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Tag Archives: Uniting Church in Australia

Let’s not divorce over marriage

A couple's hand over newly signed marriage papers. Photo by Kait Barker.

In the midst of the Uniting Church Assembly’s consultation on marriage, Central Queensland Presbytery Minister Rev Brian Gilbert encourages the Uniting Church to pursue unity in Christ, even amongst differences. My wife Margaret and I have been married for over 36 years. In that time we have always agreed on everything—we live in perfect peace and harmony. Actually, this is ...

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Kids in detention: good first step

Children of all ages are still held on Nauru. This photo is of the facilities. Photo credit to the Department of Immigration and Boarder Protection.

While asylum seeker advocates are celebrating the announcement that some children and their families will be released from detention, they warn that there is still much to do. Dianne Jensen reports. The Uniting Church in Australia has welcomed an announcement by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison that some children in detention will be released into the ...

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August Journey now available

The August edition of Journey magazine is now available in PDF. You can download this edition and all previous editions back to 2005 on the download page. Invest for others When I lived on Iona in Scotland, I heard a very interesting interpretation of the Parable of the Talents, the story Jesus tells about a master entrusting three of his ...

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Mixing money and morals

Uniting Church Queensland Synod Moderator Rev Kaye Ronalds

The first cash I remember earning was the money we earned as children by picking ginger on the neighbour’s farm. It involved sitting all day in the sun snapping off the green stalks and the ropey roots from the tuber. By the end of the week we had some money that we could use any way we chose. It seemed ...

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Australia loses credible climate voice

Coal-fired power plant with snoke. Photo by iStock

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 ...

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Peculiar things we do: Conferences

UnitingWomen conference promotional poster, featuring woman of varying cultures laughing and interacting. Photo was supplied..

Why travel to Sydney when you can watch a webinar? Ashley Thompson explores. In Australia, many Christians wait in anticipation for annual gatherings. We go to great lengths, spending precious leave and flying interstate to listen to keynote speakers whose content is often easily accessible online or in their latest book. We attend conferences for a variety of reasons, such ...

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Together on the way

Uniting Church Queensland Synod Moderator Rev Kaye Ronalds

July is a month when lots of sport happens—rugby league, World Cup soccer and the Commonwealth Games. At our house we will be watching the classic three week cycling event, the Tour de France. People draw life lessons from sport and at times it provides some metaphors for life in the church. The apostle Paul wrote about running the race ...

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Never give up

(from left to right) Dave Andrews, Christian community worker and social activist; Sue Hutchinson, Research Officer for the Queensland Synod; Rev Dr Charles Ringma, writer, academic, and founder of Teen Challenge. Photos taken by Holly Jewell. And Lin Hatfield Dodds, National Director of UnitingCare Australia. Photo was supplied.

Dianne Jensen talks to Dave Andrews, Charles Ringma, Lin Hatfield Dodds and Sue Hutchinson about why they keep working for social transformation. “Many people start out with the fire in their belly to set the world alight when they are young; but very few people still have the fire in their belly when they are old,” says Dave Andrews. The ...

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Number crunch: Does the Uniting Church have a future?

2013 Uniting Church census data displayed in an infographic format.

Data from the 2013 census of the Uniting Church in Australia has been released just in time for its 37th anniversary. It reveals an organisation facing some tough decisions. Dianne Jensen reports. Thirty-seven years down the track, Australia’s first home-grown church is facing a mid-life crisis familiar to any adult wondering where the kids have gone and what lies ahead. ...

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Budget challenges most vulnerable

UnitingCare Australia National Director Lin Hatfield Dodds interviewed by the media. Photo taken by UnitingCare.

The 2014 Budget was a major concern for the Uniting Church and its agencies. Mardi Lumsden reports. The federal government’s 2014 Budget was met with frustration and concern by many different parts of the Uniting Church in Australia in May. Uniting Church President Rev Dr Andrew Dutney said the church’s main concern is how Australia’s most vulnerable are affected by ...

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