A recent news report suggested that Queenslanders will spend $9.7 billion at retailers over the Christmas season. Yes, you read that right: $9.7 billion. But if you don’t fancy fighting for carparks at your local shopping mall or spending hours surfing the internet for the best online deals, Journey has put together some Christmas gift ideas that will help the ...

Congregational partnerships with UnitingCare are opening opportunities to meet needs and to be known as good news people. To share in relationships and purposes of service brings life to struggling communities, to individuals and families. In this edition of Journey I highlight what began with a contact, which grew into a connection, which is helping to build community between two ...

Wesley Mission Queensland’s ORCA Project has come a long way since it first started in late February 2018 out of Albany Creek Uniting Church. Originally created with the purpose of helping young people with disabilities enter the workforce, the ORCA (opportunities, readiness, community and abilities) Project has evolved from its humble beginnings into a platform of innovation and entrepreneurism. Stephanie ...

When heavy monsoonal rain caused massive flooding in Townsville in early February, the new Uniting Church community church at Mt Louisa immediately opened its doors to help. Journey reports. The flooding in the North Queensland coastal city of Townsville was unprecedented, with hundreds of people evacuated and thousands of homes inundated. Members of the newly formed Mt Louisa Community Church ...

What’s coming up Mindful Living in a Warming World Be inspired to take on climate change! Mindful Living (spiritual people concerned about the future of our planet) is hosting a climate change discussion to talk about how we can live mindfully. Hear from a local sustainable farmer, a young zero-waste advocate and a new mum who blockaded the Adani railing last year, and much ...

Drought is a slow-moving, insidious natural disaster which affects the very heart of community. When the rains finally come, recovery will be only just beginning. Dianne Jensen explores how Uniting Church congregations are stepping up to support their counterparts in the bush. “Well, it’s still brown,” writes Rev Jenny Coombes from Longreach Uniting Church at the heart of Queensland’s drought-stricken ...

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 ...

Karen Bowler from Faith Works Uniting Community in Brisbane (incorporating Eastside Trinity at Norman Park and Coorparoo) reports on the National Pioneer Gathering held at Maroochydore at the end of May. During the three days at the National Pioneer Gathering, 40 incredibly diverse people from across Australia considered why we should, and how we can, do “church” differently. The event ...

St Andrew’s, Yeppoon uses the power of song to bring joy to people living with life-limiting conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Dianne Jensen reports. The familiar music cuts through the fog of dementia, nudging at long-lost memories. For the first time in many years, the elderly man slipped his arms around his wife and they began to dance. ...

This year’s Transforming Worship conference offered participants a great opportunity to explore the formative and transformative nature of Christian worship with like-minded lay leaders, ordained ministers and worship teams. Neil Thorpe reports. The Uniting Church’s guide for worship, Uniting in Worship 2, speaks of the importance of a healthy diet of worship for Christ’s people and this metaphor is helpful ...