalisms) and some are continuing their study at doctoral level overseas..

Since 'retirement' Simon has worked with Indonesian Muslim and Christian doctoral students in two Dutch universities, tutoring (and in one case examining) on the internet. It should be possible to work in this way also with CRCS between his visits and after returning to New Zealand. In addition to

working with students Simon has been asked to assist with curriculum and library development and to engage in some relevant research project. Marion, who is a specialist ESOL teacher, should have good scope for assisting students who hope to present in English or to continue their study overseas.

Accommodation will be provided to facilitate social engagement with colleagues, students and friends from the city. Our government sees all of this as part of an effort to enhance peace and security in the context of the very diverse religious communities found in our region. CRCS operates in a secular environment (it answers to the university, not to any religious community) and offers programmes that provide concrete experiences of working at problems in an inter-faith environment. The programme will in time produce a growing number of religious academics and teachers, leaders of religious congregations, and social activists (and no doubt in time some politicians) who will in their turn shape, or re-shape, community attitudes to religious and related differences.

Indonesians today are working hard to develop a more democratic society. This has led CRCS to extend its programmes beyond the lecture room, into public education activities to disseminate ideas about alternative and better social structures. The Alliance of Civilisations 2006 Report identified several fields for action, including:
" Ensuring that education gives people an accurate picture of other peoples and cultures;
" Giving youth more opportunities to understand people from other countries and societies;
" Encouraging the media to avoid stereotyping and the overstating of conflict and disagreement.
As a profoundly religious people who have chosen a secularly-religious social order, Indonesians are very aware of the religious dimensions of both the problems and the opportunities of the era. In this context CRCS has a well-defined role to play, and New Zealanders should welcome our own government's unprecedented support for efforts to develop a respectful and realistic relationship between the often politicised religious communities of South-east Asia.