WHILE MANY young people were planning New Year’s Eve celebrations, more than 900 people from Australia and overseas came together for the biennial National Christian Youth Convention 2011 (ncyc11) on the Gold Coast. Approximately 350 delegates were from Queensland and around 100 delegates were part of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress group. From 29 December to 4 January, ...

CHILDREN ENJOYED getting back to nature at Day Camps held all over the state in the July school holidays. Numerous presbyteries and congregations helped primary school aged children get back to basics and learn about God in Caboolture, Moggill, Oxley, and Samford to name a few. Many of these were hosted through a joint effort from local churches. Cleveland Uniting ...

“A watershed in the history and culture of Queensland”. That how ethicist and retired Uniting Church minister Rev Dr Noel Preston describes the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The judicial inquiry by Tony Fitzgerald QC found extensive political and police corruption in Queensland, and the Report went to Parliament twenty years ago this month, on 3 July 1989. “Fitzgerald emerged at a pivotal ...

Mr Harry Thompson, former secretary of the Bremer Brisbane Presbytery and member of the Uniting Church congregation in Oxley, was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM) Medal in the 2008 Australia Day honours list One of 473 recipients receiving awards in the Order of Australia from the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, Mr Thompson was commended for service to the ...

KELLY HOLCROFT from Oxley Uniting Church was one of three from her company and one of twelve young women from Uniting Church Girls’ Brigade companies presented with the Queen’s Award. The Queen’s Award is the highest achievement for Girls’ Brigade members and was presented by the Governor of Queensland Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce. Mrs Coral Anderson, the National Commissioner ...

Queensland Uniting Church Justice and International Mission Advocate Andrew Johnson and Wendy Miller, member of Oxley congregation, were among the 180 people from throughout Australia who participated in the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Al Gore Climate Project training event in Melbourne in September. Mr Johnson said the purpose of the weekend was to train ‘ordinary Australians’ to deliver personalised, ‘Australianised’ versions ...

THE MID-YEAR school holiday is the season of Day Camps around the Uniting Church in Queensland. This year the Oxley Uniting Church Day Camp celebrated 30 years with 125 campers, 55 high school-aged leaders and 40 adult helpers. Gail Rankin grew up attending Day Camp, then became a leader and is now co-director with Jenny Hudson. Ms Rankin said the ...

The Synod celebration held on Saturday evening, 19 May, was an extravaganza complete with pyrotechnics showcasing talented young people from three Uniting Church schools (Calvary Christian College, Moreton Bay College, and Forest Lake College). To celebrate the 30th birthday of Uniting Church the stage was decorated with brightly coloured banners displaying the Synod theme: “Dare to discover, dream, design, and ...