Category: Social Impact

Categories
Social Impact

Refugee Week 2020: academics and activism

From 14 to 20 June we celebrate Refugee Week, welcoming those who have come into Australia and celebrating the valuable contribution refugees and people seeking asylum make to our society. The Uniting Church has always been a strong advocate for the rights of people fleeing persecution – but we are not alone in our calls for justice.

Wherever possible the Uniting Church seeks to collaborate with service providers to ensure we are reflecting the needs of people most in need. In the complex field of immigration issues it is also handy to have assistance from academic friends – like Dr Caroline Fleay.

Continue reading “Refugee Week 2020: academics and activism”
Categories
Social Impact

Campaigners celebrate as WA ends imprisonment for unpaid fines

Campaigners are celebrating new laws passing the WA Parliament, effectively ending the imprisonment of Western Australians who can’t afford to pay off fines.

Amendments to the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act finally passed the Legislative Council last night. The Bill was broadly welcomed by multiple political parties, following a four-year campaign by 24 community organisations, including the Uniting Church WA and Uniting WA, under the leadership of Aboriginal led coalition Social Reinvestment WA (SRWA).

Continue reading “Campaigners celebrate as WA ends imprisonment for unpaid fines”
Categories
Social Impact

Now is the time to move towards a clean energy future

As the Federal Government make plans for Australia’s financial recovery from COVID-19, our Prime Minister is advocating for further investments into the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry, as a way of driving jobs and economic growth.

This World Environment Day, however, the Uniting Church WA is calling to use this opportunity to move towards clean energy.

Continue reading “Now is the time to move towards a clean energy future”
Categories
Social Impact

Do Black Lives Matter in WA?

On Monday night, as Western Australians enjoyed what remained of the WA Day public holiday, a group of Nyungars gathered in Forrest Place with other People of Colour and more than a thousand supporters.

Chants of ‘Black Lives Matter’ echoed through the otherwise quiet Perth streets.

Continue reading “Do Black Lives Matter in WA?”
Categories
Social Impact

Same storm, different boat: support for those who are falling through the cracks

During COVID-19 restrictions, you may have heard the phrase ‘we’re all in the same boat’, used as encouragement to look after each other and support each other through the new physical distancing rules.

You may have also seen a meme floating around the internet claiming that actually, ‘we’re not in the same boat, but we are in the same storm.’

This phrase is all too real for many people in WA who are falling through the cracks of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 financial support.

Continue reading “Same storm, different boat: support for those who are falling through the cracks”
Categories
Social Impact

Reconciliation Week: In this together

Uniting, previously known as UnitingCare West, invite you to join them in getting involved with Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June.

Reconciliation Week marks two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the 1967 Referendum acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the High Court Mabo decision, respectively. National Reconciliation Week is preceded by National Sorry Day on 26 May.

Continue reading “Reconciliation Week: In this together”
Categories
Social Impact

Stolen Generations artist to create artwork for Wellington Square

A WA Stolen Generations artist has been appointed to create artwork acknowledging the Stolen Generations, which will be placed at Wellington Square, Perth. Wellington Square has been the location for many Sorry Day events, and is a significant place for Stolen Generations survivors and countless generations of their forebears.

Continue reading “Stolen Generations artist to create artwork for Wellington Square”
Categories
Social Impact

Calls to continue international support

Rev Steve Francis, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, and Kerry Povey, Chair of the International Partnerships and Development Commission, have written to members of the church, encouraging them to support the church’s international partners as they deal with the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Continue reading “Calls to continue international support”
Categories
Social Impact

Review: Climate Church Climate World

How people of faith must work for change, by Rev Jim Antal, 2018, Rowman and Littlefield

The national synod of the United Church of Christ, USA, passed a motion in 2017 that: “The climate crisis is the opportunity for which the Church was born.”

Jim Antal’s book opens with historian Lynn White’s words from 1967: “More science and technology are  not going to get us out of the present ecological crisis until we find a new religion or rethink our old  one.”

Continue reading “Review: Climate Church Climate World”
Categories
Social Impact

Take action to call for compassion

Rev Steve Francis, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, and Geoff Bice, Social Justice Consultant for the Uniting Church WA, have sent a joint letter to the church encouraging them to write to their Federal Member of Parliament, asking them to act with compassion for some of the most vulnerable people in Australia.

Continue reading “Take action to call for compassion”