The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week.  The (don)key to understanding the cross   ABC News explores the religious significance of the cross which appears on all donkeys, running down the spine and across the shoulders. A popular figure in fiction such as Winnie the Pooh and Shrek, the donkey is often portrayed as a hardworking and loyal animal and in Israel it ...

Just did a run through Mary Burnett, Central Queensland and the Central West last week with Rev Peter Armstrong, UnitingCare Queensland’s Associate Director of Mission, Community Engagement. In the midst of drought that we have all been reminded about—thanks to the media paying attention to what’s happening in New South Wales—I want to add some nuancing to what we’re hearing ...

What’s coming up Mental Health Week 6–14 October This year’s theme is Value mental health. There are six steps: Be active, Keep learning, Give, Connect, Take notice and Care. Resources are available to help celebrate this important week. Find an event near you. How about organising an event in your congregation? Here’s a kit to help you. Sunday 14 October ...

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week.      Keep it strange if you want the change The Christian Post reports on a new book by Michael Frost which claims that eccentric actions may be key to growing the church. Keep Christianity Weird is Frost’s take on rule-breaker movements and he sees pastors using unconventional methods in their ministry ...

A new ecumenical initiative is bringing young people together on the Sunshine Coast to connect with their faith through music and exciting guest speakers. Journey reports on Activate Sunshine Coast (ASC) and what gives it the “X Factor”. It started with a simple proposition: why couldn’t the Sunshine Coast regularly hold youth rallies for the state’s Christians to connect with ...

It’s one of the most popular music genres today but rock music has traditionally had a complicated relationship with Christianity. Nick Mattiske reviews a pair of recent books on the topic to explore the intersections between music, race, religion and politics. In the early 1990s Christian music superstar Amy Grant was the subject of controversy for her “crossover” into mainstream ...

Members of the Uniting Church’s 15th Assembly have returned home to share the news of the landmark decisions made at the 15th triennial meeting. Matt Pulford reports. Over seven days from 8–14 July, more than 260 Assembly members shared prayer, worship and bible studies with ecumenical and interfaith friends, church partners and each other. Former South Australia Moderator Dr Deidre ...

It’s one of our eternal questions with no easy answers: what happens to us after we die? Although the statistics suggest many Australians believe in the afterlife, what exact form that takes is still up for debate, whether you’re a Christian or not. Rev Dr David Mackay-Rankin explores the afterlife, the Christian theology underpinning it and its depiction in popular ...

Since the 15th assembly in July, many congregations have been holding meetings to discuss their response to the Assembly’s decision on same-gender marriage. South Moreton Presbytery Minister David Busch offers these suggestions on how to conduct effective and graceful conversations on the issue. The Assembly resolved that the church could hold two definitions of marriage, one stating the gender of ...

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week.    Reap what you sow with a nice cup of joe Laist reports on efforts by a Korean church in California to attract new congregants with coffee. The Ignatius Café offers the kind of beverages you’d expect from a popular coffee house but the establishment’s owner is actually the St Agnes ...