This sermon was preached on the 30th of July 2023, the ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Text: Matthew 13.44-58 Like most kids, I spent a lot of time sitting in the back of my parents’ car, listening to the radio as we rattled around the suburbs on the weekend, shopping and running errands. I remember, when I was very young, the people on the radio going on and on about a woman. She’d behaved scandalously. She’d shaved her head. And she was saying bad things about the Church. ...

As I write this post, I’m an Anglican1 ordinand living the gap between completing a Formation for Ordained Ministry program at Wollaston Theological College, and (God-willing) ordination to the diaconate. The last few years have been very busy… and now I find myself, somewhat jarringly, with an abundance of free time. I’ve been gently exploring some new things; learning the ukulele (these efforts watched surprisingly appreciatively by my cat), reading a lot, baking and cooking, and gardening. ...

This year I’ve been studying Biblical Hebrew at Murdoch University. We’ve been using a fantastic textbook, Biblical Hebrew, Second Ed. (Text and Workbook) by Bonnie Pedrotti Kittel, Victoria Hoffer, and Rebecca Abts Wright; Fully revised by Victoria Hoffer. Despite the great teaching and the fun workbook style approach to learning the language, I’ve found learning and retaining the vocabulary to be quite difficult. To help myself, and anyone else learning biblical Hebrew, I’ve developed Baraq, a small web app which uses the wordlist from our textbook. ...

I’ve just enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Theology at Murdoch University. I was able to enrol via an alternative pathway opened by the Wollaston Certificate in Theology, a one year part-time course offered by the Anglican Diocese of Perth. The Wollaston Certificate allows (if approved by the coordinators) an alternate pathway into enrolment in the Murdoch theology program - a wonderful path into postgrad study if you don’t otherwise meet the prerequisites. By doing eight units, including the four core units, and then putting together your work in a portfolio, you can apply for admission to Murdoch. ...