Tabor Israel Study Tour Tabor Welcomes Reverend Melinda Cousins Tabor would like to offer a warm welcome to new staff member, Reverend Melinda Cousins. Melinda joined the School of Ministry, Theology and Culture in the area of Biblical Studies, earlier this year. Prior to joining Tabor, Melinda served at Blackwood Hills Baptist Church for eleven years, most recently as a Teaching Pastor, and has taught tertiary level Old Testament for the past eight years. Melinda completed her Masters of Arts (Theology) through the Australian College of Theology in 2008, which included a month studying at Jerusalem University College in Israel. This has led her to make two return trips to the Middle East in the past few years and also to volunteer to take part in Tabor’s first study tour to Israel this June. For Melinda, visiting the lands of the Bible brought the text to life in new ways. Gaining a new appreciation for the impact of geography on history and culture, she has found her knowledge of these things an invaluable asset in teaching the Bible. She also now has many travel photos and illustrations, which hold special memories for her. (Pictured above on top of Mt Sinai) This year Tabor College is offering a study tour to the Middle East for MTC students undertaking the elective ‘Jesus and his Contexts,’ at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Melinda, Stephen Spence, Matt Gray and 44 Tabor students will fly out on June 4 to spend three weeks studying and travelling through Cairo, Jordan and Israel. The group will land in Cairo where they will view the pyramids and museums before heading to the desert to climb Mt Sinai. They then have five days in Jordan, before crossing into Israel to spend ten days exploring the regions around Galilee and Jerusalem. While this will no doubt be an amazing travel experience, the purpose of the Study Tour is to ground their biblical studies in the world and land of the Bible, particularly focusing on the sites and events that shaped Jesus’ world. The students have been busy preparing for the trip by reading widely in areas including history, geography, religion, culture and spirituality; attending seminars; writing papers on their expectations; and completing geography exercises to orient them with the lands they will visit. Based on her own experiences, Melinda is confident that they will return with fresh insights and understandings about Jesus from his contexts, which will enrich their future studies and ministries. New Tabor Cafe! In order to service the Tabor community, a new cafe opened for business in the Tabor Refectory on Monday the 23rd of April. Bedford are currently running the cafe and opening hours will be from 11.30am to 1.30pm, Monday to Friday. There are plenty of lunchtime options. The menu includes sandwiches, pies, pasties, sushi, salads, hot food and some cakes – Yum! Student News | Issue 14, 2012 IN THIS ISSUE: Staff Welcome & Israel Study Tour New Tabor Cafe Butterflies Life Begins At 65 Alumni Poetry & Stories So What Is Gospel? Tabor Visit to Bi-Buya College Notices Liberamente Key dates to remember! Remember to make note of the following dates: 24 May Intercultural Studies Lunchtime Conversations Dr David Pahan, from The Leprosy Mission in Bangladesh. ‘FREELY, WITH LIBERTY’ Staff and Student Journeys
Transcript
Tabor Israel Study Tour Tabor Welcomes Reverend Melinda
Cousins
Tabor would like to offer a warm welcome to new staff member, Reverend Melinda Cousins. Melinda joined the School of Ministry, Theology and Culture in the area of Biblical Studies, earlier this year. Prior to joining Tabor, Melinda served at Blackwood Hills Baptist Church for eleven years, most recently as a Teaching Pastor, and has taught tertiary level Old Testament for the past eight years. Melinda completed her Masters of Arts (Theology) through the Australian College of Theology in 2008, which included a month studying at Jerusalem University College in Israel. This has led her to make two return trips to the Middle East in the past few years and also to volunteer to take part in Tabor’s first study tour to Israel this June.
