The call for humans to care for creation—to be good stewards—goes back to Adam and Eve. As the Queensland Synod marks Stewardship Sunday (5 October), Mardi Lumsden explores how the modern church is living generously. So often, the word stewardship is underpinned by the need to fix the church roof or upgrade technology. Queensland Synod Moderator-elect Rev David Baker says ...

Small congregations face a unique set of challenges, and don’t always have the resources to participate in ministry in the same way as large churches with big budgets and a large talent pool. But small churches are still an important part of the fabric of our community, and their intimate size offers opportunities that aren’t available to big communities. Here’s ...

Bruce Mullan looks at two very different churches with a great partnership. The United Church in Solomon Islands Guadalcanal Circuit and Beenleigh Regional Uniting Church in Logan have nothing much in common except a partnership which has been inspirational and transformative for both churches. Stephen Haase first travelled with two others from Beenleigh to the remote village of Koleasi in ...

The ancient practice of Christian meditation is experiencing a revival, and Uniting Church members are among those rediscovering the value of silence. Dianne Jensen reports. When the street noise and the background chatter finally fade into nothingness, there is silence. And in this place of deep stillness, all subterfuge cast off, we may find that the peace of God does ...

Sabbath is more than just time off; it’s a holy day that strengthens a relationship. But not everyone has the privilege of observing the Sabbath, writes Rev Peter Lockhart. It can be argued that the first story of the Bible is centred not on the act of creation but on establishing the importance of the Sabbath. The seventh day bears ...

Following the release of the Uniting Church census data, Rev Paul Clark offers some of what he has learned while ministering with churches that bucked the downward trend. In a previous parish an “expert” came through and said, “If you preach the gospel, the church grows”. I challenged him on that because it implies most churches are not preaching the ...

Suicide Everyone knows someone who struggles with their mental health, but how often do we talk openly and honestly about it? Community groups like A Nouwen Network are working to connect people and break the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Doubt It’s a big, pluralistic world out there. With so ...

Give a real welcome We read with interest the six ways to be a welcoming church (Journey, June 2014, page 15). We have recently moved to Brisbane and were really looking forward to joining another church family after having left a great congregation in regional Queensland. Our experience has not been very positive, so there is one more point we ...

The July edition of Journey magazine is now available in PDF. You can download this edition and all previous editions back to 2005 on the download page. Keep it up! You know that feeling you get around the beginning of July? A creeping realisation which suddenly hits with a bittersweet epiphany—the year is half over! How did that happen? The previous six months ...

Breathtaking in scope and certainly ambitious in prospect, Adam Hamilton has written an important book that many people in congregations will find stimulating, challenging and, in the end, comforting. With clear and understandable language, this book is not only an invaluable resource for ministers, but also a must-read for the growing number of book clubs Uniting Churches are establishing. This ...