National News

Queenslander and presbytery minister of Calvary Presbytery Rev Dennis Corowa has been appointed chairperson of the national Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress. Nigel Trapp reports. New Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress chairperson Rev Dennis Corowa is keen to see Congress operate with more independence, but not at the expense of the interdependent relationship between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous ...

The Uniting Church in Australia has asked to meet with the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton asking for information about the care and support being offered to asylum seekers on Manus Island and asked what can the government do to immediately improve conditions at the centre. Yesterday, national director of UnitingJustice Australia Rev Elenie Poulos said the ...

The Uniting Church in Australia mourns the deaths of those caught up in the hostage-taking incident in a café in Sydney’s Martin Place. Moderator of the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT Rev Myung Hwa Park has offered prayers and condolences on behalf of the Church. “We continue to pray for those caught up in the terrible events at Martin ...

As the public broadcaster pares back its spending in response to budget cuts, religious programming has maintained its tenuous presence in the public space. Journey reports. Religious programming at the ABC has survived major cuts in the fallout from the federal government’s decision to strip $254 million from the national public broadcaster over the next five years. Of the five ...

Anti-coal activists at the controversial open-cut coal mine at Maules Creek, near Narrabri, New South Wales are at times surprised to find themselves accompanied by a Uniting Church Minister. Rev John Brentnall joined a blockade for the third time on 26 November, together with three Buddhists and another Christian, this time at the gate of a coal processing plant in ...

A passion to improve the community services that not-for-profit organisations deliver to Queensland’s most vulnerable people has seen Anne Cross, CEO of UnitingCare Queensland, named as the 2014 Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year. Anne was also named Community and Government Award winner at the 20th annual Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Awards which were attended by the Hon Jann ...

The desperate woman who pushed through the crowd to tug at Jesus’ robe took a chance that his minders were too distracted to notice. There are better ways to make your voice heard at the G20, as Dianne Jensen reports. Raising your concerns directly with world leaders such as US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or Chinese President ...

In September 500 women from across the Uniting Church in Australia gathered in Sydney for the inaugural UnitingWomen conference. Mardi Lumsden reports. The concept of a Uniting Church women’s conference is not a new one; the most recent similar event was Women Clothed with the Sun held in Brisbane in 1996. UnitingWomen’s theme, Seeking a deeper story, was expressed though ...

Uniting Church leaders from across Australia joined interfaith and ecumenical friends on 22 August in a statement of solidarity with Australia’s Muslim community. Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Dr Andrew Dutney is one of more than 150 faith and community leaders who has signed on to a declaration that “We’ll Love Muslims 100 Years”. The statement is a reference ...

While asylum seeker advocates are celebrating the announcement that some children and their families will be released from detention, they warn that there is still much to do. Dianne Jensen reports. The Uniting Church in Australia has welcomed an announcement by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison that some children in detention will be released into the ...