For Melinda, visiting the lands of the Bible brought the text to life in new ways. Gaining a new appreciation for the impact of geography on history and culture, she has found her knowledge of these things an invaluable asset in teaching the Bible. She also now has many travel photos and illustrations, which hold special memories for her. (Pictured above on top of Mt Sinai)
This year Tabor College is offering a study tour to the Middle East for MTC students undertaking the elective ‘Jesus and his Contexts,’ at both
undergraduate and postgraduate level. Melinda, Stephen Spence, Matt Gray and 44 Tabor students will fly out on June 4 to spend three weeks studying and travelling through Cairo, Jordan and Israel. The group will land in Cairo where they will view the pyramids and museums before heading to the desert to climb Mt Sinai. They then have five days in Jordan, before crossing into Israel to spend ten days exploring the regions around Galilee and Jerusalem.
While this will no doubt be an amazing travel experience, the purpose of the Study Tour is to ground their biblical studies in the world and land of the Bible, particularly focusing on the sites and events that shaped Jesus’ world.
The students have been busy preparing for the trip by reading widely in areas including history, geography, religion, culture and spirituality; attending seminars; writing papers on their expectations; and completing geography exercises to orient them
with the lands they will visit. Based on her own experiences, Melinda is confident that they will return with fresh insights and understandings about Jesus from his contexts, which will enrich their future studies and ministries.
New Tabor Cafe!
In order to service the Tabor community, a new cafe opened for business in the Tabor Refectory on Monday the 23rd of April.
Bedford are currently running the cafe and opening hours will be from 11.30am to 1.30pm, Monday to Friday.
There are plenty of lunchtime options. The menu includes sandwiches, pies, pasties, sushi, salads, hot food and some cakes – Yum!
Student News | Issue 14, 2012
In ThIs Issue:
Staff Welcome & Israel Study Tour
New Tabor Cafe
Butterflies
Life Begins At 65
Alumni Poetry & Stories
So What Is Gospel?
Tabor Visit to Bi-Buya College
Notices
Liberamente
Key dates to remember!
Remember to make note of the following dates:
24 MayIntercultural Studies Lunchtime ConversationsDr David Pahan, from The Leprosy Mission in Bangladesh.
‘FREELY, WITH LIBERTY’
Staff and Student Journeys
Butterflies
As Semester 1 approaches its end, there is always at least one group of students with butterflies in their stomachs as they realise that the theoretical side of their degree is almost complete. All that remains is their biggest test yet – eight weeks in the workplace, proving their readiness for full-time employment. These are the final year Education students, or to give them their proper title: Pre-Service Teachers.
Tabor Adelaide provides a distinctive step in their transformation from Students to Teachers. Each year we hold an Internship Seminar in which students receive information from a range of professional organisations. The challenge comes in the last segment of the seminar, when each student faces a mock interview for a teaching position.
Having submitted a formal application for a position, each candidate faces the interview panel of real school principals and other educators, in the presence of a small group of their peers. Afterwards is a debriefing of their performance and then the opportunity ‘to network’ between prospective employers and employees over afternoon tea.
What is to be gained from this elaborate exercise?
First and foremost, our Pre-Service Teachers gain invaluable experience in facing an interview and seeing how their peers handle the process. They meet some possible future employers and at the same time, Tabor forges strong partnerships with some of our key stakeholders from both the State and Independent school sectors. They in turn have a preview of the ‘current crop’ and it is by no means rare for some real outcomes in terms of employment, by the time the students have completed their eight week Internship. It is what could well be called a ‘win-win’ situation.
And well worth the butterflies.
Margaret CameronSenior Lecturer in Education
Life Begins At 65!
Just before I retired from Tabor Adelaide Library at the end of October 2011 I replied to an ad I had seen from DCS: Department of Correctional Services, asking for volunteers to work in the prison libraries. DCS are working hard to lift the literacy and numeracy skills of prisoners who have only a Year 9 or less equivalent
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educational level (Over 30% of inmates). As part of this they are also working to upgrade the libraries within each prison. I am currently working with the DCS Librarian, Abigail Day, in the Adelaide Women’s Prison; the first of the prison libraries to be rejuvenated. The program will extend to each of the state’s prisons.
