Tag Archives: SUMMER2019

Simon Gomersall—Director of Activate (Gap Year Program) at Trinity College Queensland—sat down with students towards the end of the year-long program to reflect on their experiences. Activate is for people between 18 and 30 years who want to study theology and apply their learning in real-world contexts. Students complete a Diploma of Ministry, undertake numerous life-skill programs, develop ministry skills ...

Faith Works Uniting Community in Brisbane member Professor Ranjeny Thomas, Arthritis Queensland Professor of Rheumatology and Head, Immunology Programme at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, talks about work, worship and women in leadership. What drew you to the field of immunology? I am a clinical rheumatologist and I have always been fascinated to uncover how life-changing autoimmune diseases like ...

In 1402 Jan Hus was appointed preacher to the University Chapel of Bethlehem (in Prague, a city in Bohemia) which had been founded 10 years previously as a centre for preaching in the native language (as opposed to the previous ecclesial practice of conducting services only in Latin). Week by week, Hus thundered away in the pulpit against the corruption of the clergy, ...

Queensland Synod General Secretary Rev Heather den Houting reflects on the devastating consequences of climate change for those in the Asia-Pacific and her experience at the 2019 UnitingWorld conference in Bali where climate justice was a key topic. I wonder why we don’t listen to our Asia-Pacific partners more closely when it comes to issues around climate change? We know ...

Leaving a legacy Some of us might shy away from thinking about leaving a legacy as it makes us think about death. But legacy is really about life and living. Thinking about our legacy helps us decide the kind of life we want to live and the kind of world we want to live in. A dictionary would define a ...

UnitingWorld’s Cath Taylor reflects on expectations and transformations over the Christmas period and how the journey towards positive change is life-long, relational and hard won. There’s an assumption about “poor people” that gets splashed around this time of year, when many of us are celebrating and feeling a tad guilty about it. It shows up in the face of the ...

Is faith fervour? Or a holding on in the company of doubt? Two rather different novels explore what it means to live out faith in the world. Nick Mattiske reviews. Little Faith is set in what has been called “flyover country”, that neglected part of America, midwest small towns where there is a different pace, where there is more contact ...

Having recently welcomed a new addition to our family, the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane became a temporary home away from home in October as my newborn acclimatised to his new world. Given some of the team at the Wesley read this magazine hopefully they’ll see this message: a big thank you to all the team for their care, expertise and ...

The Christmas Bowl has been a Christmas tradition for Australian churches for seven decades, a reminder that Christians can change the world when we act together for peace. Journey reports. It’s been 70 years since Rev Frank Byatt placed an empty bowl on the Christmas dinner table, asking his congregation to support refugees in war-ravaged Europe by making “a generous ...

The Hatton Vale Happy Crafters at Hatton Vale Community Uniting Church are using their creativity to serve others and model the love of God. Dianne Jensen reports. The busy parking lot at Hatton Vale Community Uniting Church is the first indication that the Hatton Vale Happy Crafters are both happy and thriving. Inside, there’s a buzz of conversation and the ...