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Moderator’s column: Is it the journey or the destination?
As a child growing up in India, I was fascinated with trains because India’s railway network is one of the most intricate and extensive in the world, covering more than 120 000 kilometres of track, predominantly on what is commonly known as ‘broad gauge’ of 5 feet 6 inches. It has a long history, with […]
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Moderator’s 2020 Advent Week One Message: Hope for the 21st Century
As a child growing up in Kerala, Christianity was a minority faith amid a potpourri of religious expression. Christmas was just one of many competing festivals among a variety of religions, all competing for attention in the fascinating mosaic of Indian society.
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Members welcomed to the 44th Annual Meeting of the Synod of WA
The 44th Annual Meeting of the Synod of WA opened this morning at Wesley College with welcomes and devotions. The new Moderator of the Uniting Church WA, Susy Thomas, shared her hopes for the weekend. “We are a pilgrim people; it’s a journey to the promised land,” she said. “God has promised to feed us […]
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New Moderator overflows with hope
Susy Thomas was installed as the new Moderator, the public leader and spokesperson, of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), Synod of Western Australia for the triennium 2020 to 2023 at the opening worship of the 44th Synod last night, Friday 11 September in Wesley College Chapel. A small community gathered in a COVID safe […]
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Moderator’s Coronavirus Pandemic Prayer for the World
Holy and loving God, awesome Creator and marvelous Saviour, we thank you for your life-giving love. Jesus reminds us that such is your care for us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. We lament with you over the spread of the coronavirus around the WORLD. We are saddened by suffering and death […]
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COVID-19 Prayer from the Moderator
Gracious and loving God, the Psalmist reminds us that “You are our refuge and strength , an ever present help in trouble”. Lord God, we feel deeply that our world is in trouble with the spread of the coronavirus. There is a heightened sense of fear and anxiety about the future. We ask that we […]
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What did I learn? Forgiveness is not easy
I have always enjoyed ferry boat rides; across the river Mersey as a child, over to Rottnest Island as an adult and over to Manly as a tourist when visiting Sydney. However my most significant ferry trip was a few years ago in South Africa to Robben Island. The island is infamous because it was […]
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Dare to care for our planet
I sometimes have to pinch myself, how beautiful is creation. One of my favourite haunts is Cottesloe beach, either for an early morning dip or to watch the sun set over the ocean. For many people the beauty around us invokes within us a sense of wonder and awe, a sense of mystery and the […]
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Moderator’s 2019 Christmas Greetings
Uniting Church Western Australia Moderator Rev Steve Francis shares his 2019 Christmas greetings reflecting on why small does not mean insignificant. The story of Christmas is a love story of smallness. The birth of Jesus Christ, one of the most miraculous events in history, took place in a small stable. But if you look back […]
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Good grief: Navigating the journey of grief
It’s happened again. The news has been painful and hard to bear. Someone has died. Over the past four weeks by word of mouth or by email, I have discovered the news we rarely want to hear, someone we care for has passed away. On four separate occasions in the last month, four people dear […]