Opinion

Review – Red Alert: Does the future have a church?

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By Gil Cann, 2018, Albatross Books

‘People don’t need more information, but more affirmation; not more training, but more recognition of the gifts God has already given them. They don’t need to be recruited, but released. They don’t need more courses, but more opportunities for ministry. They need to be valued and appreciated – they need your encouragement and prayer” (pg 121).

Based in Melbourne, Pastor Gil Cann is a frequent preacher and evangelist across Australia, including rural WA and speaking at CampFIRE, an annual camp run by the Pastoral Network of Evangelicals Uniting in Mission Action (PNEUMA).

His exploration of the most pressing issues facing the church and our society are both challenging and encouraging, making this a highly recommended read for anyone who continues to hope, pray and work for a future where the church is relevant and effective. My personal copy of this book is underlined and highlighted throughout, as Gil raises our gaze from the church as an organisation, where we are all about the same thing, to church as an organism – the body of Christ – where the same thing is in us… the Holy Spirit. Continue Reading

Moderator’s column – A house and a garment: hope for the planet

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Save the planet’, ‘care for creation’, ‘love the environment’ are some of the slogans we hear as the voice of concern gets louder for our beautiful, yet plundered and polluted planet.

Behind these concerns for our ecology there is a deeper question; is there a purpose, a plan or indeed a mind behind the solar system? Are we just the result of freak accidents of cosmic  collisions or is there more? Continue Reading

Editorial: ARPA recognition

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We have some exciting news this edition, as Revive magazine recently won an Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) Award!

We won a Gold Award for the ‘Best Social Justice Article’, Rethinking plastic: Local action on a global issue,’ published in our June 2018 edition.

The award ceremony and conference was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, in September. I wasn’t able to attend, however, Maggie Johns, Media and Communications Manager for the Uniting Church WA, attended and accepted the award. With this being only our second edition in our new format after taking a short hiatus earlier this year, I’m stoked for the magazine to be  appreciated in this way.Continue Reading

Review: Stories from the Inside

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2019, a podcast from Social Reinvestment WA

Stories from the Inside is a podcast from Social Reinvestment WA, a coalition of WA organisations, including the Uniting Church WA, working to fix our broken justice system. Each episode features one person’s story from inside that system and how the people around them – their children, partners, parents and siblings – have been affected.

Storytellers are honest and open about their experiences, and not afraid to own up to their own behaviour. The real impact though, is the stories of how they ended up on the journey towards the justice system in the first place. Stories of trauma, violence and neglect.

There’s Tyronne, who grew up in foster homes and when reported sexual abuse was ignored, and was then punished by his abusers. Or Theresa, with almost her entire family spending time in prison. Or Jennifer, whose son was incarcerated for something as simple as unpaid fines.

Hearing Renna’s story in the first episode really made me think about just how terrifying her situation was. Renna was homeless and abusing alcohol. She needed assistance and support, but  instead was met with aggression – something she’d come to expect from authorities. Continue Reading

Review: Survivor Memorials: Remembering trauma and loss in contemporary Australia

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by Dr Alison Atkinson-Phillips, 2019, University of WA Press

I was surprised by this book. I know Atkinson-Phillips’ work from previous associations, so it wasn’t the high quality readability that surprised me. It flows beautifully and carefully.

I also knew it would be compassionate. As she travels to survivor memorials around Australia, Alison records the persons involved with empathy and the aesthetics of each site with sympathy. I often found myself quite moved, not because of any journalistic milking of my sympathy, but in the competent record of the story.

Why was I surprised? I just didn’t think that I would like the book all that much. It is a survey of record and I thought it would be laborious in detail and philosophy. Yes, it records in detail who did what and why, as a good researcher should. Yet it is skilfully framed within a history of memorials.

I half expected that the subject of memorials might be irrelevant to where I am at. However, as the story was placed out and the distinction between memorial and monument emerged more clearly, I found parts of myself. Continue Reading

When I die

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In the last edition of Revive, we printed an opinion piece submitted by Rev Ken Devereux, Uniting Church Chaplain at Royal Perth Hospital, supporting the drafting of a Parliamentary bill for  Voluntary Assisted Dying. Premier Mark McGowan introduced a Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill to the Parliament in August this year.

This edition, Prof Brian Hill, member at Billabong Uniting Church, responds to the current conversation. Continue Reading

Moderator’s Column: The body – sacred, soiled and sold

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We live in a time where obsessions abound; fabulous fashion, funky food, fierce football and flourishing finance. We may argue that these obsessions are fairly harmless and mere cultural shifts in an ever changing secular society.

May I invite you to consider another obsession that I think is bringing with it some negative consequences to our quality of life and the common good? I am referring to the current obsession with the body. Continue Reading