News, Notices & Prayer points - 24 November 2020

Posted Nov 24, 2020 in News

News & Notices – 24 November 2020

Below are the news and notices from congregations, the Synod of South Australia and the wider Uniting Church for the Tuesday 24 November edition of UC e-News

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Prayer Points for the week:

We pray for all of people including those who have lost loved ones to the COVID-19 pandemic
We pray for the sick and those caring for them and for the frontline workers who risk their own health and well-being and those who are living in isolation at this time
We pray for those who are lonely, have worries, sadness or health issues
We pray for those in positions of responsibility with difficult decisions to make.

Synod Meeting 11-13 February 2021

Registrations have been sent out to members for the Synod Meeting in February 2021. Please register at your earliest convenience and be sure to check your spam folder if you have not yet received the email and believe you should have. If you have any questions about membership of Synod, please contact us by emailing Turn on Javascript!. For more information about what happens at our Synod meeting we invite you to view this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txW2vX1hMJ4

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Congregation responses to COVID-19

All ministers/pastors/faith community leaders are invited to participate in a research project exploring how congregations responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the lockdowns.

This first phase of the research explores how congregations adapted their worship, mission and ministry practices during the lockdowns; what motivated those responses; and the extent to which congregations have continued these new or adapted practices post-lockdown(s). We hope the research will be useful to the church.

Depending on your responses, the questionnaire might take up to 30 minutes to complete.

You can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020C-19AUCA You can read the information at that site without a commitment to participate.

If you have any questions please contact Tanya Wittwer, UCLT +61 8 8416 8434 Turn on Javascript! or Lynne Taylor, Theology Programme, School of Arts, +64 3 479 5358, Turn on Javascript!.

[This project has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committees of Adelaide College of Divinity and the School of Arts, University of Otago.]

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Free Christmas PowerPoint Templates to download

This year’s Synod of SA Christmas theme is ‘Joy,’ which is centred on Isaiah 43:19 – ‘Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth … I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.’ The message is that we all may experience God’s love and peace in new and unexpected ways as we celebrate this Christmas season.

Along with other themed resources (postcards and posters), the Engagement Team also provides a set of free, PowerPoint templates for your use. You can download these templates here, which also includes Christmas graphics for PowerPoint presentations to be used in your background slides.

For more information, contact: Turn on Javascript!.

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Operation Santa: Calling all youth groups!

Join us as we shop, shop, shop to buy presents for young people doing it tough this Christmas.

The Operation Santa Youth Event is an opportunity for youth groups to start the conversation around disadvantage and the gift of giving through the work of UnitingCare community service organisations.

This event has moved online.

Please contact Julianne (Turn on Javascript!) or on 8236 4233 to find out more. For more information visit: https://sa.uca.org.au/opsanta/

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2021 Calendar and Christmas Postcard Update

Due to last week’s temporary lockdown and the closure of the Synod office to visitors, pick-up of Calendars will now be available from Wednesday, December 2^nd onwards.

Orders can still be placed for the Calendar but the price per Calendar is now $8.00 each.

Only online orders will be accepted, please click here to be taken to the Calendar online ordering page.

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Christmas service details

All congregations and faith communities are invited to share their Christmas service and event details on the Synod of SA website (sa.uca.org.au/Christmas-2020). Please list the service dates, times, locations and titles (e.g. Blue Christmas, Carols Service etc.) and email them to the Engagement team at engagement @sa.uca.org.au.

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COVID – Intergenerational Ministry Grants 2020 – now Extended!

Due to South Australia’s current lockdown, applications for the COVID – Intergenerational Ministry Grants 2020 are now due by 5pm on Monday 30 November, 2020 – a one week extension. Please contact Turn on Javascript! if you have any questions.

Please note along with a completed form, we will also accept an email from your Church Council Chairperson endorsing your application, in lieu of their signature on the form.

The Intergen Team (Mission Resourcing) is inviting applications for grants to encourage and resource age-specific and intergenerational ministries with children, youth and young adults to flourish as we move into 2021.

We hope this grant process will create opportunities for local ministries to be thinking ‘outside the box’ about how they are forming their young people to follow Jesus resiliently in everyday life and how they are looking to share the message of Jesus beyond their church with young people in the wider community that they belong to.

For more information about key criteria and the application process, please download the application form: https://sa.uca.org.au/documents/intergen-docs/resources/2020-Intergen-Ministry-Grant-Application-Form.pdf

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November Refugee Advocacy Guide

In response to issues raised by the Commonwealth Ombudsman concerning on-shore immigration detention, a two-page Refugee Advocacy Guide has been put together for supporters' letter-writing actions. The November Refugee Advocacy Guide can be downloaded here.

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Called by God Webinar – Part 2

On Saturday 3rd October 2020, President Dr Deidre Palmer hosted a three-part webinar to introduce the themes of her 2021 President's Conference, Called by God - Living our Christian vocation in daily life. The second vodcast of the three sessions can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/472422755. The video is available with closed captions in English for greater accessibility.

This second part of three sessions includes the call stories of Rev Mark Kickett, Rev Alistair Macrae, Rhanee Tsetsakos, Rev Radhika Sukumar-White, Rev Charissa Suli and Catherine Pepper.

The Called by God President's Conference is scheduled to take place in Adelaide from Thursday 29th April until 2nd May 2021.

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The best gifts this Christmas!

UnitingWorld's Everything in Common gifts are back and they're all yours to share with your loved ones. Each gift represents a life-changing project helping people to break the cycle of poverty so they can step towards a life of dignity. Check out the full catalogue of gifts and resources to share with your church at www.everythingincommon.com

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Congregational Website Program

The Congregational Website Program offers congregations, faith communities, Presbyteries, and other UCA organisations, the opportunity to have a fully functional website. It provides a clean design that reflects the Uniting Church in South Australia as an innovative and growing church. At present the Synod hosts 55 websites on behalf of congregations, UCA associated organisations and Presbyteries.

We offer a one-page site; full website with a pre-set layout; and a full website with a customised layout. If you are thinking about a website we urge you to act now, as our pricing is due to increase as of January 1^st, 2021. To find out more about the program visit https://ucasa.org.au or email: Turn on Javascript!.

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Christmas Family Faith Trail

Equip families to explore the events of the Christmas story through five interactive stations during Advent. Each station has a theme, Bible passage, questions to chat about, activity ideas for different ages including adults, and prayer ideas that use locations and items from around the home. This free resource is a gift that churches can give to families and small groups with people of any age. To find out more about how churches can use this resource and to download it, visit: https://intergenteam.uca.so.org.au/christmas-family-faith-trail.

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Thanksgiving Day Event Update

Due to COVID, a decision was made to cancel Thanksgiving Day on 27^th November. Please contact Janet Woodward on 0432 271 575 if you need any further information.

If you didn’t get to read the last ‘News & Notices?’

Click here for the News, Notices & Prayer points – 24 November 2020, which included updates about: