Uniting Church in Australia - Day of Mourning 2024 resource, President's Christmas message, Advent#4, Waypoint UC + more: National Update 20-26 December 2023

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20-26 December 2023 National Update Your weekly snapshot of the Uniting Church in Australia

Our Featured Story DAY OF MOURNING 2024 A day for truth-telling, justice and healing Save the date for Sunday 21 January 2024 to join others across the Uniting Church in marking a Day of Mourning - a day set aside to lament the dispossession of Australia's First Peoples and the ongoing injustices they face.  This observance arises from a request from the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) which was endorsed at the 15th Assembly in 2018.  In the updated resource for 2024 now available, Uniting Church President Rev Sharon Hollis and National UAICC Chair Rev Mark Kickett write,  “As we move into 2024, we are acutely aware that there remains in our nation an unhealed wound that began with the white settlement of Australia and continues to impact the lives of First Nations people today.” "We pray that in the year ahead, we will have the courage to face our history with honesty.   Alongside the Day of Mourning resource, the President and UAICC National Chair have shared a joint Survival Day message, reflecting on the Uniting Church's covenant commitment to speak truth and seek justice. We encourage you to watch and share as we approach this day.  As we reckon with the history of this nation, we pray we might find new ways to walk together as First and Second Peoples as a witness to God's love for us all. Go to the resource CHRISTMAS MESSAGE A love that heals our broken heartedness  Don't miss the President's Christmas message for 2023! Amidst the darkness and suffering in the world, Rev Sharon Hollis says the birth of Jesus is God’s way of standing in solidarity with us, arriving into all our brokenness and beauty. Watch and download the video message (now with subtitles in Tongan, Fijian, Indonesian and Korean) and catch up on the Christmas messages from the Uniting Church Moderators around the country.  ADVENT "Unarmed truth and unapologetic love" Our final Advent reflection is from Assembly Policy and Advocacy Officer Raúl Sugunananthan. Raúl speaks of the self-sacrificial way of life that Jesus taught us to seek. Our Christian response to the inequity and injustice we see in our own society must be to "emphasise the experience of the other". The reflection includes a prayer, included in the PowerPoint below.  THIS IS MY UNITING CHURCH "That God would pour the Spirit afresh" In our final This Is My Uniting Church feature for 2023, we meet the community at Waypoint Uniting Church which worships at two locations in Adelaide's north-eastern suburbs. Pastor Nathan Pullman shares about the passions and intergenerational life of the community, how God is working to change lives and how we can join with them in praying for renewed energy, passion and hope. Do you know a community with a great story to tell? Email us to nominate them! ECUMENICAL NEWS World Council of Churches Christmas message In this Christmas message from World Council of Churches (WCC), General Secretary Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay reflects that in a time of darkness, when mounting challenges threaten to diminish hope, as disciples of Jesus the world needs our courage and love. We are called to stand up to fear, counter falsehood, challenge greed and offer hope to the world. You can watch the message or read it in English, German, French and Spanish. HUMANS OF THE UNITING CHURCH Meet Mikali Anagnostis This week we wrap up our Humans of the Uniting Church series with Mikali Agnostis, songwriter and member of Leichhardt Uniting Church in Sydney. Mikali shares their journey to find a joyful and affirming church home, their love for rich liturgy and hope that the church can support forms of spiritual community that nurture a deep sense of the sacred in people today. HOLY LAND Renewed calls for ceasefire in Gaza The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) has renewed its call for peace in Gaza, supporting the Australian Government’s call for urgent international efforts to bring about an immediate and sustainable ceasefire. This comes as the World Council of Churches (WCC) extended condolences to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem which is currently mourning the tragic deaths of two women, fatally shot while seeking refuge in the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, a known sanctuary for many Christian families. To learn more about the situation for Christians in Palestine, the Kairos movement has shared a Christmas Alert including ways to show solidarity, theological reflections and stories on the suffering and grief experienced by those who live in the Holy Land. Photo: The Holy Family Parish in Gaza / WCC RESOURCES A prayer for the New Year Uniting Church President Rev Sharon Hollis has offered a prayer for people and communities to use in marking the coming New Year. Save it now for your New Year's Eve worship next weekend! UPDATE General Secretary contacts for the Assembly Please note that from 1 January, all correspondence for the Assembly General Secretary should be directed to Rev Lindsay Cullen who will be General Secretary (Interim) until the next General Secretary is elected. General Secretary matters can be directed to gensec@nat.uca.org.au and matters for the Associate General Secretary to lindsayc@nat.uca.org.au. We offer our deep gratitude and prayers for God's blessings on Colleen Geyer as she finishes in the role on 31 December.

Frontier Services Fire up for Aussie farmers Every year, people across the country take part in Frontier Services' Great Outback BBQ in support of Australian farmers. Check out these photos of a BBQ held last weekend at Wyong Uniting Church in NSW, and consider how you and your community could spread the word about this great cause or support it by hosting your own event. Host a BBQ Current opportunities Assembly General Secretary Are you passionate about the national life of the church? Are you a change and governance leader and theological reflector? Do you thrive on collaboration and working with diverse teams? The Assembly is seeking its next General Secretary. The position will be elected by the 17th Assembly in July 2024. Applications are open until 23 February.  Apply now Events Retreat Yourself Now open to young adults from across the national Uniting Church, join Retreat Yourself, a three-day gathering of community, worship, prayer, beach fun, great food and sharing from 2-4 February in Gerringong, NSW, organised by Pulse, the Youth, Young Adults and Families ministry of the NSW/ACT Synod. Open to young adults aged 18-30. Read more Ecumenism Global economics school  Applications are open for the 2024 Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management Economy of Life, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, 19-30 August 2024. Up to 20 current and future leaders will have the opportunity to attend the school to develop their economic literacy and strengthen the voice of churches on global economics. Learn more

Positions Presbytery Resource Minister - Northern Tasmania Join a great collaborative team of leaders and staff to contribute your passion for the mission and ministry of the UCA in Tasmania. Contact Placements for more information. Office Coordinator - Albert Street Uniting Church, Brisbane Lead day-day operations, manage diaries and market and manage events for this large city-based Uniting Church currently re-imagining its missional identity. Upcoming Dates 3-24 December: Advent 25 December: Christmas Day (watch the President's Christmas Message) 21 January: Uniting Church Day of Mourning 26 January: Survival Day (video message) Check out more dates across the year Join us in prayer for Uniting Church communities as we celebrate Christmas. May the deep joy, peace, love and hope of God's presence with us in Jesus fill us to the brim and overflow beyond us. Christians in the Holy Land observing the Christmas season under the shadow of war; that the Christ born into a precarious world will enfold and surround them. The ongoing movement of God's Spirit at Waypoint Uniting Church. The communities in North Queensland inundated by major flooding and heavy rain in the wake of Cyclone Jasper.  Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the mainland of China as part of the WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle. This is our final National Update for 2023. We look forward to connecting again with our first email in 2024 on 24 January. Have a happy and holy Christmas and hope-filled 2024! Our weekly PowerPoint with stories, resources and prayer points for use in your weekly worship. This week includes a slide with the President's Christmas message. Click enable content to play video. How will you celebrate the birth of Christ? Email us! Share Tweet Forward