This Wednesday, 22 February 2012, marks the beginning of Lent and so we will be holding a special Ash Wednesday service. This is a simple service with the reading of scripture, blessing and distribution of ashes. I don’t come from a tradition that celebrates either Ash Wednesday or Lent, so I may not be the best authority, but from my perspective it comes down to three basic things:

Repentance! Ash in many cultures is a symbol of sorrow, and in the Ash Wednesday service ashes are applied to the forehead suggesting that the wearer, after due self examination, is sorrowful for their sins and has confessed them to God. But that is just the beginning it also requires a

Response! This ritual must be followed by penitential actions, which usually apply to the whole period of Lent, that is, the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter. These actions are not specified but generally involve things like fasting, praying and almsgiving. Thus some people will choose to stop eating or drinking certain things for Lent (such as meat or alcohol). But there is also an expectation that this sacrifice is not to be advertised! Finally it is about

Reflection! Prayer is the focus here, not just asking God for things but a conversation in which also involves listening. Lent is all about taking extra time out to stop and review your life, to cut down on ambient noise, get away from the world (figuratively) in order to cut down the interference to hear God speak. Thus the sacrifice some people make for Lent is to give up watching TV!

It seems to me that Lent offers each of us the opportunity to rethink who we are and where we are going, regardless of your theological or denominational background. So if you want to start Lent on the right foot, why not find a local church and become part of their service.

Chaplain Ian S Whitley

Today is Valentines Day! What are you giving your Valentine? An expensive trinket? Flowers? A cuddly teddy bear? That is what the media is encouraging you to do but it seems that what our Valentines rally want is US! The trick is being and becoming someone your partner will be happy to receive. So here are six helpful hints on what to aim for:

1. BE YOURSELF! We all want people to like us, especially Valentines we are trying to impress, so we often try to cover up the real “me”. You cannot build a relationship on lies so the first step is to accept yourself and be yourself.
2. BE FAITHFUL! In a rapidly changing society we all need security. If you cannot trust your Valentine to be faithful, then one of the basic foundations of your relationship is missing. Can you trust yourself?
3. BE A LEARNER! Our lives should be a continual learning experience, not just in terms of our vocation but also in terms of relationships. Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to learn a little more about your partner and what pleases them.
4. BE REASONABLE! Friendship is never just plain sailing, it is a continual test of wisdom and patience. This Valentine’s Day may not turn out as you planned it, so take the time to be reasonable and ask yourself “Is this issue really worth arguing about?” Don’t let the urgent squeeze out the important. A reasonable approach seeks to get the whole picture, accept compromises and find new answers to old problems.
5. BE READY TO LAUGH! Humour is one of the best lubricants to quieten friction within a relationship. Don’t take yourself so seriously, learn to laugh and you will find that it is not just good medicine, it is essential to relational harmony. It seems that, sometimes in the business of life, we have forgotten how to relax and play together as friends and valentines.
6. BE THANKFUL! Don’t take your valentine for granted, be thankful for them, value them. When was the last time you expressed thanks to them for doing all those little things that you just expected? When was the last time you paused to thank God for the gift of each other?

Have a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

Chaplain Ian S Whitley

As I pondered what Australia Day means to me, I went back to basics and read the speech of Arthur Phillip, when he was officially named as Governor of New South Wales on 7th February 1788. As the Commander of the First Fleet he had spent nine and a half months at sea and finally landed in Sydney Cove on 26th January 1788.

After a few days of basic organisation, he got down to clarifying the real reason of why they were there. They were a motley bunch, about a thousand people all up, half of them convicts and the rest government officials, soldiers and sailors, (some of the latter being allowed to bring wives) though you get the impression that NONE of them wanted to be there!

Pamela Robson in writing about this speech describes the scene:

“Uncertain and rather forlorn, they sat or stood in a small arena cleared from the scrub for the occasion, precariously clinging to the edge of the known world. They were penned in by the menacing and mysterious wilderness behind them and the vast expanse of blue ocean that stretched to the horizon in front.” (Great Australian Speeches p5).

