A fresh perspective on faith, church and life
Have you ever taken stock of how much ‘stuff’ you buy each month?
If you live a comfortable lifestyle in Australia, you’d probably be surprised at the amount you buy without even realising it. And while a lot of the time we might try to be aware of how we are consuming, with Christmas approaching we can easily start making excuses to let it all go by the wayside and just go nuts. Continue Reading
Having just returned from a trip to North America for the Woodworking in America conference only days before, Greg Miller lays a pile of wooden spoons on the table to show me. He had carved them at a workshop on using ‘green wood’, and keenly told me about his dream to begin teaching others how to do the same, now that he is back home.
Greg’s passion for woodwork is clear, but it’s his approach to the craft that is gaining interest from people the world over.Continue Reading
One of the most common forms of youth ministry, past and present, has been to organise as many awesome events for kids and young people as we can, in an attempt to keep them interested and not straying elsewhere. But when you think about all the competing demands on their time – sport, BBQs, friends, late nights out – it’s not hard to see why lots of young people don’t put church towards the top of the list.Continue Reading
Growing up in the Uniting Church I always knew I was a part of the ‘one holy, catholic and apostolic church’ but never understood really what that meant and how it applied to my life. Recently I have had the opportunity of representing the Uniting Church in Australia as a delegate at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly in Busan, South Korea, from 30 October–8 November.Continue Reading
Sarah Mills Menogue
Have you ever wanted to just drop everything you’re doing in life, and take it in a different direction? Or maybe you want to start up a new project which arises from your ultimate passion.
Taking a leap of faith can be a daunting thought – how do you know others will be as passionate about your idea as you are? How do you know you’re not just setting yourself up for failure and humiliation? I guess you don’t – which is why it’s a leap of faith.Continue Reading
Tammy Solonec speaks out at the rally marking 20 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Tammy Solonec knows where her passions lie and isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes in. But courage isn’t something she was born with; it’s something that has grown inside her as she’s made her way through life.
A human rights lawyer, Tammy is currently serving as a director of the National Congress of Australia’s First People, and is also on the National Aboriginal and Islanders’ Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) and the NAIDOC Perth Committee, which finds her heavily involved in the organisation events including the Survival Concerts in Perth, held annually on January 26. Add to that, in 2012 Tammy won both Young Lawyer of the Year with the Law Society of WA and Young Female Lawyer of the Year with the Women Lawyer’s Association.Continue Reading
Sick of turning the other cheek? Dianne Jensen explores what it means to forgive and to be forgiven.
Rev Julie Nicholson is known worldwide as the vicar who couldn’t forgive. The Anglican priest stepped down from her position because she was unable to forgive the suicide bomber who had murdered her daughter at Edgware Road tube station in London in July 2005. She could no longer speak the words of reconciliation which were fundamental to her role.Continue Reading
Rev Neville Watson tried to convince me recently that he hasn’t made a difference in this world, despite having just minutes earlier told me about his time with a peace camp in Iraq during the war in 2003.
He doesn’t convince me for a second.
The man has spent his life comforting and standing up for others — and putting his own life at risk to do so. He may not have made a difference in the politics of the war, but you can be sure he made a difference in the lives of the people affected by it. Continue Reading
Bill McKibbon (centre) founder of 350.org, on his recent tour in Australia. 350.org is an international campaign encouraging divestment in the coal industry. Bill congratulated the NSW/ACT Synod on their recent decision. Bill is shown here with Dr Miriam Pepper, Uniting Earthweb; Rev Dr Brian Brown, Moderator of the Uniting Church in NSW/ACT; Justin Whelan, mission development officer, Paddington Uniting Church and Rev Elenie Poulos, national director of UnitingJustice.
At the last Synod meeting for the Uniting Church in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), a bold decision was made to divest in companies involved in the extraction of fossil fuels (coal and coal seam gas) as they seek to invest, instead, in renewable energy. It was a big step for the Synod, and a decision that wasn’t taken lightly.
But what is ethical investing, and why should we be thinking about it?
When money is invested into an account, the financial institution’s role is to make the most out of it they can, by buying and selling shares – this is where ethics comes in. Without doing the research, you could unknowingly be buying shares in companies involved in weapons, gambling or tobacco, just to name a few. Continue Reading
A train returns to isolated Tom Price
Over the last two decades, Western Australia has seen a 400% increase in fly-in fly-out work. It has become so prevalent, that it’s likely you know someone who works a fly-in fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in drive-out (DIDO) job, if not someone in your own family.
As of May 2012, The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded that the resource industry in Australia employs around 269,300 people. Although there is limited data about how many of these people work FIFO, one private survey, with over 18,000 participants found that 47% of mining employees were working FIFO or DIDO practices.
While a lot of families and communities benefit from this kind of work, which incurs extensive travel to a workplace resulting in being away from home for periods of time, it can also come at a cost.Continue Reading
