How Sally Goldner found the freedom to be herself

By Mikaela Turner

Sally Goldner remembers her bar mitzvah well – which is not to say she remembers it with fondness. It was anything but a happy occasion.

At 13, Sally was a girl trapped in a boy’s body and the thought of celebrating her “coming of age” into manhood terrified her.

The year was ...

International Youth Day and unleashing unlimited potential

By Bradon French

Did you know June 13 was International Sewing Machine Day? Or that the following day was International Thong Day (the flip-flop variety, of course)? In fact, that whole week was Love Your Burial Ground Week (June 8-16). I assure you I’m not making this up.

Of course, there were more significant days and ...

Tender acts of mercy allowed us to be there for Bronwen

In our June edition we profiled author Julie Perrin who had written a collection of stories on the theme of grace. We invited you to share your stories of a similar nature. What follows is one of those responses.

In 2005, our then vivacious 23-year-old daughter, Bronwen, was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, which means that blood vessels ...

How literally should we take each word in the Bible?

By Barry Gittins

The books inside the Bible are the most read, and perhaps unread, spiritual literature of recorded history.

The Bible’s words, translated into hundreds of languages and dialects, represent divine revelation for the Jewish and Christian religions. Its teachings and stories have made a huge cultural, societal and legal impact throughout the greater part of Western civilisation for ...

Harsh reality of having no place to call home

 

By Stephen Acott

Ask yourself this: what’s the worst thing that could happen to you? If the thought of being homeless didn’t enter the equation, you probably didn’t think hard enough because you can’t get much lower, much more helpless and vulnerable than not having a place to call home.

Homelessness is a blight on contemporary society. Australia ...

Rod Dungan joins pitched battle for the ‘Grey Ashes’

By David Southwell

This week sees a resumption of the age-old rivalry as Australia once more sends over its best cricketers to play England, but some of those players will be a little more experienced than the official Test team.

As the Test sides from the respective nations tussle for the Ashes, Synod presbytery minister and school ...

Why churches must change to stay alive – Mat Harry Q&A

Interview by Stephen Acott

What’s your title?

I’m the New & Renewing Communities Catalyst.

What does that mean?

The prevailing paradigm is for churches to have a building and a minister and assume that opening the doors to a worship service will entice people to engage with us.  My role is to assist churches to transition ...

Salesi, Siotame Faupula and the ‘golden chain’

Like father, like son? For Doubletake we asked Canterbury Balwyn Road Uniting Church minister Rev Salesi  Faupula and his son Siotame to talk about family, faith and finding yourself.

Salesi Faupula

I spent the first 10 years of my life growing up in the Aboriginal mission camp Yirrkala.  My father was a Free Wesleyan Church of ...

Coralie Ling enjoys her purple patch stage of life

By David Southwell

Trail-blazing UCA minister Coralie Ling has never been one to follow the script, even when making her debut as a stage actor.

Coralie, 80, who is the first woman to have been ordained a Methodist minister in Victoria, recently starred in the Gasworks Theatre stage show Beachside Stories, which featured the stories of five “local heroes” from ...