Tag Archives: Moderator’s message

For anyone interested in the wider world, the windows we have to it each has its own perspectives. In terms of the mass media, the press and TV and radio channels all bring their own proclivities to their choices not only of what we see and hear, but their interpretations of what it means. The narrower, pervasive views that are ...

A big thank you to all those who participated in the 32nd Synod. One of the things you learn when being a follower of Jesus is the capacity to be surprised. So when about 120 people gathered during Synod to talk about contemplative prayer with Dr Neil Preston, who delivered the Norman and Mary Millar lecture, I was a bit ...

Later this month some 350 people of the Uniting Church in this state will gather at Alexandra Park Conference Centre for the 32nd Synod in Session. The word “synod” comes from the Greek language: “syn”, meaning together, and “hodos”, meaning a way, a road. So a synod really is about “together on the way”. Archbishop Mark Coleridge, in talking about ...

“Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12 “Pioneer” is a bit of an ambivalent descriptor these days. As a nation, we still have not come to terms with the British Empire’s arrival, even though the intent at first was probably just to find a place to dump cast-offs from society and develop a base to ...

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 If there’s one word that encapsulates the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, it is, for me, the word “solidarity”. The seasons of this time in the Christian year emphasise solidarity: Christmas, the season of “Emmanuel”—God with us; Epiphany, ...

Greetings for the new year; I trust and pray that you will know God’s leading and blessing in it. There are some articles on leadership in this month’s Journey. Leadership is one of those constant, big buzzwords. It seems, in the West, everyone is crying out for it, yet those who are in positions of authority across many of the ...

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on Earth? “We are as guarded and concerned about our place here as we ever have been. Some in our community are not sure if we’re welcome,” says a Queensland Muslim leader. “We are reaching out to our young men who are vulnerable —without work, from broken homes, seeking to ...

“Preparation for married life begins the day you are born.” It was one of those new thoughts that made such common sense that as a 34-year-old, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before. I still remember the time and place it was said 23 years later! We learn what married life is about by observing and modelling. The ...

For about a year, when I was a young bloke, a mate and I used to go to King George Square once a week on a Tuesday, walk up to people having their lunch break, and ask them, “If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?”  This was seen in my circles at the time to be ...

The last two editions of Journey have elicited comment regarding the May edition cover, and articles and letters about same-gender marriage, homosexual orientation and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The Uniting Church, through its Basis of Union, commits itself to be a church open to the world, in the light of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, as attested ...