Category: Stories & Feature Articles

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Stories & Feature Articles

Moderator’s Column: Listen with the ears of God

It has happened. The deed is done. No going back. On Thursday 11 September, by the grace of God, the leading of the Spirit and the goodwill of the Uniting Church in WA, I became the moderator. One of the  questions I have been frequently asked over the past few months is what a moderator actually does.

In starting out, one of the things that I am trying most to do is to listen and I am even trying to listen deeply. Listening is often the first step in the healing process. Listening to words, listening to sighs,  listening to heartbeats and heartbreaks are part of the art of listening. Listening to tone and to tenor as well as to what is said and not said. Being a disciple means to listen without judgement and prejudice.  Listening attentively is one of the most powerful ways to connect with another human being. When we listen to the deepest hurts and hopes of another, we affirm his or her very personhood.

Jesus was the best listener of all. He often listened to others before doing much talking himself. We see this after his resurrection when two of his followers were walking and talking on the road to the village of  Emmaus. Jesus “came up and walked along with them” (Luke 24 v 15). Luke then adds “they were kept from recognising him” (v16). Finally, Jesus joins the conversation without them recognising who  he was. He listened to the two travellers, but they didn’t seem to listen to him.

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Perth Hills fire response: Small congregations act big

On Sunday morning 12 January 2014, a devastating bushfire sparked by a private power pole in Parkerville resulted in the destruction of 57 homes. Many properties were damaged and 386 hectares burnt   in the affected areas of Parkerville, Stoneville and Mount Helena. A meeting was arranged with the Uniting Church Emergency Response Team and members of the three local hills Uniting Churches,  Mundaring, Glen Forrest and Gidgegannup. Representatives from these congregations formed The UCA Hills Fire Disaster Committee, supported by Synod/Presbytery representative, Rev Gordon  Scantlebury, and Metro East regional pastor, Rev Alan Stubbs.

Contact was made with the local schools and the chaplains to let them know of the assistance that we could give. Other local churches, the Mundaring Shire Towards Recovery Centre and, of course, word of  mouth in the community gave us many starting contacts. Vouchers were distributed directly by committee members and through the school chaplains. Cash gifts have also been given and we were  especially keen to help children continue with their extra-curricular activities, some requiring sporting fees and uniform expenses.

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The time is now: A new way is a must

This year, Revive is following a major undertaking of the Strategy and Mission Planning Commission for the Uniting Church in WA. This is the fifth article in the series.

Rev David Kriel, mission planner for  the Uniting Church in WA presented to the Annual Meeting of the Presbytery and Synod on its first day of business. As has previously been reported in Revive, David has  been conducting a serious review of the Presbytery in response to drastic changes in the church. He painted a picture of the world we live in today. We produce 140,000 cars per day and 3.3 million  mobile phones. In this same world, 26,000 people die per day of hunger and 700 million people are without safe drinking water.

We are now living in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

“We’re past the industrial age,” David said. “We will not see that again. We now face the digital age. We are called in this world to be God’s people.”

In our churches, we are facing a surging decline and need to act now.

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Sea Prayers in Samoa

To raise awareness of the impact of climate change, representatives of churches, ecumenical organisations and the United Nations (UN) stood together in the sea in Apia, Samoa, in prayerful solidarity with  those vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events.

The prayer was conducted on Thursday 4 September, as part of the OurVoices.net international campaign of people from diverse religious  and spiritual backgrounds who are urging world leaders to agree to  a strong climate treaty at the UN climate talks in Paris in December 2015. Participants in the prayer included representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Samoa Council of Churches (SCC),  the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) and the UN.

Many of those praying were in Samoa taking part in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Summit, focusing on a group of countries that remain special cases for sustainable development in view of their  unique and particular vulnerabilities. Former Granada ambassador to the  UN, Dessima Williams, commented that such global actions of solidarity are a reminder that “people around the world care deeply  about those impacted by climate change.”

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Movers in thier prime

For Monica Phillips, life was not meant for slowing down. Chair of the Gosnells Uniting Church Council, at 82 years of age, Monica leads three Prime Movers classes each week – including at the most  recent Regional Gathering for the Metro East Region of the Uniting Church in WA, where Monica led those present in a mini-class to help energise people for the day ahead. Prime Movers is a voluntary organisation running exercise classes for the over 55s.

