FOR MANY people, the start of a new year provides time to reflect on life, get priorities in order, and begin life’s journey afresh. The annual Assembly-run Lent Event will kick-start 2010 in the right direction starting 17 February. With 199 Uniting Church congregations from Queensland signed up to take action against poverty it looks like being another strong year ...

Christians around the world are remembering the 1910 World Missionary Conference in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh as a key initiative that led to the ecumenical movement seeking the unity of the Church. "The unexpected intuition to flash forth from the conference was the awareness that Christian disunity is destructive to the very mission of the Church, and the corresponding ...

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010, Christians throughout the world will be listening together to the promise and commission that are part of Christ’s final words before his ascension: "You are witnesses of these things." Traditionally celebrated between 18 and 25 January (in the northern hemisphere) or at Pentecost (in the southern hemisphere), the Week of Prayer ...

Grasping The Message of Hope, Joy and Peace A recent headline in the paper was “Kids bring Christmas Message”. It is amazing how in the lead up to Christmas we often look to children to discover the Christmas message. Children bring the first Christmas alive through their pageant presentations with angels singing, shepherds watching and Mary and Joseph finding no ...

Entries close soon for Songs that Unite, the song writing competition of the Uniting Church in Australia that is seeking to encourage the development of Australian Christian music for use in congregations. The focus of the competition is congregational (or other group) singing, rather than songs for individual performance and the winning entries will be promoted in congregations across the ...

A weekend of Celebrations was recently held to give thanks to God for 100 years of Worship, Witness and Service. People retuned to Cleveland from many parts of the State and Interstate to share in our Celebrations and to catch up with old friends and share stories of their time with the Cleveland Congregation. It is 100 years since the ...

A Set of 4 cd’s with Music and Lyric books Published by Frank Communications from 2006 – 2008. RRP Reviewed by Bevan Lobley, a sometimes guitarist who has a passion for music in worship and is pastor at the Kirwan and Jensen Uniting Churches. Dave Andrews has brought us something very new in music for worship. His simple yet effective ...

WHEN I was told that the Christmas theme was Hospitality, I thought: “Great, I can write about the hospitality of the innkeeper in the nativity story”. But then I realised that there is only one account in the Bible of Jesus’ birth and there is no mention of an innkeeper. All we are told is that Jesus was laid in ...

Reviewed by Phil Smith TrueFaced Resources Scottsdale Arizona    ISBN 978-0-9770908-1  Available through book stores, The Navigators and www.TrueFaced.com  “God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another.” Shakespeare got a grip on a very significant issue in the 21st Century church a long time before Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch found their way onto the ...

Abingdon Press, Nashville RRP $22.95 Reviewed by Barbra Bailey, a retired Uniting Church minister. Author of twenty-four books, Jolene Roehlkepartian has again brought us a treasure for Christian education programs. In this publication are 101 opportunities to help children make friends at church and help create a sense of community that can be sustained. The latter is a significant factor ...