Youth worker, Christian educator, academic, theologian, social worker, counsellor and Moderator: Dr Deidre Palmer has held many roles throughout her life but she will soon add “Uniting Church President” to the list when members of the 15th Assembly meet in July. Matt Pulford profiles our next president. Dr Deidre Palmer chooses her words carefully when asked about her call to ...

Churches across Queensland are stepping out in faith to explore innovative ways to connect with local communities and to nurture children and families. Dianne Jensen reports. Children’s pictures of Jesus usually depict him as smiling, with arms outstretched. Their bright daubs capture a child-like wonder at the divine, a reassurance that faith will be passed on to the next generation. ...

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. ...

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week. “Miraculous” praise for escape from blaze The Express reports on a blaze in a Serbian church that left everything destroyed except the faces of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist and Saint Peter on icons. While some were impressed by the apparent miracle there may be a more mundane reason behind the facial ...

There’s nothing quite like throwing a bunch of high school students into an action-packed weekend of worship, adventure and fun! Easter Madness 2018 brought together over 150 high schoolers, leaders and helpers from across Queensland to grow in faith, friendship and community. Emma Holmes reports. It’s hard not to just say “you had to be there!” in trying to grasp ...

This Friday, at Karana Downs Uniting Church, the Synod Ecumenical Relations committee is hosting a retreat on the theme, “Being Uniting in a polarising world” (10 am–4 pm; you’re welcome!). We thought it a fitting reflection in the world-wide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that culminates in Pentecost this coming Sunday. Bringing a unifying power to the diversity of ...

It’s been 170 years since the first service was conducted in the Wesleyan chapel in Ipswich in 1848, giving birth to a faithful congregation who have continued to serve God at the Ipswich City Uniting Church. Join the celebrations on 29 April at 2 pm, and read church council member Ruth Duncan’s reflection to find out more about this historic ...

To celebrate Queensland Youth Week, JourneyOnline speaks to Noah Kim, Next Generation Leadership Project Officer about Next Gen Arise, a Synod initiative to support young people to develop leadership, build networks and worship cooperatively.  What is Next Gen Arise? Next Gen Arise is a Synod’s initiative to support young people to develop leadership, build networks and corporately worship. It is ...

To celebrate Queensland Youth Week, Steve Molkentin writes about BreadFishToo, an online community of faith specifically for young people within the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod. BreadFishToo has been running for a little over a year and we’re journeying together to learn more about Jesus and how to live out our faith as consistently online as we do in ...

Honouring the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr In a feature published in the New York Times to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s death, Dr Gregory Stirling, dean of Yale Divinity School reflects on the influence of Dr King. The title “reverend” — and Dr. King’s prominent vocation as a Baptist preacher — is too often ...