Ten of the eleven victims slept soundly as fire engulfed their Slacks Creek home on a cold winter’s night in 2011. Five years on, Ashley Thompson visits the Lale family of Sunnybank Uniting Church to remember their loss and celebrate their future. Often described as Australia’s worst house fire, the exact cause of the blaze, which ripped through the Lale ...

Having trouble coping with an upcoming four zero birthday? The Uniting Church in Australia will hit the big 40 milestone in 2017 and Journey has put together some things to do before we cut the cake. Celebrate how far we’ve come! We are Australia’s first home-grown church, formed with a dangerous, creative mission to journey as pilgrims. Over nearly four decades we ...

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 ...

The 32nd Synod of the Uniting Church in Queensland has closed how it begun, in a celebration of the rich cultural diversity of the church. Rev David MacGregor opened closing worship by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Synod gathered, the Gubbi Gubbi people. Stillness descended over the meeting as members watched a short video called ...

Day three of the 32nd Synod closed with a celebration of ministries as Rev David Baker started proceedings with a call to worship; Psalm 100. Minutes of appreciation were received to retiring ministers: Rev Subramaniam Manopavan, Rev Hohaia Matthews, Rev May Morris, Rev Jan Rossow, Rev Costa Stathakis, Rev Dr Paul Walton, Rev Ian Wilson, Rev Peter Aay, Rev Lloyd ...

Executive officer of the Schools and Residential Colleges Commission Dr Daniel Pampuch outlined the importance of developing tangible links between educational institutions and the church in his report to the 32nd Synod. Citing the 18 organisations, 17 500 students and 1000 staff with whom the commission works, Daniel said “this is a very big mission field in terms of reaching ...

The 32nd Synod meeting of the Uniting Church in Queensland began on 20 May 2016 as Rev Dennis Corowa, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and Calvary Presbytery chairperson, acknowledged the traditional owners of the land at Alexandra Headland, the Gubbi Gubbi people. “We pay our respects to elders past and present and say prayers with all those in the future,” ...

At the tail end of a two-month speaking tour of Australia, Ashley Thompson catches up with British author and poet Adrian Plass to reflect on his last 29 years of unintended ministry. It’s been almost 30 years since Adrian Plass broke through the silence of church niceties with brutal, hilarious honesty. Bracing for “evangelicals with pitchforks” upon the release of ...

The new Uniting Church youth camp Easter Madness was a great success. Journey reports Over 100 young people from across the Uniting Church in Queensland celebrated the Easter weekend together at the inaugural Easter Madness youth camp in March. The Easter Madness Appeal also meant that 13 young people, including two leaders, from rural and remote Queensland were able to ...

This month’s 32nd Synod in Session offers a wealth of activities to inspire and enjoy. Journey suggests seven great things to look out for. Unchained Ever had a risky or dangerous idea for our church that you weren’t quite brave enough to name? Unchained is a festival where some of those dangerous ideas will be set free. Listen and share ...