Month: February 2016

A lesson in fruitfulness for Candidates for Ministry

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 29, 2016

The service for the commencement of the academic year for candidates for ministry at Perth Theological Hall was held at Uniting Church in the City, Wesley last Thursday 25 February.

The intimate service began with Rev Craig Collas acknowledging the Nyungar heritage of the land on which the service was held, followed by a call to worship from Psalm 63 and the voices of the attendees rising in worship through the historic rafters of Wesley Church.

After the singing of worship and a prayer of praise and confession, the candidates were brought forward to be prayed for by Craig and Rev Prof Bill Loader. The candidates present were Justine Wall, Paul Montague, Sophie Lizares-Bodegon and Judy Sanderson; Reuben Edmonds joined the candidates on stage for prayer as he enters his period of discernment.

Tags Training

Stories & Feature Articles

Why I’m chuffed our daughters are still part of church – and why we haven’t invited you to come

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 29, 2016

If you ask my youngest daughter why she goes to church, up until pretty recently morning tea will have figured high on the list. Memorable moment – our three year old clinking communion glasses with her father and declaring loudly: “Cheers.”

My eldest daughter would probably tell you she goes because her two best friends from primary school are there, along with a couple of uni students she gets along with particularly well. The seven or eight of them sit out the back most Sundays and have a good old convo about everything from feminism to asylum seekers to human rights and whether the Bible even matters. (They have mixed feelings on this, I’d say. From those who can quote the Scriptures and read it every morning to those who are indignant about quite a lot of it, they feel safe to speak up. They know one another well enough to argue. Sometimes hotly.)

So what is this thing we’ve got them mixed up in? Picton Uniting Church is possibly a bit different to churches as you’ve known or grown with them. Not on the outside – it’s pretty bog standard there – and for an hour on a Sunday morning, it probably seems pretty typically ‘church’ on the inside too. People sit in rows, there’s singing, someone talks about something after bits are read out of the Bible, we pray, we collect some money, we pray a bit more, we head out the back for a cuppa. If you’ve suffered through a church service before, no surprises there.

Tags Youth

Stories & Feature Articles

Church partnerships making a difference in Fiji

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 27, 2016

My husband, John, and I recently went to Fiji to see the partnership at work between the Uniting Church in Australia – through UnitingWorld – and the Methodist Church in Fiji. We travelled with two families from NSW; making a party of 12, with six adults and six young people aged between 12–19. We were very ably led by our team Leader, Megan Calcaterra, UnitingWorld’s projects and administration officer.

Whilst there we met with the president of the Methodist Church of Fiji, Rev Dr Tevita Banivanua and the general secretary, Rev Epineri Vakadenavosa, who spoke about the new changes and challenges within Fiji. The church has a new Constitution, and a new Code of Conduct to be implemented in 2016, and the changes to the logo are more in keeping with their ‘New Exodus’ theme as they move forward.

Due to the disruptions of Military Coups, there were no Conferences – their annual gatherings – allowed to be held in 2009, 2010 or 2011. Succeeding Conferences were of shortened duration, but now with a more stable Government, there is a strong emphasis on appropriate change as they look to the future. There is also a conscious effort to increase the involvement and training of women for and in ministry.

At Davuilevu Theological College we met the principal, Rev Anil Reuben, who is the first Fijian of Indian decent to be elected to that position. The college has one Bachelor of Divinity class and three Diploma of Theology classes and we were told that they can only take 25 new students each year, sometimes from 200 applicants.

Tags Faith In Action, International

News & Announcements

Support for Fiji

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 25, 2016

UnitingWorld have launched an emergency appeal to support the people of Fiji following Cyclone Winston.

Over 40 people have lost their lives in the devastation, a number which is expected to rise as the clean-up continues. The Methodist Church in Fiji, a partner church of the Uniting Church in Australia, has reported that thousands of homes have been destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of people in immediate need of food, shelter and clothing.

UnitingWorld are asking that Australians keep the people of Fiji in their thoughts and prayers as they begin to respond to the crisis. Donations to the UnitingWorld appeal will be used to support the work of the Methodist Church in Fiji as they provide assistance to those affected.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed its concern and extended prayers to the people of Fiji. Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC has also written to the Fiji Council of Churches, offering prayers and encouragement to the local churches to be a voice of hope for those who are in pain.

