By Rev Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker
My first ministry placement as a newly ordained 24-year-old was in a Victorian rural town. I was one of only two female clergy for quite some distance and something strange started to happen a year or so into that placement.
Women started seeking me out, coming to speak to me about things they weren’t comfortable sharing with ...
By Marina Williams
When winter settles in, a church hall can become more than a place of worship. For someone sleeping rough, it can mean a warm bed, a hot meal, a shower, conversation and a night without having to search for somewhere safe to sleep.
North Ringwood Uniting Church and St Andrew’s Uniting Church in Sunbury are just two ...
A week in the life of Paola Rojas
Program Officer, Faithful Futures and schools engagement
Monday
The week begins with an early touch base with the Faithful Futures Project Lead Karen Roberts to review key milestones and finalise preparations for the Secretariat SMO meeting, where Faithful Futures was invited to present a brief update to all the Secretariat team.
The Faithful Futures Project is a collaboration across Victoria and Tasmania’s Synod, presbyteries and congregations to discern priorities, direct resources and ensure the Church is equipped for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The project is guided by five shared goals: Respecting Country, Coordinated Ministries, Intercultural Leadership, All-age Growth and New Communities of Faith. Each goal has a corresponding Goal Group that will help to shape the implementation of the goal ...
Initially, Brendan Byrne didn’t think he had what it took to be a university chaplain. But ministering to younger adults in congregations eventually prompted a move toward chaplaincy – and a whole new perspective.
“It’s been transformative, reshaping my ministerial identity in ways I never previously imagined,” he says. “I now have a new understanding of what it means to ...
By Andrew Humphries
St Mark’s Uniting Church (Mornington) member Dr Theo Read fulfilled a long-time dream earlier this year with the publication of three important secondary school Earth Science textbooks.
It was a project he began almost 35 years ago and one which faced more than a few setbacks along the way.
Theo is convinced, though, that divine inspiration, when it was most needed, smoothed his path towards the project’s eventual success.
What has been your journey with, and connection to, the Uniting Church?
I wasn’t born into the Uniting Church. Indirectly, my first connection would be through youth group in Port Augusta, the remote town in South Australia where I grew up. Youth group was an ecumenical affair, and I remember running around the Aboriginal Christian Congress as a nupirti yakarti (‘naughty child’ in ...
By Andrew Humphries
When Younger Generations Education and Strategy Coordinator Rev Sandy Brodine kicked off a new podcast at the end of June, it was easy to settle on a name for it.
With the aim of encouraging growth within Uniting Church congregations, the title of ‘Thriving’ seemed most appropriate.
“The purpose of the podcast is to showcase ways in which we can grow ...
By Andrew Humphries
When Dr Ros Harris first walked into Pilgrim Uniting Church in Yarraville, she felt immediately at home.
Seventeen years later, she feels just as comfortable there, and is giving back to a congregation, and wider Church, that has given her so much.
Ros completed a lay preaching course through Pilgrim Theological College at the end of last year and is now conducting services ...
By Dr Mark Zirnsak
“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him-work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again.” Matthew 18:15-16
Every so often, God allows us to step into a moment where our own story and the Church’s story meet.
Last month, I returned to Tonga as one of three invited guests from the Uniting Church in Australia to celebrate the bicentenary of Christianity in Tonga. Our President, Rev Charissa Suli, the Moderator of the NSW/ACT Synod, Rev Faa’imata Hiliau, ...
By Andrew Humphries
From worship services suited to neurodivergent people to social gatherings for those with intellectual disabilities, Victorian and Tasmanian congregations are answering the call to improve disability access.
With one in five Australians living with disability, every congregation is almost certainly home to people navigating obstacles others may not notice, says the Synod’s Disability Inclusion Advocate Elga Rodriguez.
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