The disciples travel on the road to Emmaus, encountering a stranger who they do not recognise. It is not until Jesus breaks the bread to share in community with them that they know a profound truth – Christ has risen. As we reflect on the mystery of this story, we embed ourselves in the experiences of the disciples, the places where bread and Jesus meet them. As we do this we seek to experience for ourselves the mystery of Christ’s presence as the bread is broken.
Sermon 6th April, 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
In Uganda, one man went to his neighbors and his friends and brought together three groups of people – Christian, Muslim and Jewish – to put aside old differences and create a coffee cooperative that now boasts some 700 members of all three faiths. The result: They named their coffee Mirembe Kawomera, which means, “Delicious Peace.†You don’t even have to like coffee to drink this in…
Who wants to be guilty? Especially when guilt is associated with court trials, judgement, punishment and humiliation. In prayers, it is a stain, a burden or a curse. Christian theology speaks of the guilt we inherit through Adam, even though we were not involved personally in his action. Guilt is heavy stuff.
Michael Heller, a Polish Roman Catholic priest and cosmologist whose intellectual and religious life has been grounded in the insights of both science and religion, has won the 2008 Templeton Prize, believed to be the largest yearly monetary award given to a single individual. Heller, 72, who teaches at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow, was awarded the prize for his work in connecting the realms of physics, cosmology, theology and philosophy.
Heller reiterated his belief that the oft-described “two worlds” of religion and science are not at odds, in an interview the day before the 12 March announcement, saying that without the meaning afforded by religion, “science would be meaningless”.
In the aftermath of the Feb. 14 campus shooting at Northern Illinois University, comfort was delivered to the shaken students by some unusually calm dogs whose mission was to find people who wanted to pet them. The weeklong presence of these four-legged therapists has been so missed that campus officials are working to bring them back…
The labyrinth prayer and meditation walk returns to Oakleigh this coming
Wednesday night, 8pm, April 2nd.
The venue is the Oakleigh Uniting Church hall, 154 Drummond St. (near the library – see map).
We invite you to come and enjoy the healing and transformational space of the labyrinth.
For more details, click here.
Please invite others who may enjoy the opportunity to slow down and be refreshed through the labyrinth.
At 8.00pm on Saturday March 29th, people, businesses, corporations, towns and cities all over the world will switch off all unnecessary lights for one hour, following the lead of Sydney in 2007.
Dubbed “Earth Hour” it acknowledges climate change as a crucial issue for our community and provides a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on our personal responsibility for the planet and yet know that we are not alone.
Project Australia invites you to be a part of this initiative by engaging in a “Conversation by Candlelight”
We are asking you to gather together a few friends (and strangers too if you can manage it) preferably by candlelight and create a conversation about climate change and any other sustainability issue that is of interest to you.
And then we’d like feedback. Just a few lines telling us where you met, how many of you were there and what the issues were that occupied your attention. You can also tell us about anythng else that came out of the event that you think might be interesting. eg. Any actions you decided to take? Any new friendships or associations that might have developed. Just whatever you feel comfortable with sharing.
We will gather these stories together for a comprehensive report on our website, http://www.projectaustralia.org.au/
You can find out all about the initiative at http://www.earthhour.org/
For further information on the “how to” either call or email to Meetups coordinator Noel on Tel: 0403 347 067 or email: noel.winterburn@gmail.com
We can also offer a range of useful topic headlines to help get you started if you like.
Please tell us if you are considering such an event.
I hope we hear from you soon.
Project Australia
Be inspired by an indigenous perspective from Vicki Walker, the mystical art of Jenni Mitchell, poetic reflections from Christina Rowntree and the reflective genius of Shane Charles on didgeridoo.Â
Saying Sorry to the Earth – flyer
7.30pm till 9.45pm, Sunday 30th March,2008
Templestowe Uniting Church, 104 Atkinson Street, car park at 111 Wood Street
This is Grandstand’s second major event to draw our community together to reflect on the environment. Grandstand is an informal group of grandparents/seniors from Manningham and beyond, mainly folk from the local UCA churches.
Jesus used stories all the time, but he used them for far more than inspiration or entertainment. He introduced, through his parables, a new way to understand and relate to God and to the people around us. In fact, storytelling was arguably Jesus’ primary approach to persuasion. This article explores what makes that approach so powerful and offers several practical tips for improving our own storytelling.
A shared meal across the parish of Balkara. Please bring some food to share.
Everyone welcome.