There haven’t been many dry eyes during the recent services in Brisbane for the soldiers killed in Afghanistan. A very moving joint memorial service for three soldiers was held by the 6th Royal Australian Regiment at Gallipoli Barracks, and then two of the funerals were held locally at churches at the Gap (for PTE Grant Kirby) and at Ashgrove (for LCPL Jared MacKinney). The third funeral (for PTE Tomas Dale) was held in Adelaide. The funeral for LCPL Jared MacKinney was especially sad as his new son was born in the afternoon following the funeral. A Piper sounds a mournful air while soldiers on [...]

Days of  Sadness, Heartfelt pain Our Aussie Soldiers killed again And many people in this war Will question “What’s this fighting for?” “We know the lads are good and tough But surely this must be enough! They say “Get rid of all this pain and bring our Soldiers home again” Days of Sadness, tortured grief Life for these lads was cruelly brief And family’s unspoken fears Are realised in a Vale of tears But hear the words these families say “If our troops must come home today Then that would be the cruellest pain For then our boys have died [...]

Walking slowly up the stairs Knowing in the house that there’s A person who will soon be struck with tears The doorbell rings, approaching feet “May we come in please take a seat” Our presence there confirms their darkest fears.   The padre comforts as they grieve “It can’t be true, I don’t believe” And sadness mounts within the padre’s soul. With no quaint words to soothe their loss The padre prays that Jesus’ cross Will one day help this person feel more whole.   “Hey padre can you do this thing I think its called a ‘christenin’ We want [...]

My peace I give unto you.  G.A. Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929) Blessed are the eyes that see       The things that you have seen,                                                                                                                                                           Blessed are the feet that walk       The ways where you have been.   Blessed are the eyes that see       The agony of God, Blessed are the feet that tread       The paths His feet have trod.   Blessed are the souls that solve       The paradox of Pain, And find the path that, piercing it,       Leads through to peace again.   Having recently returned from what can only be described as a pilgrimage to the beautiful and rich agricultural fields of [...]

“How could God allow this?” I hear it all the time It seems whenever bad things happens God has caused the crime When things are running smoothly we never hear God’s name But when the wheels fall off then we can’t wait to lay the blame.   “How could God allow this?” why couldn’t God prevent it My guess is if God tried to stop things we would soon resent it! It’s part of human nature to learn from our mistakes We’d see it as intrusion if God tried to push the brakes.   “How could God allow this?” These [...]

                                               _____________________________________________________________________ Chaplain Jim Cosgrove is a Brisbane based Army Chaplain working at HQ Ist Division at Enoggera Bks. Jim and his wife Jeanette attend St Georges Church at the Brisbane Bayside parish of Waterloo Bay. Over the years Jim has written many songs from scripture as well as poems. His albums include music for Sunday school programs, Christmas and Easter, and many of the parables and bible stories.    Jim has been an army chaplain for 24 years.   You can [...]