Click on the image to visit the gallery

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.

Anyone who knows the great stories from the Hebrew scriptures about our ancestors in the faith will know that the Bible is not always a great place to look if we want to know what marriage and family “should” look like according to Biblical principles:

• 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.

Visit our Facebook page by clicking the image above to see photos from the International Dinner Under the Stars.

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

With work continuing on the Cathedral, I was reminded of this poem by Thomas Troeger and decided to post it once more:

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 Read the rest of this entry »

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.