Month: February 2018

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Education & Training

Education and Formation commencement: Beckoned to change

A Commencement Service to mark the beginning of the year for Education and Formation within the Perth Theological Hall was held on Friday night, 23 February. The Induction of Rev Dr Anne Wright and Rev Emma Matthews as Presbytery of WA Ministers, Formation and Discipleship, was also held during the service. Anne and Emma will provide education, training and leadership for the formation of candidates and for the equipping  of disciples for ministry and mission in the contemporary context of the church in WA.

Rev Dr John Squires, Director of Education and Formation for the Uniting Church WA, led a reflection on changes taking place in theological education.

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News & Announcements

World Day of Prayer: Suriname

Since 1887, on or near the first Friday in March every year, millions of Christians have gathered worldwide to pray for the issues of family violence, child abuse, human trafficking, and other forms of injustice, as part of the World Day of Prayer Service.

In 2018, this prayerful support will be directed at the 540 000 inhabitants of the Republic of Suriname, on the north-eastern coast of South America.

Despite a history steeped in slavery and political coups, this tiny nation has achieved remarkable progress since its independence in 1975. Suriname enjoys multi-ethnicity and biodiversity, freedom of religion, free primary and secondary education, and free medical care for children and seniors.

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News & Announcements

The new Deep End

On 9 December last year, five young adults and three leaders gathered at the Uniting Church Campsite in Busselton for the very first Deep End Camp. The overnight camp was for young adults between the ages of 16–25 years old, and provided the opportunity for people to explore and get closer to their faith, and to dive deeper into their religion and relationship with God.

Together, we enjoyed some great food, great company, and great unique ways to look at our faith and how our lives connect with kingdom and covenant.

Across the weekend we had three Bible study sessions, some time at the beach, Sunday morning worship with Busselton Uniting Church and a lot of frisbee and card games.

The camp was co-ordinated by Janine McDonald, Uniting Generations Officer, who, like all of us, was very excited for this camp to kick-off the brand new Uniting Generations ministry.

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Events

Summer Spirit: Being a different church

What do cheerleaders, waterholes, and evaporative air-conditioners have in common? They could be models of being Church in the 21st century!

To explore how the church could change and still be faithful in a different world, Rev Lindsay Cullen, Uniting Church National Consultant, suggested that Christians would need to “think different” and “act different.” Speaking at this year’s Summer Spirit, Lindsay presented several ways of seeing the world, others, and the task of being Christian at a time when the church as we know it is collapsing and the world around is mystified about Christianity.

“We could be God’s cheerleaders, looking for where God is working in the world and calling others to join in,” suggested Lindsay.

Instead of thinking of mission as something the church does, Christians could revisit the idea of missio dei, or God’s mission. Rather than seeing the world as a threatening place, we could view it as a place where God is in action.

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Social Impact

Apology Day: ten years on

On Tuesday 13 February UnitingCare West teams came together at their respective sites to acknowledge the 10th Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations.

Apology Day was marked by UnitingCare West service centres in Victoria Park, Perth inner city, Fremantle, Inglewood, Merriwa and Subiaco, with teams coming together over morning tea to share their reflections and feelings about the Apology. It was also an opportunity to hear stories from those affected by the Stolen Generations policies, including Ann and Kevin from Kinship Connections Aboriginal Corporation.

It was an emotional day of sharing, leaving UnitingCare West staff with hope for moving towards a more just, equitable and reconciled WA.

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News & Announcements

Hands-on ministry in Meeka

Rev Mitch Fialkowski was inducted in Meekatharra as Patrol Minister, or ‘Bush Chaplain’, in the Remote Area Ministry Murchison Patrol in December.

Mitch has been working in the region for around five years with Frontier Services. His role was previously under the umbrella of the National Assembly of the Uniting Church, however recent changes at Frontier Services mean Mitch’s role is now within the Uniting Church WA, and is supported by fundraising though Frontier Services.

Rev Steve Francis, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, and Rev David de Kock, General Secretary, travelled up to Meekatharra for the service, where Steve preached. Rev John Dihm, Remote Area Minister based in Tom Price, made the seven and a half hour drive to Meekatharra to attend the service and  present Mitch with a beautiful stole.

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News & Announcements

Moderator’s Column: Training versus trying

A very belated Happy New Year!

As I write this we are two weeks from 1 January, the day that some of us made New Year resolutions. Typically at the beginning of a new year we start to think about some changes that might help that year go better than the old one.

According to my Google research, the big four resolutions are: aiming to be fit and healthy, vowing to lose weight, trying to enjoy life more (less stress) and spending time with people we care about.

Other standard resolutions include spending less, getting more sleep and watching less television.

I wonder if you made a resolution. Mine was not so much a resolution but a reminder verse for the year: “. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). I started to think about how this sense of the joy of God might become increasingly part of my daily life. That started me thinking about the difference between trying and training.

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News & Announcements

7 ways to fast for Lent

Lent, a 40-day spiritual season for Christians around the world, begins on Wednesday 14 February. It is a time to fast, reorder our lives and take stock of our relationship with God. If you are planning on fasting this Lent, here are some ideas to get you started.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Time for a new Reformation? – Or should we just take the first one seriously?

In the October 2017 edition of Revive, John Squires noted the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses and asked whether it might not be time “to kick off the shackles of old traditions and practices” and “reform ourselves once more”. He takes “12 references to newness, renewal or reform” in our Basis of Union as “clear pointers in that direction.”

But does a call “to kick off the shackles of old traditions and practices” point in the same direction as the Reformation or the Basis?

Reformation became possible, because Luther’s distress at his sinfulness drove him to look again at what Paul meant by “the righteousness of God.” The discovery that God’s righteousness revealed in the Gospel does not make demands or judgments, but graciously justifies the ungodly (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; 4:5), increasingly informed Luther’s lecturing on the Scriptures at Wittenberg University and preaching in the town.

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News & Announcements

Deep Listening with those on the edge

The inaugural Deep Listening Festival is hitting the South West in April and is packed full of storytelling, art, music, workshops and time to reflect. It will be held at Margaret River Uniting Church from Friday 6 to Saturday 7 April.

The festival is inspired by the Sacred Edge Festival of Queenscliff Uniting Church in Victoria, which Revive has reported on in the past. However, it will have a local voice.

Rev Cathie Lambert, Minister at Margaret River and Augusta Uniting Churches, said the festival is designed to encourage us to listen to the stories of  people on the edge. The name is inspired by the Indigenous word ‘Dadirri’ which is a practice of deep listening based on respect.

“The way to get to know people and to get to know what their struggles are, to connect more as a community and to understand each other better is to listen to each other,” Cathie said. “The idea of this festival is not to problem solve, but to listen to the stories of people who are on the edge. In doing that we learn to appreciate their perspective and understand their situation better.

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