Tag Archives: Dianne Jensen

When was the last time the sound of singing drew passers-by into your church? Dianne Jensen discovers why people can’t walk past St Mary’s by the Sea in Port Douglas, North Queensland. At the picturesque St Mary’s by the Sea in Port Douglas, the worship service is relayed by loudspeaker to the markets just outside. The voices from around the ...

Dianne Jensen talks to award-winning comic artist Phil Day about viewing life and faith through the lens of humour. Remember that smart-aleck kid whose clever caricatures were passed around the classroom as soon as the teacher’s back was turned? There’s a good chance that he or she grew up to be a cartoonist like Phillip Day, the award-winning comic artist who ...

Dianne Jensen reports on how the Glebe Road Uniting Church congregation in Ipswich is helping Queenslanders to keep a roof over their heads. Whether you are a dab hand with a paint brush or more at home with gardening gloves, Habitat for Humanity can use your skills. The Glebe Road congregation has become the hub of the Ipswich chapter of ...

While asylum seeker advocates are celebrating the announcement that some children and their families will be released from detention, they warn that there is still much to do. Dianne Jensen reports. The Uniting Church in Australia has welcomed an announcement by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison that some children in detention will be released into the ...

Whenever two or three gather together in God’s name there will be at least that many views on how to worship. Add different generations into the mix, and being one in the Lord is a challenging task for any worship team. Dianne Jensen reports. We know that there are big differences between age cohorts, but why is it so difficult ...

The ancient practice of Christian meditation is experiencing a revival, and Uniting Church members are among those rediscovering the value of silence. Dianne Jensen reports. When the street noise and the background chatter finally fade into nothingness, there is silence. And in this place of deep stillness, all subterfuge cast off, we may find that the peace of God does ...

Take 45 primary school children with loads of energy and a bush paddock under a wide blue sky, and you have a Uniting Church day camp. Dianne Jensen reports. “It was cold and windy, but we had an absolute blast!” says Jodie Beitz, Roma Uniting Church member and one of the directors of the day camp held in Roma in ...

Dianne Jensen talks to Dave Andrews, Charles Ringma, Lin Hatfield Dodds and Sue Hutchinson about why they keep working for social transformation. “Many people start out with the fire in their belly to set the world alight when they are young; but very few people still have the fire in their belly when they are old,” says Dave Andrews. The ...

Data from the 2013 census of the Uniting Church in Australia has been released just in time for its 37th anniversary. It reveals an organisation facing some tough decisions. Dianne Jensen reports. Thirty-seven years down the track, Australia’s first home-grown church is facing a mid-life crisis familiar to any adult wondering where the kids have gone and what lies ahead. ...

The mental health ministry at The Gap Uniting Church in suburban Brisbane has struck a chord with the local community. Dianne Jensen reports. Mental health ministry coordinator Jeannie Ballantyne knows first-hand the impact that a small group of like-minded souls can have on their church and community. Jeannie and her colleagues Margaret Shield and Barbara Waltisbuhl have seen the ministry ...