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Phil Smith is a lay pastor in an ecumenical school in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. With the support of the Caloundra Uniting Church, he is  helping to grow a new faith community called BELLS. We are based on Australia’s Sunshine Coast in a new real estate development where there is no church building. I work half time for the ...

Fr.Denny Guka, the president of the PNG Council of Churches has said they cannot be silent on the issue of the Manus Island Detention Centre. “We are a compassionate people motivated by Christian faith, who are deeply concerned about those who need protection and security. But to allow asylum seekers against their will into our country, and imprisoning people who have ...

Exposed is a global coalition of individuals, organisations and churches committed to shining a light on corrupt practices systems which affect us all, but particularly the poorest, sabotaging essential public service provision. They are asking the leaders of the world’s most powerful economic nations, the G20, to take practical steps that promote greater transparency in the financial affairs of business, ...

As part of 50th anniversary celebrations, L’Arche Brisbane hosted a jubilee dinner with guest speaker Eileen Glass—the first Australian International Vice Leader of L’Arche International. Her speech is a fascinating exploration of the challenges and opportunities presented by diversity. The weakest and most frail are not a burden, she says, they enrich our communities. Eileen begins: One of the significant challenges ...

Flash flooding has caused enormous damage since torrential rain began in the Solomon Islands on Friday. So far three people have been confirmed dead and more than 49 000 people have been displaced from their homes. UnitingWorld is gathering support for the United Church in the Solomon Islands in their relief efforts. Please donate online or phone 1800 998 122. ...

In a new report examining Australians’ responses to climate change the CSIRO found that that people are inaccurate when predicting the views of other Australians. When asked about the nature of climate change, fewer than 8% of respondents were of the opinion it was not happening at all, yet these respondents estimated that almost 50% of the Australian public would ...

The Destiny Together prayer vigil took place in front of Parliament House in Canberra yesterday and there are some really wonderful photos already coming from the attendees. We’ll be posting these photos and links to some of the statements made at the event as they become available. We’ll also cover the event in the upcoming edition of Journey, which will be available on ...

A report by the US-based Leadership Network reported by Religion News Service suggests that “The vast majority of multisite churches are growing … and they are seeing more involvement from lay people and newcomers after they open an additional location.” The Uniting Church is no stranger to the multisite model, with both regional and city-based churches forming clusters where mulitple congregations share a ...

The Uniting Church has received information that children without parents being detained on Christmas Island have been scheduled for imminent deportation to offshore facilities on Nauru. In response, the Uniting Church in Australia has taken the bold step of writing to the Australian Government to offer sanctuary for all children without parents currently held on Christmas Island. “We are well placed ...

Religion News Service continues to deliver interesting content. On his blog, On Freedom, Brian Pellot examines the role of digital media in the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to Brian, Missionary Chat has been a wild success since its launch in 2008. “Hundreds of baptisms have resulted from conversations that began on Missionary Chat in the ...