News & notices - 16 May 2018

Posted in News

Below are the news and notices from congregations, the SA Synod and the wider Uniting Church submitted for the Wednesday 16 May edition of UC e-News.

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UnitingWomen early-bird tickets closing soon

Don't miss out on early-bird registration for the UnitingWomen 2018 conference! Save more than 15% by registering by Thursday 31 May. Registrations can be made online here.

UnitingWomen 2018 will be held in Brisbane from 27-30 September, 2018, and will focus on the theme “Weaving Wisdom and Wonder”. It will be a time for Christian women across Australia to gather, grow and be inspired. The conference’s speakers include Eloise Wellings, Uniting Church in Australia President-elect Deidre Palmer, Queensland Synod General Secretary Rev Heather den Houting and many more. Find out more about the speakers and the conference on the website here.

A bursary is available for Uniting Church women in South Australia who wish to attend the UnitingWomen 2018 conference in Brisbane from 27-30 September this year. Applications close on Monday 16 July. The application form is available to download online here.

 

Fearless Leaders conference – this week!

Fearless Leaders aims to provide local, affordable access to high quality, Christ- centered, leadership and church-building content relevant to churches with any level of resource. The conference will be held this weekend (Friday 18 to Saturday 19 May) at Burnside City Uniting Church.

With a focus on practical strategies for ministry, leadership and church-building, Fearless Leaders provides an opportunity for ministry teams to network, learn and encourage each other in an environment of worship, prayer and teaching.

The keynote speaker for this year's event is Pastor Sam DiMauro, campus pastor of Hillsong’s flagship venue, Baulkham Hills. He will be joined by the Journey Uniting Church team and guests from other local churches around Adelaide.

For more information, please click here or email Turn on Javascript!

 

Supporting Frontier Services

For over 100 years, Frontier Services Patrol and Bush Chaplains have worked within isolated and remote Australia to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities, simply for the love of helping people. Financial support enables pastoral and dynamic ministry in some of Australia’s most isolated regions.

To support Frontier Services ministry, consider hosting a celebration service and/or fundraising Great Outback BBQ! Order of Service resources for 2018 are available here.

 

Large print hymn books

Marie Harris, an organist at Newland Memorial Uniting Church, is trying to source half a dozen large print Australian Hymn Books to be used in an aged care facility north of Adelaide. If you or your church are able to donate some books to this cause, please contact Marie via email at Turn on Javascript!

 

Opening service for the 2018 Parliamentary Year

Parliamentarians, church and community leaders, the Governor, the Lord Mayor and more gathered at St Peter’s Cathedral on Thursday 10 May for prayer to mark start of the new parliament. Leaders of South Australian Christian churches prayed a blessing on each parliamentarian and presented them with a small book, Praying the Promises of the Bible.

The following are two prayers shared at the service:

For Good Government

Spirit of justice and truth, grant to our governments and all who serve in public life, wisdom and skill, imagination and energy; protect them from corruption and the temptation of self-serving. Help us to commit ourselves to the common good that our land may be a secure home for all its people, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Parliament

Most gracious God, ruler of the nations, we pray for the Parliament of this State, its members and officers. Direct their work and influence their decisions to the advancement of your glory, and the safety and welfare of our State, so that peace and happiness, truth and justice, may be established among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Anti-Poverty Week 2018 – a date for your diaries

Anti-Poverty Week 2018 will run from Sunday 14 to Saturday 20 October. The United Nations has designated 17 October as International Anti-Poverty Day. Please mark these dates in your diaries and begin thinking about activities you or your church could help promote your concerns about poverty and hardship. Further information is available on the Anti-Poverty Week website here.

 

Sharing office space

The South Australian Council of Churches (SACC) shares its city office space with similar ecumenical bodies. Office space comprising two rooms (4.5m x 4.6m [20sqm] and 4.5m x 5.2m with a bay window [28sqm]) will soon become available. The SACC invites enquiries from similar ecumenical or member church organisations. For more information, please contact Melanie Rain via email at Turn on Javascript!

 

Upcoming events

The majority of Uniting Church SA events are listed on the upcoming events list here.

Some of the events coming up this week are:

Check out the full list to see other exciting events happening in the coming weeks! Events can be submitted to the list here.

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Didn’t read the last “News & notices”? The items below are ones you might want to catch up on.

Assembly papers now online

The first round of papers for the 15th Triennial Meeting of the Uniting Church in Australia Assembly have now been released online on the Assembly website here and through the app (browse "UCA Assembly" here). These include a number of reports, papers and proposals that will be considered at the upcoming meeting. 

Uniting Church SA Moderator Rev Sue Ellis recently released a message related to Assembly and a series of listening forums she intends to hold in the coming months. Please read the full message here.

The Assembly meeting will run from 8-14 July, 2018, in Melbourne. Please subscribe to the Assembly email list here to receive updates.

 

2018 Act for Peace Ration Challenge

The 2018 Act for Peace Ration Challenge has launched! This initiative invites people to eat the same rations as a Syrian refugee during Refugee Week (17-24 June, 2018) – just a small amount of rice, flour, lentils, chickpeas, beans, fish and oil – and get sponsored to do it. The money raised will provide food, medicine and education for refugees, and support communities threatened by conflict and disaster. The Ration Challenge is run by Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia. Find out more about the Ration Challenge here.

 

2018 Pilgrimage of Healing

The Pilgrimage of Healing has run annually since 2011 as a part of Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), supported by Mission Resourcing, the Uniting Church SA Covenanting Committee and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (Congress). The project offers support for the development of Indigenous communities within the Uniting Church SA and Congress, and chooses a different focus each year.

In 2018, the Pilgrimage of Healing will focus on the Oodnadatta Faith Community’s vision for a new church building. The community currently meets for worship and ministry in an open air area, which can be difficult in times of inclement weather. Support can be provided by the donation of funds, prayer or asking the community what practical support is needed.

For more information, please contact Mark Kickett (Turn on Javascript!) or Ian Dempster (Turn on Javascript!).

 

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