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.
What does Christmas mean for Christians, or Christ’s ones? Is the celebration of Christ’s birth central to our faith or can we do without it?
Two of our four Gospels do not include the story of Jesus’ birth and Matthew and Luke – which do – tell the story from significantly different perspectives. It seems that the celebration of the birth of Christ in a special day or season only commenced two or three hundred years after the time of Christ and the earliest church.
Uniting Churches in WA have some of the best morning teas and we want to share them!
Not just a time for enjoying each other’s company, church morning teas or spreads for special events are a tasty affair.
This Easy Date Slice recipe was sent in from Maureen Skeet, member of Rockingham Uniting Church. This slice has never failed her!
Bring along a plate to your Christmas function this year, your friends and family will love you for it. Just make sure it is kept in the fridge and eaten fresh, as it does contain raw egg.
1 Cup of Sugar
250g of chopped dates
250g of Butter
One egg
Half a packet of Arnotts Marie Biscuits
Desiccated coconut
Melt the sugar, chopped dates and the butter in a saucepan on low heat until it is ‘gooey’.
Beat in the egg, and then crush the Marie Biscuits and stir in.
Line a 20cm lamington tray with baking paper, and spread the mixture evenly into the tray.
Refrigerate until it sets.
Once cooled, cut into slices and toss each slice in the desiccated coconut.
Have you got a favourite recipe? Send it in to revive@wa.uca.org.au or mail them to Revive magazine, GPO Box M952, Perth, 6843.
More than 80 people gathered at Beldon Uniting Church for an intergenerational Seniors’ Morning Tea in November. Organised by the Caring Hands group of the church, guests were invited from various aged care residential sites, and treated to a range of entertainment.
Children from the Beldon Early Learning Centre, an outreach of Beldon Uniting Church, performed a selection of nursery rhymes, and children from the local Beldon Primary School performed some drumming. The school is located across the road from the church and they share a relationship through the school chaplain. A local ukulele group also performed.
Not so long ago, a woman bailed me up as I made my escape from a church where I’d been preaching.
“I’ve given to places like UnitingWorld all my life,” she said. Her voice shook a little as she spoke; I could see it had been a good and long life.
“But there’s still so much poverty and suffering in the world! Sometimes I really wonder if it makes any difference.”
Understandable.
While Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, almost one third of West Australians feel the stress of disadvantage and isolation during the festive season.
Many people will seek help from charities for their basic needs such as food, or for assistance paying bills. Many more feel lonely and disconnected from family, friends and their community.
This Christmas, UnitingCare West expect to see more than 2 000 people at their hubs in Perth, Fremantle and Merriwa. For the first time, UnitingCare West’s Tranby Centre in Aberdeen Street will be open every day during the Christmas and New Year period, from 7.00am to 7.00pm.
Rev Roy Surjanegara is the Minister at GKI Perth Uniting Church, an Indonesian speaking congregation in Mosmon Park. This edition, he writes about this year’s Family and Culture Month at their church.
September is the month to celebrate family life and Indonesian culture for GKI Perth Uniting Church. We call it ‘Family and Culture Month’. Each Sunday, one ethnic group is highlighted in the service through the use of the local languages for the Bible readings, songs, and prayers. Musical instruments, clothing, decorations, and traditional food also play an important part in creating the atmosphere of being in Indonesia for a day. This year, we celebrated the Batak culture of Sumatera, the Sunda culture of West Java, the Dayak culture of Borneo, and the Tionghoa culture of Indonesian-Chinese descendants.
Save the planet’, ‘care for creation’, ‘love the environment’ are some of the slogans we hear as the voice of concern gets louder for our beautiful, yet plundered and polluted planet.
Behind these concerns for our ecology there is a deeper question; is there a purpose, a plan or indeed a mind behind the solar system? Are we just the result of freak accidents of cosmic collisions or is there more?
In the bushy surrounds of Perth’s hills, a Uniting Church congregation is bringing life to the community through art and creativity. Kalamunda Uniting Church’s Creative Endeavour program is reaching people in ways the congregation could not have initially expected.
“It’s all about the journey,” Elizabeth Bishop, founder and leader of Creative Endeavour, tells me. And what a journey it is.
There are many ways to appreciate art; but for those who are using artistic creativity for personal enjoyment, it’s the process – the journey – that often leads us to new places.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) forecast that 1.44 million people will be in need of resettlement across the globe in 2020. Meanwhile, last year less than 7% of people in need of global resettlement were settled into new homes.
Australia currently offers the Community Support Program to help resettle refugees into the country. Under this program, individuals or businesses can support refugees to begin their new lives in Australia. This may sound great, but critics point out that the program has some major flaws, and is actually inaccessible to most people.
As global conflict is creating more and more refugees each year, the Uniting Church WA is calling for a new compassionate and generous refugee sponsorship program in Australia; supporting the introduction of the Community Refugee Sponsorship Initiative.