From the Wayside Chapel by Graham Long

Dear Inner Circle,

The things you do for love! Recently a young man died and it was important to his family that he be buried next to his mother and grandmother. If I told you how difficult it was to organise a funeral at Peak Hill, beyond the town of Parkes in country NSW, you would have all of us at Wayside declared insane. Not only is Peak Hill next door to nowhere but this man had no money because he'd spent nearly all his life on the streets of Kings Cross. Our aboriginal worker, Mon, has pulled strings, wrenched on strings and unwound strings to make the logistics of this day come together. Yesterday, three Wayside staff and I, made an 870km round trip in order to give a homeless man a dignified funeral with his family. I'll admit to being tired this morning.

Our reward for this crazy investment yesterday? We saw a brother and a father and a crowd of aunties and uncles break their hearts and hold one another in a ceremony that was as dignified as any member of the community could afford. I saw the fifty or so people that gathered, each embrace our Wayside staff as they all shared tears together. This sight alone was worth all the effort. A whole community trusted me to lead them in this rough but important moment because they knew that we loved their boy just as they did. They listened as I read from the book of Isaiah, "fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name and you are mine…for you are precious and honoured in my sight and I love you." Perhaps we are a bit crazy, but on the day they put me out to pasture, yesterday will be one day I will remember. I'm proud to be a part of a team who will push to ridiculous extremes to show love for a young man whose tough life ended too early and for a community of people who had no money, no influence and no claim to fame except a love that is so deep it has to be seen to be believed.
Earlier this week, a voice yelled as I was going in the building, "hey Rev, how do you stop desire?" This is an amazing first question to a stranger, but I turned my head and knew instantly that this was serious and it came from a world of pain. I'd not seen this man before and I shook his hand. The touch of his hand was enough for me to know the dimensions of his pain. We sat on the seat outside our building and for the next 30 minutes this rather unwell looking man shared something of his hate of himself for the years of longing for what he could not have. While we were talking, a beautiful young girl, I presume a backpacker, walked into our cafe and eventually walked past us again and down the street. She was a stunning young woman wearing shorts that kept no secrets. The paralysis of the man beside me was physical. He couldn't talk; actually, neither could I. I told him that the desire in itself was healthy, but not when it was 'the one thing'. Addiction is a process of reducing all the good in the world to one thing. We discovered he did no physical exercise, he read nothing, he had no hobbies and he had few friends. I told him every man with a pulse knows something of his battle but the problem was not the battle absorbing him but rather the things missing about which he had no awareness. I offered to get him some more expert help but he stood to leave and I suspect I'll never see him again.

We had the pure joy of two little girls at our place last weekend. For a few hours we had the honour of caring for their 5 month old sister, who is old enough now to wake up and know that she is not in the care of her mother but has been kidnapped by two geriatrics. I'm usually pretty good at pacifying babies but this little sweetheart could not be comforted. At one point I looked at her 6 year old sister and said, "I think Mum brought home a cry baby" who looked right back at me and said, "I think Mum brought home the wrong baby!"

That's enough,

I'm thankful to find you in our inner circle,

Graham


Rev Graham Long
Pastor and CEO
The Wayside Chapel
Kings Cross
http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/


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Houseboating on the Murray River

One of the great pleasures in Australia is having a weekend or week long trip on Australia's many waterways.
We are embarking on another  one later in the year but this one pictured here was in the 1990's on the River Murray up stream from Renmark South Australia and crossing state boundaries.
As I have been archiving here are a few snaps from that holiday.
The scenery as you cruise along and take hikes on land is amazing.
The photos were taken with a Pentax super A film camera.(super program in USA)
I mainly used a Kiron 28-210mm zoom lens.
Scanned from negs.

Lacrosse in South Australia

During the late 80's and early 90's all three of my boys played Lacrossse at the Sturt Lacrosse Club in South Australia.
While successful at a young age all three chose not to continue the sport while still teenagers.
I had never seen a game until they played.
For  a while I attended many Lacrosse matches and took lots of photos and videos of games.
Now I am doing a lot of scanning to archive my photography I may put up some lacrosse photos from time to time.
Below is the 1990 successful Sturt A Grade Premiership Team and also a junior Sturt team from the same year.
I have a video of this A Grade premiership and intend to post it on you tube some time.

Facing Cancer

One of Australia's leading and much loved television journalists,Peter Harvey, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer last October.
Below is a link to a one plus one interview with Peter on Australia's ABC Television.
I invite anyone on this blog to watch the interview which I find very inspirational.
I lost a friend to pancreatic cancer a couple of years ago.
It is a tough illness.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-15/one-plus-one-peter-harvey/4521724
My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

UPDATE

Since I originally published this Peter has now died.
Below is a link about his passing.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-02/journalist-peter-harvey-dies-after-battle-with-cancer/4544362

Remembering Skate Boarding

When our boys were growing up they were very much into skateboarding.
"Olly", "backside air" "knarly" were some of the terms we became familiar with.
"ramp", "drop ins",half pipes".
At one stage we had a fairly substantial ramp at the end of our back yard.
It was all consuming for a while.
We survived it and so did they.
On a trip once to visit friends in Victoria at Gisborne they and their friends very quickly built a ramp in the paddock alongside the Gisborne Church of Christ Manse.
Our friend Ray Smith was then the pastor there.
A couple of these images below, taken in the 1980's on slides, are quite iconic I think.
When I get time I'll do a series on here on 1980's skateboarding.

