Tag Archives: July2017

I recently watched the classic 1962 film Birdman of Alcatraz starring Burt Lancaster and it’s impossible to finish without contemplating the nature of revenge and rehabilitation. For those unfamiliar with the real-life story of the Birdman, Robert Stroud was an American murderer who escaped the executioner’s noose but had his sentence commuted to life in solitary confinement. There, he began ...

Looking for contemporary Christian music that everyone can sing to inspire your worship? Journey suggests five modern worship songs that will get your foot tapping and your heart pumping. “Hootenanny” by Tim Neufeld and the Glory Boys (2016) Saddened that worship music is generally bereft of banjos? Then Tim Neufeld and the Glory Boys are for you! The multi-award winning ...

As the Uniting Church celebrates 40 years, we recall the legacy of love and respect between the Fijian church and the Australian missionaries who served there. Dianne Jensen reports. Viti Packer’s room at Parkview—Wesley Mission Queensland’s Wheller Gardens aged-care community in Brisbane—is a cheerful space full of family photos from across the generations. For 93-year-old Viti and her sisters (Bethe) ...

The news can seem awash with story after story of terrorism and warfare but how can today’s Christians respond to the carnage in the spirit of Jesus’ teachings and other passages in the Bible? Rev Dr Peter Hobson explores how the church and its followers can respond to violence and terror. In the years that have passed since the September ...

Correctional centres aren’t exactly the first place in which most people would want to volunteer but for volunteer chaplain Fotuika Ruiz it’s a place where she feels called to serve. Ben Tupou reports. The last line of the service promise for UnitingCare Community Prison Ministry reads, “Our strength, our resources, our blessings and our growth are all found in Him”. ...

St Petersburg in Russia has seen thousands protesting against the return of the Cathedral of St Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) since January this year. How much influence does the church now have in modern Russia and how much do we really know about its leader, Patriarch Kirill? John Harrison investigates. St Isaac’s Cathedral is the largest Orthodox ...

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Uniting Church, we also celebrate the many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities with whom we have united on the way. Ben Tupou was at Sunnybank Uniting Church in Brisbane to witness the welcoming of a Cook Island community into this vibrant cross-cultural church. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and ...

As the conflict continues to unfold in northern Iraq, volunteers are at the heart of the humanitarian services delivering aid. Dianne Jensen talks to members of Operation Hope, a group of Uniting Church people bringing hope to shattered lives. Monday: I worked in a small container today just inside the entrance to the U2 camp … Three doctors, three interpreters, ...

Uniting Church Foundation Indigenous Learning Pathways grants have helped six Indigenous secondary students to pursue their dreams. Journey reports. Year 11 Indigenous students Bailey of Unity College, Caloundra and Maci of Sunshine Coast Grammar School have been awarded Uniting Church Foundation Indigenous Learning Pathways grants in association with the Schools Commission. The grants were awarded in May 2017 in the ...

When young people from the country get together to do everything from abseiling to bread making to learning about God, mad things happen. Steve Molkentin reports on Country Madness. Challenge, community and commitment were on the agenda for the more than 50 young people and their leaders who gathered at Seaforth Pines Outdoor Education and Conference Centre north of Mackay ...