The Uniting Church in Australia has joined the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), after its application for full membership was accepted by the 10th PCC General Assembly meeting in the Solomon Islands from 3-10 March. In its application, the Uniting Church acknowledged its part, and the part of its predecessors, in the history of colonialism. Rev Dr Kerry Enright of ...

On this International Women's Day (Friday 08 March 2013) UnitingWorld are delighted to support our partner churches throughout the Pacific as we launch: Transforming Lives through Leadership: a project with Pacific Women. Why theological training? When Pacific women enter the church in leadership positions they can transform whole communities. Women within our partner churches tell us first-hand about the anguish ...

UnitingWorld has launched a project to support the training and ministry of women in Pacific communities. Transforming Lives Through Leadership is the first project of a major UnitingWorld initiative focusing on gender in the Pacific. It will support women at theological college, providing them with practical resources including student fees and accommodation, and encouraging them to take leadership roles in ...

Margaret Adsett, from St Andrew's Uniting Church in Brisbane CBD, can tell you how many choices of biscuit there are in the average supermarket aisle. "There are over 200 choices of biscuit alone, and they say there are 35 000 items in total in your average supermarket," says Ms Adsett. "Imagine that! Compare that to places where people have no ...

UNITING Church people across Australia are being urged to complain to their parliamentary representatives about the Government's decision to divert foreign aid from alleviating poverty overseas to pay for processing asylum seekers in Australia. "In complete contradiction to the Christmas spirit, the Government is stealing from the poor to support a system that punishes the vulnerable," said UnitingWorld National Director ...

SOUTH Rockhampton Uniting Church launched their November fundraising drive for the UnitingWorld supported Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) project in Mwandi, Zambia, with a trivia night that raised over $1300. Around 35 per cent of the Mwandi population are living with HIV/AIDS and there are an estimated 1300 orphans and vulnerable children. The OVC project provides educational, social and nutritional ...

THE carols announce that Christmas is near. That is, just in case you had not noticed the calendar filling with end-of-year events and letter boxes bursting with junk mail. The shops have been stocked with Christmas decorations and Christmas food for weeks. While we need to guard against the seduction of consumerism, I am reminded that at Christmas time small ...

FROM support for antitrafficking programs to resources for ministry training, the 2012 Everything in Common gift catalogue produced by UnitingWorld offers 30 creative ways to support the work of Uniting Church partners in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. "We've provided a range of gifts that are not only about sharing material resources that help overcome poverty but are also providing ...

FIFTY per cent of the world's population are living on less than $2.50 a day. That's 3.5 billion people. A child dies from hunger every six seconds. That's six million children every year. As Christine Hunt, Campaign Leader for Maternal and Child Health at World Vision Australia says, "It's equivalent to ten buses fully loaded with children crashing every hour ...

ACCORDING to Leslene Woodward, worshipping in other cultures, buildings and even religions can broaden perspectives on what it means to be in relationship with God. Ms Woodward, a librarian from north Queensland who has volunteered with UnitingWorld in Bali, India and Kiribati over the past 10 years, has experienced the richness of worship in many different spaces and learnt valuable ...