The view from the top of the hill.Skate ramp is middle left.

Christian Hosoi at Prahran ramp Victoria

Pentax Kr Special Effects Filters

I have always been a Pentax fan since the 1970's(Pentax Spotmatic) and really enjoy the digital special effects you can do in camera on their latest digital Cameras.
I love creating an artistic look sometimes out of mistakes.
When you have a Pentax it's a good case for not quickly deleting failures.
I took these today of two of my Grandchildren playing the piano.

Original mistake

Original cropped and saturated a little in iPhoto on the Mac

Abstract effect applied to original from Pentax Kr effects filters

retake of original but using in camera effects on Pentax Kr

Pentax Kr special effects combination

Pentax Kr special effects

Henley High School Class Photo -1B 1959 2b 1960

This was my first year high school class.
The Henley High School was a new school that had just opened in 1958.
It was a great experience being part of a brand new school.
It has since gone on to be a very successful educational ground for lots of prominent and other wise South Australians,
Sportsmen and women, and politicians,businessmen etc,.
One of the lads in this photograph,Geoff Boettcher, has been a recent  winner of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on "Secret Men's Business."
Bob Loveday is also here who Captained and Coached the West Adelaide football Club.
I am sure all have made their mark on the world.
I would love to hear from any of these people although I am sure some have sadly passed on.
Our class teacher was Keith Giddings( a favourite teacher) and the headmaster alongside him on the right was Bill Thompson.(No relation to me)
My good friend Anthony(Tony) Chapman passed away just over 3 years ago.
He is immediately above the 2 teachers.
I have now also added some photos taken some years ago at a High School Re union Football Match.
See if you know who they are.

Vern Hembrow, Murray Fielder, Jeff Barnes

Sue Mcdonald, not sure,Ian Edgley,Barbara Parsons

Robert Baker,Geoff Thompson,Murray Fielder, Graham Edwards

And here is the class a year later in 1960

Postal Institute Football Club Photo 1966 and 1967

In 1966 I joined the Postal Institute Football Club which was entering the South Australian Amateur League at The A3 level.
I had left the West Adelaide Football Club earlier in the year at the encouragement of some workmates who played for "Postals".
Players were mainly workers from the original Postmaster General's Department although outsiders were encouraged to join.
In this year 1966 we won the A3 premiership which elevated us to A2 the following year.
We played off in the A2 grand final but were beaten.
We did then get elevated to A1 the next year where we won our share of matches.
I believe the calibre of players we had in those 3 years was very good and many could have played League Footy in the SANFL.
Some had already and one of these guys in particular Darryl Webb who was a 17 year old Centre Half Forward in this photograph went on to play for North Adelaide and South Australia.
I have another photo taken a couple of years after this so will add that when I find it.
I would love to hear from any Postal's players who come across this.
I am aware sadly that some have passed on.

Postal Institute A3 football team 1966. Premiers. Photographer unknown.

The 1967 Postals Team

Ian Goed has kindly sent some statistics from the 1970 year of Postals.

I have just met with ian Goed, a past player yesterday(19/5/21)

and he gave me these two pictures. One of the Postals Footy club from probably 1968 and also the Postals Cricket Club, I played a handful of games for the cricket club but I am not in the photo.

Vintage Photography Again!

Frames for use with enlarging plates

Digital Photography is everywhere now which is wonderful as new photographers are discovering the joy that capturing images can bring.
Photography has been around for a long while though.
I have in my collection of old things a magazine compendium from 1899 called "Black and White Magazine."
It is a magazine full of short stories,poems, news items,theatre reviews,sports events,politics, advertisements,drawings,art reproductions and photographs.
It is a wonderful record of the life of England and the British  Colonies of v1899.
The pages are almost A3 size and the volume is about 2" thick.
It clearly shows in that year that drawings, painting and art had been king but the new and wonderful technology of photography was taking over.
A bit like how analogue has been replaced by digital over the last 10 years.
The magazine has lost it's front and back cover and some of the early pages are missing or damaged but it is till nonetheless an amazing record of the times.
The ads are just amazing reading and viewing in themselves.
As I learn how to get the best out of it with digital recording I will publish some of it on this blog.
I do offer today a glimpse of what photography was achievable in about that time using very basic equipment by today's standards.
These shots are from some scans I have just done.
They are from glass plate negatives. 
They were scanned on an Epson Perfection V700 scanner.
I am in the process of tracking down the original photographer's details and who the subjects were.

Whoever Loses his life for my sake will find it!

"--Whoever Loses his life for my sake will find it!" from Matthew 10:39
This is a statement among the many in the Bible.
What does it really mean?

I read this article linked below on the Christianity today website.
This lady was very courageous to take the steps to Jesus that she did.
She did leave her old life behind and discovered new life in Jesus.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html

If you read all the comments accompanying the article  you will get lost in all sorts of inadequate responses and some with some love in them.
Suffice to say the article struck a lot of chords or dischords on all sides of the divide.

