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Rockin’ the Goldfields: Music ministry with Lindsay Ginn
Pastor Lindsay Ginn has been working as a Uniting Church WA Bush Chaplain in the Remote Area Ministry, Goldfields Patrol for just over a year and has already made some big waves. Frontier Services, a Uniting Church Assembly agency supporting people in Australia’s rural and remote areas, funds the role, which sees Bush Chaplains travelling […]
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Respect, learning and welcoming
When the Uniting Church WA gathers, we often share in a Welcome to Country or an Acknowledgment of Country. Both are significant ways the church can acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, but there are some important differences. A Welcome to Country is only led by Traditional Custodians; whereas an Acknowledgment of Country can […]
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Missional work alive and strong in the city
Christine Nicholas, member of Uniting Church in the City, shares two exciting projects the congregation has been passionately involved in, despite the challenges of 2020. The good news of Jesus Christ calls us to be a missional people – to be caught up in God’s mission in the world. Boab Network Uniting Church in the […]
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Spirituality and Self-care
We’ve probably all heard, and even been challenged by, one of those quotes about a spiritual giant who prayed more the busier they were. So Martin Luther: In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Or St Francis de Sales: Everyone of us needs half […]
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Work Engagement: being energised, dedicated and engaged in our ministries
Would you describe yourself as being energised, dedicated and engaged by and in your ministry? How have your experiences with COVID-19 and the different challenges that have come about in your ministry changed your energy and commitment and engagement in that ministry? It may be if you were struggling already this has either led to […]
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Our culture of busyness
“How has your week gone everybody?” This was a starter question in a small group in the ministers’ gathering. “Busy” is the response that rings around the [zoom break-out] room… The life of ministry is busy and there were all kinds of events that people mentioned that they were working towards that filled their heads […]
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Aligning our theology of ministry and of self-care
I’ve thought about having a ‘theology of self-care’ but actually it is more having a theology of ministry and then part of that is how self-care might have a part. There is no one-size-fits-all when we talk about ministry let alone self-care. So while on one hand that is a comfort (especially for those of […]
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The troublesome language of self-care
We have been talking about self-care for a number of weeks. But there are problems with the language of self-care. Three main reasons are the ways that it buys into the current self-focus of the age, multi-cultural factors, and ministry as a call to service. Self-care: you’re worth it! We live in an age when […]
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Taking ourselves seriously when it comes to self-care
A ministry colleague (and previous student) has just posted his second day of ‘25 Push-ups for 25 days to raise awareness on Anxiety, PTSD, Depression and Suicide’. When I commended him (not volunteering to do the same) his response was ‘self-care is a must!’ I’m pleased that that message has got through to someone. But […]
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Good-Enough: A reflection on the millstone of aspirational perfection
Today I read a Facebook post where a woman was talking about having been a child in Bosnia, where from the age of 8 she missed four years of schooling during the war. She left Bosnia for NZ (I think) at 13 with no English and little schooling. She now has a degree and is […]