Have you ever visited a church and felt awkward because you didn’t know when to stand or sit or why a smiling stranger was suddenly holding your hand and singing at you? It can be daunting attending a new church. Even if your congregation is small, you have something precious and life-giving to offer. Here are some ways to make ...

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. ...

When our daughter was back in Australia for her wedding in February, her new husband offered to do the grocery shopping. Sitting in front of the computer in our home he made his order online and arranged for it to be delivered to their home in London just a few hours after their plane landed. People now have many choices ...

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 ...

In a historic moment in the Uniting Church journey, First and Second Peoples gathered together in front of Parliament House in Canberra, calling for justice and reconciliation. Matt Pulford reports. On 18 March, on the lawns in front of Parliament House in Canberra, around 300 members of the Uniting Church in Australia gathered for an act of public worship. The ...

A report by the US-based Leadership Network reported by Religion News Service suggests that “The vast majority of multisite churches are growing … and they are seeing more involvement from lay people and newcomers after they open an additional location.” The Uniting Church is no stranger to the multisite model, with both regional and city-based churches forming clusters where mulitple congregations share a ...

An innovative partnership between Queensland Uniting Church congregations over 400 kilometres apart has resulted in a new early childhood centre serving isolated families. Dianne Jensen reports. The $1.25 million Mitchell Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) was opened in September last year on the grounds of Mitchell State School with the help of a $58 000 state government grant and the ...

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 ...

The image of the 77-year-old Bundaberg Uniting Church awash with 60 cm of putrid water was a symbol for many of the devastation wrought by the January floods. It was the end of September before the congregation gathered in the refurbished church for worship, writes Dianne Jensen. The damage to the Bundaberg church property was extensive. As well as flooding the church, ...