A Perth event bringing together various faith-based and community groups has raised $25 000 for bushfire relief.
Perth Unites for Bushfire Relief was held on Monday 27 January in Hyde Park, Perth. The Uniting Church WA, through the Social Justice Commission, joined the City of Vincent, Perth Mosque, Buddhist Society of WA, Haka for Life, Corroboree for Life, Manup Tutangata, Muslim Aid Australia and more.
A Trawloolway man reflects on Christian faith, by Garry Deverell
The Uniting Church has come a long way in its walk with Aboriginal people, but how deeply have we contextualised our theology in the full history of this place called Australia?
What colonial lenses do we still look at God and church through? What have we missed about our understanding of Jesus and the gospel by not fully appreciating Aboriginal perspectives?
These are some of the questions that Garry Worete Deverell, a Trawloolway man from northern Tasmania, has asked in this important contribution, to guide our reflection and practice of what being Christian means in the colonised land of Australia.
Deverell invites us, with a sometimes courageous vulnerability, to consider his own reconciling of Aboriginal spirituality and Christian scripture. He offers both profound insights and confronting challenges. Deverell turns a revealing light not only on our subtle and often unrealised Western dualism that can separate spirit from earth, but also on the reality of doing theology on invaded land.
By Gil Cann, 2018, Albatross Books
‘People don’t need more information, but more affirmation; not more training, but more recognition of the gifts God has already given them. They don’t need to be recruited, but released. They don’t need more courses, but more opportunities for ministry. They need to be valued and appreciated – they need your encouragement and prayer” (pg 121).
Based in Melbourne, Pastor Gil Cann is a frequent preacher and evangelist across Australia, including rural WA and speaking at CampFIRE, an annual camp run by the Pastoral Network of Evangelicals Uniting in Mission Action (PNEUMA).
His exploration of the most pressing issues facing the church and our society are both challenging and encouraging, making this a highly recommended read for anyone who continues to hope, pray and work for a future where the church is relevant and effective. My personal copy of this book is underlined and highlighted throughout, as Gil raises our gaze from the church as an organisation, where we are all about the same thing, to church as an organism – the body of Christ – where the same thing is in us… the Holy Spirit.
My wife and I were lucky enough to travel through Bourke in western New South Wales on a trip through central Australia to visit our son’s family in Melbourne.
I have been involved with the Mowanjum Aboriginal community for over ten years as a member of the Boab Network, which grew out of All Saint’s Floreat Uniting Church. Through the network, we have become very familiar with the issues that confront Aboriginal people in the Mowanjum community and the nearby town of Derby.
Alpha in the CBD, facilitated by Uniting Church in the City (UCIC), is starting up again in 2020, with a new round of courses beginning in February. This follows successful courses in 2019, including an Alpha Parenting Teenagers course and an Alpha Prayer course.
Alpha courses are designed for anyone interested in finding out more about Christianity. They provide opportunities for people to ask any questions they might have about the faith in a welcoming and safe space.
More than 200 members of the St Stephen’s School community enjoyed a night under the stars at the School’s inaugural Community Campout.
Although temperatures dropped below zero, nothing could dampen the warmth and community spirit of the event. St Stephen’s School has owned the 115-acre property in Dwellingup, which was recently renamed The Kaadadjan Centre, for several years. It is opposite Lane Poole Reserve and is bound by the Murray River, Bibbulmun Tracks and Munda Biddi Trails. It has been used mostly for Outdoor Education and camps, but the school has been working to open it up to more curriculum areas for learning and enjoyment by the wider school community.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), issued a pastoral letter to Australian churches in response to catastrophic fires in many parts of the country.
The Albany Uniting Church Museum, located in the Duke St building, is a treasure trove of church history and amazing textiles. The museum became a possibility when some old blueprints and a concept plan of a new church were found in an upstairs balcony which had previously housed the church organ. That ‘new church’, was the original Methodist Church, which was completed in 1893.