Yet, for all that, it was a gala affair, with the colours flying and a band playing, a ceremony in recognition of the fact that they were creating history! The language of the speech is fairly stilted and the spelling odd, but the sense of his message for me was encapsulated in just one sentence – a personal commitment from Arthur Phillip that he

“…should ever be ready to show approbation and encouragement [to] people of the most abandoned principles.”

Seems to me that he recognised how difficult it was going to be to grow a nation out of a penal colony, with both prisoners and conscripts feeling beaten and despondent. Yet, their very survival depended on their ability to overcome their differences and work together. They did, and so formed the foundation of what we celebrate on Australia Day. Many of them lacked the right principles (both convicts and supervisors) as our checkered early history records, but it evolved under God’s grace, and I think we turned out OK!

The challenge of the future is to continue to show “approbation and encouragement” which loosely means “approval and active support” in short, offering a fair go to all, who, like those in the First Fleet, had been cast off from their mother country. There are plenty today who feel the same, who want a better life for their children, who see Australia as their only hope for the future. May we, with Arthur Phillip, recognise the need to work together, overcoming our origins, our past mistakes, our ethical and cultural backgrounds and celebrate being Australians!

Chaplain Ian S Whitley

There are times when I wonder what I am really doing as a chaplain in the Royal Australian Air Force. It is all too easy to feel overwhelmed by the needs of the people who come to me for help, and frustrated by the fact that I do not have the power to “fix” their problems. Sometimes that results in me questioning whether God made a mistake in calling me to this ministry! Yet, when I get to that point, God sometimes sends me a message. No, I did not hear a voice or see a vision, but God spoke to me through a prayer that crossed my desk. Prayers of the saints are not part of my tradition, but the following from St Francis of Assisi got me pondering:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much to seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

If you are struggling with life then maybe this is worth pondering for you as well, and if you are touched by it, I challenge you to pray it!

Chaplain Ian S Whitley

Sometimes people ask me what I do as a chaplain. I have a long list of answers but I have recently decided on a new one, “Life Coaching”. Sounds impressive, but it is really very simple, I help people get their lives sorted out and clarify where they are going. Well, it sounded simple till I tried to work out HOW I did that! I suppose it comes down to helping people talk about who they are and what they want out of life. Here are some of the basic life coaching questions I have asked myself under the following headings:

1. Character! Who am I? What are my core values? If you can’t answer that then you are unsure of what you actually believe, and have no standard to assess your progress.

2. Clear direction! Do I know where I am going? Have I clear goals? You need to have both short term and long term goals, and they need to be written down with an expected completion date.

3. Commitment! Have I calculated the cost of achieving those goals? Am, I prepared to see it through to the conclusion even when it gets hard? To achieve those goals you need total commitment not just wishful thinking.

4. Capability! Do I have the skills I need to achieve my goals or are there some skills I need to learn? Am I teachable? We all need to keep learning, growing and developing if we are going to reach our full potential.

5. Creativity! Have I got too close to the obstacles that I cannot see beyond them? Maybe you need some time out, to get away and grasp the big picture again. Often in the process you will see some new answers to old problems.

6. Compassion! Have I become too inward looking and think that I am the only person with problems? Take some time to be thankful for all that you do have and see what you can do to help other strugglers on the road.

7. Courage! Do I have the physical, mental and spiritual courage to take risks and do what I know is right? To go forward you need to move beyond your comfort zone, but you need to be sure that you are not betraying your values in the process.

8. Care! Am I following through on the self-care that I need in physical, mental and spiritual terms? The fact is you cannot be your best and achieve your dreams if you are not realistic about your own needs. You cannot care for others if you are not also caring for yourself.

9. Cooperation! Have I adopted a scarcity mentality or an abundance mentality? There are many others on the journey, they are not competitors for just one prize, if we cooperate we can achieve win/win situations.

10. Communication! Am I sharing my hopes and dreams with those close to me? Effective communication is the way to get help and support. Share your passion for where you are going because there will be days when you need a word of encouragement to keep going.

Are you prepared to honestly ask yourself some of those? This is your life, it is not a dress rehearsal, so if you need some coaching I hope these questions are a helpful beginning, but often the key to success is accountability! Find somebody you trust who will keep you on track.

Chaplain Ian S Whitley