It is quite a different working environment to Tabor Library but I am really enjoying myself. I have yet to strike a situation where I do not feel safe and have had quite a few laughs with some of the inmates. A few serious conversations as well.
We are currently looking for more volunteers to mentor and encourage inmates as they work in each of these libraries, including in the country prisons. Library experience is not necessary, but you will need some computing skills. I am happy for you to email me if you would like more information at [email protected]
There are lots of opportunities to volunteer in SA Prisons. Below I have listed some helpful links.
DCS has around 100 volunteers working in many different roles across SA Prisons including adult education, transporting prisoners, etc. – see their website at http://www.corrections.sa.gov.au/community/volunteering for more information.
Prison Fellowship is a Christian voice within the prison system – see their website at http://www.pfi.org.au/home_1_5.html for volunteer opportunities and also their webpage by a Tabor graduate, Sally Graham, on the mentoring work she is doing with families of prisoners at http://www.prisonfellowship.org.au/mentoring_260_5.html
Blessings,
Jan BarwickPreviously Library Manager, Tabor Adelaide
Student Counselling Support
Counselling is available for all Tabor students at a cost of $10 per session.
Alumni Poetry - Holy WeekI used to think, Nothing is as lonely as the sea before dawn.Then I met Him and I thought, Nothing is as lonely as the sea before dawn when He isn’t here.And then everything happened and I thought, Nothing is as lonely as the sea before dawn when He isn’t here because I turned my back on Him. This is all I know to be true. Nothing is as lonely as never getting the chance to say goodbye. Nothing is as lonely as never getting the chance to say sorry.
It is all of these things now, and it is so lonely.Gulls turn above me and I’m thinking of His voice carrying over a hundred faces.The sky is fish-flesh silver and I’m thinking of the morning the sea was silent.The wind smells like salt and sand-rot and wild thyme and I’m thinking of the shape of His fingers tearing bread apart on the side of a gusty hill. Will it be like this forever?
He has seeped into everything.His absence is a presence; His un-reproach reproaches. My betrayal lurches low down in my gut. I haven’t really eaten for weeks.
Everywhere I look—Firelight on dusty feet.I don’t know Him.Angle of a woman’s cheek, caught mid-turn. I don’t know Him.Rustle of drowsing chickens in a reed basket.I don’t know Him.
And now it’s another dawn and I’m bitterly cold.I feel as if I’m dying from my fingers inwards,My heart outwards.There is no end to this death. I want to close my eyes and not wake up.I want to feel hunger, pain, something.I want to touch His feet.
Before everything happened I used to look away from the desperate draggle-haired women in the dirt. Try not to listen to their voices. Now I would give these clothes, this boat, my bed, breath, beating heart to do the same.Whisper into the cracks in his heels, the dust between his toes.My God, I am so sorry.
The mast creaks.I think about the day to come, lying awake on my pallet, circled by flies. Sun pulsing through the awnings, people pounding past in the street.
I think about the week to come. The year to come. The decades.I think about the rest of my life.
There is nothing so lonely—Is this why I don’t see Him at first, small as a fingernail on the shore?It is the Lord! Someone says, and I’d do anything for this to be true.I’d tell everyone in the world that I know Him this time; I’d leap into a lashing ocean before He even calls me when it’s stormy and I can’t swim—Splash!—and I’m striking out for the shore, heart high up in my throat.
I don’t know what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, what I will do if it is Him—
There’s a fire above the tide line. Red coals, hissing fish, hot bread. Heat above the flames like ripples in a river.
It is Him.
It is Him, and I do nothing I thought I’d do.I only shudder all over, cold aching up every bone like a thousand hairline fractures. It is Him, and I turn back to bring in the catch.How can I say I’m sorry?What can one word do after Everything?
Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
—Oh, You know I do. You know that if I had a chance I’d do anything but what I did. You know that I love You so much that I’m dried out with it, wrung empty, broken into pieces—
I say none of this. All I say is, Yes, Lord.All I say is, You know that I love You.
