Uniting Church in Australia - 3 videos for #NRW, Uniting in Prayer online, joint support for the Voice + more in this week's national wrap

 

31 May-6 June 2023 National Update Your weekly snapshot of the Uniting Church in Australia

Our Featured Story Listening to the insights of our First Peoples National Reconciliation Week (NRW) culminates this Saturday with Mabo Day on 3 June, commemorating  Eddie Mabo's successful efforts to overturn the concept of “terra nullius” which denied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' ownership of the land they had inhabited for some six millennia. The Uniting Church’s Revised Preamble to the Constitution (2009) acknowledges the First Peoples of this land had already encountered the Creator God before the colonisers arrived and recognises their particular insights into God’s ways. At the recent UAICC National Conference, three Congress members reflected on their faith in Jesus and their deep spiritual connections to Country.  With their permission, we have shared videos of these reflections from Rev Deacon Maratja Dhamarrandji (Yolŋu), Aunty Rev Dr Denise Champion (Adnyamathanha) and Rev Tim Matton-Johnson (Palawa). We encourage you to spend time with them as NRW comes to a close.  Thanks to all the Uniting Church members who have participated in NRW in different ways. Special mention goes to Engadine Uniting Church whose members formed a choir to participate in the NRW Voices for Generations project singing Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” – read their story here. It’s not too late to register for the information session with Together, Yes, tomorrow 1 June at 12pm AEST to find out how you can be part of the kitchen table conversations building momentum for a 'Yes' to constitutional recognition and voice for First Peoples this year. Watch the videos UNITING IN PRAYER Join the national online prayer gathering The first week of Uniting in Prayer is underway! We're excited about people across the Uniting Church gathering through these 26 days to pray for each other, our Church and world. In the second last week of Uniting in Prayer we’ll be hosting a national time of prayer online which will be open to all. Join with others across the country in real time as we hold our Church and world before God, and uphold each other in love and prayer. Register here and join on Zoom on Thursday 15 June, 8pm AEST. Through Uniting in Prayer we're sharing a prayer to social media and by email each day. Make sure you follow us, or sign up on the website to get them straight to your inbox. Humans of the Uniting Church BILL GERRITSEN "I like to see people with a smile on their face." This week in our Humans of the Uniting Church series, be inspired by Bill Gerritsen. A member of Wangaratta Uniting Church in northeast Victoria, Bill has a heart for helping others, from giving farmers a hand with Frontier Services, to driving musicians around for the local Jazz festival, to becoming an adopted grandparent for a young family experiencing domestic violence. Be sure to watch the video at the end where Bill shares how he has battled through cancer treatment to get back to volunteering.  VOICE Joint submission on the Voice to Parliament In a joint submission to the proposed Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill 2023 currently before the Parliament, the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, Uniting Church in Australia and UnitingCare Australia expressed strong support for a First Nations Voice. The submission emphasises the importance of celebrating First Nations people, acknowledging their sovereignty and the need for self-determination to give people an opportunity to shape decisions impacting their lives. Watch the speech made by Liberal MP Bridget Archer in which she quotes UAICC Tasmania Leprena Manager Alison Overeem referring to Voice as the first of many "yes threads" in restoring justice (at 4.20min).  INTERFAITH Uniting Church-Jewish Dialogue meets In May the 55th dialogue meeting between the Uniting Church and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) delved into the big issues facing Indigenous people and the nation as a whole with First Nations guest speakers Professor Tom Calma AO and Alison Overeem. The dialogue also heard reflections from Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio and Rev Dr Robyn Whitaker on the significance of this time of year in the Jewish and Christian traditions. Read the full report from Associate General Secretary Rev Lindsay Cullen.  INNOVATION  Exploring ourselves in this world and beyond This weekend, St Davids Newtown Uniting Church in Geelong, Victoria, will jointly host OmegaCon - a convention dedicated to exploring who we are in this world and beyond. Kelly Skilton from the Young Generations Team in the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, whose role includes Digital and New Communities, explains how this innovative form of ministry will create a place of inclusion, exploration and belonging. Find out about opportunities to join live gaming and panel sessions that include Uniting Church people.   POSITIONS Positions available: National Consultants Are you someone with a deep passion for the future of the Church, who loves to work collaboratively and build connections? The Assembly is recruiting for two National Consultants to join the Assembly Resourcing Unit. Be a part of a collaborative, multifocal and interdisciplinary team that will resource the Mission and Ministry work of the Assembly. Applications can be sent to aru@nat.uca.org.au.

President's Conference Early Bird rego Extended! We've extended the Early Bird registration price for the President's Conference taking place from 26-30 July at Redcliffe Uniting Church, north of Brisbane. Don't miss this opportunity to connect, share stories and reflect on how God is present in our Church.  The first part of the conference is for ministry agents in a placement, and the final two days are for the whole church. Save $50 by registering by this Sunday 4 June.  Register to be there Events Preachfest! 2023 PreachFest is back in 2023 from 1-3 November in Sydney and Melbourne. Keynote speakers announced this week - Stan Grant and Amy-Jill Levine - will join many other amazing speakers. Find out more and get early bird tickets for attendance in person.  Find out more UnitingWorld Partnership at its best Key to the work of Uniting World are partnerships like this one with the Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM), the development agency of our partner, the Protestant Church in Bali. They are transforming lives for people like farmer Komang who was given the technical help and resources he needed to secure a sustainable income to support his family. Give now to help UnitingWorld end poverty.  Give now Resources Refugee Week resources The Social Justice Commission of the Uniting Church WA has collated a series of prayers and reflections that can be used in worship on the Sunday during Refugee Week, 18 June 2023, with the theme 'Finding Freedom'. Download it to use in your worship.  Go to the resources

Positions Community Programs Coordinator - Frontier Services This important role develops strong relationships in order to coordinate, grow and deliver Outback Links Community Programs across remote Australia. Executive Assistant - Equipping Leadership for Mission (Synod of Vic/Tas) Provide crucial admin support to the Executive Officer - eLM and the Director of Education and Formation for Leadership within the Synod. Upcoming Dates 28 May – 22 June: Uniting in Prayer 18-24 June: Refugee Week 22 June: Uniting Church Anniversary (President’s Message coming) 2-9 July: NAIDOC Week 16 July: Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday (resources to come from the Assembly)  26-30 July: President’s Conference (Brisbane) Check out more dates across the year Join us in prayer for First Nations people in Australia. We give thanks for their ways of knowing and deep connections to this land. We pray as Christians we can model and encourage respectful conversations on reconciliation and a Voice to Parliament. All those Uniting Church communities around the country taking part in Uniting in Prayer; may the Spirit disturb and inspire us as we open our lives to God in prayer. Our UCA dialogue with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. May we continue to grow in friendship and understanding with the Jewish community in Australia.  Angola, Mozambique as part of the WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle. Do you have a story to share? Email us! Our weekly PowerPoint with stories, resources and prayer points for use in your weekly worship.  Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2023 Uniting Church in Australia, All rights reserved. We're sending you weekly updates because you opted into news from the Uniting Church in Australia. Our mailing address is: Uniting Church in Australia Lvl 4 262 Pitt St Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia