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Easter symbols and what they mean

OVER THE Easter period there are numerous words and symbols that we hear and see, but what does it all mean? Where are the origins of the Easter Egg, what does tenebrae mean and what happens on Ash Wednesday? Here is a simple explanation of a few of these things. Easter The name Easter comes from the pagan figure called Eastre ...

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Easter art inspires at Albert St

WORSHIPPERS AT Albert Street Uniting Church in Brisbane city have been treated to an even more beautiful church than usual with the addition of one member’s Lent inspired paintings. Around three years ago artist Cees Sliedrecht was asked by the then minister at Albert St, Rev Dr David Pitman, to paint some works for the church in the lead up ...

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Aftershocks continue to rock the church in the Solomon Islands

Bishop of the Central West Region Rev Rollinson Zappo was one of many killed by the tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands on Monday. A key leaders of the United Church in Solomon Islands, Bishop Zappo had travelled from his home in Gizo to Simbo Island to induct a Superintendent Minister at the local United Church. The tsunami swept through the ...

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Easter: Is it salvation or cosmic abuse?

INTERPRETING THE meaning of Easter can be a dangerous activity as UK Baptist minister and author Steve Chalke found out when he published The Lost Message of Jesus in 2004. Chalke’s book provoked uproar from conservative Evangelicals when it questioned the theological understanding of “penal substitution” – the idea that God punished his own son, Jesus, by sending him to ...

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Climate debate rocks US evangelicals

A firestorm has broken out in US evangelical circles after prominent Focus on the Family leader James Dobson and other leaders of the religious right wrote to the National Association of Evangelicals claiming attention to climate change was a distraction from "the great moral issues of our time". The letter specifically singled out the “relentless campaign orchestrated by a single ...

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You cannot serve God and Mammon

IN HIS review of Don DeLillo’s highly acclaimed novel, Under-world, James Wood observed that “the book is so large, so ambitious, that it produces its own antibodies and makes criticism a small germ”. That same description could apply just as easily to capitalism. Every attempt to curb its voracious appetite, to ‘humanize’ its world-wide dominion, to place the economy back ...

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Where would Jesus invest?

AS THE Uniting Church handles more complex portfolios of financial resources, applying biblical and social justice principles about where to invest money has become an increasingly important issue. Churches which have long traditions about issues such as gambling and alcohol are understandably nervous when it comes to seeing their money invested in share portfolios which include breweries and companies managing ...

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Intern confronted by ministry to Bali nine

Eating Christmas lunch with Australian prisoners in Bali was typical of the challenging experiences Uniting Church Deacon Intern Tanya Richards encountered during her recent five and half months of volunteer work with Bali Protestant Church. “As we sat together and ate food that reminded us of home, true emotions came out as we once again realised where we were and ...

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Is repentance the starting point for eco-mission?

NOT ONLY scientists and politicians are talking about climate change.  These days it is a topic of conversation over many Uniting Church cups of coffee and a “hot” discussion on Uniting Church e-groups. Many Uniting Church people are refining their eco-theology and looking for practical ways to respond to current climate change and other environmental issues. Manager of the Queensland ...

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