Playgroups are an opportunity for churches of all sizes across Queensland to connect with young families. Redcliffe Uniting Church, which has a 40-year history of running playgroups, currently hosts groups Monday to Friday during the school term with around 100 families attending. Journey asked Pastor Rebecca Clark, Children and Families Coordinator, about this thriving ministry. How does playgroup fit into ...
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Kick-starting kids’ ministry
Churches across Queensland are stepping out in faith to explore innovative ways to connect with local communities and to nurture children and families. Dianne Jensen reports. Children’s pictures of Jesus usually depict him as smiling, with arms outstretched. Their bright daubs capture a child-like wonder at the divine, a reassurance that faith will be passed on to the next generation. ...
Read More »Fostering family fun at Stanthorpe
Sometimes little acts of hospitality go a long way to strengthening the community. Ashley Thompson talks to Granite Belt Uniting Church minister Rev Kaye Ronalds and Stanthorpe Uniting Church member Jean Pyle about their efforts to reach out to young families. Since Easter last year, the Stanthorpe congregation has been providing weekly hospitality to the parents and siblings of young ...
Read More »Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
Sunday-best clothes, church, roast lunches and lazy afternoons are Sunday memories for many older Christians. Dianne Jensen explores whatever happened to the Sabbath. For most Australians, the measured pace of Sunday has given way to the frenetic demand for unlimited access to entertainment, sport and commercial services. We are willing participants, giving way to the insidious tug to constantly check ...
Read More »Redcliffe parents welcomed to the jungle
Redcliffe parents were recently treated to a Parenting Breakfast talk by renowned Australian child and family psychologist and author Dr Brenda Heyworth, as part of the Building Strong Families partnership program between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church. Journey previously reported on Building Strong Families—which brought Bob the Builder to Redcliffe to celebrate the launch—in its July edition. Now with the ...
Read More »Stronger support for families? Yes, we can!
A partnership launch between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church brought a children’s favourite to town. Journey reports on the event and what’s in store for the community’s families. Bob the Builder, the beloved children’s television icon, recently came to Redcliffe to help launch the Building Strong Families partnership-program between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church. The event attracted hundreds ...
Read More »Christ in the classroom
Each week hundreds of Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim volunteers provide religious instruction to students in Queensland state primary schools. Should objections to one particular program lead to unprecedented intervention from Education Queensland? Mardi Lumsden explores. In early June, religious instruction (RI) at Windsor State School in Brisbane’s north was suspended for the third time since 2014. Principal Matthew ...
Read More »Juggling for wells
Redcliffe Uniting Church’s Conor Kikkert can juggle in one hand while solving a Rubik’s Cube in the other; but it’s not this talent alone that has garnered him national media attention. Ashley Thompson writes. You may have been surprised last November to find Conor, a conscientious and unassuming 12-year-old, busking at the Redcliffe markets and outside his school, The Lakes ...
Read More »Generosity meets mission
The call for humans to care for creation—to be good stewards—goes back to Adam and Eve. As the Queensland Synod marks Stewardship Sunday (5 October), Mardi Lumsden explores how the modern church is living generously. So often, the word stewardship is underpinned by the need to fix the church roof or upgrade technology. Queensland Synod Moderator-elect Rev David Baker says ...
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