Dwelling in Love at the 16th Assembly
Dwelling in Love at the 16th AssemblyThe 16th Assembly meeting wrapped up on the Sunshine Coast on Monday afternoon after four days of joyful Christian community, worship, prayer and discerning the will of God for the Uniting Church in Australia. Over four days from 6-9 May, 200 members from around the country came together on…
Moving to a truly intercultural Church
Moving to a truly intercultural ChurchThe 16th Assembly has passed a proposal that seeks to deepen the Uniting Church’s commitment to living faith and life interculturally through a range of measures including a new annual Sunday of celebration, ‘Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday’. It also requests some review of the Regulations, UCA policies and other key documents…
A word from the National Directors
A word from the National DirectorsDay 3 of the 16th Assembly heard about the national work of the church from senior leaders of the Assembly and its agencies – UnitingCare Australia National Director Claerwen Little, UnitingWorld National Director Dr Sureka Goringe, Frontier Services National Director Jannine Jackson, National Director for Strategic Finance and Administration Leo…
Worship Day 3
Growing in Love: Worship Day 3Members of the reconvened Assembly began Day 3 by coming together in prayer, worship, Bible Reflection – and joyful dance – as they prepared again to discern the Spirit together. Marrpalawuy Marika from Gan Gan in North East Arnhem Land gave an Acknowledgement of Country (written by Rev Dr Amelia…
United for older people
United for older peopleThe 16th Assembly has passed a proposal that both celebrate older people and prioritise advocacy to ensure the dignity and care of older Australians. Under the proposal, Assembly members endorsed UnitingCare Australia to prioritise advocacy that urges the Australian Government to fully implement the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission and…
Act2 Discernment
Act2 DiscernmentMembers of the 16th Assembly have had their first opportunity to engage with the Act2 report in an information session on Saturday morning. Act2 is process of discernment about how faithfully following Christ in our time and place shapes the Uniting Church into the future. Catherine Pepper, who is a member of both the…
A commitment to climate justice and care of creation
A commitment to climate justice and care of creationThe 16th Assembly have passed a proposal from the Assembly Standing Committee that commits the Uniting Church to take seriously the voices and wisdom of First Peoples on climate justice and care of creation. Proud Palawa woman and Assembly Standing Committee member Alison Overeem from the Southeastern…
#UCA22 social media highlights
#UCA22 social media highlightsReady for Day 2 of Assembly. First day of business with some big proposals before us. (Also, I’d forgotten what life was like without a Yellow Card!) @UnitingChurchAu #dwellinginlove #godineveryact pic.twitter.com/QzkGCb051R— Richard La’Brooy (@richlabrooy) May 6, 2022 Busy weekend ahead. Landed on the Sunshine Coast for the national meeting of @UnitingChurchAU (the…
Worship Day 2 #UCA22
Worship Day 2 #UCA22 Dwelling in Love with all Creation Day 2 of the reconvened Assembly began in worship with an Acknowledgment of Country sung in the language of the Gubbi Gubbi People, led by Megan Laurie-Thomson and the Assembly band. Like the online meeting of the Assembly last year, students from Nungalinya College in…
Youthful delegates gather ahead of 16th Assembly
Youthful delegates gather ahead of 16th AssemblyTwenty youthful members of the 16th Assembly have gathered today ahead of the beginning of the reconvened meeting. The pre-Assembly gathering is an opportunity for youthful members to build community, share their hopes and gain insights into how the meeting works. Members under 30 make up one in 10…
Renewing the Covenant
16th Assembly renews the CovenantThe reconvened meeting of the 16th Assembly began with a historic renewal of the Covenant between the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC), reaffirming the place of this relationship at the heart of the UCA. Uniting Church President Rev Sharon Hollis led a…
10 ways to connect with the 16th Assembly
10 ways to connect with the 16th Assembly In just a week and a half, from 6-9 May, members of the 16th Assembly will gather for the reconvened meeting on Gubbi Gubbi Country on the Sunshine Coast. The first meeting of 16th Assembly members in July last year was held online for the first time…
President Sharon Sermon
“Love that bears all things”UCA President Rev Sharon Hollis shared this sermon as part of her Installation Service of Worship on 17 July 2021. As I came to write today’s sermon and reflect on today’s readings I thought it could probably be done in two words: God loves. Or a sentence: God loves all of…
Highlights of the 16th Assembly
Highlights of the 16th Assembly The first-ever online meeting for the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia took place over the weekend of 17-18 July.In two historic and joyful moments for the Church, the 16th Assembly installed Rev Sharon Hollis as its third woman President and declared Rev Charissa Suli the new President-elect, the…
