Agency News

Dianne Jensen goes behind the kitchen doors at a community meal in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. There’s nothing like a pleasant night out, with fresh flowers on the table and a three-course meal over friendly conversation. The hospitality is especially warm when the food is prepared as part of a training program for women prisoners and served by volunteers to needy ...

The 2015 UnitingCare Health Helena Goldie Project team recently returned from the first of two visits they will make to the Solomon Islands this year. Rev Helen Dick, director of mission and Helena Goldie Project leader, recounted it as a great trip with beautiful weather and wonderful people. “As usual the team worked really hard and made great relationships with the ...

Parenthood is full of challenges and rewards, but sometimes young parents can feel isolated and in need of support. Wesley Mission Brisbane’s Young Parents Support Program nurtures young families who need it most. Rohan Salmond reports. For people 25 years and under, becoming a parent can come as a huge upheaval to their way of life. A new baby does ...

Climate change isn’t just an issue of science and economics, it is also a spiritual crisis for people in the Pacific who are most affected. Cath Taylor explores. Can God fix climate change? It’s the question on the lips of many within Pacific churches—this month more than ever in the wake of one of the region’s most deadly cyclones. Vanuatu’s ...

A grand old house located at the Uniting Church Centre in Brisbane has undergone a transformation into the Wesley Hospital’s new Choices cancer support and wellness centre. Dianne Jensen reports. The massive front door is open for visitors at the heritage-listed brick residence at the heart of the Queensland Synod office and Raymont Residential College in Auchenflower, Brisbane. Drysllwyn, built ...

A small group of Indigenous students has embarked on an innovative Queensland course aimed at combating the devastating rates of Indigenous suicide. Dianne Jensen reports. Like all new students, the 2015 intake at Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns turned up to the first day of class with a mix of excitement and trepidation. The 35 students enrolled for the Certificate IV ...

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has officially turned the sod at the site of Hummingbird House, a purpose-built children’s hospice which will provide 24-hour paediatric palliative care in Queensland. Jessica Mewburn writes. Baby Kate was born on 9 December 2008 with a congenital cardiac defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot. Fiona and Mark Engwirda knew from their 19-week scan that Kate ...

Years ago you wouldn’t be caught dead in hand-me-down clothes, but today upcycling an old garment is considered both ethically conscious and fashionable. So why isn’t it mainstream? Ashley Thompson explores. Emerging in the early 1900s, “charity shops” or “bazaars” were first set up to give labour opportunities to the disadvantaged and simultaneously fundraise for charities. It wasn’t until the deprivation ...

Sick of giving people socks or undies for Christmas? Mardi Lumsden explores gifts that give more than once. Christmas gift giving can be a stressful and expensive exercise, especially if purchasing for people who already have so much. A number of organisations provide alternative Christmas ideas and ways to help others when it comes to gift giving. Here are a ...

Art is at the heart of Cooinda Mental Health Service’s vision to normalise mental health experiences within the Sunshine Coast community. Ashley Thompson writes. The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital’s Cooinda Mental Health Service is inviting members of the public to participate in its second annual Mental Health Week art exhibition in October. “Mental health is often misunderstood, or ‘if it ...