It is the day after our federal election and the church is celebrating Christ the King Sunday. As Australia anticipates what new leadership will bring to the country, we reflect on the kind of kingship that Christ offers. Christ the King invites us into a new era of hope with vision for a better future, but the changes begin with our response to Christ.
Sermon Sunday November 25th, 2007Â (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
Eight new chaplains have just started work in the Inverell district’s schools. The federal government has made available $150,000 for the funding of chaplains, and Inverell is just one area in the country to benefit from successful applications for funding.
The November edition of the Children’s Ministry newsletter is now available from the Synod website. It includes ideas for Advent and Christmas, stories about what is happeing around the place in Children’s ministry, and events that are coming up.
The newsletter is available as a pdf download (2.26MB) here.
Following on from a successful first year, the churches of Oakleigh are proud to present the 2007 Carols in the Park on December 7th.
Last year a crowd of around 2000 enjoyed a community Christmas celebration that included cultural items, a choir, and items from the local schools.
In response to last year’s event, local councillor, Denise McGill wrote:
The combination of energetic enthusiasm by all the churches, a fine display from local schools, a beautiful evening and many young families attending was a sight to behold. … this can only be an indicator of the appreciation and need in our community for such an event.
We invite you to mark this special evening in your diary.
The Australian Federal Election is just days away now. There are a number of web sites available to help guide voters depending on the issues that are important to them.
The Australian Christian Lobby have put together a website that contains a vast array of information about how the different parties and candidates have responded to issues of interest to Christian people. One of the options on their site is compare parties, which is worth a look if you are undecided.
The other web site that is an excellent aid to the undecided voter is How Should I Vote. This site is wizard based – that is it guides a person through various issues and questions that are most important and outputs a summary at the end.
If you have suggestions about other web sites that are useful, please sign-in and add your comment to this item.
Desmond Tutu, Achbishop Emeritus, has spoken out against the Anglican Communion for failing to embrace pandemic issues such as poverty and HIV, and be distracted by an obsession with homosexuality.
The historic Anglican church of St John’s in Footscray in Melbourne’s west is discovering the generous spirit of local Sudanese refugees.
Members of the Sudanese Bari community have collected money to assist with reconstruction of the church’s arch. Earlier this month this money was presented to Bishop Philip Huggins.
Many members of the Sudaneses community are subject to harrassment and race-related threats. Following the welcome gift, there were prayers in the church about this issue. Since arriving in Australia, many of these people have been praying regularly in this church.
The reading this week from Isaiah has God promising a new heaven and a new earth to those who have just returned from exile. While the promise may have brought joy and hope, our world has not yet fulfilled such a grand vision. We explore the nature of God’s promises and what it means to be weeks away from marking the birth of Christ.
Sermon 18th November, 2007Â (pdf)
St. David’s Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
If you listen to Bob Geldof and Rev. Tim Costello, they would have you believe that Australia’s commitment to foreign aide is embarrassingly stingy.
In an election campaign that is full of promises of tax cuts and bonuses of not seen before proportion, it is worth exploring our place in the international stage.
For those who follow Christ our call is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those who are in sick and the like.
Christian Today explores this issue in a little more detail …
Since the Wisdom’s Feast of art and celebration mid year, the arts have been thriving with activity and creativity amongst the Uniting Church.
For the latest on what has been happening and what is planned, check out the latest edition of Artfull Faith.