Month: July 2017

Review: Good Christian Sex: Why chastity isn’t the only option and other things the Bible says about sex, by Bromleigh McCleneghan

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 26, 2017

Bromleigh McCleneghan, a pastor of a Union Church in Chicago, has written Good Christian Sex for what she calls mainstream, Protestant Christians who have come to accept that people may live together before marriage, but are concerned to ensure sex and sexual behaviour remains good and not bad.

It finds the goodness of sex in the belief that it belongs to our being human. That includes seeing sexual desire and pleasure as something positive, whether in relation to oneself or in relation to others. The author writes of her own experiences, openly, sometimes self-critically, but always very sensibly.

This is a commonsense book likely to benefit greatly those who seek an alternative to the traditional norm of faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness. It invites critical reading. It has helpful chapters on the nature of fidelity, on sexual abuse and lust which treats others as objects, and offers useful reflections on the wisdom of controlling one’s sexual desires and their expression, just as much as we need to control our appetite for food.

Tags Books, Films, Art, Awards and Recipes

News & Announcements

Welcoming Karama with life-changing love

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 19, 2017

With joy and celebration, Rev Karama Ioapo was admitted as a Uniting Church Minister of the Word at a service on Sunday 16 July, at Trinity North Uniting Church, Greenwood Worship Centre.

Karama was ordained in the Samoan Methodist Church in 2008. He served as a Youth Co-ordinator in Queensland, and then in parish ministry in New Zealand. In 2014, he completed a Masters of Arts in Theology and Transformative Practice in Birmingham, UK.

For the past year he has been serving as a Supply Minister at Trinity North Uniting Church.

Rev Brian Thorpe, also serving at Trinity North Uniting Church, preached during the service on Romans 8: 1-11.

Brian reflected on Paul’s letter to the Romans, and what Paul might say to us now, in our current society.

Tags Our People and Agencies

Stories & Feature Articles

5 ways UnitingWorld gets big change from small change

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 17, 2017

UnitingWorld is the Uniting Church in Australia’s agency for working with people in Asia, Africa and the Pacific as they build lives free of poverty, and share the good news of Christ. UnitingWorld believe the two can’t be separated; they keep this work connected through ecumenical partnerships with churches in their communities, caring for people regardless of religion, politics or other boundaries.

Cath Taylor, from UnitingWorld, shares with Revive how this overseas community services agency is making big change from small change.

Australian Aid Funding

Right now, UnitingWorld is combining donations with Australian Aid Funding to give your gift up to six times the impact for people freeing themselves from poverty. In recognition of both the generosity of Uniting Church donors and the success of UnitingWorld projects, the Australian Government has made special funding available to select programs. UnitingWorld must first raise $1 for every $5 available in Australian Aid Funding.

Building solidarity

UnitingWorld doesn’t believe in charity – we believe in solidarity. We do everything in partnership with others who are committed to building on their strengths, long-term. This means there’s no expectation of a ‘hand out’ and everyone we work with is striving to make the most of their opportunities. This is the mindset that truly yields big change.

Investing long term

Our approach is to invest long-term in people: providing them with business training and solutions to poverty that give practical tools to take control of life. We help people start their own small businesses like breeding livestock, growing vegetables, selling second-hand clothes and repairing furniture or mobile phones. Once the loans we provide are paid back, they’re used again to kick-start someone else’s future.

Wise use of resources

We don’t waste money building things communities can’t use, handing out items that will need to be resupplied again and again, or using staff from Australia when local people can do the job themselves. We listen to and respect our partners because we’ve known them for years and have good relationships with them – they tell us what they need to make changes, and we get them the resources.

Accreditation

We’re accredited with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) through the Australian Government and we pay a decent wage to our administration staff, rather than relying on the goodwill of volunteers. This may sound boring, but it actually means that not only are we using the best ideas to get things done, you can also be sure that the money you give is accounted for, our staff are well-trained and properly recompensed, our partners have sound business practices and no resources are wasted.

To give an end-of-financial-year donation to UnitingWorld call 1800 998 122 or visit www.unitingworld.org.au/freedom

Tags A Helping Hand, Faith In Action, International, Our People and Agencies

News & Announcements

Life’s big questions over Elevenses

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 14, 2017

With a name inspired by JR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Elevenses at Trinity North Uniting Church is a discussion-led worship group making a big impact in the lives of the people who attend. In the book, Elevenses is a meal break taken by Hobbits at 11.00am. Although they do provide refreshments, at Trinity North, Elevenses is so much more than just a snack.

