The Devil's Shorts

Well last night was my only night at home this week. Well I wasn't actually at home. Jo and I went to the theatre. There is a small play house theatre in Hobart. It's a real old fashioned place that only seats about 80 people. It has an old fashioned bar at the back and the patron's get a drink and bring it to their seats. The theatre had advertised in paper a program called, 'The Devil's Shorts'. It was a collection of six short one act dramas. Most of them went about 10 -15 minutes. They had a five minute break after each one and a longer break after the first three.



It was actually quite good. Each of the plays was very different and done with just two or three actors on the stage and just very basic props and no scenery. The people in the plays ranged in age from very young to rather old. It was certainly a bit of fun and something different. It opens your eyes a little bit to some of the possibilities of presenting short dramas without needing elaborate sets and lots of people. Drama if done well can be a powerful medium to communicate a message. I have been to a number of Willow Creek conferences where they have talked about drama. They use drama to role play situations and issues that can then be addressed in the sermon. At Hobart we are using alot of visual material in video clips and Power Point. In our current series we are using a simple drama each week. We had the first one last Sunday and it went over very well. We are currently interviewing staff for both youth ministry and also worship and creative arts. Hopefully the right person will be able to enrich and develop the talents of the people we already have. I must find a way to encourage all our staff to go to something quite innovative and creative often. Creativity is a vital ingredient in ministry.

Family likeness ?

Whilst I was away in Melbourne last week attending a leadership conference, Jo's sister Ingrid and her family called in for a visit and have stayed for a few days with us. Ingrid and Vinnie have two children, Benjamin and Rachel. If you look at the picture carefully you might see Simon and Rachel in the background.



It was their last day with us today and after we got through Sunday lunch we headed off up to the top of Mount Wellington or 'our mountain' as I like to call it! Beautiful sunny day - but still a little bit of snow right at the top. Doesn't need much snow at all to bring out the tiger in the kids though. I think we all came home a little damp.

My conference in Melbourne was great and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Maybe I'll write more about that soon. It's my brother Simon who is the prolific writer. I just post pictures. Check out Simon's page simoncareyholt.blogspot.com

Larry & Jo

Hobart in the Spring

After two or three very cold and wet days, Hobart awoke this morning to an absolutely glorious Spring day. There was a good fall of snow on our mountain during the cold snap and the sunshine just set everything off magnificently. The flowers were on show at the Botanical gardens. The street scene is close by our house - half way down the hill towards town.

A photo from Mark

Mark sent me this photo today. He took it from the front of his house last night. Not bad eh!

To know and be known

Well this afternoon I got home again after four days away at a pastor's renewal retreat. I really had little idea of what I was going to. There were nine of us who met together for the retreat. Five were Anglicans, one a Baptist, two AOG and myself from the Church of Christ. Prior to going I had met none of these guys (other than my driver) The bulk of our time was spent in the telling of our stories to one another. After establishing a covenant together, each of us in turn shared over a couple of hours our more the story of our lives so far. There was incredible openness and transparency as we each shared the highs and lows, the struggles and the joys, the conflicts and the pain - we told our stories and listened to one another with a deep sense of awe at the road others have traveled. I felt an overwhelming sense of privilege in being able to listen to each story. I stood on holy ground. At the end of each story we would pray and give thanks to God for the person who had shared. The experience brought an incredible sense of bonding with a group of guys. In just four days we became friends who had shared something together that few people would ever experience. Our stories were all different, and yet all the same. They all told of a life that was interuptted by the grace and mercy of God. We continue the journey together. We made a commitment to meet together over a period of three years.

A treat for Father's day

Father's day today. My special treat was a meal out with the whole family together. Maybe that doesn't sound that special to you - but with four teenagers, it's pretty rare! I enjoyed having everyone together immensely. The only trouble is that I asked a guy at the next table to take the photo for me and he missed out on getting the girls in the picture. Oh well, not everyone's perfect.

I'm actually off to Launceston this afternoon to begin four days of spiritual retreat with small group of other pastors - none of whom I have met before. We start off with a four day retreat and then follow a three year cycle of an annual retreat and several one day events during each year to catch up. Never a good time to get away, but I am looking forward to having some space to think and pray for a bit. I get back next Thursday, so maybe I'll fill you in then.

Relatives for lunch!

Today it was great to have Lester and Lois Holt call in and have lunch with us. They have moved from Melbourne to Perth recently and are in Tassie to visit their son, Matthew as well as Graham and Brenda over the river. It was great to catch up with them. We took a photo to capture the moment. Jo missed out as she was the photographer - a change of roles for us!!