And in return He gives me this gift. The gift of need. This is what He says: Feed my lambs.
I hold these last words carefully. I turn them and turn them like a handful of pebbles.
Feed my lambs
We eat the fish and the bread. Flames rise, and smoke. The sun touches the horizon. Gingerroot, then egg yolk, then apricot jam. Birds sparkle into the sky.
It is dawn; it is no longer lonely.
Sarah Annesley
2010 Graduate - BA Humanities
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Alumni - Reflections on a Journey
One Step At A Time
I graduated from Tabor Adelaide with a post-graduate degree in Education, in 2010. Being naturally naïve and idealistic I had great plans to change the world - one child at a time. I always knew that I was drawn to educating primary-aged children, so the plan was to get a degree in Primary Education and become a teacher at a primary school. However it became clear to me, when I was hired by an all-girls Catholic school, that God had plans for me to step out of my comfort zone completely.
My contract started barely 2 weeks after I officially finished my internship. I had completed a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications prior to my post-graduate degree, and so I was to apply all my skills into teaching year 8s to year 12s. It was a whirl-wind. I didn’t have enough time to allow myself to even soak in the idea that my visions of teaching little children were about to expand (quite literally). Over time it became apparent that tackling what I feared most was the only way to uncover something I was about to become most passionate about – educating our adolescent girls. It required courage, on my part, to draw closer to God and to face up to the challenge. It wasn’t easy, but then again, challenges that reap the greatest rewards never are.
Currently, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College (Enfield) has nominated me to lead Chinese as a language within the LOTE
faculty. As a result of that I was flown to Shanghai, Shandong and Beijing, to attend the Confucius Institute Study Tour for Principals and School Leaders in April this year. It has been a truly amazing and eye-opening experience. I have experienced a part of China’s ancient and beautiful culture, and have met principals and senior teachers with much wisdom to share. In July, I will be representing OLSH College in Hong Kong, at an international exposition. These are only a few of the examples of ways I’ve been able to lead my school and students, outside of the classroom. I am truly grateful for the opportunities that I have been offered, and am starting to see that many schools are willing to let new teachers take on leadership roles.
Confucius said, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step”. Taking the first step as a teacher is always the most difficult, but those who persist, have faith in God, and keep on walking will no doubt find teaching highly rewarding. Admittedly, I’m still naïve and idealistic. The difference is that now I know making a change isn’t just an ambitious dream, but a reality that God is too creating, through me, every day.
Renee Chen
2010 Graduate - Bachelor of Education
So, what is the gospel?This might sound like a question everyone knows the answer to, yet a number of major NT scholars are asking the church to rethink this question in light of a careful re-reading of the Gospels and Jesus’ emphasis upon “the Kingdom
of God.” Oddly enough, this refocus upon the kingdom creates a conflict with those who prefer to focus first upon a particular reading of Romans or upon an evangelistic summary of the gospel like the four spiritual laws. If you had to answer someone’s question where would you start?
It is a great privilege for Tabor Adelaide to host world class NT scholar, Dr Scot McKnight, to help us wrestle through this critical question. Dr Scot McKnight is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, and is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the author of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Creed. Scot is a great communicator and teacher who tackles important questions head on (see his
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Joseph and Eddie Turpin, one of the lecturers, getting to know them and finding out how the two colleges can be of support to one another. Wontulp teaches VET courses in Ministry and Theology and Community Development. It is impressive to note that all staff of Wontulp College are indigenous and this facilitates the training of Indigenous students particularly well.
‘Meeting the staff and students was very encouraging and inspiring’, said Meg after her visit. ‘The Graduation service, at which an elder from a Torres Strait Islander community graduated in a Certificate IV in Ministry and Theology, was a real highlight. It was a privilege to be one of about 5 non-indigenous people amongst the enthusiastic crowd of about 80 people at the graduation ceremony, where loud, joyful singing and dancing celebrated the occasion.’
