The Weekend together

It was a big weekend for the group here in Alice Springs. The four have been hard at work preparing their evidence and for arguing why their defences (of necessity; self-defence (of others); and the Nuremberg Principles), should be admissible before the Judge.

On Friday night we had a ‘last supper’ of sorts, as 11 of our members had to leave over the weekend. It was a wonderful night of formally affirming each other and their gifts to the group, and enjoying songs by the campfire. Thankyou most sincerely to all those people.....

Saturday morning we went out to Pine Gap to hold a Quaker style meeting for reflection. We sat in a circle in silence and people shared ‘as they felt led’. Reflections included Hindu mantras; a Quaker query relating to seeds of conflict in ourselves; stories of civil disobedience by Quakers; that prophets went into the desert to find God and that we go into the desert to find the truth about our country; the nature of silence; and the experience to attend the base in listening, rather than broadcasting of our opinions. We finished with the laying of a peace sign of flowers and holding hands.

Sunday morning we participated in the Flynn Memorial Uniting Church service in town, which is the church who has given us use of their facilities. Donna shared a message about Jesus and non-violence, and a few people shared their stories about their journey with their group. Stu sang his song ‘flowers in the guns’ where he got us all to sing along. June shared how her experiences in East Timor led her to work for peace; Margaret shared her love for her brother Jim, his moral life, and her belief that he shouldn’t go to Prison, and Jo sharing how he feels he needs to work to challenge the war in Iraq and Pine Gap’s complicity to this.

Sunday afternoon and Monday provided us opportunity to get some time out – beers at the pub, going out into the bush for walks and camping, climbing hills and so forth. We are all tired, and living life in an intense community and stressful court proceedings is taking its toll on us all. So hopefully the beers and the bush will give us sustenance for the next time.