I just want to say a big “Hi!” and “Welcome!” to any Yr 11 students from Luther College in Croyden who are visiting this blog for their “homework” after today’s sessions with me.
Yes, thanks to the kind invitation of the RE staff at Luther College, I had the privilege today to address two groups of Yr 11s on the subject of the Catholic Church. Actually, I had a lot more prepared than just about the Catholic Church – I was going to go on to talk about my work in Ecumenism (especially with the Lutheran Church) and Interfaith Relations – but there just isn’t that much time in a 50 minute period. We had some interesting questions after my presentations, and even more interesting questions after the second period had ended. A bunch of eager searchers-after-truth mobbed me (I think that might be the only word for it!) to ask questions about the Catholic Church’s stand on “gay marriage”. If any members of that mobe are reading this, and are interested in what we discussed concerning those matters here on the blog, click here and here).
Since Ms Dymke gave the classes of both sessions the homework task of looking at this ‘ere blog, I would welcome any comments you would like to leave on any of my posts. Just be aware that if you are a first time commentator, you need to email me identifying yourself after you have posted your comment, because I will only approve your comment (and thus you as an approved commentator) if I know who you are. Read here for more information on first time commenting. I keep this information private for myself, and you are welcome to use a pseudonym when you post a comment.
One last thing. All of the students who were part of the after-session-inquisition asked intelligent questions. Some stayed to listen to my replies. Some didn’t. Rule number one for dialogue: it is as much about listening as saying your piece. The Jews say God gave us two ears and one mouth so we get the speaking and listening in the proper proportion. That’s another thing I admire about our Jewish brothers and sisters: while they are always ready to challenge you with hard-hitting questions, they are also always ready to listen.
And one really last thing: if you ask yourself a question, show some self-respect and put some effort into seeking an answer. For whoever seeks will find, someone once said.
And here is a replay of the video that I used to open my presentation today:
