Christmas is for the children who love the stories, carols and presents and generally bask in the family and holiday festivities but as the reflection from Donna Walck (page 16) demonstrates, Christmas is not just about “us”. Helping children focus beyond themselves during this season can be a challenge for parents. Children’s Ministry Coordinator with the Youth and Children’s Ministry ...

A small group of young adults from the TEA Party project (Toowong Early Adults) have been road-testing some of the training activities from the Greenhouse project. Greenhouse project coordinator Mark Cornford has appreciated the opportunity to have a “real” group of young adult volunteer to try the Greenhouse process. “Greenhouse is about mission and the Toowong young adults were prepared ...

Uniting Churches across Queensland are building connections with the wider community this Christmas with Christmas tree festivals, carol services and advent workshops. One of the most spectacular is the “Stable on the Strand” project in Townsville.  From humble beginnings in 1999 with a simple nativity scene at Mt Louisa Uniting Church, “Stable on the Strand” has grown to be a ...

Sitting somewhere between Jesus and the tooth fairy is a jolly round man who has captured the hearts of our community. As 21st century Christians scratch their heads, what was once a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ has become a consumer binge which escalates to new heights every year thanks to K-Mart, Myer and a mailbox stuffed ...

Trinity Theological College is offering a number of intensives and short courses over January and February 2006. Summer intensive Doctrine and Truth after Modernity, Rev Dr Geoff Thompson, 13-17 February 2006. In this course contemporary theology will be explored to show that doctrinal work is itself a creative and constructive core practice of the church with important pastoral, pedagogical, and ...

January is the time when many young adults from Queensland Uniting Churches will be moving off to new places for work or for study and many won’t connect with a Uniting Church in their new area. Early Adult Ministry Coordinator with the Youth and Children’s Ministry Unit Tom Kerr says that your congregation’s ministry to them isn’t over until they ...

For most books, the reader starts at the first page and reads to the end of the story, and children see the Bible just like any other book. Children’s Ministry Consultant with the Youth and Children’s Ministry Unit Mr Paul Yarrow says that we should discourage children from starting at Genesis and reading all the way to Revelation. “Most adults ...

Leslene Woodward from Mareeba Uniting Church is in Bali under the ‘Partners in Mission’ plan teaching English as a second language and sent the following report of the 74th Anniversary Celebrations of the Christian Protestant church in Bali. The Protestant Church in Bali dates itself from 1931, when the first baptism took place. But holding the major celebration in Blimbingsari ...

Forty-six Elders, families and members of the Kids Club from the Indigenous community of Napranum on Cape York, travelled for four weeks to N.Z, Tonga and Fiji. Many of those who travelled are linked with the programs of the Congress Uniting Church in Napranum. Participants described the trip as a great time of exchanging and sharing culture, dances, spirituality, kindness ...

Hillsong UnitedMusic CD/DVDHillsong Music AustraliaRRP $29.95 “Look to You" is the latest live youth album from the Hillsong stable. The CD comes standard with an accompanying DVD featuring some but not all the songs. A CD backing track is also available. Upon review, I discovered the wisdom of the inclusion of the DVD. The CD alone gave the sounds, but I ...