The Uniting Church in Australia may be a leading light when it comes to gender equality in leadership but we still have some way to go. Ashley Thompson talks to five key church leaders at UnitingWomen 2016 about how we can fully annihilate the glass ceiling. Shift your thinking  Colleen Geyer is the newly appointed general secretary of the Assembly, ...

Sure to be a hot topic during the National Young Adult Leaders Conference (8–13 July), what are the key qualities that young people look for in their leaders? Journey picks five must-have traits for leaders who want to command the attention and respect of millennials. Authenticity Young people want their leaders—whether in the church, the workplace, the parliament or on ...

A big thank you to all those who participated in the 32nd Synod. One of the things you learn when being a follower of Jesus is the capacity to be surprised. So when about 120 people gathered during Synod to talk about contemplative prayer with Dr Neil Preston, who delivered the Norman and Mary Millar lecture, I was a bit ...

How carefully do we think before we exercise our democratic responsibilities by voting? Do we simply vote for the party we have always voted for? It’s hard to avoid simply following the agenda laid out by political parties and played out in the media. How can we hold politicians and political parties to account for those equally important policy decisions ...

Enriching dialogue and diversity reigned at the 32nd Synod meeting (20–24 May) while future directions were confirmed. The Journey team was there to cover the event. The Alexandra Park Conference Centre on the Sunshine Coast was packed with hundreds of Uniting Church members from across Queensland. The tea urns were switched on and the blue and orange cards were ready ...

After fervent discussion the 32nd Synod has passed by consensus revised priority directions for 2016–2020. Brought forward by Rev Andrew Gunton on behalf the facilitation team, the original wording of the proposal was amended to reflect the concerns of 32nd Synod members. The originally discerned top five priorities of 32nd Synod members were to “adopt as its priority directions for ...

In a new style of engaging with Queensland Synod presbytery reports, South Moreton Presbytery multicultural officer David Busch facilitated a Q&A panel discussion between 32nd Synod members and presbytery representatives. Available on the Queensland Synod YouTube channel, members were encouraged to watch presbytery reports and submit their questions for discussion. Identified by the moderator as a forum to raise and ...

As one of Australia’s largest providers of aged care services, the Uniting Church has a huge investment in ageing … and rightly so, given our demographic profile. John Harrison talks to an 84-year-old Uniting Church elder out to make a difference. His febrile Twitter handle says it all: @EVERALDATLARGE. At 84 years of age, Aspley Uniting Church elder Everald Compton ...

Fijian-Australians and Uniting Church congregations across Queensland have opened their hearts to communities in cyclone-devastated Fiji. Journey reports. Fijian-Australians could only watch and wait over the weekend of 20 February as news filtered through about the impact of Fiji’s worst cyclone. Particularly hard-hit by Cyclone Winston were the north and north western coast of Viti Levu, the south coast of ...

While our primary focus should be to take the gospel message outside of these four walls, Easter presents an opportunity to welcome newcomers to church. We asked a Uniting Church teenager for some suggestions about how to invite someone to be part of the church. Show them hospitality What’s the adult equivalent of a sleepover? Do that! Invite your friend or ...