Month: March 2015

Compassion for refugees well overdue

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 30, 2015

Hundreds of people turned out in Perth for the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees on Sunday 29 March. The crowd gathered at St George’s Cathedral in Perth before peacefully marching through the CBD calling for humane policies for asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. The event was organised by the Perth Justice4Refugees network, comprised of more than 20 community groups and churches.

Tim Winton, multi-award winning West Australian author spoke powerful words to the crowd.

“We’re here to call a spade a spade, to declare that what has become political common sense in Australia over the past 15 years is actually nonsense. And not just harmless nonsense; it’s vicious, despicable nonsense. For something foul is festering in the heart of our community, something shameful and rotten,” he said.

“If current refugee policy is common sense, then I refuse to accept it. I dissent. And many of my countrymen and women dissent alongside me. I don’t pretend to have a geopolitical answer to the worldwide problem of asylum seekers. Fifty million people are currently displaced by war and famine and persecution. I don’t envy those who make the decisions in these matters, those who’ve sought and gained the power to make decisions in this matter. I’m no expert, no politician. But I know when something’s wrong. And what my country is doing is wrong.

Tags Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Social Justice

Stories & Feature Articles

Life Abounding: A reading of John’s Gospel, by Brendan Byrne

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 20, 2015

Brendan Byrne completes his excellent Gospel commentaries with Life Abounding on John. He believes John proclaims a gospel that will lead readers from mere existence to abundant life, enabling the development of a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I find it a joy to read Byrne’s clear and uncluttered style and profound insights simply expressed.

While a commentary, Byrne’s pastoral aim means he does not enter into every academic discussion, preferring to seek theological and spiritual riches in the text. It is both full of depth and accessible. A Melbourne Jesuit, Byrne’s decades-long experience as a New Testament teacher and researcher in the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne is evident.

Tags Books, Films, Art, Awards and Recipes

News & Announcements

Call for a new approach to remote Indigenous communities

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 19, 2015

The Uniting Church in Australia, Western Australia and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress WA (Congress) are deeply troubled by the planned closure of remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. They are concerned about the ramifications this will have on individuals and communities affected and believe it displays a concerning lack of understanding about Aboriginal culture and the rights of Indigenous people.

“We call on the Federal and State Government to reconsider their approach to remote settlements, and engage upon a consultation with remote communities about the best way to deliver services to them,” said Moderator of the Uniting Church, Rev Steve Francis.

“We need to act sensitively with Indigenous people who have suffered so much dispossession and trauma during the history of European settlement of Western Australia. Making decisions to remove services to remote Indigenous settlements could increase the sense of Indigenous dispossession and displacement.”

Tags First Peoples, Remote and rural communities

Stories & Feature Articles

From the Archives: World War I chaplains

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 17, 2015

Throughout 2015, to mark the centenary year of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli, Revive will be publishing a series of articles highlighting the men who provided chaplaincy to those who served in WW1.

Rev Charles Jenkins was born in Maldon Victoria 1869 and arrived in Western Australia in 1896 to become the assistant to the Rev Dr Rowe of the Perth Circuit. On the completion of his term in Perth he moved through the country areas of WA as a much loved pastor to the people.

Charles, a Methodist minister, was commissioned on 20 January 1915 and sailed on the troopship HMAT Itonus doing duty as a transport Chaplain for the voyage only. He returned to Australia three months later.

Tags Archives

Stories & Feature Articles

Tradie volunteers prepare for Outback Links farm revival

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 17, 2015

The farmers of remote Australia need your help. Many are facing their third year of drought.

Without good rainfall, there are no crops or less stock to generate income for farmers. If vital equipment and infrastructure wears out or breaks down, there isn’t the money or means to repair it. It’s part of a downturn on the land that can lead to stress and depression.