For regular updates and to donate, visit http://www.unitingworld.org.au/announcements/unitingworld-launches-emergency-appeal-to-support-the-people-of-fiji-following-cyclone-winston/.

Tags A Helping Hand, Disaster Relief, International

News & Announcements

Rowethorpe gives thanks

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 20, 2016

Over 40 members of Rowethorpe Uniting Church joyfully celebrated the gifts of God at our recent Harvest Thanksgiving Service. A long table had been set-up in the centre of the Chapel, and people acknowledged their thanks to God by placing items on the table and speaking about the influence their gift had on their lives. Items included hand-painted pictures and craft work, a quantity of wool and knitting, kitchen and garden utensils, music books, building equipment and tools, a mobile phone, a box of used stamps, and a model of a London bus representing public transport.

At the front of the table was placed a large basket of contributed non-perishable food, which was later delivered to UnitingCare West. After sighting a large bowl of fruit and vegetables, we heard a short but compelling sermon on a biblical Harvest offering (Deut. 26: 1-11) by our minister, Rev Dr Alison Longworth.

Tags Church and Community

News & Announcements

Remembering another St Andrew’s story

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 18, 2016

A late winter storm did not deter an enthusiastic crowd from gathering in the St Andrews Presbyterian Hall in Pier St, Perth in August 1910. The occasion was the first anniversary of the Dulhi Gunyah Orphanage and the minister, Rev Adolphus Summer Cloud James, was among the speakers.

The Dulhi Gunyah Orphanage had been established in East Perth in 1909 by the Australian Aborigines’ Mission (AAM), a non-denominational faith mission based in New South Wales.

Mary Fox Angelo was the first secretary of the local committee. Mary was the widow of Colonel Edward Fox Angelo, one of the first trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia. Perhaps it was her Presbyterian connection that led to the St Andrews Church Hall being the location for every Dulhi Gunyah anniversary service.

The Australian Aborigines’ Mission initially planned to work in the north of Western Australia. The committee altered its plans at the suggestion of Chief Protector Gale and agreed to provide accommodation for Aboriginal children of mixed descent. In 1911, a property of approximately 12 acres, with a weatherboard cottage, was purchased in Victoria Park and Dulhi Gunyah relocated to the more suitable site.

Tags First Peoples

News & Announcements

NYALC recharging young leaders

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 15, 2016

The National Young Adult Leaders’ Conference (NYALC) is an opportunity for young adults within the Uniting Church to grow in faith and develop their skills as leaders in the church and the community. The fourth NYALC will take place on the Gold Coast from 8–13 July this year.

Tom Kerr is the national faith development consultant (youth and young adults) for the Uniting Church in Australia. He explains that NYALC is an opportunity for young adults to recharge and connect with other young leaders around the country.

“The conference provides experiential learning, skill development and underpinning leadership knowledge to extend the participants leadership abilities,” Tom said. “Through living in community with many different cultures, cultural sensitivity and intercultural competence is strengthened. Networks are developed and productive new relationships are formed.”

Tags Youth

Stories & Feature Articles

Moderator’s column: Seeking to live in harmony

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 14, 2016

How easy are you to live with? How often do you disagree with someone? Have you ever felt frustrated that some people’s views, opinions, lifestyles or values are very different to your own?

German philosopher, Schopenhauer, once said that human beings are like porcupines on a winter’s night. They draw close together only to find that in the process of unity they end up moving apart and hurting or needling each other.

Living together harmoniously is one of life’s great challenges. Ask a parent of a teenager or a teenager with a parent. Ask a mother with a two-year-old or the chairperson of a church council.

We humans are a complex and paradoxical bunch. We are made in the image of God, how glorious is that, and yet we are fragile and broken beings, with a tendency towards self-interest, the enemy of harmony. We may hold strong convictions about what is right and wrong; yet in doing so we can see our own view of the world with 20/20 vision while suffering from blind spots when trying to see another’s viewpoint.

Tags Theology and Spiritual Reflections