The Messy Church congregation at Albany Uniting Church has been running for around three years, led by a group of retired members of the Sunday morning congregation. All aged between 65–85, these 13 leaders are dedicated to bridging a gap between the generations and sharing their faith with the community.
Each month, a Messy Church service is held in the Lockyer building of Albany Uniting Church. The service involves craft activities, stories, songs and discussion, followed by a shared meal.
The Western Australian State Election will be held on Saturday 11 March. Here, ‘Revive’ shares some
of our hot topics for the Uniting Church WA at this election.
Keep an eye out for election resources from the Social Justice Unit of the Uniting Church WA. For more
info call Geoff on 9260 9800 or email geoffrey.bice@wa.uca.org.au
1. Climate change and renewable energy
The Uniting Church WA believes that God’s creation, the Earth itself and all the life it supports, is precious
and that the Earth’s resources exist for the good of all. It is calling for strong action to tackle greenhouse gas
pollution in WA, by moving towards renewable energy, improving transport and urban design, food security
and a process to help workers move away from coal and other destructive industries. The Uniting Church
WA is a recent signatory to the Renew WA Climate Consensus Statement. Follow them on Facebook to find
out more at ‘renewWA.’
The destruction of bushland for the Roe 8 project has been a big concern for the Uniting Church WA and the
Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, which not only is harming the Beeliar wetlands and the
wildlife it supports, but is destroying land which has been sacred to WA’s Indigenous people for thousands
of years. Revive has previously reported on this issue, and to find out more visit www.rethinkthelink.com.au.
2. Fracking
‘Fracking’ is a process of pumping fluid at high pressure into rock formations underground to help release
gas which is trapped in the rocks. It is a big issue for WA, as there are gas deposits all over the state,
including in the Kimberley, the South West and the Mid-West, with exploration licences also covering parts
of the Gascoyne region and inland from the Ningaloo coast.
Concerns surrounding fracking include health, water safety and availability, greenhouse gas emissions and
damage to the environment. Ask your candidates this election if they will support a legal framework that
enables landholders and traditional owners to refuse access to their land for gas exploration or production.
3. Uranium mining
The Uniting Church WA recognises there are complex issues surrounding uranium mining, but is calling
on individuals, churches, industry and government to work together to end involvement in the nuclear fuel
cycle. The current State Government has recently given approval to several mines, including the Yeerlirrie
proposal, despite it being rejected by the Environmental Protection Authority. Concerns are held about the
possibility of the uranium mined in WA contributing to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. There are also
potential health hazards in transporting radioactive material, and the process uses a large amount of water
– a precious resource in WA. Ask your candidates what will happen to the nuclear waste that began as
uranium in WA deposits.
4. Social Reinvestment
Through its involvement with Social Reinvestment WA, the Uniting Church WA has called for changes
to WA’s criminal justice system. A popular mantra around election time for both major parties is that WA
needs to be ‘tough on crime’ and that this will somehow keep our communities safer. The Uniting Church
WA, however, calls for a smarter, more holistic and preventative approach including an end to mandatory
sentencing, addressing prison overcrowding and reforms to the processing of women, people with
disabilities, mental illness and drug related problems who enter the criminal justice system. Read Revive’s
feature article here, or visit www.socialreinvestmentwa.org.au for more information.
Rev Ivan Clark was inducted as a minister of the Word at Noranda Uniting Church on Sunday 19 February.
Prior to induction at Noranda, Ivan has been serving as a minister of the Word at Melville Uniting Church, and has been the chair of the Strategy Mission and Planning Committee. He had also been involved with Youth Council when it was operating.
Rev Margaret Tyrer preached at the service, opening with an anecdote about her grandparents and parents building houses, and describing the hard work they put into it. Tying into the reading of 1 Corinthians 3:10-23, Margaret said that the Apostle Paul used vocabulary around building, and he identified with the application to provide for the family.
“But Paul was not writing about anything physical,” she said. “He was using words about physical things to refer to something spiritual. He was using metaphor.
Transforming Worship is a national gathering for preachers, worship leaders, musicians, artists, poets, and others to explore how worship shapes our lives and our world.
For the first time in 30 years, Adelaide will host a national worship conference for the Uniting Church, as part of the Uniting Church in Australia’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
National director for Formation, Education and Discipleship Craig Mitchell hopes this event will reflect the breadth and richness of worship in the Uniting Church.
“Together at Transforming Worship, we will explore how God forms us in faith and transforms us for discipleship and mission,” Craig said.
“This conference will embrace the depth of our worship traditions and also attend to the contemporary world where we live as disciples.”
The annual Micah Australia Voices for Justice Conference provides an opportunity for people to engage on justice issues with politicians in Canberra, from a Christian context.
Attendees from Christian communities all over the country participated in the conference, held in November last year. In our nation’s capital they were invited to pray, worship and speak up to influence our Parliament to work towards achieving goals in the direction of Australia becoming a better global neighbour.
The three-day event included advocacy training, lobby groups, Biblical teaching, worship and prayer, meetings with politicians in Parliament House, practical workshops and kids and youth programs.
Often, the promise that we can ‘change the world’ comes wrapped in suggestions that “For the price of a coffee a day, you can change Sanjay’s life forever.”
Is change really that easy? If it was, everyone would be doing it. The promise of transformation is attractive, but the hard work required to get there; the discipline and commitment? Not so much.
So how does real change take place?
Whether you begin with seven minutes or seventy, creating change begins with deep conviction and small steps, incorporated into daily routine. And that’s where spiritual practises can be genuinely helpful.
Last night, in the lead-up to the Western Australian State Election, a forum was held at St George’s Cathedral, Perth, exploring The Science and Ethics of Fracking in WA.
Hosted by the Frack Free Future Alliance and Doctors for the Environment, a panel of expert scientists, religious leaders and political representatives discussed if unconventional gas mining and fracking is an economic opportunity, or a health and environment calamity.
Speaking on the panel was Dr Ryan Vogwill, hydrologist, Prof Melissa Haswell, health academic, and The Right Rev Bishop Tom Wilmot, retired Anglican Bishop of Perth. Ex-Premier, Prof Carmen Lawrence chaired the evening.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Uniting Church in Australia. Here, Stuart McMillan, president of the Uniting Church in Australia, shares a message to the church, inviting church members to celebrate this milestone.
2017 is a special year for the Uniting Church in Australia. Together we mark 40 years since church union.
At the inauguration service on Wednesday 22 June 1977 the first President Rev Dr Davis McCaughey, the primary author of our Basis of Union, remarked that church union ‘meant absolutely nothing, unless it drives us back to the fundamental questions – where do you come from, where are you going, and who are you?’
To the great sorrow of her family and friends, Hazel Creagh died unexpectedly on Wednesday 8 February.
Born into the Mather family on 4 July 1939, Hazel grew up in the Leederville Congregational Church and married a young farmer, Jim Creagh. When they later moved to the city, Jim and Hazel joined the Presbyterian Coolbellup congregation. In 1974, Coolbellup became part of the Hilton-Cockburn joint parish, in which Hazel and Jim were important leaders. Hazel participated in a course for lay preachers held locally under the Theological Hall Faculty’s oversight. Around the time of the union of the churches in 1977, she became a member of the Presbytery of Peel and the Synod’s Board of Ministry, convening the latter’s group overseeing the Division of Nurture. In 1978, she became a Presbytery representative on the Joint Presbyteries’ Settlements Advisory Committee.
This year marks the centenary of Wembley Uniting Church.
On Sunday 12 February 2017, the congregation celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service, celebrating the date which Miss Mildred Grigg started a Sunday School in her parents home in the local area just over 100 years ago.