Category: News & Announcements

Ministry to fire affected communities

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 12, 2015

The Uniting Church community in South Australia has banded together to support those experiencing hardship and loss from the bushfires across the Adelaide Hills. With 32 homes destroyed, the physical impact is clear. The emotional hardship is not so visible, and the recovery process for those who have lost their homes will be long and difficult.

Relief and outreach centres have been opened around the fire zone to assist the recovery by providing practical help through chaplaincy and pastoral support. Local residents are coming together in their time of need at the Golden Grove Relief Centre and the One Tree Hill Institute, where chaplains are on the ground.

National Disaster Recovery Officer of the Uniting Church, Rev Dr Stephen Robinson, emphasised the need for support long after the bushfires have been put out.

Tags Disaster Relief, Remote and rural communities

News & Announcements

Alan celebrates

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 11, 2015

Rev Alan Matthews will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of his ordination, in March. Throughout his ministry, Alan has held placements in Birmingham, England; Victoria, Australia; Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory; and Nedlands, Swan View and Cockburn in Western Australia. He has also had an active involvement with Uniting Church in WA Presbytery and Synod, including in the areas of social justice, Christian unity and world mission.

He retired from ministry in 1992, but since then has kept active in the Uniting Church including taking services in various congregations and representing Frontier Services.

Tags Our People and Agencies

News & Announcements

Conclusion of placement for pastor Elaine Ledgerwood

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 8, 2015

It was a warm, pleasant Sunday afternoon on 11 January 2015 when Rowthorpe Uniting Church gathered in the Sutton Community Centre to recognise the conclusion of three years of the part-time ministry provided by Dr Elaine Ledgerwood and to hand over pastoral responsibility for the congregation to Rev Dr Alison Longworth.

The service was led by Elaine who preached on the Baptism of Jesus. Elaine identified baptism as a symbol of God’s grace and of new beginnings. Elaine shared that for her the day was a time of looking for new ways to live out her calling while Alison has emerged from her recent retirement to this new experience of parttime supply ministry.

Tags Our People and Agencies

News & Announcements

UnitingCare welcomes new support for people with severe symptoms of dementia

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 5, 2015

The Government’s announcement of $54.4 million in funding that will go over four years to a new initiative to support people with severe symptoms of dementia in residential care facilities is very good news,” said Lin Hatfield Dodds, National Director of UnitingCare Australia.

“Our agencies provide the largest share of aged care in the country and we are consistently hearing that the challenges of caring for people with dementia are growing. Additional support to assist residential care providers in meeting this challenge is most welcome.”

Approximately 1 in 4 people aged 85 and over have dementia. With an ageing population it is expected that by 2050 nearly 900,000 Australians will be living with dementia. At the moment, more than half the permanent residents in Government-funded aged care facilities around the country have been diagnosed with dementia.

Tags Ageing and Community

News & Announcements

Uniting Church in Australia stands for mercy

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 4, 2015

The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) has joined churches, NGOs and others in voicing concerns about Indonesia’s resumption of the death penalty.

UCA President Rev Prof Andrew Dutney is one of 14 organisational leaders who’ve written to both the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and to the Australian Foreign Minister, expressing grave concerns for at least 11 people facing imminent execution.

Signatories to the letter are asking Indonesia to commute the death sentences to terms of imprisonment. They’re also asking for a moratorium on all executions in Indonesia with a view to abolishing the death penalty. Two Australian citizens Myuran Sukamaran and Andrew Chan are among those facing imminent execution.

Tags International

News & Announcements

New leadership for the UAICC

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 4, 2015

The National Conference of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress has made two new leadership appointments.

Rev Dennis Corowa is the new National UAICC Chairperson. Dennis is also currently Chairperson of the Queensland UAICC Regional Committee (Calvary Presbytery), Dennis has been involved with Congress since 1985, working in congregational ministry and school and prison chaplaincy. He is one of the authors of Rainbow Spirit Theology. He has a vision for First Peoples to claim their strength and dignity, and life in all its fullness, and to struggle against all that stops people claiming that life.

A new Deputy Chairperson was also appointed – Rev Garry Dronfield of NSW-ACT Congress. Garry is a Bundjalung man, presently ministering at Sylvania Uniting Church.

Tributes were paid to outgoing Chairperson Rev Rronang Garrawurra of the Northern Regional Council of Congress whose work in the last three years has been widely acknowledged across the Uniting Church.

Tags First Peoples, Our People and Agencies

News & Announcements

Reflecting on Como Manning

Post author By revivewa
Post date January 16, 2015

The closure of a congregation usually brings to me a tinge of sadness at the concept that memories won’t be created there anymore. I never considered Manning Uniting Church to be a quiet peaceful church. It was full of life with a variety of activities for us kids. I have fond memories of plays, preparing the sets and rehearsing. Come Christmas time we would relocate to the hall for church instead of our chapel. Here we would make murals using one and two cent coins with the money going to the Christmas Bowl.

Church camps were a time for all of us to really be a community eating, worshiping, and learning together. I had many sets of parents and grandparents looking out for me as well as friends close to my age and older. This is where I developed the skills to move and work within a diverse age setting.

Tags Church and Community

News & Announcements

New principal for the Hall

Post author By revivewa
Post date January 12, 2015

In October, Rev Emeritus Prof Bill Loader was appointed as the new Principal of Perth Theological Hall. His term will run till the end of 2015. For Bill, this is a return to the Hall where he taught from 1978-2005.

Bill sees his return as coming at an exciting time of change and renewal in the church concerning theological education both for lay people and for those preparing for ordained ministry.

“We are beginning to see new forms of being church and a key role will be to support and resource these so that they continue to be rooted in the faith of the church and its traditions as they seek to bring them to fresh expression,” Bill said.

At the national level talks are underway to transform the way theological education is coordinated and resourced across the synods with new and promising possibilities of much closer collaboration, especially in professional formation. In WA there has been an important review process looking to the future shape especially of formation for ordained ministry. It is likely to lead to new ways of doing things at a number of levels: from ways of assessment, deployment of staff resources, engagement of local UCA expertise, to development of a wider range of methods of delivery including intensives.

Tags Our People and Agencies, Training

News & Announcements

Bridging the age gap

Post author By revivewa
Post date January 10, 2015

Rockingham Uniting Church has always welcomed and encouraged its youngest members. In our Kids of Uniting Church in Australia (KUCA) group on Sundays, children would learn and have fun, however there was always something missing.

With KUCA finishing after age twelve, those who finished had no next step along their faith journey other than to join adult worship and studies if they wished. To cater for this fast growing demographic, Rockingham has implemented two new groups to help the youth and young adults of the church to continue to grow in their faith and as people.

Our Youth Group, aimed at high school aged teens, has been running for more than three years now and continues to attract new members from both within and outside the church congregation. Mostly comprised of games and activities with elements of team building and prayer, the youth group offers a great setting for local teens to enjoy fellowship and have fun together whilst growing into well rounded young people.

Tags Church and Community, Youth

News & Announcements

Two become one

Post author By revivewa
Post date December 31, 2014

In 1977 the Uniting Church in Australia came into being when the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches joined together. Since that time, Albany Scots Uniting Church and Albany Wesley Uniting Church have continued to lead independent lives.

After several years of working closely together the decision was made to become one congregation under the name of Albany Uniting Church.

Extensive discussions discerning the future role of the church led to mutually agreeing that worship should be held in the Duke Street property and endeavour to use York Street to raise an income.

Tags Uniting Church