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Stories & Feature Articles

ChurchLINKS bringing Kalamunda churches together

Kalamunda’s ChurchLINKS is about to celebrate its 10th birthday!

You are invited to help us celebrate on Sunday 28 July, 2.00pm, at a special combined service at the Kalamunda Holy Family Catholic Church, Railway Road, Kalamunda.

ChurchLINKS is a movement initiated by Margaret Brodie, a member of the Kalamunda Uniting Church, in 2009.

As the name implies, the aim was for local churches within the Shire (now City) of Kalamunda to develop a greater knowledge of each other and, apart from getting to know more Christian friends, to also find out more about the community outreach programs each church was doing. Perhaps we could even be more effective if we linked up and worked together.

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Stories & Feature Articles

South West Exhibition includes hundreds of rare and exquisite wildflowers

Now its 94th year, the Busselton Wildflower Exhibition is gearing up to welcome local enthusiasts as well as visitors from further afield this September. The South West corner of Western Australia is renowned for having one of the richest and most diverse flora in the world and attracts visitors from around the State, Australia and overseas.

Exhibition chairman Barry Oates said it was an opportunity to see spectacular wildflowers you couldn’t see anywhere else in the world.

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News & Announcements

St Andrew’s Uniting Church dedicates new building

A Dedication Service for the new premises of St Andrew’s Uniting Church was held on Monday 16 June.

The new building is located on Bennett St, East Perth, and will provide a space for the congregation to live out their vision of reaching the people of East Perth, and building their congregation as a company of God’s faithful people. Prior to moving into their new premises, St Andrew’s Uniting Church were holding worship services at St Bartholomew’s, following the sale of the church building on Pier St due to safety concerns.

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Stories & Feature Articles

40 years of friendship and CARE

Yesterday, Tuesday 11 June, Bicton Uniting Church celebrated the 40th anniversary of their CARE Centre. As past and present friends and volunteers of the program gathered and shared memories, it was clear that this program means so much to many people.

The CARE Centre (Christian Action Requires Empathy) is a friendship group for elderly people in the community. For one morning a fortnight, volunteers pick up people in the local area, by a bus gifted from Fremantle Wesley Uniting Church, and bring them back to the centre for entertainment, craft, memory days, laughter and love.

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Social Impact

Busselton commemorates Sorry Day

Around 60 people gathered at Busselton Uniting Church on Sunday 26 May to commemorate Sorry Day, a national day to remember Australia’s Stolen Generations.

The service was co-ordinated by Rev Andrew Broadbent, Minister at Busselton Uniting Church, and supported by local churches.

On arrival at the service, visitors were given a Native Hibiscus silk flower, a symbol of the Stolen Generations. According to the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation, this flower was chosen as a national symbol because it is found widely across Australia; its colours denote compassion and spiritual healing, and it is a survivor.

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Social Impact

Trek for Timor raising much needed funds

Around 30 passionate people took to the Perth hills on Sunday 19 May to take part in the Trek for Timor. Walking from Kalamunda Uniting Church to Foothills St Martin’s Uniting Church in Forrestfield, the group were raising money for Lafaek Diak’s mobile health clinic.

Lafaek Diak translates in English to the Good Crocodile Foundation. It works towards providing access to quality education, healthcare and sustainable food security for people in Timor-Leste, and is one of the Uniting Church WA’s international partner organisations.

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News & Announcements

Connecting faith through Christian meditation

Rev Rodney Marsh, Chaplain at Great Southern Grammar in Albany, is inviting people to take part in a six week online course in meditation.

“The various forms of mindfulness or meditation are, I think, the only way to teach your brain to pay attention to the present moment. Meditation is not an extra thing to do to relax you, maintain balance or reduce stress – though it will still do these things – it is a way of being and connecting the prayer of Jesus in your heart. Meditation is not what you think,” said Rodney.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Dog walking prayer group builds community connections

Victoria Park and Districts Star Street Uniting Church has made a promising first step towards a fresh expression.

Following the first weekend of the ‘Mission Shaped Ministry’ course, church representatives agreed to make our first attempt at practising what we’d learnt, at the local dog park. We advertised a dog walking prayer group on local social media and on Sunday 10 March just two of us with our trusty hounds met and talked with the locals.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Match Factory focuses on life after fire

In a devastating blow for the Busselton and Nannup communities, most of the premises of the Match Factory was destroyed by fire on Saturday 16 March. Match Factory is an op-shop and low cost food centre run by Busselton Uniting Church, but it is so much more than that to the many people involved.

Match Factory also provide emergency hampers of food, bedding and clothing to people in need, as well as an important network for both clients and volunteers.

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Stories & Feature Articles

New opportunities for pastoral care

Aged care and retirement may be the new growth industry for rural communities in the future. People who have spent most of their life in rural and regional areas tend to want to retire and remain where they are, close to family, friends and familiar surroundings.

The opening of a new multi-million dollar Primary Health Care Centre in the Wheatbelt town of Cunderdin, along with eight new Age Appropriate Houses, will be a major boost to services that can be provided to the local people and those from adjoining communities.