Tag: Remote and rural communities

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News & Announcements

Prayers and support during bushfire season

As summer approaches, bushfire season is well upon us. Already in WA we have seen devastating fires with properties destroyed and lives lost. Fire alerts have been issued in multiple areas across the state, including Toodyay, Ellenbrook and Bindoon. The community of Esperance has been particularly affected with, tragically, four people losing their lives as a result of fire in the area.

The Uniting Church WA’s Disaster Response and Community Recovery Working Group are working hard to respond to the situation. Letting the emergency services do what they do best, the working group exists to support communities in the wake of disaster, helping to rebuild in the months after a crisis.

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President calls for prayers and support for our bushfire affected communities

Uniting Church in Australia president, Stuart McMillan, has called for prayers and support for those devastated by bushfires in recent weeks.

Communities in the Pinery region north of Adelaide and in Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia face a long recovery process after battling major blazes which claimed six lives and caused widespread destruction of homes, farmland and other property.

“We hold in prayer all those who have lost loved ones, those who have lost homes and everyone involved in the response, both now and in the long recovery phase ahead,” said Stuart.

“We are heartened to hear how people within those regions have responded with compassion for each other, opening up their homes, churches, clubs and businesses to assist those in need.”

Bushfires in South Australia’s mid north claimed two lives and left others seriously injured. Hundreds of firefighters were called on to contain the blaze which has burned more than 80,000 hectares.

SA Disaster and Recovery Ministries Coordinator Wendy Perkins said more than 20 chaplains from different denominations were called upon to be with people at the Relief Centre in Gawler.

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New directions for Frontier Services

In an emotional discussion, the 14th Assembly sought to understand the reasons behind the changing circumstances of the Uniting Church’s valued remote area ministry, Frontier Services.

Frontier Services is changing tack, re-directing its work to community support activities and resourcing patrol ministry. Less than a year after Frontier Services celebrated its 100th anniversary  and the 13th Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to the people of remote Australia in 2012, the ministry found itself under severe financial threat due to the high costs associated with the delivery of aged care services in remote areas.

The major financial burden caused by sanctions, and the need to spend significant amounts of money to rectify major deficiencies in systems and services, took a great toll on Frontier Services,  and particularly its people. It was recognised that Frontier Services’ commitment to filling a need in remote Australia was the catalyst for the difficulties. As a growing number of small aged care  service operators proved unable to fulfil demanding accreditation standards, Frontier Services increased the number of aged care services it operated by about threefold.

Past president of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev Prof Andrew Dutney, told the Assembly that Frontier Services never planned to increase its operations.

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Nepal earthquake: churches respond

Churches have responded with a number of appeals after a devastating earthquake hit Nepal, followed by a second earthquake weeks later. Over 8000 people have died in the disaster, and  many thousands more left injured, homeless and vulnerable.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) issued a joint statement calling on churches around the world to pray for the families of those who have died,  and for those who have been injured or been affected by property loss and damage.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and northern India who lost loved ones in their families and among friends in this powerful earthquake and its aftershocks. Our  thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected by this disaster,” said the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

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Filling a need in Gingin

There are many benefits in living in the country, but at Gingin Uniting Church, we have become aware of a looming major community problem: Alzheimer’s and a lack of services and carer  support. After some input from Rev Dr Bill Jenkins at our 5th Sunday combined churches service, we decided to take it further and offer a full-day free seminar run by Alzheimer’s Australia  WA, as a community service activity. Bill is a Uniting Church minister and a psychologist who has conducted research into dementia.

There was much interest and thanks before the event, and leading up to it we have discovered several community members who have both training and/or experience with Alzheimer’s care, as  well as families already struggling to cope.

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Concern for WA’s remote Indigenous communities

As the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary on 29 May this year, its members and supporters enter, yet again, an emotional  struggle to protect their human rights.

