It’s much easier to be a young person in a church full of other young people, and it’s no secret that some Uniting Church members are gravitating to younger, cooler denominations—or leaving church altogether. Rohan Salmond talks to some young people who have made the choice to stick around. It’s a statistical oddity that one of Australia’s youngest denominations—the Uniting ...
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Big hero, big heart
For a movie about a 14-year-old genius and his inflatable robot nurse, it’s a little surprising that Big Hero 6 is mostly about death and revenge. Big Hero 6 is an impressive achievement for Disney. It’s common to find animated children’s movies blending kid-friendly slapstick humour with more sophisticated jokes for parents, but Big Hero 6 goes further, exploring hard, ...
Read More »Maleny branches out with Christmas tree festival
Traditional Christmas celebrations complete with nativity scenes and religious carols might be too much for people used to an increasingly-secular Christmas, so Maleny Uniting Church is using the humble Christmas tree to bridge the gap between church and the wider community. Rohan Salmond reports. Christmas time is a great opportunity to share the love and hope of Jesus with people ...
Read More »Ring in the changes
After a career in media Phil Smith has found himself lay pastor to a kind of faith community not often found in the Uniting Church. Rohan Salmond talks to him about faith, ecumenism and the future of church. “I have just turned 53 and really would not have expected to be in this activity in this season of my life,” ...
Read More »Love your neighbour
Since the activities of the so-called Islamic State have made the news, anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia has been at an all-time high. Rohan Salmond speaks to some interfaith activists working to build understanding across religious lines. A black silhouette wielding a knife stands over a man kneeling in an orange jumpsuit. It’s an image so powerful it has reached around ...
Read More »Boyhood grows and grows
Filmed with the same cast over a period of 12 years, it’s clear Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is angling to be the greatest coming-of-age movie of all time. At the start of the film Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is a cherub-faced six-year-old. Then, over nearly three hours he grows into an 18-year-old college student. Mason’s path to adulthood is not easy. His ...
Read More »Discovering Doctor DD
Servant leadership rooted in love for the other can make a radical difference. Rohan Salmond spoke to Mudgeeraba Uniting Church member Dr Dayalan Devanesen AM about loving action, bicultural healthcare and community empowerment. Dr Dayalan Devanesen AM began his medical career with a blessing. “When I was 12 I happened to meet Dr Ida Scudder, who founded Christian Medical College, ...
Read More »Australia loses credible climate voice
The repeal of the carbon tax will reportedly reduce household electricity bills by up to 50c per day, but is the long-term cost worth it? Rohan Salmond reports. Bucking global trends, Australia became the first nation to repeal its carbon price legislation when bills cleared the Senate in July. In a joint media release, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Minister ...
Read More »Imagine me complexly: John Green
Following John Green’s inclusion in this year’s Time 100 and the adaptation of his latest novel into a blockbuster movie, Rohan Salmond talks to him about church, community, teenagers and the universe that wants to be noticed. There are thousands of John Greens in the world, including lawyers, teachers, politicians and even a Bigfoot expert. But John Green the novelist ...
Read More »Church questions Cambodia “solution”
Ahead of Refugee Week, Sue Hutchinson and Rohan Salmond examine the federal government’s pursuit of a regional solution in asylum seeker policy. The federal government renewed its commitment to offshore processing of asylum seekers in the 2014 Budget with the closure of six onshore detention centres. The government is also in talks with Cambodia to resettle an as yet unknown ...
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