JESUS IS the figure that defines Christianity and is one of the main distinctions from other Abrahamic faiths such as Islam and Judaism. Retired Uniting Church minister Garth Read has a close friendship with members of the Bald Hills Mosque and said that understanding different perspectives of Jesus is very important in interfaith dialogue. “Answers to the question ‘Who is ...

WHILE AT university I dabbled in the study of world religions. I remember someone from my Church questioning me about it; he wanted to know why I wasn’t studying the Old Testament. The truth is that, as a 19-year-old, the Old Testament did not interest me as much as learning how my faith fitted into a world full of different ...

AROUND 270 people from Australia, the Pacific, South East Asia and Africa gathered in Canberra for the fourth annual Voices for Justice Conference in Canberra in September. Unlike most Christian conferences the aim of this conference was not to talk to ourselves but to talk to our Australia’s leaders. After a weekend of worship, training and workshops, participants were unleashed ...

THE JOURNEY letters section continues to have lively discussion in response to our February edition Who is Jesus? and the review of Who on Earth was Jesus? a book by Quaker and humanist author David Boulton. Mr Boulton was in Australia in September to speak at the SoFiA conference in Toowoomba. Journey spoke with Mr Boulton as well as Centenary ...

With news emerging from the Philippines of hundreds of people dead and many more displaced after severe flooding, Kathy Pereira, Associate Director (Experience Programs) has spoken to Uniting Church volunteer, Elizabeth Mullan. Ms Mullan is based at Smokey Mountain in the Philippines and said she is safe but feeling helpless amidst the chaos. UnitingWorld is in contact with our partner, ...

THE ECUMENICAL spirit of Unity College in Caloundra extended across the Pacific recently when the College welcomed students from Peteli Middle School in Tonga – a school of the Free Wesley Church of Tonga. Unity College is an ecumenical school serving the Catholic and Uniting communities of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. This visit was a dream come true for ...

Animated DVD RRP $9.95 Reviewed by John Ruhle. Car Park Parables is a collection of Jesus’ parables but based around cars in a car park – the Westbrook Church car park to be exact. This new resource, released July, uses humour, a creative flair and cars to engage children and adults alike in some of Jesus’ most famous parables. The ...

Brookfield Uniting Church celebrates its 140th Anniversary this October with a lunch in the Brookfield Uniting Church Hall on Saturday 17 October and a celebratory service on Sunday 18 October. All welcome. For details contact George on 0407178919. Cleveland Uniting Church celebrates its 100th Anniversary on 31 October and 1 November. Formally a Methodist congregation, Cleveland Uniting Church will host ...

INITIALLY I dreamed of churches filled with worshipping families, that all generations may know the joy and the reality of Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Times change, structures and strategies change, we change and communities change, but God is our constant. I hope that the Uniting Church in Australia embraces these changes, seeing them as opportunities to listen and discern ...

MY HOPE is that the Uniting Church will creatively build on the strengths and gifts it brings to the whole Church and to our community. We have a unique but complex relationship with the First Peoples of this land through the Congress. This relationship needs careful attention, honesty, patience and forgiveness if the Church is to model to the wider ...