Death has been called the great equaliser. It comes for all, regardless of social status. In the words of Job: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.” And in the words of the modern idiom referring to worldly possessions: “you can’t take them with you.”
Have you ever stopped to consider how we view death can shape how we live?

A message by David Bone

Friendship. Helen Keller wrote that walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. The power of friendship can be seen in how friends provide unconditional support and acceptance. Poet Maya Angelou encourages friends “to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud”. Friends are the family you choose. True friendships offer a comfortable silence, understanding, and the freedom to be oneself. Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.

A message by Janet Dougherty

It is a powerful emotion that plays out in many of our lives. The fear of loss. We can fear losing something or someone, and so we put in measures to protect what we have. We can become suspicious of others and their motivation.
But what if we could overcome this fear of fighting to protect what we have? Could it be that if we do, our open-handed approach could change and shape our lives for the better and be part of something even bigger than we ever hoped if dreamed?
A message by David Toscano

Fear-- it is a primal emotion that we experience. Both natural and necessary to keep us alive - to help us survive. The body responds with sweaty palms, the heart races, and adrenaline surges. But rather than just fight or flight, sometimes we freeze.
The solution to fear, the panacea we seek, is safety and security. And while good and true, what if there was also another way, another option that would see us move from being stuck in fear? Would we be prepared to step into that unknown?
A message by David Toscano

Born into a family of little note, guided by visions from the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine, this teenager was sent by Charles the 7th to the battlefield as a part of the French relief arm. With Joan’s arrival, holding her banner aloft, hope lifted, and the demoralised French army rallied. The English abandoned their siege, and the French army pursued them, to victory after victory. Later, Charles the 7th was crowned with Joan of Arc by his side.

But these are stories of old. Stories of another time and another place. They have no bearing on us today or on our lives and the challenges we face – or do they?
A message by David Toscano

A tale of two brothers is a story of choices, and how the choices we make have consequences that can shape our destiny.
A message by David Toscano

Some people say you never forget your first love. That the love you have for your family or for places or activities shapes you as you grow, and those loves stay connected deeply within your soul. Maybe that’s true. But I think the love that we have for people and places and things fades if we don’t choose to actively remember, we choose to keep loving. And sometimes we need reminding.

A message by Samantha Barlow

A few months ago, I purchased an e-scooter to give me the option for the 48 clear days a year in Melbourne when it is fine to ride it to work.
But because I want to be around for a while to come, I wear a range of items to protect me from serious injury. Long pants, jacket, gloves and full helmet.
In the 80s, Sid the seagull taught us about sun safety and the importance of slip, slop, and slap.
But what do you do to protect your souls?
A message by David Toscano