Tag Archives: SPRING2019

I recently caught up with the first and second seasons of the Netflix series Last Chance U which follows a group of young men in Mississippi struggling to ignite their football (what we would know as “gridiron”) career by attending a community college. Their hope is that they will impress scouts to get picked up by a prestigious university football ...

On John Calvin’s Institutes Marilynne Robinson (the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gilead) reflects deeply on John Calvin in her 1998 book of essays The Death of Adam, specifically on how no one reads what Calvin himself wrote but instead read learned-looking books which do not “include a single work of his immense corpus in their bibliographies, nor indicate in ...

World-renowned religious author Karen Armstrong explores the value of scripture in an increasingly secularised world and ponders whether we’ve lost our ability to engage with faith texts as spiritual tools rather than binding rules. Nick Mattiske reviews. Karen Armstrong’s epic study of the way scripture developed in the religious traditions of Europe, the Middle East and Asia begins back in ...

Rev Dona Spencer was born in and grew up in Atherton, far north Queensland, where colour, texture and pattern feature strongly in the local tropical/farming landscape. She is the minister at Kenmore Uniting Church, Bremer Presbytery. Which artwork do you consider to be your most significant? A piece of work which has come to be of meaning and significance is ...

The Synod Standing Committee has appointed Dr Paul Jones as the new Director of Education Ministry and Principal of Trinity College Queensland.  James O’Callaghan finds out what has led Paul to where he is today, and his vision for Trinity College Queensland. When Paul Jones was doing his undergraduate studies, the vice principal of his college pulled him aside and ...

Meet Rev Andrew Gunton, who was named moderator-elect at the 34th Queensland Synod and will be inducted as moderator next year at the 35th Synod. Dianne Jensen reports. Moderator-Elect Rev Andrew Gunton is already a familiar face to Uniting Church members in regional and south east Queensland. Since his ordination in 2002 Andrew has served in ministerial placements in Rockhampton ...

While great strides have been made to address the global issue of gender inequality and gender-based violence, there is still much progress to be made, particularly in some Pacific nations where domestic violence, sexual assault and discrimination is rife. Cath Taylor reports on the issue and how the Uniting Church is helping Pacific churches to empower women and make change ...

Congregational partnerships with UnitingCare are opening opportunities to meet needs and to be known as good news people. To share in relationships and purposes of service brings life to struggling communities, to individuals and families. In this edition of Journey I highlight what began with a contact, which grew into a connection, which is helping to build community between two ...

Over the course of 2019, I want to unpack a simple mission framework in this column. The framework is represented by four words: Know, Notice, Discern, Act. Having begun with exploring the “Know” and “Notice”, let’s move on this issue to consider the third: Discern. I love the notion of wondering. Wondering what’s going on in the world we live ...

Journey jacket Our readers must have all seen the recent dust jacket or wrap-around cover enclosing the Winter edition of Journey—a unique way to launch the Queensland Synod’s Presbytery Mission Program. This jacket is a key takeaway long after the magazine is read, to get a sense of the body of mission that we wish to make possible via our ...