I posted some notes from Archbishop John Sentamus keynote speech at the liveit! conference a few days ago, but I thought it was time to share some notes from the rest of the speakers too…
* “Things have to change” really means “I have to change.” (Father Jim O’Keefe)
* We live in a time of transition – one of those transitions has to be in our hearts. (JOK)
* A constant invitation to change. (JOK)
* Sacrifice: the willingness to let go of everything in the belief that God will hold us and sustain us. (JOK)
* It’s blasphemy when we don’t hurt over things like the river dolphin going extinct, because we are contributing to the de-creation of the world. (JOK)
* Living simply is very complex, but it’s all about love.
[Mike Edwards playing didgeridoo at the liveit! conference]
* Solidarity is not with the likeminded, but with the oppressed. (David Wells)
* We’ve got caught up in an endless cycle of performance indicators, and it’s killing our souls. (DW)
* “Success is not a fact, it’s a comparison” – Nouwen.
* Do you tend to count your blessings or the cost? It has nothing to do with the cost and everything to do with the blessing. (DW)
* The issue isn’t just awareness, it’s can we stay grateful? Gratitude compels us towards compassion. (DW)
* We are a country who does all it can to be invulnerable (eg security systems). (Pat Gaffney)
* We can be driven by other peoples expectations in a way that blocks our access to simplicity. (Tina Beattie)
* “The contagion of desire” – the only way we can counter the consumerism is for our lives/communities to be so different and infectious that it draws other people in. (TB)
* The rich/poor divides are essential to our kinds of economy. To undermine it would be far more than undermining just our economy – it would be undermining our entire world/economic systems. (Tom Cullinan)
* Doors will open as soon as you’ve stood by people long enough for them to trust you. (DW)
* A new consciousness – the drama that God is playing out is not just the human drama, but the drama of the whole earth. (TC)
Those are some powerful statements. I especially like the one about sacrifice – in submission, there is true freedom as we give up the burden of things having to go our way all of the time. I love those themes. Great notes!
@ Rose: It was a great conference. So many interesting people and challenging conversations. Glad you could get a little from it via these weak notes!