In June 23-30, 2012, TEAR are offering the DEEP cross cultural program, (http://www.tear.org.au/education/deep/australia), for others who would like to visit the Indigenous communities around Cairns at which Wontulp has students. Ms Barbara Deutschmann (from TEAR Australia) will be leading the trip. Members of the Tabor community would be particularly welcome to participate. Please contact Barbara for more information via the website.
You can now also connect with Wontulp via their facebook page at www.facebook.com/Wontulp
Wontulp students at the Graduation service in Cairns.
popular blog, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/).
His most recent book, The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited (2011), argues that the gospel is not about us (my sins are forgiven); it is about Jesus (he is Lord!). From May 21-25 will see students gather at Tabor Adelaide for a one week postgraduate intensive rooted in The King Jesus Gospel. Scot will propose a method for examining the meaning of “gospel,” which he feels is actually quite clear in the New Testament, even if it does contrast with what many today think is the gospel. He will then explore how this gospel sheds light on evangelism, conversion theory, church practice and discipleship.
Pastors and leaders can also join with students on Monday May 21, 9.30am-3.30pm, for a one day enrichment seminar. (You might like to let your pastor know this.) The cost of $60 also includes lunch. Please email [email protected] to enrol. You may also like to join us for our College Worship on Thursday May 24, 9.15-9.45am, where Scot will be sharing from God’s Word with us.
Bruce Hulme
Lecturer, MTC School (Mon, Tue)
Academic Administrator, Postgraduate
Tabor Visit to Wontulp Bi-Buya College
When TEAR Australia, (http://www.tear.org.au), an evangelical aid organisation, invited Tabor Adelaide to get to know Wontulp Bi-Buya College, (http://www.wontulp.qld.edu.au), Meg Rowlands, the VET Manager, was happy to participate in an initial visit last month.
Wontulp Bi-Buya College, base in Cairns, ministers to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander communities and students throughout far north Queensland and the Torres Straits. Along with Barbara Deutschmann, (field worker from TEAR), Meg was invited to the Yarrabah Community, half an hour from Cairns, to meet with past students now working in Health and Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation work. She also visited the well-attended Anglican Church on the sea shore and saw some of the Easter preparations in progress.
Back in Cairns, an interesting visit was had with Auntie Betty, Wontulp graduate, who, since completing her course with Wontulp, has been participating as an Indigenous Elder in local court proceedings, admonishing indigenous offenders. Auntie Betty related her story as a member of the stolen generation, which was particularly poignant.
Meg also spent valuable time meeting with Principal Rev Victor
Entertainment Book - Great M0ther’s Day Gift Idea!
TABOR is once again selling the Entertainment Book as a fundraiser.
The book is packed with great deals and vouchers to cater for all your shopping, dining and entertainment needs!
It can be purchased for $65 from Reception OR online at:
The Australia - Tanzanian Services Foundation aims to provide opportunities for Tanzanians living in poverty to transform their lives through sustainable development in health care, education and medical exchange programs.
We are a not-for-profit foundation, raising funds directly to finance projects.
Please support us by coming along to our next fundraising film night at:
The Trak Cinema 375 Greenhill Road, Toorak Gardens Monday 7th May, 2012 at 6.30pm for a 7pm start
for a screening of “THE WAY” starring Martin Sheen.
It has had some great reviews. Get a group together and enjoy a great night out while supporting a great cause.
Are you wanting to volunteer and get involved? Tabor may have a job for you!
If you have a green thumb, an aptitude for handyman work or some library or administration skills, Tabor would love to hear from you!
Currently there are volunteer positions in the areas of gardening, ground maintenance, administration and the library.
Working hours are flexible and negotiable and your time would be much appreciated within the Tabor community.
If interested please contact the HR Manager via email address: [email protected]
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Contact Us.Tabor Adelaide, located in South Australia, is a multi denominational Christian Education Centre offering government accredited courses at tertiary level.
