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Tag Archives: Wesley Mission Brisbane

What’s in a name change?

(L—R) Wesley Mission Queensland CEO Geoff Batkin, Queensland Synod general secretary Rev Heather den Houting and director of property and finance Peter Cranna at the launch. Photo by Wesley Mission Queensland.

On 24 August, community-service provider Wesley Mission Queensland hosted a launch event on the Wesley House rooftop in Brisbane City to celebrate its name change from Wesley Mission Brisbane. But what’s in a name change and why does it matter? Journey reports. For over 100 years Wesley Mission Queensland (WMQ) has reached out to Queenslanders, striving to make a difference. ...

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Stronger ties with the middle kingdom

Dell, a resident at Wesley Mission Brisbane Jacobs Court Aged Care Community in Sinnamon Park, Brisbane, knitting for an aged-care facility in Shandong province, China. Photo was supplied.

Dianne Jensen reports on how a partnership between the Christian church in China and the Uniting Church in Australia is flourishing at the grassroots level. An aged-care facility in a regional town in Shandong province in China seems a world away from the Wesley Mission Brisbane (WMB) Jacobs Court Aged Care Community in Sinnamon Park, Brisbane. But thanks to a ...

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Wesley Mission Brisbane positions for growth

Wesley Mission Brisbane superintendent minister Lyn Burden and executive director Geoff Batkin report to the 32nd Synod. Photo by Holly Jewell.

Earlier today Wesley Mission Brisbane executive director Geoff Batkin and superintendent minister Lyn Burden reported to 32nd Synod members on the organisation’s current state-of-health. Geoff and Lyn opened their presentation with the origins of Wesley Mission Brisbane which began in Albert Street Uniting Church in the mid-19th century, rooted in the mandate of Matthew 25:35. Today Wesley Mission Brisbane offers ...

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Volunteers giving and living happy

Wesley Mission Brisbane volunteers.

The 2016 National Volunteer Week theme is “Give Happy, Live Happy”, a message that resonates with Uniting Church members who volunteer in the Queensland community. Journey reports. Every year National Volunteer Week is a prominent opportunity to draw attention to the vital work volunteers do across the nation. This year’s theme for the week, from 9–15 May, continues on from ...

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Inequality and the power of imagining a different world

Rev Elenie Poulos on ABC's Compass

Ahead of Anti-Poverty week, director of UnitingJustice Rev Elenie Poulos has written a piece for Wesley Mission Brisbane highlighting the growing inequality in Australian society. In her article she writes about the factors driving inequality both in Australia and overseas: ” … somewhere along the way, the world was hijacked by neoliberal economic theory and now we have an extreme ...

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Photos reveal face of Aussie poverty

Adam sells the Big Issue on his pitch near the Queen Street Mall.

Queensland’s  Anti-Poverty Week launch will unveil the surprising face of poverty in Australia. Rohan Salmond reports. For more than ten years, Anti-Poverty Week has been a reminder for Australians that poverty is a real part of their community and their world. From an Australian point of view, poverty can feel like a distant, abstract problem, but for Geoff Batkin, executive ...

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Packing provides purpose

Having a job provides people with a sense of purpose, hope and dignity, writes Jessica Mewburn. For over 40 years the wmbMailpaQ printing, packaging and mailing warehouse has offered thousands of people living with disability this opportunity. “To get here I leave home at 6.30 am and catch two buses and push my wheelchair to the warehouse and to get ...

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What’s cooking in the Valley?

Cooking up a storm at the Wesley Mission Brisbane community

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 ...

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Supporting young parents

A mother and child playing together outside. Photo is a stock image.

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 ...

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Hummingbird House takes flight

Hummingbird House cofounders Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam turning the sod with their daughter Shiloh, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Margie Abbott and Wesley Mission Brisbane Executive Director Geoff Batkin. Photo by Wesley Mission Brisbane.

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 ...

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