By Andrew Humphries
As the cost of living continues to bite hard, a community service organisation in Tasmania’s northern midlands is helping to make life slightly easier for those needing help.
Like so many emergency relief and support agencies, Longford’s The Helping Hand wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for a group of committed volunteers.
By Andrew Humphries
It may be relatively small in size, but a garden in front of the Healesville Yarra Glen Uniting Church is making a big statement about how congregations can walk together with our First Nations people.
In October last year, years of planning came to fruition with the official opening of the indigenous garden at the Healesville church.
...
By Andrew Humphries
Twenty years after his death, Kirk Robson’s legacy continues to live on within the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania.
A talented theatre director, performer, filmmaker and community cultural development worker, Kirk was killed in a car accident in 2005.
Every other year, the Synod invites applications for people seeking financial assistance through the Kirk Robson Theology and ...
By Andrew Humphries
From motorbike postie to driving instructor, Debbie Bye has enjoyed an interesting and varied career.
Yet it’s in radio and, more specifically, Christian radio that the current Presbytery of Gippsland Missional Support Resource Minister and Presbytery Secretary has had the greatest impact.
Debbie’s outstanding commitment to Christian radio in Australia was recognised last year when she received ...
By Cathy Withiel
Joan Carboon’s loyalty to Australia is forever.
As a teenager she pounded out the dot.dot.dash morse code signals during World War II.
Nearly 80 years later, she’s sorting through her memorabilia to donate items to the Australian Naval Museum.
One of her precious medals is the commemorative badge awarded to her by Queen Elizabeth in 2010.
The Centre for Theology and Ministry in Parkville hosted the Ministry and Mission Day today, marking the commencement of the year for both equipping Leadership for Mission and Pilgrim Theological College.
Proceedings began with a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony by Colin Hunter Jnr from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, before a Worship Service led by Moderator Rev David ...
By Andrew Humphries
In the small town of Sheffield in Tasmania’s north-west, a Uniting Church congregation is proving that a substantial drop in membership doesn’t have to mean the end of a church’s role in the community.
Sheffield Uniting Church celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2022 and, thanks to the efforts of a small but enthusiastic group, it continues to ...
By Andrew Humphries
A gathering of young culturally and linguistically diverse Uniting Church members last year has laid a strong platform for participation at this year’s Synod Meeting.
Moderator Rev David Fotheringham and Moderator-elect Rev Salesi Faupula attended the Feast of Faith intercultural gathering in September and encouraged CALD members to embrace the opportunity to have a say at Synod ...
By Mark Zirnsak
Over the summer, I was challenged in my existing understanding of the church’s role in society by reading Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett’s ‘The Upswing’.
Published in 2020, it covers the US’s cultural, social, political, religious and economic history over 125 years.
While needing to be cautious about assuming trends in the US can be transferred ...
Adapting to a changing world has been a successful motto for members of the Macarthur Uniting Church, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the beautiful stone building next month.
A service and luncheon on Sunday, March 16 will recognise the building’s important place, and history, in the small country town in western Victoria.
By Paola Rojas
As we embark on a new year, I’m excited about the opportunities to strengthen relationships and plan initiatives to inspire an emerging generation of young leaders within the network of UCA-associated schools.
In the past year, we ran an online survey and engaged in conversations with school principals and chaplains, gaining a deeper understanding of their needs ...
By Andrew Johnson
Three clear visions for the future of the Uniting Church were endorsed by consensus at the 17th Assembly last year:
Stream A: a vision for local communities of faith;
Stream B: a vision for a National Network for Theology, Formation and Leadership; and
Stream C: a vision for the ordering and resourcing of the wider Church.