Category: Stories & Feature Articles

NYALC: Coming home

Post author By revivewa
Post date March 6, 2015

When I arrived at the National Young Adult Leaders’ Conference (NYALC) I knew one person… vaguely. We’d exchanged one or two tired words on our 5.00am flight from Perth. In total, this was my 2nd Uniting Church event. I didn’t know what to expect and new social situations usually make me feel gross.

I hate ‘icebreakers’, but found myself feeling easier by proxy: there was an atmosphere that really did break the ice. I didn’t want to come with reservations, but I was also excited because of where I’d come from and what I was looking to find. I’m from a different denomination. My mate Richard Telfer, First Third specialist for the Uniting Church in WA, was at a Love Makes a Way action and said I could go in his place. I had to call him and ask what ‘Presbytery’ and ‘Synod’ meant for the application form as they are words we don’t have in my church.

Tags Youth

Stories & Feature Articles

Perth vigil for reformed prisoners

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 23, 2015

On the evening of Wednesday 18 February, Uniting Church in the City, Wesley Perth, played host to a moving vigil for two Australian men, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who are likely to be executed in Indonesia as a result of drug trafficking charges.

The event was held as part of the Mercy Campaign, and included a number of speakers who shared their passions and mercy for the men, branded as two of the Bali 9. Performances were also made by local musicians Kav Temperley from Eskimo Joe and Abbe May.

Myuran and Andrew have been in an Indonesian jail for almost 10 years and have since changed their lives, now devoting their time to the rehabilitation of other prisoners.

Over 178,000 people have signed the Mercy Campaign petition so far, asking that the penalty for Myuran and Andrew be a jail sentence rather than execution. Many millions of people have voiced their disapproval of the planned executions of these two reformed men and there is still hope that they will be granted clemency.

Tags International

Stories & Feature Articles

Bert Humfrey 1920 – 2014: A true Christian gentleman

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 18, 2015

Bert was born on 11 April 1920 to English migrants. His commitment to the church and his service to the community is truly inspirational. In 1942, Bert was accredited as a Lay Preacher in the Methodist Church, and in September of the same year, he married Joy Finlay in Fremantle Wesley. The marriage lasted an amazing 69 years and 8 months, until Joy passed away in May 2012.

Bert joined the Navy in 1940 and did further training in submarine detection at Flinders in Melbourne and Rushcutters in Sydney, qualifying as an ASDIC operator. He saw active service on a Motor Launch deployed around Bougainville (in the Solomon Islands) during the latter part of the war. Over the years, Bert lived in Northam, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton and Perth working in management for Lockes furnishers while also holding positions with Sunday School, retiring in 1981.

Tags Faith In Action

Stories & Feature Articles

Moderator’s column: Moving towards Christ and community

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 6, 2015

A few weeks ago, I had a ‘near miss’ experience. I was driving to an unfamiliar destination and was running late. I was trying to glance at my street directory, as well as keep my eye on the traffic – multiskilling is not one of my gifts. As a consequence to my haste, I nearly clipped a parked car. I pulled over for a moment of reflection, knowing I needed to slow down and get myself a GPS.

One of the enemies of a well-formed Christian life is the foe of too much rush. Going too fast through life eventually ends up in relational collision or spiritual burnout. One of the arts of staying spiritually centred and balanced, is the art of spiritual reflection. At best, this is a daily discipline that includes taking time out for intentional prayer, meditative attention to Scripture and seeking both the refreshment of the Spirit and the discernment of the will of God. I find without moments like this woven into my day, I am reduced to being in Eugene Peterson’s words, “the busy pastor, rather than the contemplative pastor”.

Tags Theology and Spiritual Reflections

Stories & Feature Articles

Act, reflect, connect: Getting the balance right

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 4, 2015

At 11.45 every morning, three soothing bells chime out from my iPhone. “Do you want to meditate?” comes the helpful enquiry from my screen, sent each day without fail by my ‘Mindfulness’ app (with handy alerts and tools to track my progress as an enlightened member of the human race).

I glance at my screen. “Seriously? Meditate now? I’m driving/typing/hanging out washing/reading at my child’s school/masterminding the incoming reign of peace and justice for the world. Maybe later…”

The philosopher Socrates famously suggested that the unexamined life was not worth living. It’s a pretty bold statement. Are we all to be philosophers, floating through life clad in yoga pants, clutching our Mindfulness apps and gazing earnestly at our navels? Or did Socrates have something more balanced in mind?

Church communities have typically been big on reflection – worship, preaching, Bible study and prayer all encourage us to examine our lives carefully. For me, no matter what chaos the week has held, our lay preachers seldom fail to produce the gem of an idea to polish throughout the week. Too often, though, nothing much happens beyond mental activity. I find it relatively easy to ponder. It’s harder to act. And there’s been no shortage of criticism fired at the church over exactly this tendency.

How do we get the balance right between thought, belief and action?

Tags Easter, Lent Event, Theology and Spiritual Reflections, UnitingWorld

Stories & Feature Articles

Tragedy brings forth passion

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 3, 2015

Can you identify an event or a time in your childhood that impacted so hugely it defined your life from then on?