Minutes of Appreciations
Minutes of AppreciationThe 16th Assembly observed a Minute of Appreciation for people who have served faithfully in national roles with the Uniting Church in Australia. Rev Dr Amelia Koh Butler, the advocate for Seeking Common Ground Circle of Interest, was thanked for her work in promoting and and encouraging conversation, sharing information and resources in the…
16th Assembly Elections and Appointments
16th Assembly Elections and AppointmentsExtension of the Assembly General Secretary The 16th Assembly resolved to extend the appointment of Colleen Geyer as the Assembly General Secretary. In making the announcement, President Rev Sharon Hollis spoke warmly of Colleen’s ministry to the Assembly and her gracious and wise leadership. Colleen responded: “The past five and a…
Rev Charissa Suli announced as President-elect
Rev Charissa Suli announced as President-electRev Charissa Suli has joyfully been declared President-elect of the Uniting Church in Australia. Charissa is the youngest and first person of colour to serve as President-elect, and the second ordained woman. In her response to the announcement Charissa said: “This is truly an historic moment for the Church. This…
Bible Reflections from Nungalinya College
Bible Reflections from Nungalinya CollegeWATCH the Bible Study Reflection in BELOW. A Study Guide for the Bible Reflections is here.First Nations leaders from Nungalinya College have led Bible Reflections in the opening worship on Day 2 of the 16th Assembly. Nungalinya is an ecumenical training college located in Darwin equipping First Peoples for leadership in churches…
16th Assembly Cato Lecture
The Cato Lecture is an important feature of the triennial Assembly in the Uniting Church in Australia.In 1932, successful Victorian businessman Fred Cato established the Cato Lectureship to promote the enhancement of religion and education. The presentation of material of interest to the general body of church members was designed to extend the goodwill and…
Retiring President's Address
Retiring President’s AddressDr Deidre Palmer has used her retiring President’s address at the 16th Assembly meeting to encourage UCA members to remain strong and full of hope, reminding the Church of the many signs of God’s abundant grace. Dr Palmer reflected on the ways the Church has been changed and challenged during the pandemic, which…
Social media highlights Day 1
Social media highlights Day 1I’m set up and ready to go for the @UnitingChurchAu Assembly. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/ZdtNtvjasJ— Richard La’Brooy (@richlabrooy) July 16, 2021 Super happy my church has just installed our first ordained woman as President of the National Assembly.The UCA needs to do a lot more to have our diversity reflected in our…
Installation of Rev Sharon Hollis
Installation of our new PresidentThe Uniting Church in Australia has joyfully installed Rev Sharon Hollis as President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Rev Hollis is the third woman to be President, and the first ordained woman in the role. She will offer the Church spiritual leadership for the next three years. UCA members in…
Leading with creativity and hope
Welcoming the 16th UCA PresidentLeading with creativity and hopeWhen Rev Sharon Hollis was named President-elect of the Uniting Church in Australia, the world was a different place.It was pre-COVID-19. Before mandatory check-ins, the ubiquitous hand sanitiser, the mask-wearing emoji and we all got used to WFH. On 17 July, Sharon will be installed as President of…
How to connect with the online Assembly
How to connect with the online Assembly In just three days, from 17-18 July, the 16th Assembly of the Uniting Church will meet online for the first time in our history.Like many parts of the life of our Church, the need to move into the digital space has led us to be innovative and creative…
16th Assembly members meet online
16th Assembly members gather for the first timeMembers of the 16th Assembly had the opportunity to come together online for the first time this weekend building connections that will extend across the triennium. On Saturday 3 July, President-elect Rev Sharon Hollis and General Secretary Colleen Geyer hosted a meeting with the youthful delegates of the…
Meet the members of the 16th Assembly
Meet the members of the 16th AssemblyThis triennium the 16th Assembly will meet twice, once online from 17-18 July 2021, and then again in-person from 6-9 May 2022. Assembly members will attend both gatherings, and in the lead-up, we’re introducing you to some of them! Drawn from every Synod across the country, they speak of…
Dwelling in Prayer
SIX WEEKS OF DWELLING IN PRAYER Uniting Church members are invited to join together in a time of prayer in the six weeks leading up to the opening of the 16th Assembly on 17-18 July 2021. Each week a prayer will be offered, often in languages other than English (see videos below). President-elect Rev Sharon Hollis…