Hi Fighter,
I have had an adventurous time since last we communicated.
- Our fight club has moved into its new gym, located in our new church hall
- We’ve restarted our Youth Drop-In program in the same hall.
And some even bigger adventures lie just around the corner!
- Another Warrior’s Weekend bush-training camp has is coming up.
- Boxers for Peace are returning to Syria!
In a moment I’ll do my best to convince you to join us either in the bush or in Syria
(or both), but first let me say a word about the Father Dave Selfie Competition.
You can see some entries above. I’m hoping for more. It seems that a lot of you guys had trouble finding the array of images that had been posted across walls in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. I know that some of them were removed by overly-diligent Councils with no appreciation of art. Even so, if you can find a pic, there’s still time to enter. and the prizes haven’t changed:
- A year’s training at Father Dave’s Old School Boxing Academy (value $1,500)
- A weekend or mid-week stay at Binacrombi (value $300)
- Lunch on a Sunday arvo (value $20 as I’m into cheap eats)
- A front-row pew at Holy Trinity Dulwich Hill for life (value: priceless)
The winner will be judged by the number of likes each image gets on Twitter and/or Facebook. At the moment, the leaders are:
- Fighting Father Tim, with a Twitter response of 11 likes and 6 retweets, along with 14 Facebook likes (31 points)
- Joe Barnes with a straight 24 Facebook likes (24 points)
- Sheikh Tawhidi, with Twitter response of 9 likes and 5 retweets, along with 7 Facebook likes (21 points)
I think I’m going to have to give some thought as to how I distribute the prizes.
Easter Sermon Time
It’s Easter time, so no prizes for guessing the topic of today’s sermon. Even so, just because you’ve heard the story before, doesn’t mean there isn’t something new to glean from it. Besides that, we get the same advertising slogans shoved down our throats 24/7. It surely can’t hurt to balance all the mind-numbing commercialism with a message of resurrection and hope at least once per year!
Back to the Bush!
Yes, it’s time for another Warrior Weekend at Binacrombi. You are invited to join us – Training like a Trojan and Praying like a Monk.
The aim of these weekends is three-fold:
- Build your fitness
- Grow spiritually
- Make new friends
Of course the three work seamlessly together, and that’s why these weekends are at the heart of our Boxing for LIfe social integration strategy – bringing people together from different cultural and religious backgrounds, and transforming us into one team!
Yes, these weekends are about more than fitness. Even so, you don’t need to be a kid at-risk or someone called to work with kids at-risk in order to join us. You just need to be willing to commit your body to a weekend of hard training and high rewards!
The cost, as usual,depends on your circumstances. It’s $200 for the rich, $100 for the poor and free for the destitute. In other words, including GST, it is:
- $220 for workers
- $110 for students and unemployed
- Whatever you can afford to those who can’t afford the regular rates.
Be assured that nobody profits from these weekends. All the trainers donate their time. We just need to cover our costs, and if you can’t contribute financially you will be expected to contribute in other ways, such as through helping prepare meals and/or taking on extra clean-up duties over the weekend.
If you’re ready to book, push the button below to make a payment. If you have questions, email me. and if you’d like to download the excellent flyer, promoting the camp, click here.
The time has come for Syria
Those who have been following recent events in Syria will have celebrated with me the recent liberation of Palmyra from DAESH insurgents. This victory is the clearest demonstration to date of the resilience of the Syrian people who have withstood terrorist attacks coming from every corner of the globe. The Syrian people are winning this war and it’s time we pitched in and helped them to rebuild.
I can’t give exact details, but Boxers for Peace should be back in Syria by the end of next month, and we hope to be boxing with:
- the Syrian Olympic team in Damascus
- Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk
- the kids of Palmyra
Yes, Palmyra is on our to-visit list this time and I am full of hope that we’ll be able to compete with athletes there and broadcast a message of hope to the whole world – that new life and joy can be found amidst the ruins in Syria!
At this stage we have six boxers – a mixture of amateurs and professionals – ready to go. If you’d like to join us, now is the time to let me know. Pray about it, and then email me or call me. All my contact details are on www.fatherdave.org (non-mobile version).
That’s plenty for one newsletter!
Your brother in the Good Fight,
Dave
www.fatherdave.org
www.fighting-fathers.com
www.holytrinity.org.au
www.binacrombi.com.au
www.israelandpalestine.org
www.prayersforsyria.com
www.zerocostwebsite.net
www.dulwichhillgym.com
www.warriorweekends.com
www.how2changetheworld.com
P.S. Support the work of the Fighting Fathers by joining our online community at  www.fighting-fathers.com. It only costs you $10/month and the first month is free.
About Father Dave Smith
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