I simply love to hear stories of people coming to peace and meaning in Jesus.

If we really want to make Jesus our Lord and Saviour then we have no rights to ourselves and our humanistic way of looking at things.
Many of us as Christians actually hold humanistic views without realising it.
We are no longer "Captains of our  fate and masters of our soul."
 This is one of  the most sad quotes in human thinking that I know of.
It means that we are our own god and cannot know the joy of obedience to Christ while we hold that view.
Yes the truth will set us free but only if we walk in the light of the Gospel.

Below are various translations and cross references in the bible of Matthew 10:39.
http://bible.cc/matthew/10-39.htm

The Apostle Paul also made the statement "It is no longer I that lives but Christ who lives in me!
http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-galatians-2-19-20.htm

The key to the Gospel is to understand the Exchanged life made possible by the cross of Christ.
We put off 'The old man" and "put on Christ"

It's my Funeral (your Funeral)

Before I say anything else let me say at the time of writing this I am not aware of my suffering from any terminal illness apart from the ageing process.

At a recent party in conversation with two of my friends they both launched into the topic of what thay wanted their funeral to be or not to be.
We three  are  in our 60,s and have had various health problems that make you realise that time is getting short.
I didn't offer much to the discussion as I was a bit surprised by their forthrightness on the topic.
I just listened.
I do however confess to thinking about my own funeral reasonably often.
Who will be there?
Who will speak?
Who will be the Minister?
How will the message of the Gospel be delivered to challenge those who are not yet Christians?
What music would I want?
What Bible readings?
Apart from weddings I have photographed I reckon I have been to more funerals than weddings.
My wife and I, a couple of years ago, arranged and virtually conducted a small private funeral for a friend.
We have known many who really put a lot of work into their funeral before they died as they had all the above questions on their hearts.
I have spoken at funerals and helped with eulogies.
Some funerals have been a great celebration and some very sad with no joy for anyone.
I have attended a pauper's funeral with only three of us present on a bleak rainy day.
I once worked with a young woman,Amanda, who was a mum and a wife who died relatively young of cancer.
She was a very convinced Christian but not one to make a big deal of that in the workplace.
She was truly amazing as she battled with cancer and deteriorated to her eventual death.
She cheered up those who came to visit her rather than the other way round.
There were many of her friends and relatives and a large contigent of workmates at her  funeral.
Her cousin. a minister, conducted the funeral.
Towards the end of the ceremony he offered that  Amanda wanted everyone present to have the opportunity on the way out to receive a free booklet that really explained her Faith.
Many took advantage of this and I thought it was an excellent idea.
At another recent funeral  of our beloved former Pastor ,Morrie Munyard, he had said he wanted his funeral to be one of celebration of life and faith and humour and laughter.
It was just that, but his wife Florence left everyone there with no wondering  about the importance of making a decision for Jesus Christ before they died.

Morrie and Florence at his 80th birthday

At funerals mostly people say nice things about people and mostly make light of whatever faults the deceased had.
No doubt something like that would happen at my own funeral but I would certainly want people to be aware of some of the following truths about me and the Gospel and life after death.

1. I have no doubts of going to Heaven and avoiding Hell?
    I have no doubts that those places exist.

2. There is nothing meritorious in me that would warrant the above happening.I might be  seen as good bloke or whatever but my salvation rests entirely on what Jesus did on the cross and my response to Him and not anything I might have achieved in life.
I am a sinner saved by the grace of God.

3.I would hope that people present may be touched by God's Holy Spirit in the service and come away determined to get right with God,
get right in relationships,
be ready to forgive others,
 and to continue or start a lifelong journey of growing into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
4.I would want them to know or discover that there is no one that Jesus does not love and can enable to become a new person altogether.

To be healed of damaged emotions.

To be forgiven for past, present and future sin.

To be set free from addictions.

To experience release from any spiritual bondage.

To be assured of heaven now and when they die.

And much more........
Most of the answers to the how of all of this are on these posts on this blog in the form of audio tapes,bible studies and short booklets etc.
They are all contained in the Bible.
These resources just help to bring out the truth of The Gospel.

So what have you got planned for your funeral?

If you were to arrive at the gates of Heaven and Jesus was to ask you why should I let you in?

What would you say?

Image use from this Blog

USE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHY
Please note most images on this blog are copyrighted to myself and are not made available for commercial gain unless agreed to with me.
Where I don't hold copyright I will say so or it will be obvious if linked to another internet site.
I do get approached from time to time about using images and usually, if I agree, a donation to an agreed charity is my normal practice rather than a personal payment to myself.
If appearing in a publication I would usually like my name as author of image published.
I do have a large archive of images dating back to the 1970's when I started taking photographs and some before that.
I have a very good scanner and can produce digital files from all my past negatives and transparancies.
If you can't find what you are looking for on my blog posts I may have something that fits your bill so email or call by mobile  0417867476.
I am happy to take on a limited number of commercial photography assignments on a freelance basis.
Also one on one or small group training in photography is available.