Opinion

Jeff and Jean, from Oregon, USA, are part of my community. I have never met them. Years ago my husband used to order bicycle parts from a mail order catalogue, but in time orders were placed by email. Little notes, photographs and snippets of family news started appearing on the emails as the orders went back and forth. This year ...

UnitingCare Health Director of Mission, Helen Dick, tells of the fruitful partnership with Helena Goldie Hospital, Munda, and the celebration of their first nursing graduates. "They trust us now because we keep coming back," commented Wendy Zernike on the continuing visits of UnitingCare Health teams to the Solomon Islands. In her role as Director of the Clinical School at the ...

The Year of Discipleship is part of the Uniting Church in Queensland's Vision 2020, focusing on the call to form active and accountable disciples of all ages. Callide Valley's Pastor Donna Muston writes. Earlier this year, filled with a large measure of trepidation and excitement, I found myself in a group of twelve visitors to northern India. Organised by the ...

As a child I always enjoyed treasure hunts. I was just as happy planting the treasure as finding it. After the lawn was mowed one of us would hide pegs in little piles of freshly mown grass and the rest of the family had to race around and see how many they could find. In chapter 13 of Matthew's gospel ...

Hello! I’m really pleased to be the new cross-platform editor here at Journey. The ‘cross-platform’ bit of my job title is new, and represents that while the print edition of Journey will always be an important part of how we operate, digital and social media are becoming an increasingly important aspect of our media landscape. That’s why over the next ...

The beginning of June marks the close of Reconciliation Week, but our reconciliation programs have failed to find a lasting solution. Pastor Bill Hollingsworth asks, is it because we have left Christ in the wings rather than making him the centre and circumference of our efforts? When I was appointed to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, I was asked what ...

The world watched in fascination as Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. Leader in Catholic/Protestant dialogue and past Uniting Church President James Haire explores why Protestants should care about Pope Francis. Since 2002 I have been a Member of the International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Vatican. ...

I find it difficult to write about the spirit of God, particularly as prose. My words want to dance into poetry and metaphors prance around the page. Gusts and breezes, breath and mist, intuition and wonder, hearts on fi re strangely warmed. My words will simply not behave! Settle down and form sentences. The Scriptures suggest the Spirit was there ...

The Year of Discipleship is part of the Uniting Church in Queensland's Vision 2020, focusing on the call to form active and accountable disciples of all ages. Linda Hamill implores people to embrace their discipleship gifts this Pentecost. Discipleship is about being disciplined in what we do. At Pentecost, the first disciples of Jesus made a stand for what they ...

This edition of Journey is all about celebrating those who put others before themselves. From prison chaplains (page 14) to volunteers who work tirelessly for a cause or organisation they believe in. The Uniting Church is full of these people. Sometimes they are up the front urging people to understand the difference we can make in the lives of others; ...