Our cover image this month is Our Lady of the New Advent an icon of Mary written/painted by Fr William McNichols, SJ and presented to Pope John Paul II on World Youth Day in 1993. Based on the Mirozh icon and the hymn O Virgo Splendens, as Moderator Sharon Hollis discusses in her column this month, Mary is rarely depicted as pregnant. As Christmas approaches, Ms Hollis suggests “the implications of Mary’s pregnancy is to affirm the importance of the body … Our bodies also say a lot about what we believe and where our commitments lie.”
All of the December Crosslight stories are available here. You can also read the digital version here.
Highlights this month include:
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The Uniting Church joins with First Peoples to support the Uluru Statement.
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A man who was enslaved in Australia spots his liberator in the back pew of a church.
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A refugee from Myanmar begins ministering to a small congregation in Tasmania.
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Even if he didn’t use a hammer, Martin Luther’s ideas had a huge knock-on effect.
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Crosslight staff give their picks of what to read, watch and download over summer.
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Christmas events are already in full swing across many congregations.
We also share daily online stories on Crosslight online. If you would like to receive the stories in your Facebook inbox every day, visit the Uniting Church Victoria and Tasmania Facebook page and click ‘send message’.
If you are not able to get to a Uniting Church congregation but would like to continue to receive the print edition of Crosslight each month, we can arrange to deliver it to you, whether you are in Australia or overseas. Subscribe here to receive Crosslight in your letterbox.
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