While the group has been beneficial for the young adults who attend, it is not specifically aimed at young people and attracts members of all ages. Its intergenerational scope has created a space where people can explore life’s big questions with others who have different perspectives.

Jana MacAdam is a member of Trinity North Uniting Church, Greenwood Worshipping Community, and a first-year university student. Feeling too old for youth group, Jana felt she needed more theological discussion than traditional Sunday morning worship could provide. On approaching her church council, she found they too had been discussing how they could provide a space for young adults to explore their faith.

“We found there was a need for something to cover the gap,” said Jana. “We’ve got the youth group and that’s really running well, but then you’ve got nothing for anyone who’s too old for youth group, and nothing on a Sunday.”

Tags Church and Community, Youth

News & Announcements

Ordination joy: a life-long calling

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 12, 2017

In the presence of family, friends and members of the Uniting Church WA, Rev Justine Wall was ordained as a Minister of the Word on Sunday 9 July, 2.00pm, at Uniting Church in the City, Wesley Perth.

Rev Trevor Waters, Chair of the Uniting Church WA Pastoral Relations Committee, read Justine’s Narration of Steps, detailing her call to ministry.

“Justine first heard the call to ministry in her teens, but belonging to a denomination which at that time didn’t ordain women, she dismissed her sense of calling as wistful thinking,” he said.

“God’s call came again in her twenties but at that time, Justine was too busy establishing a family and pursuing a career in teaching. Her nagging feeling that God wanted her to serve in ministry was totally inconvenient.”

While in her thirties, Justine stepped into a school chaplaincy role, beginning her ten-year journey towards ordination. In 2016, she took 12 months leave from her role as Chaplain at Tranby College to complete her studies, and for the birth of her child.

Tags Church and Community, Our People and Agencies

Stories & Feature Articles

A testament to love

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 10, 2017

Kaye Ogden made her entrance into the world on 7 March 1940 at Bundi Kudja Nursing Home in Fremantle. With her father being a policeman, the family moved around and much of Kaye’s early life was spent in the country, which she loved.

She married Peter at age 22 in 1963, 54 years ago, but was just 15 when they first met. After marriage, the couple moved to Carnarvon for a year where Peter was teaching, and then back to Perth, where they built what would become their family home in Nollamara for over three decades. Their son Andrew was born in 1964, followed by Susan, Naomi and Michael.

On reflection of how Kaye spent her days on Earth it’s clear that it was her motivation to honour and serve her Lord. She was a committed member of her church community, involved in hosting Bible studies and women’s fellowship, teaching and co-ordinating Sunday School, being an elder as well as serving the church in numerous ways. But she also loved to reach out into the community.

In the late 90s, with the adventure of retirement beginning, Peter and Kaye headed off to remote stations to volunteer with Revise, helping families with the schooling of their children during pressured work times. Later she was a board member of St David’s Aged Care, was involved in the Order of St Luke – a healing ministry – scripture teaching in schools, and with the Rockingham YouthCare District Council as Secretary.

Tags Our People and Agencies

Stories & Feature Articles

Genes re-Uniting

Post author By revivewa
Post date July 5, 2017

I am grateful to Rev Dr John Squires for his paper on the DNA of the UCA, which he distributed locally at the Meeting of the Presbytery of WA in May, and on the Assembly website. It helpfully identifies ten characteristics of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) which I warmly endorse. They are some of the reasons why my wife and I, despite many moments of disillusionment with the path taken since 1977 by the UCA, nationally and at state level, have maintained our membership of this faltering denomination throughout the past 40 years.

Rev Dr Squires’ paper also invites comment from his readers about his proposed list of key characteristics. I believe that identifying these particular characteristics – or genes, to maintain the metaphor – is a necessary, but not sufficient, clarification of the denomination’s DNA.

Despite a few unexpanded mentions of ‘God’, ‘the Spirit’, and ‘Christ crucified’ in the paper, it would be hard to deduce from this evidence alone that our denomination stands for much more than an ethical humanism shakily sustained by the unbounded slogan of ‘inclusion’. The list doesn’t yet identify as part of our DNA those ultimate beliefs about God which empower the ethic: his nature and his self-revelation in Jesus as reliably reported in the Bible; and his expectations of the species he has made in his image.

Tags Theology and Spiritual Reflections, Uniting Church