This is my Uniting Church

Share a little bit about your church community.

Hope Uniting Church is located on the lands of the Gadigal and Bidjigal Peoples, where the waves crash like thunder at Maroubra Beach. We’re a mixed bunch of people from across the Randwick LGA and beyond, all at different stages of life and faith. While we each find different ways to express our faith, collectively we are proud to be a part of the Uniting Church in Australia. We welcome all, regardless of race, culture, age, sexual orientation, gender diversity, or income. Hope is a community that holds and affirms each other in our difference.  

As an intergenerational and intercultural community, there is always a bit of joyful chaos during worship. Kids at Hope are active participants and leaders during worship, where they share in worship- leading, bible readings and story sharing during the Communion.  

For a long time, Hope UC has been running Corio Student House, an intentional Christian community for young people. Corio House is a supportive community that shares its life together as residents explore their discipleship alongside their tertiary studies. Hope Uniting Church supports residents and residents are active members of the church community. Our church is also connected to the local university (University of New South Wales) through Chaplaincy and the student society, Christian Students Uniting (CSU). This means our community is always in transit, with people frequently moving in and out. As a community, we mark those moments through Blessing and Releasing services.  

On the first week of every month we gather around the table for Communion, and this extends to a BBQ lunch, where we continue fellowship over a shared meal. 

According to one of the younger members of our community: Hope is always kind and caring for one another.  

What are some of the things happening there that are really exciting for people?

There is always something happening at Hope, revolving around the Sunday worship. We tend to gather around the worship space, as a place where we genuinely connect with one another and find God in the midst of our interactions.  

From time to time, we venture out and connect with our nearby Christian communities to build deeper relationships. Since last year, Hope and Mascot Wesley UC have joined together for combined worship services on Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. It is fun to explore together multifarious worship styles, practices, and cultural elements, while growing meaningful relationships with our neighbours.  

Hope also has a relationship with the Reconciliation Church in La Perouse, an Aboriginal Catholic Ministry of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. Reconciliation Church has a Stations of the Cross by an Aboriginal Artist, Richard Campbell and during Lent, last year, Hope visited the Reconciliation Church and had a worship service around the Stations of the Cross. We are also in the process of having our outdoor cross painted by the Reconciliation Church.  

The Community Garden has always been a part of Hope’s DNA and at the moment we are dreaming and envisioning how we can further develop our grounds into an edible garden/pocket farm as a way to build new connections with community. This is a slow process but an exciting journey.  

What energises the faith of this community?

Hope people energise each other. Hope has a beautiful way of holding each other in our differences. Hard to explain but you will feel it once you step into the Hope community. There is a genuine sense of love and care for one another which deeply reflects the inclusive love of Christ. We are a family, and if you come to Hope you will be included in our family from the moment you arrive. Worship at Hope is authentic and is reflective of the problems and heartaches of the community and the world. We celebrate together but also lament and cry together.  

Where do you see God at work at the moment?

Recently the Hope community farewelled two much beloved members. Their funerals were only a month apart. One of Hope’s ministers also lost her brother recently, so we are on a journey of grief together, still somehow, God is in our midst holding the community ever gently as we mark the sadness and the loss.  

It feels like Hope is entering into a new season, and for now, God is slowing us down and giving us rest as we catch up and learn to breathe again with the Spirit.  

Are there any challenges you're facing there?

Like many congregations and communities of faith, Hope has some dedicated people carrying the heavier load for the community, and the demands of property upkeep and regulations are hard and somewhat frustrating. As we slow down and dream again, there is still daily work to be done, with the roof and upkeep of the building, managing and planning that can sometimes be daunting.  

What can the rest of the Church pray for there?

Pray for wisdom, patience and discernment for all members of Hope as we navigate significant decisions. Pray for our lay and ordained leaders and pray for our children and young adults. Pray for those in our local community who are marginalized, and for ways in which the church can open up spaces of genuine community and connection.