Opinion

THE MOST insidious aspect of prolonged conflict is the total destruction of the lives of survivors. Once the bullets stop ringing and the staccato of missiles is silenced, the survivors have to try to rebuild their lives from the rubble. Teachers who once dreamt of mentoring future leaders have no classrooms in which to impart knowledge; doctors do not have ...

This year Journey explores questions from the pews, namely from a (fictitious) person exploring faith and the Uniting Church. This month Nova B Lever asks: What don’t you believe? WHAT DO you get when you combine Yusuf Islam, progressive Uniting Church members, an altar call and the school chaplaincy program? It started with a brilliant documentary about singer-songwriter Cat Stevens ...

I THINK that I would have to say I didn’t live with depression; I just somehow managed to stay alive until it was gone. During the worst times, it wasn’t living; it was existing. The real me was gone and the shell that was left had the job of filling in for her, of going through the motions and attempting ...

ONE OF the main hurdles I face in life is social phobia. For me, this means that I fear people will think shamefully of me. There are many labels of shame society can place upon a person. I fear some of these labels being placed upon me. I also fear that false judgements and labels could result in persecution. It ...

FOR THE past few months we here in the Communication Services Unit and other Synod departments have been working on how we can be a more effective, productive and creative team for the church we serve. It is part of the Together on the way, enriching community journey and our part of the Church’s goal for developing sustainable and mission ...

YOU SHALL love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27) This, we are told, is the first and greatest commandment. It has been the subject of much thought and prayer for thousands of years. But what does it mean ...

RECENTLY THE Federal Government signalled its intention to implement a regime to “put a price on carbon”. The Uniting Church, through me as President, and UnitingJustice and UnitingCare, welcomed that announcement. I know there will be some of our members who take a different view. But our position on this is consistent with our previous commitments and with the broad ...

This year Journey explores questions from the pews, namely from a (fictitious) person exploring faith and the Uniting Church. This month Nova B Lever asks: Isn’t ‘church’ the people? I AM AMAZED by the impact of generous people. I was a guest at a Rotary club dinner a few weeks ago, where the group of 45 members gave away $35 ...

WHEN I was about 19 years old, at the end of the year I dyed my hair bright purple. I wasn’t a rebellious teenager but I never wanted to be just like everyone else my age, I wanted to do something a bit different, and this was it. But I was terrified of what people at church would say on ...

“WE HAVE to attract young people into the church because young people are the church of the future.” I remember hearing people speak like this when I was in my late teens in our church. When I heard that, I wanted to cry out, “But I want to be part of the church today!” We still say similar things about ...