On Close the Gap Day, 19 March, hundreds of people marched from Forrest Place in Perth’s CBD to Parliament House in West Perth, to voice their concerns over the planned closure of 150  remote Aboriginal communities around Western Australia. Last year, the Federal Government announced it would pass on the responsibility of funding remote Aboriginal communities to the  states. In turn, this led to an announcement from the State Government that it could no longer afford funding to these WA communities, and that it would be cut.

The announcements have caused anger, frustration and devastation amongst Indigenous Australians and the wider community. Even more hurt was caused when Prime Minister Tony Abbott  suggested living in an Aboriginal community was a lifestyle choice, and that Australia could no longer afford to fund those choices.

Rev Sealin Garlett, chair of the WA Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, disagrees.

“Indigenous people have a deep connection to our land. This is not just a ‘lifestyle choice’, but part of our cultural and spiritual identity. We need to be on country to look after it,” he said.

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Call for a new approach to remote Indigenous communities

The Uniting Church in Australia, Western Australia and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress WA (Congress) are deeply troubled by the planned closure of remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. They are concerned about the ramifications this will have on individuals and communities affected and believe it displays a concerning lack of understanding about Aboriginal culture and the rights of Indigenous people.

“We call on the Federal and State Government to reconsider their approach to remote settlements, and engage upon a consultation with remote communities about the best way to deliver services to them,” said Moderator of the Uniting Church, Rev Steve Francis.

“We need to act sensitively with Indigenous people who have suffered so much dispossession and trauma during the history of European settlement of Western Australia. Making decisions to remove services to remote Indigenous settlements could increase the sense of Indigenous dispossession and displacement.”

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Tradie volunteers prepare for Outback Links farm revival

The farmers of remote Australia need your help. Many are facing their third year of drought.

Without good rainfall, there are no crops or less stock to generate income for farmers. If vital equipment and infrastructure wears out or breaks down, there isn’t the money or means to repair it. It’s part of a downturn on the land that can lead to stress and depression.

Frontier Services, a national agency of the Uniting Church in Australia, has been helping people in remote Australia for more than 100 years. Since 2005, their volunteers’ program ‘Outback Links’ has grown to more than 1,000 volunteers who travel to remote properties to assist families through difficult times.

This April will bring a new development in ‘Outback Links’ when 10 young apprentice tradespeople participate in a 6 day ‘Outback Links’ farm revival in the drought-afflicted region around Lightning Ridge in North-Western NSW. This trip is a follow up from one in November 2014 where volunteers worked on 30 local properties.

Volunteers include plumbers, mechanics, electricians and carpenters. Under the supervision of professional tradespeople and host farmers, they will repair broken equipment like tractors, motor bikes and farm machinery, and rebuild infrastructure like sheds and homes.

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Building project supports the spirit of giving

A generous grant from Lotteries West has helped Pemberton Uniting Church expand their own generous spirit, as they built  an extension on their church. The extension will be used to store and pack food parcels for local families doing it tough.

Faye Backhouse, from Pemberton Uniting Church, said that while there is still some minor work to be done, the renovations  are a major improvement on what they have been using previously.

“We’ve still got a little bit of painting to do,” she said. “We’ll have a few more busy-bees to finish it off properly.

“All the food is in the new area, it’s out of sight and we’ve got a couple of freezers.”

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President launches National Cyclone Relief Appeal

President of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), Rev Prof Andrew Dutney has today launched a national appeal to assist communities hit by cyclones.

Cyclone Lam struck Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory on 20 February causing extensive damage to homes and public buildings. Sixty dwellings were left uninhabitable and there was extensive damage to the natural environment.

On the same day Cyclone Marcia battered the Queensland coast from Yeppoon to Rockhampton. Wind damage caused property and crop losses just before annual harvests with flooding affecting areas as far inland as Biloela.

Currently, there are also cyclones of concern in Queensland and northern Western Australia.

“We are very concerned for the communities affected by these disasters. Please join me in praying for the church in these areas too – for their safety and recovery, and for their service and witness to their neighbours in need after the cyclones,” said Andrew.

“I encourage UCA members wherever they are to do what they can to support our brothers and sisters in this time of need.”

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