The first cash I remember earning was the money we earned as children by picking ginger on the neighbour’s farm. It involved sitting all day in the sun snapping off the green stalks and the ropey roots from the tuber. By the end of the week we had some money that we could use any way we chose. It seemed ...

Following John Green’s inclusion in this year’s Time 100 and the adaptation of his latest novel into a blockbuster movie, Rohan Salmond talks to him about church, community, teenagers and the universe that wants to be noticed. There are thousands of John Greens in the world, including lawyers, teachers, politicians and even a Bigfoot expert. But John Green the novelist ...

Data from the 2013 census of the Uniting Church in Australia has been released just in time for its 37th anniversary. It reveals an organisation facing some tough decisions. Dianne Jensen reports. Thirty-seven years down the track, Australia’s first home-grown church is facing a mid-life crisis familiar to any adult wondering where the kids have gone and what lies ahead. ...

The 2014 Budget was a major concern for the Uniting Church and its agencies. Mardi Lumsden reports. The federal government’s 2014 Budget was met with frustration and concern by many different parts of the Uniting Church in Australia in May. Uniting Church President Rev Dr Andrew Dutney said the church’s main concern is how Australia’s most vulnerable are affected by ...

The Destiny Together week of prayer and fasting is over. Bruce Mullan looks at what’s next in the Uniting Church’s journey of reconciliation with First Peoples. The paint was washed off the foreheads and the chairs packed away but for those who participated in the Canberra prayer vigil and at other Destiny Together—Justice for First Peoples events around the nation, ...

Thinking about making a few changes to your church facilities—perhaps updating the kitchen or building a new hall? Dianne Jensen looks at church redevelopment. Many Queensland congregations faced with ageing infrastructure or changing demographics have made the decision to redevelop their facilities, with some outstanding examples of clever design generating new ministries. Others have chosen to transform existing areas, creating ...

Somewhere around age 16, I got worn out by the charismatic evangelical youth group culture where I had been spending most of my free time. I had been to what seemed like hundreds of camps, conferences and youth rallies all around Australia, each with its own stadium rock worship band, multithousand dollar lighting rig and intense preacher who used words ...

It’s hard not to be excited about 2014 having begun it in the company of that great crowd of passionate young Christians who gathered at Yuróra, the 2014 National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) in Parramatta. Their love of Jesus and each other, their commitment to discipleship and excitement about ministry is infectious and inspiring. So what does the year ahead ...

NCYC 2014 was a vibrant celebration of the life and diversity found among Uniting Church young people. Tilly South reports. “Faith is a practical thing,” preached Rev Julian Hamilton, chaplain at Trinity College, Dublin and guest speaker at the 2014 National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC), a biennial event held by a presbytery or synod of the Uniting Church. “We must ...

Emerald Uniting Church is passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus by serving the community in all its diversity. Rohan Salmond spoke with Rev Suzy Sitton. What is happening in your congregation? There’s regular vibrant worship, youth activities, Bible study and lots of care and support for each other and for those in the community. Our local mission focus ...