Remembering lives lost in Australian fields

The Uniting Church hosted an ecumenical service of lament over the weekend to mourn Pacific guest workers who have died or been injured in the Australian horticultural sector.

Uniting Church in Australia President Stuart McMillan joined members of the Australian Pacific community and representatives of the Salvation Army, Catholic, Baptist, Hillsong, Mormon and other churches at the service, held ...

Reuniting families and saving lives

Uniting Vic.Tas launched two services on Wednesday that will work towards saving lives and creating safer environments for families across Victoria.

An additional $1.9 million funding from the state government will be used to deliver Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment for parents whose children are subject to a family reunification order. The money will also fund a new ...

Snakes and leaders

Emerging church leaders got an opportunity to show that they could handle anything when they were invited to pick up live snakes at the Centre of Theology and Ministry last Friday.

The snake handling was part of a three-day intensive course, which is the introduction to a new 18-month program that aims to develop leadership skills in the Uniting ...

Dignity not destitution for people seeking asylum

Thousands of people who have come to Australia seeking asylum are now at risk of losing access to critical services and basic financial support under new Government changes.

It is feared that drastic reductions to the number of people eligible for support under the Status Resolution Support Services Program (SRSS) could create enormous hardship for already vulnerable people.

The Uniting Church ...

Wicket behaviour

Book | The Character Gap |Christian Miller

Review by Nick Mattiske

The ball tampering cricket scandal has put moral character in the headlines again. While disciplinary action has been taken, deeper questions remain about why it happened – why on Earth the players thought they could get away with it and what sort of culture has allowed the cricketers ...

Easter walk stops at all stations

The Easter Way of the Cross walk around central Melbourne churches has been a major ecumenical event for nearly two decades but this year’s event had a special sense of accomplishment.

On Good Friday the walk had, for the first time, a full complement of Stations of the Cross, with St Michael’s Uniting Church on Collins St hosting newly installed sculpture of ...

Moderator’s Easter Message 2018

As I prepare this message my heart and mind are swirling with the suffering of the world, and those I know.

Daily, our television and news feeds are filled with images of the suffering of the Syrian people – victims of their own government’s brutality and the inactionof international powers.

Less noticed but no less tragic is the Kingdom of ...

Palm Sunday rally denounces ‘racist’ refugee policies

Moderator Rev Sharon Hollis has urged Australians to reject the federal government’s “racist dog-whistling” during her address at the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees.

Thousands joined in protest marches in cities and regional towns across Australia on Sunday to call on the government to end its policy of offshore detention for asylum seekers who arrive by ...

Fire area church ‘overwhelmed’ with donations

A Uniting Church minister in southwest Victoria said her local community is helping families get back on their feet following the devastating bushfires that ravaged the region.

Bushfires ripped through parts of regional Victoria during March, destroying 18 homes along with hundreds of livestock.

Watch and act alerts and emergency warnings were issued for 40 towns across the state ...

Call for support after disasters

Uniting Church in Australia President Stuart McMillan has asked church members to give generously to communities affected by bushfires and cyclones.

Bushfires ripped through Victoria’s south-west over the weekend, destroying 18 homes in Terang along with hundreds of livestock.

Watch and act alerts and emergency warnings were issued for 40 towns across Victoria as hot weather and strong ...

Standing up for a jest cause

DAVID SOUTHWELL

A stand-up comedian might expect Christian audiences to be more forgiving, but that’s not been Hannah Boland’s experience.

Hannah is a comedian who performs “clean” material for both secular and Christian audiences, but finds the latter group harder to please.

“It’s a lot tougher in the Christian context because people’s definition of ...