Southland Christian Ministry Training
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By Ian, on April 11th, 2012%
This week I completed a bag. It is not particularly pretty but it is very functional. Did it just happen? No, it was the result of a design and the end result of a series of steps.
My role as a chaplain is often stressful, listening to people’s problems is never easy and often I take some of that pressure home. One of the things that I do to unwind is spin wool. Maybe I don’t fit your mental image of the little old lady and her spinning wheel, but I find it very relaxing and therapeutic! I may not be very good at it and the finished product may still have some grass seeds but the lanolin is good for my hands, the rhythm is good for mind and the process good for my soul.
 The trouble is I don’t knit and a heap of beautifully spun wool is not very useful! So, I have recently acquired a weaving loom and I am experimenting with a range of products, starting with scarves and now progressing to bags.
Why do I bother telling you this story? We all need to find ways to enrich our bodies, minds and spirits! Spinning and weaving does that for me! I tend to use lots of fine merino black wool (not just because I get it for nothing from commercial wool producers for whom it is a liability) but because it reminds me that it is OK to be different!
 The proverbial black sheep may be shunned in the flock (or at least by the farmer) but his wool is just as fine, the yarn just as versatile and the final product just as warm!
We have a lot in common with sheep, we tend to want to stay in the mob, to blend in, and always wait for someone else to lead, yet as members of the military we need to accept the fact that we are different, we are called to a higher standard and have been given the training to allow us to stand out from the crowd. That is not always easy, but it is necessary. Make sure that you are including in your life opportunities to unwind, setting aside time to enrich your body, mind and spirit. Balance in all three areas is the key. If you need help, you know where to find me!
Chaplain Ian S Whitley
By Ian, on December 1st, 2010%
I am now a member of No 31 (City of Wagga Wagga) Squadron. This squadron has a long proud history, dating back to its formation in Wagga on 14 Aug 1942. They were very active during WWII flying Bristol Beaufighter aircraft and based in exotic places like Coomalie Creek (where I dedicated a plaque about 10 years ago), Noemfoor and Moratai before being disbanded on 06 Jul 1946. On 01 Jul 2010 this SQN was again stood up, however the WOD tells me that we are the only SQN in the RAAF that does not have a squadron crest!
 We are in the process of fixing that but why? What difference does it make? We need to know who we are! Military history in particular and human history in general recognises that our identification with a military unit, community and country, requires a concrete rallying point, a symbol, a flag to draw us together and unify us in our common cause.
The fact is, that sense of identification is also important to us as individuals, because we all need to know who we are and where we fit. Hugh Mackay in his recent book called “What Makes Us Tick” suggests that this is “one of the ten desires that drive us”. Do you know who you are? What symbols give your life meaning and draw the best out of you?
My experience is that it is only as we connect with who we are that we will be able to effectively connect with others. It seems to me that those who lack this self awareness, who are struggling with grief and loss due to death or divorce or even for some, the effects of joining the military are most at risk to a range of mental health issues. At one end of this spectrum would be mild depression, while at the other end would be a level of hopelessness which may result in suicidal thoughts.
 So what can we do about it? How do we find ourselves and recover from the traumatic events that have left us feeling lost? The first step is to find someone you trust to talk to who will help you to tell your story. People such as Chaplains, Medical and Psychologists might be able to help you with this. The next step is to find some creative way to symbolise who you are and where you fit in the world. That might be a self portrait, a collage of photographs, or something else you might make that has meaningful symbolism for you. You are only limited by your own imagination!
Finally, I want to assure you that you are unique, special, and loved by God. Although you may feel alone, your family does love you, your unit does care, and the RAAF wants to help you through your struggles. You are part of a rich tradition, remember your history, encourage one another and value the symbols we share together. In your spare time you might like to design a new 31 SQN crest!
Chaplain Ian Whitley
By Ian, on October 11th, 2010%
It has been another difficult week in which I have been guilty of letting the negatives get on top of me. Even recognising that this was happening did not seem to help! How come an optimistic person like me could become a pessimist? By focusing on the wrong stuff and letting the negative self talk predominate. I found myself drifting in a sea of emotion and was brought to my senses when I read the following:
The opposite of love is not hatred,
The opposite of hope is not despair,
The opposite of mental health is not madness,
The opposite of remembering is not forgetting,
In every case the opposite is nothing but indifference.
