JourneyOnline
I hope all our readers had a blessed Christmas season. It is heart-warming to note how Wesley Mission Queensland and UnitingCare Queensland, in partnership with the Uniting Church in Queensland, made it their business to make Christmas a better experience for families in need.
The 2018 Target UnitingCare Christmas Appeal raised $95 000, supporting more than 7000 families in need including 1200 children, whilst the 2018 Wesley Mission Queensland Red Bag Appeal provided $160 000 of food relief to Queensland. Thank you to all those who supported this endeavour. As one recipient of the Red Bag Appeal enthused, “I feel like I’ve received the biggest hug from strangers!”
The ever-present drought in Queensland, alongside a recent ABS survey stating that drought is a factor in the highest-ever suicide rate in a decade in the country, is a grim reality that we face in our fundraising efforts.
I am heartened however by the generous and proactive financial support from our congregations as we come together in a time of crisis. I’d like to share an excerpt from a letter written by Saint Andrew’s in Brisbane to the drought-impacted people on the land whom they are assisting, that best illustrates the growing fellowship between churches at this tough time.
“We, in the city, so often forget that your hard work provides the food we take for granted … we want you to know that, whilst we are unable to experience the problems and heartbreak you and your families are currently experiencing, we can open both our hearts and our wallets in your time of need.”
The flood crisis in North Queensland is causing widespread losses, especially for graziers who are losing all their livestock. Please give generously at this time of need to our flood relief appeal.
In December 2018 we awarded our inaugural scholarships to new and returning residents of Raymont Residential College, made possible through the generous efforts of donors to the Queensland Synod Scholarship Fund, which provides tax deductibility for all gifts over $2. We hope to award scholarships and bursaries to many more people across our state throughout this year—watch this space for more information on the Uniting Church Foundation Scholarship and Grants Program that we will launch soon!
We also look forward to the launch of our combined presbyteries mission program later this year, to enable much-needed ministry for youth and children; remote and rural communities; multicultural leaders; Indigenous people; and new or emerging church communities.
Let’s all come together in 2019 to make more mission possible and be the change that we want to see in the world.
Raushen Perera
Chief Fundraising and Marketing Officer
Queensland Synod
raushen.perera@ucaqld.com.au
07 3377 9777
missionpossible.ucaqld.com.au
For more information on how to help your community when disaster strikes, visit this article.