Monica became involved in leading the classes 15 years ago, after her husband passed away. While he was alive, the couple spent their lives volunteering with the church, including a large involvement in youth work. After joining the classes as a member, however, Monica found that volunteering with older people was a natural progression. As for the fitness side of things, her health has never been better.  Despite having arthritis and sometimes having to take time away from the classes for treatment, she is always itching to get back.

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Uniting Church in Australia: Part of the fastest growing church on earth

The view from the pew in an Australian Uniting Church isn’t always inspiring. Many long-term congregation members are all too aware of empty seats, voices that waver on beloved hymns and the lurking spectre of a budget committee meeting when the service ends…

It’s true that church attendance in Australia is in decline, as it is throughout much of the Western world. But that’s not the full story. Globally, and particularly among our Asian neighbours, Christianity is still the world’s largest and fastest growing religion. In China, three new churches have been either re-opened or newly built every single day for the past thirty years. And as a global church, partnering with brothers and sisters throughout Asia, Africa and the Pacific, we’re renewed by this growth.

Through an historic new partnership with the China Christian Council, we’re also faced with a unique opportunity to shape the future of global Christian leadership.

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Christians and Muslims: 100 years of love

Uniting Church leaders from across Australia have joined interfaith and ecumenical friends in a statement of solidarity with Australia’s Islamic community. Uniting Church in Australia President, Rev Prof  Andrew Dutney, is one of thousands of faith and community leaders who’ve signed on to a declaration that “We’ll Love Muslims 100 Years.”

The statement was a reference to the banner headline in the Weekend Australian on 9 August “We’ll Fight Islam 100 Years.”

“Recent public statements and media coverage about Muslim-Australians in some sections of the Australian media have been inflammatory and divisive,” said Andrew.

“In our multi-faith society, Jesus’ call to love your neighbour means that Christians are called to meet, befriend and care about our neighbours who are Muslim.”

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Billabong: Not holding back

It has been fifteen years since the 1.6 hectares at 225 Campbell Road was purchased in hope for the new Canning Vale Uniting Church faith community. The consultation, planning and  crowd funding for The Billabong Community Centre has taken too long, the final piece coming through a generous grant from the Presbytery earlier this year. It was therefore with much  disbelief that the Billabong congregation met onsite on Sunday 15 June for a time of worship and encouragement together in preparation for the new building. It has been three and a half  years since the on-site tent we used to worship in was packed away.

The new building plan was marked on the ground using stakes and string and a balsa wood model helped people imagine what is about to be built. Everyone gathered on the ‘verandah’  for afternoon tea served from the ‘kitchen’. They were then invited into ‘Multipurpose Room 2’ to take a seat on one of the camping chairs. After a time of singing and prayer I  took up a  small trenching shovel that I was given at my induction as the church planter in February 2000. The battered looking shovel had seen a lot of work and was a great symbol to break the  dirt for the construction of the long envisioned Billabong Community Centre.

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Supermarket ministry

While the congregation at Dowerin Uniting Church may be low in numbers, Shirley Hagboom, member of the congregation, is a life-giving member of the community – a ‘go-to-girl’ for  spiritual needs.

Shirley is the chaplain for two days a week at the local school, Dowerin District High School, but said that her role reaches well beyond those walls. Often, while she is out running errands  around town, people approach her in the street to talk about things which are troubling them.

“I thoroughly enjoy being chaplain,” she said. “It’s not always at the school site; it could be down the road. You just never know when God is going to use you. God uses us as a conduit to  help people.”

These meetings in the street occur so often that Shirley has started packing a ‘chaplaincy grab bag’ which is full of pamphlets and bits of information that might be helpful to people she  meets while out and about.

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The good soil

Carramar Uniting Church held a Kids’ Fun Day during the school holidays at St Stephen’s School, Carramar, where the congregation meet for worship. The event was a huge success with  many children turning up on the day for craft, music, games and worship. Centred on the theme of the Parable of the Sower, kids got to make their own potted plant for the garden while  also taking part in Godly Play and drama activities.

Cooper attended the day and said that he enjoyed planting the seeds and he learnt a lot from the parable. “It mean’s Jesus is good,” he said. “He’s the good soil, and we’re trying to be the  good soil,” he said.