Frontier Services, a national agency of the Uniting Church in Australia, has been helping people in remote Australia for more than 100 years. Since 2005, their volunteers’ program ‘Outback Links’ has grown to more than 1,000 volunteers who travel to remote properties to assist families through difficult times.

This April will bring a new development in ‘Outback Links’ when 10 young apprentice tradespeople participate in a 6 day ‘Outback Links’ farm revival in the drought-afflicted region around Lightning Ridge in North-Western NSW. This trip is a follow up from one in November 2014 where volunteers worked on 30 local properties.

Volunteers include plumbers, mechanics, electricians and carpenters. Under the supervision of professional tradespeople and host farmers, they will repair broken equipment like tractors, motor bikes and farm machinery, and rebuild infrastructure like sheds and homes.

Tags Disaster Relief, Remote and rural communities

News & Announcements

National appeal for cyclone affected communities

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 17, 2015

UnitingWorld and the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) have launched a national appeal to support the communities devastated by Tropical Cyclone Pam.

Thousands of people across Vanuatu are homeless after the Category 5 cyclone. The UCA’s partner in Vanuatu, the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu (PCV), is providing much needed shelter with 10 churches set up as evacuation centres. The Cyclone’s 300 km/h gusts of wind wiped out entire villages and an estimated 15,000 homes have been destroyed. At least eight people have lost their lives, with the toll expected to rise. Hospitals, government buildings, shops and hotels were also significantly damaged.

Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Ralph Regenvanu reported from the National Disaster and Management Centre that a state of emergency was declared for Province of Shefa, which includes Port Vila.

“Once aerial assessments are in, the state of emergency will be extended to other provinces, if not the whole country. The total population of Vanuatu is considered to be affected,” said Ralph.

PCV health program co-ordinator Richard Tatwin said Port Vila looked like a “war-zone”.

Tags Disaster Relief

News & Announcements

Building project supports the spirit of giving

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 13, 2015

A generous grant from Lotteries West has helped Pemberton Uniting Church expand their own generous spirit, as they built an extension on their church. The extension will be used to store and pack food parcels for local families doing it tough.

Faye Backhouse, from Pemberton Uniting Church, said that while there is still some minor work to be done, the renovations are a major improvement on what they have been using previously.

“We’ve still got a little bit of painting to do,” she said. “We’ll have a few more busy-bees to finish it off properly.

“All the food is in the new area, it’s out of sight and we’ve got a couple of freezers.”

Tags Church and Community, Remote and rural communities

News & Announcements

President launches National Cyclone Relief Appeal

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 13, 2015

President of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), Rev Prof Andrew Dutney has today launched a national appeal to assist communities hit by cyclones.

Cyclone Lam struck Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory on 20 February causing extensive damage to homes and public buildings. Sixty dwellings were left uninhabitable and there was extensive damage to the natural environment.

On the same day Cyclone Marcia battered the Queensland coast from Yeppoon to Rockhampton. Wind damage caused property and crop losses just before annual harvests with flooding affecting areas as far inland as Biloela.

Currently, there are also cyclones of concern in Queensland and northern Western Australia.

“We are very concerned for the communities affected by these disasters. Please join me in praying for the church in these areas too – for their safety and recovery, and for their service and witness to their neighbours in need after the cyclones,” said Andrew.

“I encourage UCA members wherever they are to do what they can to support our brothers and sisters in this time of need.”

Tags A Helping Hand, Remote and rural communities

News & Announcements

Help is on hand for older residents at home

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 11, 2015

Older people in Perth’s north eastern and Hills suburbs can gain access to care and support designed to maintain their independence and quality of life at home.

Juniper, part of WA’s UnitingCare network, delivers a full range of home care services that can be an effective option for older people who want to live independently at home but may need assistance.

Juniper community executive manager, Daymon Joseph, said the organisation’s care packages are for people aged 65 and over, or 50-plus for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander clients.

“We understand that support in the home may be a new opportunity for some, so our aim is to help people live their life on their terms,” he said.

Tags Ageing and Community