Over the weekend more than 60 people gathered for the Perth Peacemaking Conference to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the end of WW1.
An impressive range of speakers provided insight, challenge and inspiration as the group considered what has been learnt 100 years on. Are we moving towards a more peaceful world? What can we do to be better peacemakers?
Dr Holly Catterton Allen is a leading academic researcher, author and teacher in the field of intergenerational ministry. In July this year, she spoke at the two-day ‘Embracing Intergenerational Ministry Workshop’ at the Centre of Theology and Ministry, Uniting Church Victoria and Tasmania. A group of six from the Presbytery of WA travelled to Melbourne to attend.
The ecumenical event included representation from the Church of Christ, the Salvation Army, the Baptist Church, the Anglican Church and the Uniting Church, with both lay and ordained leaders in attendance. Holly was also the speaker at conferences in Adelaide and Sydney.
“We used to climb that tree. There were other bigger ones we use to climb too.”
“We used to come in that door there and that’s where we would stand and sing in the choir.”
There were lots of little stories circulating in quiet conversations among the hundreds of people who gathered together on Saturday 27 October at the historical site of the Moore River Native Settlement, later named Mogumber Mission.
Mother Teresa of Kolkata is quoted as saying: “None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can something wonderful.”
Although we often think it’s the bigger stuff that makes the real difference, the evidence indicates it’s the small things that together make up the substance of all we hope for. With this in mind ‘A light on every street’ has been developed to enable us to step out in a small but significant way to share something of the Good News of the hope our faith has to offer.
Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there’s something about Swedish blondes in flares. The moment I find ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ in my playlist, smiles light the faces of my four young companions and for a brief moment during the chorus, we’re in perfect sync. At the other end of the clinic, our photographer and videographer bust a few moves in between the serious business of filming the testimony of clinic manager Albert, who has limited English and dreams of a blood pressure machine for his patients.
The sun was shining, a gentle breeze waved through the trees and birds pranced around, busy making nests among the branches overhead. It was the perfect Spring day for the St Stephen’s School Carramar community to bless their new Bush Chapel – a space for all to reflect, set amongst the flora and fauna of the nature play space.
“You could really tell that God was amongst us on this beautiful day,” Donella Beare, St Stephen’s School Principal, said.
Thirty-eight students and staff from the University of Ottow and Geissler (UOG), part of the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua in the Indonesian province of Papua, visited Perth from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 23 August. The trip was supported by the Black Pearl Network, a Uniting Church WA network of congregations supporting the partnership between the Uniting Church in Australia and the Evangelical Christian Church in the land of Papua (GKI).
Hundreds of wildflower specimens drew a steady stream of visitors to the 93rd Busselton Wildflower Exhibition, held from Thursday 4 to Friday 5 October.
The exhibition provides wildflower enthusiasts an opportunity to learn more about the local varieties with advice from botanists on site or visitors can just enjoy the sights and smells of the exhibition as they wander through the exhibition.
At midnight on Thursday 26 July this year, seven Scotch boys and two staff flew out from Perth enroute to Papua New Guinea to embark on the world-famous Kokoda trail.
All the months of preparation were over, there was no chance to fill in the gaps, and in reality, most of us had very little understanding of the challenges that lay ahead. Seven days later, we walked through the trail’s finishing arch in the town of Kokoda. The physical and emotional challenges faced throughout the seven days of trekking had left an indelible and lifelong imprint on the spiritual psyche of us all.
As I write this, my 16-year-old nephew is on the trip of his lifetime (so far) on a school exchange in Japan. It was just over a year ago that my family and I were also holidaying in Japan, having an awesome time.
Japan is truly an amazing place. We went during cherry blossom season and there were trees blooming everywhere. We rode bikes through Kyoto, sang karaoke in Osaka and played video games all day in Tokyo.
We also visited the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. It was there that I was reminded of the story of Sadako Sasaki, the 12-year-old girl who made over 1 000 origami cranes from her hospital bed. Those cranes are now recognised as an international symbol of peace.