The Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, Rev Steve Francis, has today called on the RSL of WA to reconsider its position to ban the flying of the Aboriginal flag and the performance of Welcome to Country ceremonies during ANZAC and Rememberence Day services.
“This is an extremely disappointing decision by the RSL WA that creates real hurt for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” he said.
Rev Simon Goddard, a Baptist minister from Fresh Expressions UK, will be visiting Perth to share his experiences and knowledge in pioneering ministry and church leadership.
Simon will be a keynote speaker at two events in March: The Pioneer Ministry Gathering; and Tools for Resilient Church Leadership in Changing Contexts, which will also feature Rev Dr Adam McIntosh, the Associate Director of Mission (Pastoral Care) for the Uniting Church Queensland, and Peter Kenyon, from the Bank of IDEAS.
Brought to you by the Uniting Church WA’s Thrive Mission Committee, these events will encourage those attending to explore Pioneer Ministry, while sharing their own experiences and learning from each other.
UnitingWorld’s Lent Event is your chance to join others who are pledging to live simply during the 40 days of Lent. You can sign up as an individual or with a team to raise funds for and learn about projects that are building peace between Muslims and Christians as they beat poverty together. Lent Event will be held from Wednesday 26 February to Friday 10 April 2020.
This year’s feature project is in Ambon, Indonesia, where unthinkable violence in 1999 left 5 000 dead and 70 000 homeless. UnitingWorld’s partner, the Protestant Church of Maluku, is running projects that bring people together for peacebuilding workshops and livelihood projects. The aim is to create bonds of friendship between Muslims and Christians while generating desperately needed income in a province where most people live on less than $1 a day.
How can you be involved?
All funds raised support Uniting Church partners in Ambon and beyond to fight poverty, raise up women and girls, build the capacity of leaders and run peacebuilding activities.
A Perth event bringing together various faith-based and community groups has raised $25 000 for bushfire relief.
Perth Unites for Bushfire Relief was held on Monday 27 January in Hyde Park, Perth. The Uniting Church WA, through the Social Justice Commission, joined the City of Vincent, Perth Mosque, Buddhist Society of WA, Haka for Life, Corroboree for Life, Manup Tutangata, Muslim Aid Australia and more.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), issued a pastoral letter to Australian churches in response to catastrophic fires in many parts of the country.
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.
What does Christmas mean for Christians, or Christ’s ones? Is the celebration of Christ’s birth central to our faith or can we do without it?
Two of our four Gospels do not include the story of Jesus’ birth and Matthew and Luke – which do – tell the story from significantly different perspectives. It seems that the celebration of the birth of Christ in a special day or season only commenced two or three hundred years after the time of Christ and the earliest church.
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.
Not so long ago, a woman bailed me up as I made my escape from a church where I’d been preaching.
“I’ve given to places like UnitingWorld all my life,” she said. Her voice shook a little as she spoke; I could see it had been a good and long life.
“But there’s still so much poverty and suffering in the world! Sometimes I really wonder if it makes any difference.”
Understandable.
While Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, almost one third of West Australians feel the stress of disadvantage and isolation during the festive season.
Many people will seek help from charities for their basic needs such as food, or for assistance paying bills. Many more feel lonely and disconnected from family, friends and their community.
This Christmas, UnitingCare West expect to see more than 2 000 people at their hubs in Perth, Fremantle and Merriwa. For the first time, UnitingCare West’s Tranby Centre in Aberdeen Street will be open every day during the Christmas and New Year period, from 7.00am to 7.00pm.