Tag Archives: WINTER2018

Youth worker, Christian educator, academic, theologian, social worker, counsellor and Moderator: Dr Deidre Palmer has held many roles throughout her life but she will soon add “Uniting Church President” to the list when members of the 15th Assembly meet in July. Matt Pulford profiles our next president. Dr Deidre Palmer chooses her words carefully when asked about her call to ...

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. ...

Tea roses in her wedding bouquet, washing and curling her hair in rags on Saturday night, and going to the Methodist Temperance Hall on Sundays. Gertrude (Gertie) Booth, who will turn 107 on 14 June, has clear memories from times long gone. Dianne Jensen reports. The diminutive and chatty Gertie Booth, born in 1911, attends Elanora Uniting Church on the ...

The 14th President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan has urged church members to address the “unfinished business” of sovereignty and treaty for First Peoples in his final national message. Matt Pulford reports. “I started my presidency with the Yolŋu words Bala limurr roŋyirr ŋorraŋgitjlil—‘Let us return to the white ashes of the fire’,” said Stuart. “It was ...

Dianne Jensen talks to Levon Kardashian, the new Multicultural Project Officer for the Presbytery of South Moreton. Levon Kardashian understands the power of cultural roots and family ties. The new Multicultural Project Officer for the Presbytery of South Moreton is an Armenian Christian born in Lebanon to an Armenian father from Lebanon and an Armenian mother from Syria, and the ...

St Andrew’s, Yeppoon uses the power of song to bring joy to people living with life-limiting conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Dianne Jensen reports. The familiar music cuts through the fog of dementia, nudging at long-lost memories. For the first time in many years, the elderly man slipped his arms around his wife and they began to dance. ...

When they needed a church home, the Uniting Church congregation at Highfields outside Toowoomba decided to create a community hub. James O’Callaghan reports. Highfields Community Church has redeveloped a bowling club into a community centre in the heart of Highfields, a growing community near Toowoomba. Rev Marius Kruger says it was growth that prompted the need for the new space, ...

A range of green initiatives by Bulimba Uniting Church is fully expressing the Christian call to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation and provide sustainable stewardship of earthly resources. Journey reports. What started with a small solar panel in 2012 has blossomed into a full suite of “Green Church” policies at Bulimba Uniting Church as the congregation continues to seek ...

I had my third visit to Cape York in April for the funeral of Rev Silas Wombly of Aurukun. Silas was a clan leader and a Uniting Church minister. Being raised at the mission, he worked as a stockman in the Gulf country before heading back to work for Comalco. He left for Nungalinya College in Darwin, and returned as ...