Honour Your Father and Your Mother

Scott Wegener gets a hair-raising experience while trying to obey God’s fifth commandment for 28 days.

Signs of the Times, Jan-Feb 2012
US Signs of the Times, Feb 2012

It was quite evident that neither of us wanted to be around the other. But if I didn’t change his light bulb, he’d probably die that night. I use the term he loosely, because it isn’t that easy to tell whether a snake is male or female. He was coiled around a burned-out light bulb, which usually kept him warm, and now he was striking at me every time I got near his cage to change it.

The Greatest Sporting Comeback

Signs of the Times, September 2011.
 
There’s no shortage of remarkable sporting comebacks throughout history. Teams, or individuals, who fall so far behind at one point it seems impossible for them to win - yet through sheer determination, luck or a collapse by their opponents, they do. Down Under has taken part in our fair share of comebacks in the sporting arena, or collapses, as it may be. Here’s but a few of the greatest, and most tragic.

In the 1999 Rugby World Cup semifinal the French overran a powerful New Zealand side, which included the seemingly unstoppable Jonah Lomu. Though France was down 10-24 in the second half, in 30 minutes they scored 33 points, taking out the game 43-31.

Jesus' Soldiers

 Performance: Warburton Seventh-day Adventist Church - July 23, 2011
The brief given to Scott: A short play about Jesus death through the eyes of the soldiers.

Act 1: At the cross

Two soldiers are sitting back to back resting, both physically and emotionally tired - about an hour after Jesus was taken down from the cross.

Eve Remembers

Performance: Warburton Seventh-day Adventist Church - July 23, 2011
The brief given to Scott: A short play about how the world came into sin.

ABEL: Are you ok Mummy?  Why are you crying?

EVE: I’m ok, Abel. [Sniffs and swallows] I was just thinking about when we used to live in the Garden of Eden. Life was so much easier than now. I didn’t have to make all these clothes.
Your dad and I could be together all day, but now he has to go out and work all the time.

CAIN: Tell us what it was like in the garden, Mum.

Someone else, read this

Scott Wegener decides to let someone else do the hard work.

Signs of the Times, May 2011.

These days, you don’t have to look too far or too hard to find an example of “outsourcing.” From couples contracting surrogate mothers to businesses using a call centre in a country where the primary language is not that of the customer’s, it’s all about getting someone—or something—else to do a job for us.

While we’re getting closer, we have yet to reach outsourcuration (is that a word?). But I’m sure somewhere in the world there are scientists working on ways to outsource maths exams, flossing and prostate checks.

Destination Dizzyland

 Performances: Lower Primary - "Big Camp", Victoria April 2011
and Warburton Seventh-day Adventist Church - July 23, 2011

The brief given to Scott: A series of 5 short plays themed around a 'plane trip to heaven', including specifically: Why we want to leave, How we get a ticket, Who is the Pilot, The journey and the final destination.

ACT 1: The Dream

SCOTTIE:     Hey Alex, do you ever dream of going to Dizzyland?

ALEX:         No. I love the park. It has both a swing AND a seesaw!

SCOTTIE:     (Puzzled) A Swing . . . and a seesaw?

Winner: 2011 Best Original Written Piece

Signs Award - Manifest 2011
March 26, 2011

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific has honoured its creative artists at the inaugural Manifest Creative Arts Festival.

Manifest, coordinated by the church through Adventist Media Network (AMN) and Avondale College, in 2011 focused on filmmaking; song composing; and writing.

Scott Wegener received the Signs Award, in the category of Writing,  for “Know misunderstandings.” The article uses humorous misunderstandings to challenge the reader about the beliefs with which they identify.

AMN chief executive officer Neale Schofield affirmed creatives in his keynote by reminding them their gift can “revolutionise” the spreading of the gospel. “You may feel the church is not ready for you,” he said. “Well, the world is. Take this as a signal God wants you to do something much bigger in your life.”

Another of the festival’s speakers, Adventist writer Kay Rizzo, the author of 58 books, added. “Creativity will happen, whether we support it or not, so why should we lose it to the world?”

(Adapted from: record.net.au )