Alison Xamon links her passion for mental health and its effect on family members, especially children, to the suicide of her father when she was 11 years old. Alison’s father, Rev Alan Miller, was the minster at Duncraig Uniting Church at the time of his death. His illness and death rocked, and continues to define, Alison’s life – emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

Today Alison is a lawyer, happily married with three children, and a member of the Star Street congregation. A former member (2009 -2013) of the State Parliament Upper House for the Greens, Alison’s focus is now on advocacy for mental health and suicide prevention. She is president of the WA Association for Mental Health, the peak body for mental health services in this state, and vice-chair of Community Mental Health Australia, a national body. She is also on the board of Mental Health Australia, the peak body nationally, and sits on the Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention. She is excited to be a co-leader of the newly established Mental Health Network under the auspices of the Department of Health. This network brings together mental health clinicians, NGO’s, carers and mental health consumers and aims to address cultural change and drive the need for mental health reforms.

Tags Mental health, Our People and Agencies

Stories & Feature Articles

Social issues high on conference agenda

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 2, 2015

The high rate of indigenous incarceration Australia-wide, the availability of adequate education and employment opportunities, threats to remove services from remote West Australian communities and the covenanting relationship with the wider church were among the topics discussed last month at the week-long Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress’ 2015 National Conference.

More than 150 people from every corner of the nation descended on Poatina, a small former Hydro village in Tasmania’s north, for the gathering. Daily business sessions were accompanied by Bible teachings and workshops under the theme Holy Mountains, Healing People. Among attendees were participants in the 2015 About FACE program. About FACE stands for Faith And Cultural Exchange and has been an activity of the Uniting Church in Australia since 1984 with the aim of building meaningful relationships with Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) communities.

Tags First Peoples, UAICC, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress

Stories & Feature Articles

Margaret and Haileigh face a different future

Post author By revivewa
Post date February 1, 2015

Hobart woman Margaret Collis admits she was quickly struck by the lack of blame for past white atrocities she felt laid at her feet by Aboriginal community members in Northern New South Wales, she met during her participation in the About FACE program at the beginning of this year.

“I have heard of places where some Aboriginal people are [understandably] still very angry with white people and want to hold it [what happened in the past] over them,” she said. “But, that was not my experience. There were no accusations directed at us.”

Margaret, who worships at Bellerive Uniting Church on Hobart’s eastern shore, was one of 17 participants in About FACE 2015 which was organised by the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania’s Commission for Mission, running for 16 days in January. She was one of 3 aged over 50, with the remaining 14 under the age of 30.

About FACE stands for Faith And Cultural Exchange and has been an activity of the Uniting Church in Australia since 1984 with the aim of building meaningful relationships with Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) communities. It celebrates the covenant relationship between the Uniting Church in Australia and the UAICC, and encourages participants and those supporting them to be actively involved in covenanting and working together for reconciliation in the church and in the wider community.

Tags First Peoples

Stories & Feature Articles

Moderator’s column: Signing up for the ongoing journey

Post author By revivewa
Post date January 26, 2015

Many decades ago, when most uni students could not afford a second-hand car, hitchhiking was always an option. In those days it was safe; by putting your thumb out on the road-side within minutes you could be sitting in the front or back seat of a car having a friendly chat with a kind motorist.

There was, however, one major drawback: uncertainty. Hitchhikers had no timetables; they could wait minutes or hours for a ride. I once found myself in the Nevada desert (USA) standing in a long line of hitchhikers. Some had been there several hours and none of us knew when the next car would stop. We also never knew whether the ride would be for 5 miles or 500. But if you were young with little money and a sense of adventure it was a great way to travel.

The days of hitchhiking are well and truly over. It is dangerous and illegal, but I can’t help thinking there are parallels with this pursuit and ‘the road less travelled’ that Jesus calls us to. When Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew, his brother and later James and his brother, John, Jesus invited them to “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:18). Maybe these fishermen had heard rumours about this carpenter/preacher. Maybe they had even listened in on one of his teachings or witnessed a miracle. Perhaps they felt a little bit like hitchhikers.

Tags Theology and Spiritual Reflections

Stories & Feature Articles

80 years of ministry

Post author By revivewa
Post date January 18, 2015

A quiet lunch for four in country Victoria was the recent setting for the celebration of eighty years of ministry in the church between Rev Dr John Smith and Rev Peter Batchelor.

John and Peter were both born in the Wagin district and went on to service through the Methodist and the Uniting Church. Both were ordained at Wesley Church Perth (now Uniting Church in the City, Wesley Perth) on 13 of October, 1974. On this fortieth anniversary they met with their loved ones around a table to celebrate the occasion.

John was born in Wagin, and after a stint at the Eastern Goldfields Methodist Mission at Boulder as a Home Missionary in 1968, he studied at the Methodist Barclay Theological Hall and the University of Western Australia. Commencing in 1974 John served in five Parishes in Western Australia and worked for the Uniting Church Synod as the Division of Mission and Nurture Co-ordinator. In 2000 He moved to Hotham Parish Mission in North Melbourne where he pastored to a varied flock including many notable academic and community leaders. John retired in 2013 and continues his reading, writing and occasional teaching on his interests and – always a country boy – commutes between his city home and his country retreat in Castlemaine.

Tags Our People and Agencies