Features

While the massive clean-up after Cyclone Debbie and the associated record-breaking floods is well underway, it will take some months to count the real cost to the community. Journey reports on how the Uniting Church is supporting those impacted into the future. Farmers, business owners and householders in north and central Queensland and northern New South Wales are still reeling ...

US pastor and author Nancy Beach has gained international recognition for her ministry work transforming the relationship between the arts and church, and she is set to visit Australia for the Uniting Leaders conference in August. Bindy Taylor meets Nancy to discuss leadership, gender politics and the importance of having fun. Nancy Beach is a self-confessed optimist. This outlook has ...

In the 21st century what should Christians make of the concept of “sin”? A long-gone relic or a necessary corrective in a society seduced by moral relativism and the cult of victimhood? Simon Gomersall explores sin, Easter and atonement. It is now conventional to assert that the language and concept of sin is irrelevant in both 21st century Australian society ...

As the Uniting Church celebrates the 40th anniversary of Australia’s first home-grown church, Journey explores three different examples of innovation and renewal in Queensland congregations. Dianne Jensen reports. Ripley Valley: a season to begin A new town is rising in south east Queensland. Ripley Valley will have a bigger downtown area than the nearby Ipswich central business district and house ...

Moving to a foreign country can be a huge step for anyone but it is particularly challenging for those with a young family. In 2014 Chris and Stacie Ellinger took up the challenge by moving to Cambodia with their two children, offering them an opportunity to use their community development skills and work with local Christian organisations. Chris Ellinger reflects ...

Carolyn Kitto’s fourteen-month trek around Queensland to take the pulse of presbytery life has produced a wide-ranging report which doesn’t pull any punches about what lies ahead. Journey talks with Carolyn about what she discovered. Uniting Church member and mission consultant Carolyn Kitto doesn’t mind being on the road. Her three-decade career in youth work, Christian education and strategic planning ...

The Basis of Union is the foundational document that provides the Uniting Church its renewal and encouragement but how much do we really know about its origins and its evolution from the fifties to the seventies? Rev Dr D’Arcy Wood delves deep into the Basis of Union’s past. The early decades of the 20th century saw rapid developments in ecumenical ...

As the Uniting Church celebrates its fortieth anniversary Ben Rogers revisits the excitement, challenges and hope behind the historic union of Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians in Australia in 1977. For younger members of the Uniting Church in Australia who have only ever known its current incarnation, the period surrounding church union in 1977 is past history. Visiting Wikipedia’s rundown of ...

Dianne Jensen explores the historical connections between the Uniting Church and the temperance cause. Why did our church mothers and fathers care so much about a few drinks, and what does their legacy mean for the contemporary church? You don’t have to be too long in the tooth to remember when the most potent substance to be found in a ...

With her vibrant sense of style and passion for building Christian community, the new discipleship facilitator at Bremer Brisbane Presbytery is already standing out from the crowd. Dianne Jensen talks to Rev Monique Mawbey about life, death and what young Christians think about the Uniting Church. Uniting Church deacon Rev Monique Mawbey has no hesitation in pinpointing the moment which ...