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Ministry into the unknown

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Rev Simon Goddard, a Baptist minister from Fresh Expressions UK, will be visiting Perth to share his experiences and knowledge in pioneering ministry and church leadership.

Simon will be a keynote speaker at two events in March: The Pioneer Ministry Gathering; and Tools for Resilient Church Leadership in Changing Contexts, which will also feature Rev Dr Adam McIntosh, the Associate Director of Mission (Pastoral Care) for the Uniting Church Queensland, and Peter Kenyon, from the Bank of IDEAS.

Brought to you by the Uniting Church WA’s Thrive Mission Committee, these events will encourage those attending to explore Pioneer Ministry, while sharing their own experiences and learning from each other.Continue Reading

Building peace, beating poverty: Lent Event 2020

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UnitingWorld’s Lent Event is your chance to join others who are pledging to live simply during the 40 days of Lent. You can sign up as an individual or with a team to raise funds for and learn about projects that are building peace between Muslims and Christians as they beat poverty together. Lent Event will be held from Wednesday 26 February to Friday 10 April 2020.

This year’s feature project is in Ambon, Indonesia, where unthinkable violence in 1999 left 5 000 dead and 70 000 homeless. UnitingWorld’s partner, the Protestant Church of Maluku, is running projects that bring people together for peacebuilding workshops and livelihood projects. The aim is to create bonds of friendship between Muslims and Christians while generating desperately needed income in a province where most people live on less than $1 a day.

How can you be involved?

  1. As part of a team or as an individual, take up the challenge to live simply for 40 days. The new Lent Event website allows you to easily create a personal challenge- forty days of prayer; forty days on one meal a day? Share your goal via Facebook or email with friends and family to help raise money for some of the poorest people in our global neighbourhood. Track your progress, create a blog post, engage your children and young people.
  2. Be inspired by stories of peace building and transformed lives, told through our weekly video series, Bible studies, prayers and reflections.  You can download these directly in the one simple package here, including an inspiring promotional trailer to use with small groups and congregations.

All funds raised support Uniting Church partners in Ambon and beyond to fight poverty, raise up women and girls, build the capacity of leaders and run peacebuilding activities.

Alpha returns

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Alpha in the CBD, facilitated by Uniting Church in the City (UCIC), is starting up again in 2020, with a new round of courses beginning in February. This follows successful courses in 2019, including an Alpha Parenting Teenagers course and an Alpha Prayer course.

Alpha courses are designed for anyone interested in finding out more about Christianity. They provide opportunities for people to ask any questions they might have about the faith in a  welcoming and safe space. Continue Reading

Community Campout bringing people together

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More than 200 members of the St Stephen’s School community enjoyed a night under the stars at the School’s inaugural Community Campout.

Although temperatures dropped below zero, nothing could dampen the warmth and community spirit of the event. St Stephen’s School has owned the 115-acre property in Dwellingup, which was recently renamed The Kaadadjan Centre, for several years. It is opposite Lane Poole Reserve and is bound by the Murray River, Bibbulmun Tracks and Munda Biddi Trails. It has been used  mostly for Outdoor Education and camps, but the school has been working to open it up to more curriculum areas for learning and enjoyment by the wider school community. Continue Reading

Nature play adventures take over South Perth

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After months of planning and preparation, the South Perth Early Childhood Centre, of South Perth Uniting Church, opened their new nature playground, on Wednesday 23 October.

Despite the short bursts of rain, kids and adults alike took joy in exploring the playground and enjoying new adventures.

A nature playground is a specially designed playground which encourages children to play in elements of nature, such as climbing trees, playing in gardens and even getting dirty in the mud. In August 2018, the South Perth Early Childhood Centre was granted $65 000 from Lotterywest to build theirs. Continue Reading

Caring Hands craft intergenerational connections

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More than 80 people gathered at Beldon Uniting Church for an intergenerational Seniors’ Morning Tea in November. Organised by the Caring Hands group of the church, guests were invited from various aged care residential sites, and treated to a range of entertainment.

Children from the Beldon Early Learning Centre, an outreach of Beldon Uniting Church, performed a selection of nursery rhymes, and children from the local Beldon Primary School performed  some drumming. The school is located across the road from the church and they share a relationship through the school chaplain. A local ukulele group also performed. Continue Reading