The Assembly has established a national Task Group to coordinate our Church’s response, requesting Synods to also establish Task Groups. The Synod of Victoria and Tasmania Task Group includes representatives from congregations, Uniting VicTas, schools liaison and relevant Synod staff. It is chaired by Rev (Deacon) Dr Andy Calder.
The Task Group has been producing resources and information about how ...
The 2019 Food For Families appeal broke all records, with more than 1000 individuals, families, schools, workplaces, congregations and community organisations participating.
Collectively they donated 73 tonnes of food and other essential items to people facing crisis at Christmas.
To put that in perspective, a full-grown elephant weighs 6 tonnes – so that’s 12 elephants.
Uniting Vic.Tas CEO ...
By Mikaela Turner
No day unifies Australia, physically and emotionally, as much as Anzac Day. And for many veterans, in particular, it is an important day to reconnect and honour those who have lost their lives in the name of national service.
But, as with so many events this year, April 25 will be an Anzac Day like no other. ...
The physical toll inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic is well documented, but the mental effects are largely unknown.
However, as any mental health professional will tell you, times of anxiety, stress and loneliness impact significantly on people’s mental well-being.
Rev John Tansey, who works with Mental Health Ministries, recognises this and is now offering free mindfulness sessions for anyone who ...
As part of our on-going series, we speak with Robyn Nandan, relief teacher at Rosny College, Hobart.
How has your work been affected by the COVID-19 crisis?
Since I retired from full time work when I was just 70, I have been a relief teacher of English and English Literature.
How have you responded?
A group of internationally-recognised independent experts in the area of human rights, bioethics and disability has published an eight-page Statement of Concern to highlight ethical decision-making in the context of disability and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The document, which has been endorsed by Assembly, is titled COVID-19: Human rights, disability and ethical decision-making and is signed by eight eminent Australians ...
The list of people most affected by the current lockdowns grows by the day, but one of the most overlooked groups is the more than two million people living in Australia on temporary visas.
Most of these marginalised victims, which includes people who have applied for asylum, can’t access standard social security support or other essential government services. And, to ...
Each year during Easter Sunday service, the congregation at Penguin Uniting Church, Tasmania, constructs a flower-laden cross which is later displayed outside the church.
Visiting the cross has become part of the local community’s Easter ritual but, this year, the restrictions imposed on in-church worship meant it would most likely be missing.
But Lynn Templar, church council chairperson, was determined ...
Moderator Rev Denise Liersch reminds us to look to Jesus for a way forward during this time of seismic upheaval.
“Jesus put aside conventions to simply be there for people – with them, alongside them,” she says.
“When we’re in a place of deepest suffering, it’s almost impossible to imagine that we could ever really live again, but the story ...
In the third part of this ongoing series, we speak with Rev Beth Bear, chaplain at The Scots School, Albury.
How has your work been affected by the lockdown?
For the past few weeks, our school has moved to online learning. The positive side is that there is still a community who spend most of their day engaged, it hasn’t ...
In the second part of this ongoing series, we speak with Rev Cameron McAdam who is minister at The Village Church, Mt Eliza, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
How is your part of the UCA or ministry being affected by the COVID-19 crisis?
As with all other UCA congregations, the Village Church can no longer meet for Sunday worship or other ...
UCA National Assembly President Dr Deidre Palmer has asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for an assurance that people trapped in Australia without jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis receive adequate income and healthcare support.
In Thursday’s letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Palmer petitioned the government to help the more than 1.5 million people who are living in ...
