FORTY years ago, the crude and cruel social boundaries of homophobia and racism abhorrently shaped dominant ethical boundaries in Australian society. They are both offspring of prejudice generated by the human fear of difference. Related to such basic aspects of humanity – our sexual and racial identity – they are capable of stimulating deep anxieties. Homophobia in particular is often ...

A group of faith leaders announced in May that they would be making a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury in June to protest unjust economic systems in the 21st century. The group, called Occupy Faith, met at St Paul’s Cathedral in London with the permission of cathedral authorities, in contrast to last year’s four-month clash between clergy and Occupy protestors ...

TENS of thousands of people visited Toowoomba over the Easter long weekend to celebrate Easterfest, the largest Christian event and largest drug and alcohol-free festival in Australia. Festival director David Schenk said that after shock floods at Easterfest in 2011, this year the event ran smoothly and was a complete success. "All the challenges that we had with the weather ...

LEADING aged and community care provider Blue Care has welcomed the Federal Government's aged care reform announcement, but urges policy makers to reconsider financing arrangements. Blue Care Executive Director Robyn Batten said the government‟s Living Longer, Living Better response to the Productivity Commission‟s Caring for Older Australians report, released on Friday, was largely positive, with key areas acted upon. "The ...

UNITING Church University of Queensland residential college, King's College, is this year celebrating its centenary. Master and Chief Executive, Greg Eddy, said the College had a strong history formed on the shoulders of Kingsmen over the past 100 years and it was still as relevant today as it was at its formation. King's College was established by the Methodist conference ...

GERMAN Catholic and Protestant organizations are working together to encourage young people to think beyond image and consider the backstory of the clothes they wear with an "Ethical Fashion Action Week" launching on 16 April at Goethe University, Frankfurt. "Many students are very concerned about what they wear and which trends they follow. Many have their own fashion blogs where ...

A series of weekly reflections are available during Lent focusing on the "economy of water," offering suggestions for how people can work toward water justice in their communities. The Seven Weeks for Water began 20 February, with additional resources produced for 22 March, which is World Water Day and Maundy Thursday. The reflections have been produced by the Ecumenical Water ...

Alexandra Park Conference Centre on the Sunshine Coast was inundated in January with more than 200 Uniting Church young people for Summer Madness 2012. Organised by a team of youth leaders and people with a passion for helping young people experience God, the camp was a huge success. Over four days, high school aged youth and their leaders experienced the ...

THE Queensland Synod’s Uniting Communications is again partnering with congregations to produce high-quality, low-cost resources for Easter outreach in local communities. Easter is love is the theme of the 2012 Easter postcard campaign. The back of the card will say “Share it!” and have a space for congregations to put their Easter service and event times. Communications Manager Mardi Lumsden ...

YOU know that you belong when you turn up and they have a name tag for you. At the very least they will feed you. But is that the same as belonging? It might just mean that the efficient electronic registration system has you on the list. It doesn’t mean that you will feel welcome and included. I recently attended ...