I am leaving bright and early in the morning to begin my trip home. I am very excited to get home but the time seemed to fly by quickly here. I added a last day photo with me against the Melbourne skyline. I also added a picture of folks waiting in line after the worship service and one of me greeting people during the coffee/tea time following the service. There was a luncheon following the service today where I was the guest speaker. I was ordained on May 18, 1988. It was exciting to preach today at the church I was ordained into exactly 20 years later.

Melbourne is an extremely multicultural city which is exciting. I walked out of church after the luncheon and down the street to a huge Buddha's Day celebration for Buddha's birthday in the heart of the city. I better go and finish packing.

I just returned to Melbourne from a whirlwind 36 hour visit to Adelaide. The first photo is the church manse that the Koski clan spent 10 years in. The church is Brougham Place Uniting Church where I was the Senior Pastor from 1990-2000. The church is celebrating their 150th this next year. The photo wall is the church vestry where my ugly mug sits alongside pastors ranging back to 1858.

I have one more Sunday to preach at St.Michaels and I am on a plane back to the US on Monday. Missing home and missing you all and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Hello Friends

My time in Australia is slipping by quickly. I added a couple more pictures. One is another of St.Michael's from across the street giving you a sense of its presence in the city. The other church is across from St. Michael's and it is Scots Presbyterian Church. The Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians united in 1977 to form the Uniting Church in Australia but there remains a few Presbyterian churches that tend to be very conservative and evangelical.

The other picture is a protest I stumbled across in the city on Saturday against Human Rights abuses in China.

I have a meeting tonight( Monday) with the Leadership at St. Michael's. I am off to Adelaide (where we lived for ten years and where both Jacob and Jonah were born) tomorrow for two days. I am conducting a Memorial Service at St. Michael's on Thursday. I am speaking at The Cairnmillar Institute on Friday. After church on Sunday, I am giving a talk at a luncheon. Whew!

I will try to post some pictures from Adelaide. have a great week!

                                                                               I snuck away for a day yesterday and went for a drive along The Great Ocean Road and visited The Twelve Apostles (rock formations in the ocean). I sat on a rock for quite some time and breathed in the ocean air and appreciated how the world "...is charged with the grandeur of God" ( Gerald Manley Hopkins).

I am hoping to attend an Australian Rules Football game tomorrow (combination of football and soccer and rugby) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. We enjoy hotdogs at the baseball. They have meatpies and sauce ( ketchup) at the footie.

I am devastated by the catastrophe in Myanmar. It is hard to fathom the extent of the devastation. The head of World Vision Australia has said over 100,000 are dead and millions left homeless. It is hard to know what any one person can do to help but we all must do something..."...as one suffers, all suffer". As I baptize a child this Sunday and affirm her worth and value I also remember that half of those killed in this disaster were children whose lives were sacred and equally precious in God's eyes.

A quick look at part of the Melbourne skyline. Melbourne is growing by 1500 people per week. It is expected to be larger than Sydney by the year 2020. One of my initial impressions is how multicultural Melbourne is.

Just proving I am actually here in Melbourne.

A church member creates two of these incredible floral arrangements each Sunday. There is one placed on each side of the pulpit.

Thought I would include a picture of the church's incredible pipe organ. There is a free organ concert at noon every Thursday.

I am conducting two Baptisms this Sunday. As you know, one of my favorite things to do. I am very blessed to be able to hold a child in my arms and affirm their worth, value and affirm they are loved with a love that will never let them go!

The picture is of the Baptismal font in the church which a local artist created for the church.

It was great to preach yesterday at the church where my ministry began. I posted a few pictures. St. Michael's is an extraordinary place right in the heart of the city of Melbourne. St. Michael's is on Collins Street and one of the pictures is a tram running down the street right in front of the church.

Mingary is an incredible ministry. The old chapel of the church was renovated into a quiet and meditative place (Mingary is Gaelic for "the quiet place"). There is a rock with a crack down the middle of it representing the pain we all experience. Water runs over this rock representing the healing presence and grace of God that is with us in our pain. People at all times during the day simply go inside and sit.

G'Day Mates! I made it! I forgot how long 15 hours can be on an airplane. I am 17 hours ahead so the plane left LA at 11:30pm Wednesday night and arrived in Melbourne Friday morning at 8:30am. I lost Thursday in the travelling.  Thank God for the show Vicar of Dibley. It is a show that used to be on the BBC. I was able to catch several segments on the plane. Extraordinarily funny! It is amazing how easy it is to make fun of Pastors.

 I am a little frustrated as I can't get my outgoing e-mail to work. Incoming is fine but outgoing is inviting me to take a second breath or two. Hopefully I can sort that out today so I can stay in better touch with Laurie, Jacob and Jonah.

Spending today working on my Message for tomorrow. I will try to post some pictures this week. I have to go now and put some vegemite on my toast for brekkie (didn't take me too long to get the lingo back  :)  )