The theme of “Sow” was at the heart of worship, reflection and business during the second day of Synod in Session. Journey reports. Synod in Session saw the launch of Project Plenty, a new whole-of-Synod strategic planning exercise that will shape the Synod in the future. The 18-month process will involve consultation with presbyteries and congregations and collaboration and alignment ...

Journey asked three young Uniting Church members for their radical game-changing idea to create a vibrant contemporary Christian community. Here’s what they said.  Joshua Harbort My name is Joshua Harbort, I attend Rosewood Uniting Church and I am a PhD student at the University of Queensland in the field of biophysics. Besides my interests in the future of church and ...

Day camps are a great way for children to have fun during school holidays but also learn the Christian message in a safe and supportive environment. This year’s Oxley Uniting Church day camp welcomed Iris and her son Ethan who were attending for the first time. Both reflect on their experiences. Iris School holidays were approaching and I wanted to ...

A 40th birthday is a time for getting out the family photos and telling stories. Dianne Jensen explores why preserving our church history is vital to the future of the Uniting Church in Australia. There’s treasure to be found in the nooks and crannies of our churches. Scrapbooks from the Great War, photographs of the church that was sold before ...

It’s 2016, the working world has changed and “traditional” marriage roles no longer exist. Ashley Thompson explores what it means to be today’s face of the minister’s partner. It was difficult to find people willing to speak to Journey about the challenges of being a minister’s spouse. Understandably, those who aren’t retired were not comfortable publicly voicing the strains ministry ...

Each week hundreds of Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim volunteers provide religious instruction to students in Queensland state primary schools. Should objections to one particular program lead to unprecedented intervention from Education Queensland? Mardi Lumsden explores. In early June, religious instruction (RI) at Windsor State School in Brisbane’s north was suspended for the third time since 2014. Principal Matthew ...

Whenever two or three people gather to eat and drink together as part of worship, café church is happening. Dianne Jensen talks to three Queensland congregations exploring fresh forms of this ancient model of being church. It’s family friendly, low key, and a lot harder to slip into the back row unnoticed. Café church is a contemporary reimagining of a ...

Not diversity, but unity in Christ It looks as if we should change the title of our church. Instead of the Uniting Church, it should be the Diversity Church according to what the Journey editor has written in November Journey. That may be a way for journalists to go, but those who had the vision of unity, based on the ...

Are you prepared to die? New research shows Australians are dropping the ball and not planning ahead. Ashley Thompson explores the world of life before death. Twelve years ago a palliative care unit at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital did not exist. Today, Ward 4A buzzes with nurses and chaplains committed to journeying with patients through the end of life phase. UnitingCare ...

The Christian tradition of giving something up for Lent could provide a new perspective on life and faith. Dianne Jensen talks to families about Lent Event. Uniting Church congregations don’t have much corporate memory when it comes to the Lenten practice of undertaking 40 days of repentance and self-denial, culminating in the joy of Easter Sunday. Frankly, it’s been a ...