These words were written by Elie Wiesel, a Jew who survived the horrors of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, who recognised that indifference is so tempting, so seductive yet in the long term it is destructive. That quote reminded me of another from the same era:
“In Germany they came first for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me – and by that time no one was left to speak up.” (Pastor Martin Niemoller, quoted in Be Our Freedom Lord, p254)
We live in a world where there is injustice, pain and suffering, there will be times when negative feelings weigh you down, but resist the urge to just opt out and be indifferent. These people survived and flourished even in extreme circumstances, so can you! This week I also read and was encouraged by the story of Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop and his survival, by “rejecting helplessness, indifference and fear… he was a light and a beacon of hope in those dark days of 1943 and 44…” (quote from Ian McLean) but maybe that is a story for another time. Don’t give up to indifference and negativity, you have what it takes to make a positive difference!
Chaplain Ian S Whitley
By Ian, on September 5th, 2010%
This week I attended a seminar at HMAS Penguin, and it was great to be reminded of the rich naval traditions of the senior service. Of course this means remembering that you do not sleep in a room, it is a cabin, the Officer’s Mess is really the Ward room and if you are looking for the toilets they will direct you to the heads! But as we move towards father’s day I  was reminded that sometimes we fathers are like submarines!
Submarines are great inventions, able to choose at what depth they want to travel, moving with stealth, untroubled by the storms above, so strong and watertight. Have you noticed that many men who are fathers also model that behaviour, they travel in secret, avoid storms, choose how deep they want to go, always show great strength and are rarely seen to leak tears. But they have a problem. To survive, submarines have to be very strong, but every sub has a limit to how deep they can go, because past that depth, even the heavy steel bulkheads will be crushed by the water pressure resulting in catastrophic failure.
Yet, if we compare submarines to fish, you will find that they can survive at great depths without that heavy steel armour, with skin and scales only millimetres thick. What makes the difference? They have the ability to equalise the pressure on the inside with the pressure on the outside.
 The message? All too many fathers try to insulate themselves from home and family pressures, rationalising that this is not part of their job description, so they go home, retreat into their shells, adopt stealth mode and if leaks appear increase the armour plating! The trouble with this approach is that the pressure continues to build till there is a catastrophic event with dire consequences.
The fact is Father’s day is not just a time to get, to receive things from our children, it is also a great opportunity for us to reflect on how well we are doing as fathers. Are you truly involved on the home front, actively dealing with the pressures and not just avoiding them? Are you setting a good example for your sons and daughters on how to deal with depression and frustrations in life? Don’t wait till it all collapses, take some time out to reassess how you are travelling. Maybe it is time to surface, go back to port and get some help. I wonder if they have chaplains on submarines? Either way, my job is to support you through that process, no matter which service you are part of.
Chaplain Ian Whitley
By Ian Whitley, on June 14th, 2010%
As I talk to people I sometimes repeat myself. There are some recurring themes in what I say to people in a wide range of situations, and one of them is “life is a choice!” You do not have to live your life dictated to by your feelings – it is your choice how you respond to what life throws at you. This week I have been trying to make a list of the choices that are currently facing me, and it occurred to me that with just a little generalising they might apply to you as well. As you look to your future, what are you choosing?
- To value people and use things or to use people and value things? Is that reflected in how I use my time and money?
- To give or to get? In other words is my aim to gather wealth or share what I have by giving generously?
- To learn new skills and risk failure or continue to complain about the rut I’m in and accepting the mediocrity of the status quo? When was the last time I learnt something new?
- To build relationships or destroy them? Will I take the risk of communicating or just complain that I am lonely and nobody talks to me?
- To resist and avoid pain or seek to use it constructively? I may not know why this is happening to me but will I choose to believe that God is in it with me?
- To be thankful for all that I have rather than lamenting all the things that I don’t have? Am I selfishly hoarding stuff that I would be better off without?
- To stand for truth or abandon it? Am I prepared to intercede for the powerless and downtrodden or stay comfortable in my ignorance?
- To persevere or just give in? Anything worthwhile in life will not just happen, so am I prepared to give it all I’ve got till I win the prize?
- To value time or kill it? Time is not a renewable resource, am I using this precious commodity wisely or squandering it without thought?
- To speak wisely or foolishly? Do I think about what I’m saying or just let it all gush out, without recognising the damage I might be doing?
Ten points are more than enough to ponder, but I can summarise it in one “am I positive or negative?” Each day we make a choice, and if you are sick of being negative all the time, choose to do something different. As somebody once said, “If you do what you have always done you will get what you have always got”. Start with the list above, get specific, and get positively passionate about life! If that feels impossible then maybe you need some help – God is ready and willing to do just that all you have to do is ask!
Chaplain Ian Whitley
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