Tag Archives: Queensland Synod

 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 ...

While the massive clean-up after Cyclone Debbie and the associated record-breaking floods is well underway, it will take some months to count the real cost to the community. Journey reports on how the Uniting Church is supporting those impacted into the future. Farmers, business owners and householders in north and central Queensland and northern New South Wales are still reeling ...

One of British pop band Pulp’s biggest hits, “Help the Aged”, contains the lines, “Help the aged, ‘cos one day you’ll be older too, you might need someone who can pull you through”. Those words eerily played out in my head as I researched how the federal government’s proposed cuts to aged care health services (page 6) will have devastating ...

It will take a leap of faith for our churches to grow. That’s the message from the inaugural Uniting Leaders conference held at the end of August at Newlife Uniting Church, Robina. Dianne Jensen reports. Lay and ordained leaders across the generations were encouraged to step up and out into new models of leadership at the three-day Uniting Leaders conference ...

In the July 2016 edition of Journey, we explored the issue of religious instruction (RI) taught in Queensland state primary schools. It was a hot-topic following various media reports on RI and a school principal suspending the program at a Brisbane state school. A state government review into the management of RI in state schools and the Connect RI curriculum ...

Yesterday 32nd Synod members called Rev Heather den Houting to be the next Queensland Synod general secretary, starting 1 June 2016. Ashley Thompson catches up with Heather to uncover the personality behind the profession. Ashley: What is your passion? Heather: My passion is people, especially people in Christ. I am always deeply delighted by the capacity and resilience of those who ...

This month’s 32nd Synod in Session offers a wealth of activities to inspire and enjoy. Journey suggests seven great things to look out for. Unchained Ever had a risky or dangerous idea for our church that you weren’t quite brave enough to name? Unchained is a festival where some of those dangerous ideas will be set free. Listen and share ...

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 ...

Every young person reaches the point where they decide to sign up to their faith community or to drift away. Dianne Jensen talks to Heather Watson, former chair of UnitingCare Queensland, whose service to the church was shaped by the opportunities she received as a young Christian. Heather Watson has a clear recollection of when she made a personal faith ...

A grand old house located at the Uniting Church Centre in Brisbane has undergone a transformation into the Wesley Hospital’s new Choices cancer support and wellness centre. Dianne Jensen reports. The massive front door is open for visitors at the heritage-listed brick residence at the heart of the Queensland Synod office and Raymont Residential College in Auchenflower, Brisbane. Drysllwyn, built ...