I’m now on a flight from Adelaide back to Melbourne where I’ll catch a connection to Canberra. Last evening’s event at Pilgrim Uniting Church drew a wonderful crowd, filling the sanctuary of this very old and very beautiful church. Organizers had booked Scott and I into a wonderfully redone old building, now the Medina Hotel. And a delightful woman, Sue, who is studying the process of immigration in Australia for her doctorate, had very thoughtfully filled a basket (and a shopping bag!) with tastefully and carefully chosen treats and locally made foods for us to enjoy while we were there.

As we gathered, people continued to stream in so that we held off beginning until about ten minutes after the time we had expected to run. I spoke for about forty-five minutes about the work in which I am engaged, how I developed my sense that it needed to be done, and why I think it is so important. We then opened the floor for questions.

What a rich diversity of interests and concerns were raised. For almost another 45 minutes, I had the privilege of responding to queries people opened to the crowd – what about prayer, why “Christian”, if not “God” then what, why does it seem to be predominantly older people on this journey? The questions were offered up with sincerity and respect and I felt that, even when the inquirer was somewhat troubled with my response, there was openness to exploration and conversation.

Some of those who joined us for “supper” in the church hall following shared their perspectives with me further. One gentleman, who I guess to have been in his late sixties or early seventies, told me I was the very first person to ever say publicly what it was he had believed since he was twelve years old and told what it was he was supposed to believe. Another young man, perhaps in his twenties or early thirties, thanked me saying that he had come with his mother and that although he had been attempting to explain some of these truths to her, their rigid Roman Catholic background had made it very difficult for her to accept what it was he had been saying. He believe that, having heard his beliefs affirmed by me that evening, she would now be able to accompany him on the journey. One woman, who works in the national office of the Uniting Church of Australia, engaged me in a conversation about the role churches have to play in challenging governmental policies and moving them toward more just and ecologically sustainable outcomes. She noted that non-governmental organizations, NGOs, working on the forefront of social and environmental justice were seeking the support of the church because of its perceived influence; influence the felt NGOs on their own could not wield. Her concern was that a removal of the divine imperative to act with Justice might erode that supposed influence.

It is clear that there is much work for the Progressive Christian Network of South Australia to do as they seek to stretch the established churches of that state beyond traditional expressions of Christianity. As with every other place I have ever spoken, the critical question will be whether it can be done in time or if, as I often fear, it is already too late for the church to make the shift necessary to evolve itself into a network of grassroots communities that challenge their members to live in right relationship with themselves, others, and the planet.