By Marina Williams
When groups of men and women arrive from Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste and Kiribati to work in Tasmania’s fields, orchards and processing plants, they bring with them far more than labour.
Their presence, songs and stories leave a lasting imprint on local communities, and at the heart of this exchange is Taua Ritiata.
By Marina Williams
When Junior Manase gathers Samoan Uniting Church members in Victoria for a weekend workshop, the atmosphere is alive with conversation, storytelling and reflection.
For Junior, a non-placement Samoan Ministry Pastor at St Stephens in Keilor, these gatherings are far more than training sessions.
They represent a long-held vision coming to life – one where Samoan leaders can ...
By Mark Zirnsak
The Uniting Church in Australia has understood that the Gospel calls us to seek the wellbeing and flourishing of all people and the natural environment.
Having a roof over your head is essential to wellbeing and flourishing. Housing impacts the ability of people to participate in their community. Access to jobs, education, and health care services is ...
Each year, Advent begins not with noise but with a small light.
A single candle flickers in the dimness, while the world outside hums with traffic, headlines, conflict and exhaustion. Yet this fragile light insists on hope. It says, “There is still room for peace. There is still room for faith”.
By Andrew Humphries
When Banyule Network of Uniting Churches members decided to sit down and investigate new ways of engaging with the community, inspiration came from an unlikely source.
It meant some thinking outside of the box had to take place, but Mission Development Facilitator David Landis-Morse is so glad that it did.
Croydon Uniting Church
Funding from the Synod Emissions Reduction Fund was critical in enabling the congregation to install solar panels sooner than anticipated.
While we had long held a desire for such a project, this funding helped accelerate it.
We worked with Senior Social Justice Advocate Mark Zirnsak to choose an ethically produced system, manufactured without slave or forced ...
By Marina Williams
In the winter of 2021, Sydney’s Covid-19 lockdown laid bare a stark divide.
Families in disadvantaged suburbs managed home schooling while holding low-paid essential jobs, yet students at elite schools were granted exemptions for ski camps and outdoor education.
At the same time, wealthy travellers bypassed quarantine on private jets while thousands of Australians remained stranded ...
By Andrew Humphries
Tasmanian businesswoman Clare Dean loves restoring old things.
That’s probably just as well, because in restoring the manse in the central Tasmanian town of Oatlands she has quite a challenging job on her hands.
But it’s a job she is proud to tackle, as she pays homage to her ancestor, George Wilson, who built the manse in ...
By Rev Dr Sally Douglas
At church we often say “let us pray”, we say prayers together, and over morning tea we might offer to pray for someone who is going through a difficult time.
However, in churches often we do not talk about what prayer is for, what prayer achieves or does not achieve, and what to do when ...
By Marina Williams
In 1985, Rev Charles Harris founded the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress as a voice for justice and a space for Aboriginal and Islander Christians to live out faith in their own way.
Forty years on, Congress continues to shape the life of the Uniting Church, calling it into deeper covenant and relationship with First Peoples.
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Synod meetings are an opportunity for members across the Synod to discern important directions forward for the life of the Synod, including in the area of social justice.
The Justice and International Mission Cluster requested that the Synod consider proposals on five areas, and assisted in formulating a proposal responding to the recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
When I was installed as Moderator of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, I wore the robe of my late father.
The fabric is worn and the stitching frayed, yet as I put it on, I felt the weight of memory, of sacrifice, of faith passed from one generation to the next.