Tag: Church and Community

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Stories & Feature Articles

Ideas for running virtual church

David Beards is a member at Maylands-Mt Lawley Uniting Church who works professionally to provide communications solutions. He shares some great information for congregations moving worship services into the online space.

Sunday 22 March at Maylands-Mt Lawley Uniting Church will be remembered as a memorable service.

With the smell of bleach and hand sanitiser in the air, the congregation gathered in the hall for the last time for a while. We spaced out the chairs, our music team played, and Rev Steve Francis, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, gave a message on ‘resilience’.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Busselton shines a virtual light

With worship services in WA closing due to COVID-19, churches are in a new (to some) space of keeping connected. Physical distancing is vital to lowering the impact of this virus, and thus needs to be taken seriously.

In good news, physically distancing does not have to mean socially isolating ourselves. In fact, with modern technology we can be more socially connected than ever, with an increase in online activity.

Busselton Uniting Church have been one of many to take up this opportunity, offering online resources for families or individuals to use while we are all practising physical distancing. Each Friday, Rev Andrew Broadbent, Minister at Busselton Uniting Church, will upload a video message and an accompanying PDF resource with prayers, reflection questions and links to traditional and contemporary music.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Moderator’s column: The cross at the core

Many years ago I was invited to speak to a group of students at an art college.

The meeting was arranged by one of the art lecturers who thought art students should be aware of some of the ways Christianity had influenced the arts over many centuries. Most of the students were Marxists, materialists or agnostics. I gave a short address and then engaged in a ‘question time.’ After some vigorous debate I was asked what was core or central to Christian belief and practice. All I could think of was two words “the cross”.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Anniversary celebrations at Wesley

Uniting Church in the City (UCIC), Wesley Perth is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the historic building opened in 1870 on the corner of William and Hay Streets, Perth, this April.

The celebrations will also mark the 190th anniversary since the congregation had its beginnings in the Swan River Colony in 1830 with a party of Methodist settlers from Hull, England arriving and  taking up residence. The Hardey family established themselves on the Maylands peninsula, building Tranby House and farm. They conducted the first Methodist service under a Jarrah Tree in Hay Street, Perth on Sunday 6 June 1830.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Art exhibition supports bushfire appeal

An art exhibition held at Willetton Uniting Church in February has raised over $1 500 for the Uniting Church in Australia National Disaster Relief Fund, supporting those impacted by bushfires around the country. Willemina Foeken, artist and member of Willetton Uniting Church, held the exhibition in February, with a second one to be held from Sunday 8 to Thursday 19 March, at the Diamond and Jewellery Centres of Australia (DJCA), 97c Flora Tce, North Beach, Perth.

Now retired, Willemina previously worked as a school art teacher. These days, she still teaches art, but to small groups of up to six people in her home studio. She has been passionate about drawing her whole life, and inspired by her environment.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Lessons from Bourke

My wife and I were lucky enough to travel through Bourke in western New South Wales on a trip through central Australia to visit our son’s family in Melbourne.

I have been involved with the Mowanjum Aboriginal community for over ten years as a member of the Boab Network, which grew out of All Saint’s Floreat Uniting Church. Through the network, we have become very familiar with the issues that confront Aboriginal people in the Mowanjum community and the nearby town of Derby.

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News & Announcements

Alpha returns

Alpha in the CBD, facilitated by Uniting Church in the City (UCIC), is starting up again in 2020, with a new round of courses beginning in February. This follows successful courses in 2019, including an Alpha Parenting Teenagers course and an Alpha Prayer course.

Alpha courses are designed for anyone interested in finding out more about Christianity. They provide opportunities for people to ask any questions they might have about the faith in a  welcoming and safe space.

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Stories & Feature Articles

A treasure trove of Albany history

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.

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News & Announcements

Nature play adventures take over South Perth

After months of planning and preparation, the South Perth Early Childhood Centre, of South Perth Uniting Church, opened their new nature playground, on Wednesday 23 October.

Despite the short bursts of rain, kids and adults alike took joy in exploring the playground and enjoying new adventures.

A nature playground is a specially designed playground which encourages children to play in elements of nature, such as climbing trees, playing in gardens and even getting dirty in the mud. In August 2018, the South Perth Early Childhood Centre was granted $65 000 from Lotterywest to build theirs.

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Caring Hands craft intergenerational connections

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.

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