Local Church News

Hope was on the horizon when winter rains brought smiles back to the faces of western Queenslanders. Ashley Thompson checks in with Longreach Uniting Church minister Rev Jenny Coombes. Although 80 per cent of Queensland remains drought declared, the Longreach community has had their spirits lifted by the wettest winter on record. “Since the rain has come, morale has lifted ...

It may be a perennial party favourite but ping pong is at the heart of a nation-wide campaign to help end the exploitation and trafficking of young people throughout South East Asia. Ben Rogers reports on the Ping Pong-A-Thon and one Uniting Church teenager picking up the paddle to make a difference. In 2011, a group of Aussies endured a ...

A small congregation in one of Queensland’s iconic tourist destinations is demonstrating the power of the Gospel to draw people together. Dianne Jensen talks to members of the Magnetic Island Uniting Church. Christians from all denominations and none have found a church home at the Uniting Church on Magnetic Island, a tiny piece of paradise just off Townsville. There hasn’t ...

A partnership launch between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church brought a children’s favourite to town. Journey reports on the event and what’s in store for the community’s families. Bob the Builder, the beloved children’s television icon, recently came to Redcliffe to help launch the Building Strong Families partnership-program between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church. The event attracted hundreds ...

Zimbabwean-born Johnson Makoti often gets phone calls out of the blue from people who have heard about the new prayer and deliverance ministry at the Atherton Uniting Church. Dianne Jensen reports. After only a year in the job, Rev Johnson Makoti’s hands-on approach to spreading the word of God has created a stir in the North Queensland town of Atherton and ...

One thing that brings children together is their love of drawing. Dianne Jensen finds out why KidzArt is booming at Southport Uniting Church. Exploring spirituality through art is just one of the things which makes KidzArt an effective mission of Southport Uniting Church. The innovative program was started four years ago by Rev Dona Spencer to provide a creative Christian ...

A church partnership between the Cunnamulla and Karana Downs Uniting Churches has resulted in a much-needed building upgrade. Journey reports. Last month members of Karana Downs Uniting Church, west of Brisbane, celebrated with Frontier Services Cunnamulla Patrol minister Rev Sunil Kadaparambil on the completion of a restumping project for the Cunnamulla Uniting Church. This restumping project is the result of ...

The Lives, Links and Legacy project underway at St Andrew’s Uniting Church in Brisbane city is uncovering the stories of congregation members who served in World War One. Dianne Jensen reports. When Martha Burns stepped off the yacht Greta onto French soil with Lady Rachel Dudley’s Australian Voluntary Hospital Unit in 1914, her independent ways had already flouted social conventions. ...

When Merilyn Thomas heard the story of a small boy medevaced from remote Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2008, she was shocked by the harsh realities of the famine unfolding on Australia’s doorstep. Dianne Jensen reports. Merilyn Thomas is a member of Townsville Central City Mission, and the force behind a seed distribution program that has transformed the lives of ...

The race is on to prepare for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, as Dianne Jensen reports. Games fever may be two years away for most Australians, but Christians in south east Queensland are already counting down to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April 2018. Rev Dr Tim Winslade from Ashmore Uniting Church is delighted to be at ground ...