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Best and worst birthday presents part 3

With all the talk within the church about birthdays recently we thought what better time than now to ask staff members what were the best and worst birthday presents they’ve received. Here’s Scott with his memories.  The best  We had been married for only about six weeks when my birthday rolled around. There were no hints, no requests, no discussion about ...

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Breaking bread together at Iftar

In a sign of solidarity and friendship with the Muslim community of South East Queensland, the Queensland Synod has hosted its first Iftar dinner with Muslim partners. Synod research officer Sue Hutchinson reports. Ramadan is a significant and sacred time for Muslims, marked by fasting from sun-up to sunset. The Iftar meal is the daily “breaking of the fast” during ...

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Best and worst birthday presents part 2

With all the talk within the church about birthdays recently we thought what better time than now to ask staff members what were the best and worst birthday presents they’ve received. Here’s Dianne with her memories.  The best My best present memory is an easy one which even now brings a smile to my face. Here’s the background: my husband and I ...

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Best and worst birthday presents

With all the talk within the church about birthdays recently we thought what better time than now to ask staff members what were the best and worst birthday presents they’ve received. Here’s Ben with his memories.  The best I should probably list something that was romantic or sentimental from a significant other or family member but (and I’m sorry for the ...

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Turning the page on immigration

Book covers

The subject of migration is never too far from the news headlines in Australia, Europe and North America but with the recent release of two books—Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour and The Refugee Crisis and Religion—issues around people smuggling and Islam are getting more attention. Nick Mattiske reviews. We are living in a new age of migration with over 60 million ...

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A birthday message from Rev David Baker, Queensland Synod moderator

Rev David Baker. Photo: Supplied

I’m thankful for the Uniting Church: This church gave me a community where I was known, appreciated, loved, and accepted (that’s no small thing!!!).  This church gave me space to explore that great big wonder called life! This church continues to challenge me with a bigger picture of who Jesus is. This church gave my children a place where they ...

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Book review: Why God?

Why God?

Religious faith draws in people from a wide array of cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds but what makes humans attracted to religion in the first place, and why does religion feature heavily in human societies? Nick Mattiske reviews Rodney Stark’s latest book Why God? to look for the answers. As religion supposedly declines in the West, those on the outside ...

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Friday’s religion wrap

Magnifying glass over an open Bible.

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week.  Gospel tunes only part of His plans News.com.au reports on The Voice band He Planned Us and their dismissal from the reality television show due to their gospel-only preferences in song selection. Partnered with Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland as their coach, the trio declared, “We really, really, really always wanna sing ...

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Film review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Photo: Marvel

Marvel’s swashbuckling gang of heroes are back for their latest space-adventure, but does Volume 2 build upon its blockbuster predecessor or suffer from a bad case of sequel-itis? Steve Molkentin reviews. In Volume 2 our rag-tag group return to save the universe again. Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot ...

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Friday’s religion wrap

Photo of a magnifying glass over an open Bible.

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week.  Ticket to the west if you pass Bible test RT covers news from Sweden of a Bible quiz being given to Christian asylum seekers escaping religious persecution. While many have slammed the idea as complicated, irrelevant and conflating knowledge with faith, the country’s migration agency has defended the testing with Carl Bexelius—Swedish ...

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