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Hot Cross Buns are already in the shops but if you’re like us you’re still celebrating Christmas and New Year and in this part of the world if you buy Easter Eggs too early they just end up as a gooey, sticky mess.

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Come along with your favourite animal for this service of thanksgiving for all the gifts that animals bring into our lives.

The service will be specially shortened for all those animals (and owners) with short attention spans.

For more information ring Jeremy: 0428 315 763

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After many months of hard work, the Restoration and Renovation of the Cathedral is almost complete. The final work is being done on the large West-facing window before the scaffolding is removed and the final bit of roof can be replaced. Soon the electricians will finish their work inside and the painters can begin.

The work has been possible through the generosity of the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, the NT Government, John Halikos and many, many people from the Darwin community and around Australia.

The completion of the work will be marked by a grand celebration on 27 November. Watch for more details.

• Marriage shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5)
• Marriage shall not impede a man’s right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
• A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
• Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
• Since marriage is for life, no state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
• If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother’s widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)

Why not join the Revd Dr Steven Ogden and others as we explore love, the God of love, the history of marriage, the complexity of human relationships and how we can think about family in this new age.

Christ Church Cathedral Harbour Room,
9.30am-4.00pm, Saturday August 20, 2011 ($50.00 / $35.00)
Morning and afternoon tea provided.

All participants receive a copy of Steven Ogden’s new book, “Love Upside Down.”

Download a brochure here.

The dinner raised nearly $15,000.00 towards the Cathedral Building Appeal.

Some said
there had been too much rain
and the roof
long cracked after years of stress
gave way from water seeping in

others said
what fell from the heavens
had nothing to do with it
that the earth had shifted
and the church walls
had pushed out toward the market
so that the massive mosaic icon
of the Almighty Father God
had fallen in and left
a hole
a silhouette of the figure
whose fierce eyes
once dominated the great domed ceiling

services now
were held under the God-shaped hole
prayers said
sermons preached
offerings made
hymns sung
infants baptised
couples wed
the dead remembered

meanwhile reconstruction began
but it turned out harder than planned

some folks had taken home
bits of the original mosaic
as a piece of devotion or historical curiosity
and once it was discovered
there was not enough left to restore
the original ancient grandeur
debates erupted if they should even try
to recreate what was lost

some said
they should begin and finish the project
as quickly as possible
because people were not coming as they used to
since the great domineering icon
had vanished

others pointed out
new people were entering the church
curious about the place
in a way they never were before

and these newcomers joined
with those who had always been scared
by the icon’s fierce eyes
to suggest they replace the old image
with a new one

the differences about what to do
broke into conflict
so that for now the construction
was nearly halted
though some workers
tried to assemble the roof in bits and pieces

but without an overall plan
nothing would stay put
even the stars that surrounded the hole
began to fall from the ceiling
so that another party arose
suggesting they take down the entire
edifice and start all over anew

except that the most devout
could not bear to lose this or that altar
where they had prayed so long
and the stones were worn smooth
by the knees of many generations

so for the time being
all that was done
was to rope off the area beneath
the God-shaped hole
to make sure no one was hit by a piece of mosaic
that would fall from time to time
from a cracked angel or star
and to pray
that people would keep coming
while the church continued to be
as the sign alerting those who entered said
under reconstruction.

Val Webb

Dr Val Webb joins us at the Cathedral this weekend for a workshop on Saturday, and to preach at our Sunday morning service at 9.00am.

“God: who, what, where, why and if?” is the title of the workshop to be led by Val on Saturday, from 9.30am in the Cathedral Harbour Room.

Why not join us as together we explore questions about how and if we can talk about God, and as we wonder about what we might learn from and how we might speak with those from other traditions.

For more information, you can download a flier here.

Many of Val’s books will be for sale at discount prices, along with a wide selection of other books from the Cathedral Bookshop.

All Welcome.