A church for all God’s people There’s a lot of thought going on at the moment as to how the Uniting Church can do things differently in order to adapt to demographic changes in the broader community. It’s a topic that sparked a lot of conversation during Open Space at the 31st Synod in Session last year. It’s not a ...

They say memory may not be housed just in our brains. I remember that some of my training talked about “anchoring”, that a memory, idea, thought, theme or plan, can be physically anchored in another part of our bodies—just as a noise, song or smell takes us back to a memory of life, so also one of these may be ...

This is the first Journey of the New Year, so I want to outline for you again the discernment of the 31st Synod regarding the broad priorities for the church’s life going forward. Synod discerned the following: making our worship accessible and attractive growing our members in their passion and ability to share their faith planting new communities of faith ...

The 31st Synod in Session closed five days of work and fellowship on 15 October with a worship service reminding members to “keep the charge”. Moderator David Baker reflected on the church as a flotilla; a group of ships traveling together, supporting each other. He reflected on past moderator, Kaye Ronalds’ question: “Are we there yet?” “I hope you have ...

Queensland Synod General Secretary Rev John Cox has presented his report to the 31st Synod in Session. “It’s a privilege to stand here and share the work of the Synod office in the General Secretary’s report.” John said the report is a snapshot and highlights a few issues the church is facing in the future. A recent review of the ...

Investing ethically is all well and good, but the realities of it are more complex than you may think. Mardi Lumsden explores. Prior to the last Queensland Synod meeting in May 2013 the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory Synod in Session resolved to divest from stocks and shares in corporations engaged in the extraction of fossil fuels and to redirect ...

Why travel to Sydney when you can watch a webinar? Ashley Thompson explores. In Australia, many Christians wait in anticipation for annual gatherings. We go to great lengths, spending precious leave and flying interstate to listen to keynote speakers whose content is often easily accessible online or in their latest book. We attend conferences for a variety of reasons, such ...

Did you think serving the church only involves greeting people at the door or pouring cups of tea? Serving your church, whether it’s your local congregation or some of the larger bodies within the denomination instills a sense of ownership and helps grow faith. There are many different ways to serve, not all of which are immediately obvious. Here’s some ...

The Uniting Church Queensland Synod expresses its gratitude to Dr Shirley Coulson. Mardi Lumsden reports. Uniting Church members from all over the country joined Dr Shirley Coulson for a moving service of the closure of her ministry as Queensland Synod General Secretary on 31 January. Attendees included Assembly General Secretary Rev Terrence Corkin and Synod of NSW/ACT General Secretary Rev ...

QR CODES (or Quick Response codes) are twodimensional barcodes that can store more information than a regular barcode. They allow people to link to digital content such as websites or open certain functions on your phone, for example your contacts section to import data from a digital business card. They work by using your smart phone’s camera to scan the ...