Tag Archives: trauma

Sermon: Do not choose trauma

We can divide the world into Us and Them, Exiles and Babylonians, Jews and Samaritans, or we can recognise that we are all human beings who have been created by the one God to live on this one fragile and wonderful planet. We know which choice Jesus, who told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, wants us to make. Amen. Continue reading

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Sermon: “Stop all the clocks …”

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church 14th of September, 2025 Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 Have any of you read Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series? If not, I highly recommend them. The books follow Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim, who live … Continue reading

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Sermon: The jeremiads of Jeremiah

There is much discussion today about the right of nation states to exist. What a difference it would make in the world if we agreed with the Hebrew prophets that only those nations whose citizens act justly one with another, those nations that do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, those nations that do not shed innocent blood, have the ‘right’ to dwell peaceably in their lands. Continue reading

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Sermon: Trauma and Liberation

It makes sense to me that symptoms that the medieval church saw as evidence of witchcraft and demonic possession: eating disorders; uncontrollable emotional outbursts; the inability to behave ‘properly’ as one’s community expects, were the result of trauma. I am sure those who were accused of witchcraft or demonic possession had experienced a lot of trauma before those accusations were first made. Continue reading

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