During my research for our February 2017 edition feature article on the origins of the Uniting Church, it was soon apparent there was an alarming dearth of photographs and video footage of the 1977 celebrations which took place in Queensland. There were a few grainy black-and-white stills of the Milton tennis courts celebration we located in the State Library’s microfilm ...
Read More »Tag Archives: May2017
Presbytery ministers fit and fired up
A gathering of presbytery and Assembly leaders from across the country left participants energised for the future of the Uniting Church. Mardi Lumsden reports. “Forty: fit and fired up” was the theme of the biennial national Uniting Church presbytery ministers’ gathering held over three days in Brisbane in April, which brought together around 50 presbytery ministers and people involved in ...
Read More »Saving the past for the future
A 40th birthday is a time for getting out the family photos and telling stories. Dianne Jensen explores why preserving our church history is vital to the future of the Uniting Church in Australia. There’s treasure to be found in the nooks and crannies of our churches. Scrapbooks from the Great War, photographs of the church that was sold before ...
Read More »Book review: Dear Life
Karen Hitchcock’s Dear Life is a compelling and troubling exploration of Australia’s ageism problem and how our society must deal with issues around end-of-life care and the complex needs of an ageing population. Nick Mattiske reviews. In the Bible and in traditional cultures there is a reverence for the wisdom that old age brings, but in our society increasing numbers ...
Read More »The Big Questions: “Converting the heathen”
It may have been a common phrase in days gone by but talk of “converting the heathen” is now loaded with problematic connotations in a world scarred by western cultural hegemony and interfaith insensitivity. Who is left to convert today and should we be active in that mission? Duncan Barlow, pastor at Toowong Uniting Church who served in Indonesia for ...
Read More »A new dawn arises
As the Uniting Church celebrates its 40th birthday the question of who will lead the church in the decades ahead has become increasingly urgent. Journey reports on the Next Gen Arise initiative, which may just hold the answer. It’s Saturday afternoon at Kangaroo Point Uniting Church, and inside the talk is of faith and leadership as Mike Hands from Newlife ...
Read More »True faith on display at Easter Madness
What do you get when you add over 170 energy-filled young people with games, worship and minimal sleep? The answer is Easter Madness 2017. Ben Tupou reports. A week before Easter, young people from across the state gathered at the Sunshine Coast Recreational Centre to worship, express their creativity, and learn more about God and faith in today’s society. An ...
Read More »The Referendum and today’s reality
On 27 May 1967, Australia approved two amendments to the Constitution relating to the ability of the Federal Parliament to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians and for their inclusion in determinations of population. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Referendum, Brooke Prentis reflects on the historic occasion and what it means for First Peoples today. The 50th anniversary of ...
Read More »Grace in troubled times
In the past few weeks, I’ve had a couple of encounters that once again reminded me of the grace that surrounds us and how that grace can play out in our lives. I was reflecting with a minister on a congregation he was in that was tremendously generous in many ways. When he asked one lay leader why he was ...
Read More »Letters May 2017
Forgotten or neglected? I noted with interest your heading “5 Forgotten hymns” on page 18 of the April edition of Journey. I believe that the heading should have been “5 Neglected hymns”. A hymn which should have been included is “Low in the grave He lay” (Methodist Hymn Book 211). My opinion is that no Easter celebration without this hymn ...
Read More »