As many of Australia’s bushfire affected communities are still struggling to get back on their feet since last year’s horror bushfire season, people are once again preparing for another harsh summer.
To aid churches in these areas, a resource booklet recently went out to Uniting Church WA congregations to assist them in ministering to disaster affected communities. It provides advice for congregations on preparation, intervention and post-disaster support.
Dreaming of an island getaway? Add this one to your bucket list.
Before all the restrictions of COVID-19 became a reality, back in July last year, Rev Dennis Doust, retired Uniting Church WA Minister, spent two weeks in a remote village on Ghizo Island in the South Pacific. He shares his experience with Revive.
Uniting Church WA congregations are encouraged to explore how they can walk on the covenanting journey with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).
In 1994, the Uniting Church in Australia entered a covenant with the UAICC, agreeing that together they will work towards justice and forgiveness. Mount Pleasant Uniting Church and Maaman “O” Miya Uniting Church, in Coolbellup, have had a covenantal relationship for more than 20 years, which began with a friendship between the late Rev Dr Les Brockway and the late Rev Garlett. The congregations worship together sometimes, share each other’s spaces, and do activities together.
When George Floyd died at the hands of police in the United States, Americans took to the streets and sparked global outrage. In Western Australia, thousands of people have supported the Black Lives Matter movement – online and via protests – even amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. While Scott Morrison claimed this was an American issue not relevant back home, Australia disagreed and called out the more than 400 Indigenous Australians who have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Rev Gordon Scantlebury, Uniting Church WA minister and member of the Social Justice Commission, has prepared this year’s Sustainable September resources. The Uniting Church WA, through the Social Justice Commission, resources the church for Sustainable September each year as part of the World Council of Churches’ Season of Creation.
Gordon invites you to reflect and take part.
When Susy Thomas received a tap on the shoulder to nominate as Moderator Elect of the Uniting Church WA, she was thrown. As a retired, successful CEO of a community service organisation, she was ready to enjoy some rest and much-loved time with her grandchildren.
The Uniting Church pays its respects for the life and ministry of Rev Dorothy Harris-Gordon. The Uniting Church in Australia has released the following pastoral statement.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We join in thanking God for the life and ministry of Rev Dorothy Harris-Gordon, who passed away in Lismore in northern NSW late on Friday 7 August 2020.
Aunty Dorrie as she was known, was the first Aboriginal woman ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW and the ACT, and was one of several women who forged the path to ministry for their sisters in the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).
Most people can’t imagine what it would be like to sleep rough on the streets, but this is the reality for hundreds of people in Perth each and every night.
Uniting WA is inviting people to experience the discomfort of homelessness for just one night.
Held from 1 to 9 August, the Uniting Virtual Sleepover allows people the experience virtual homelessness from home. It’s a chance to connect with friends, work colleagues and the community to feel what it’s like to sleep rough for a single night.
With 2020 having already delivered the worst bushfire season on record, floods, a pandemic, and little relief from a nine-year drought, Frontier Services, Australia’s oldest bush charity, is calling on Aussies far and wide to re-unite with family and friends and host a Great Outback BBQ this September to December, in support of our farmers doing it tougher than ever.
From September, Frontier Services, a Uniting Church non-profit organisation dedicated to providing critical face to face support for farmers and grazers in rural communities, is once again encouraging the public to demonstrate a show of mateship and solidarity for our hardworking farmers by gathering a few mates together, buying Aussie produce and hosting a Great Outback BBQ.
Amanda Hunt, CEO of Uniting WA, shares her hopes for a socially inclusive post-COVID world.