The votes have been counted and Peter is one of the 2020 Westfield Geelong Local Heroes! Thanks to everyone who voted for Peter, Uniting Barwon will receive a $10,000 community grant to support the community programs Peter has set up at the Uniting Barwon Op Shop in Wendover Avenue Norlane.
Peter would like to thank all those who helped to promote the community voting and all those who did vote. Thank you all!
As part of our congregational pastoral care ministry, St Luke’s is presenting a Zoom seminar with Dr David Brumley, who will be leading a physical, social, emotional and spiritual (not religious) conversation about progressive illness, including:
How to get your head around a diagnosis
Managing symptoms and fears around dying
Planning what one can in the face of uncertainty
This conversation is scheduled on Zoom on Thursday the 5th of November at 7pm.
Please contact the St Luke’s office to RSVP and receive the zoom link: info@stlukesuca.org.au
A flyer for the event can be downloaded here for printing or emailing:
Dr David Brumley is a palliative care care specialist doctor. He spent most of his working life in Ballarat, initially in General Practice.
He was one of a team who developed a home care service called Ballarat Hospice Care, and later an inpatient palliative care ward called Gandarra.
He was the first Medical Director of the Grampians Regional Palliative Care Team, with the responsibility to travel in the Grampians Region (Bacchus Marsh to the Border) to support GPs and nurses, and also to provide palliative care support to the hospitals in that region.
He and his wife Linda moved to Queenscliff 6 years ago, and he has continued to work for Bellarine Community Health and to consult at St John of God Hospital and Epworth. Other than work he finds great enjoyment in vegetable gardening, paddling his kayak, reading and music.
Uniting staff (left to right) Jeremy and Paul unload a delivery of goods for bushfire-affected communities in Gippsland.
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Spring edition of Congregation Connect.
In this edition, you can read about our recent submission to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Homelessness, a property sharing opportunity between Uniting Vic.Tas and Shepparton Uniting Church and the fantastic national response to our making masks initiative.
It also talks about the Coffee Cup Challenge which officially launched on 1st October however It is still not too late to get involved. All funds raised from the Coffee Cup Challenge will support people experiencing crisis, vulnerability and disadvantage.
I have also attached a copy of our Spring Supporter Newsletter, which features stories of hope in the face of crisis. On page 5, there are examples of just some of the ways our dedicated teams have kept our support going during these challenging times. You can also read about the difference your giving has made this past winter and discover new ways to get involved.
Uniting Christmas cards are now available to order with 4 new additions to the range. Each design has been thoughtfully selected by members of the Uniting Church to reflect the joy and hope of Christmas and all proceeds will support people in crisis.
As current restrictions have made it too difficult for many of you to complete orders for your members by consignment this year, I have attached a copy of the Christmas Card poster and a PDF order form for you to pass on to your members. Please note we have made the order form fillable for anyone wanting to complete and email it back to us without printing. Alternatively, they can pre-fill the details prior to printing for mailing it back to us if they prefer this to manually writing their details.
Cards can be also be ordered by calling our Supporter Services on 1800 668 426 or visiting our Christmas Card site.
If you need paper copies of the newsletters, poster or order form to distribute to your members, please call us on 1800 668 426 or email fundraising@unitingvictas.org.au.
The Justice and International Mission Cluster is asking you to be part of a taskforce on climate change action. The taskforce’s purpose is to identify, encourage and support the implementation of measures across the Synod to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. To lodge an expression of interest, contact Mark Zirnsak at mark.zirnsak@victas.uca.org.au or on 0409 166 915 by October 28.
This week we joined together with Belmont Uniting Church and Western Heights Uniting Church in this reflective service, to start exploring a recent book by N. T. Wright.
Following the insights of Tom Wright’s book “God and the Pandemic: A Christian reflection on the Coronavirus and its aftermath”, today we reflect on the question of God and suffering. As we are confronted with evil and suffering in the world, we should not be asking why suffering happens but how do we respond? The readings from Deuteronomy and Matthew’s gospel (the beatitudes) provide guidance in how the Christians should respond, with care and generosity.
And keep an eye out for Karen and the Western Heights puppets, and I think our first virtual choir!
Jean Daw would like you to know that St Luke’s has postcards available to sign and send asking the government to ban advertising for online gambling. You can pick one up from the office on Tuesdays and Fridays or ask to have one dropped in to you.
More information on the problems caused by online gambling can be found in the latest Just Act newsletter.
Recently we have been dipping into the epic story of the God’s liberation of the people of Israel as recorded in the book of Exodus.
This week we will be looking at perhaps the central event of this grand narrative … indeed perhaps of the whole of the Old Testament … the crossing of the Red Sea.
Did you notice in the text that Moses was dealing not just with the rampaging army of Egypt but those who were moaning and groaning in his own camp who thought whips and slavery did not seem to bad compared with the situation they were in? (Humans are humans … nothing changes in 3,500 years.)
Secondly, let’s be clear that the members of Pharaoh’s army are victims … real people with families … caught up in Pharaoh’s nefarious doings … sacrificed like so many before and since in a pointless battle.
Yet let me say it again core to this passage is an understanding that God overcomes the forces of chaos … represented both by Pharaoh and his army, and the deep scary Sea.
God is a God of new creation and liberation who confronts and deals with the dark forces.
This sisters and brothers is not a purely theoretical affirmation … to know that God will not allow evil to prevail is a statement of profound hope.
For an inspirational listening song, you might enjoy “Baba Yetu” – the Lord’s Prayer, in Swahili:
In our congregation we have people who have come to Australia via the UNHCR refugee program. We have others who came seeking asylum however they could, using all their resources to escape persecution. Happily, many of our people seeking asylum have had protection visas granted to them.
But there are still asylum seekers in our community who are being left behind. Here is Fatma’s story, produced by the Refugee Council of Australia, encouraging us to do what we can to urge the government not to exclude these people from the basic supports that others have taken for granted.
Perhaps this week if you are stuck at home alone with too much time on your hands, you can make contact with the Refugee Council and find out what you can do to help advocate for people in need.
Some of the music from our worship video today was composed and performed by a group called The String Contingent. If you liked their music, which they freely gave permission for us to use, I encourage you to visit their webpage and find out more about them here.
National Child Protection Week runs from September 6-12 and we’re inviting congregations to consider what it means to protect the children in our care. The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect has produced a resources and an activity sheet to help you get feedback from children on what they enjoy about your congregation and what needs improving.
A Free Talk Each Tuesday in September at 11am via Zoom
1st Your Rights Your Safety
8th Your Home and Adult Children
15th Your Choices Your Values
22nd Your Medical Decision Maker
29th Your Powers of Attorney
Each talk will be for 30 – 40 minutes with 20 minutes for questions and discussion.
Book for one Tuesday, book for some, book for all.
All sessions are free. Numbers limited to 15.
To book or further information Email: or telephone Gary Ferguson 0407 329 290
Hosted by Seniors Rights Victoria
Now that so much of our community life is happening online, you may find that this environment has a few traps for new players. Certainly criminals are taking advantage of our new reliance on technology. Both the VicTas Synod and the Australian Government have produced some helpful resources to keep you informed about how to protect yourself, your friends and your family online.
An Update from Synod:
COVID-19 has seen a dramatic escalation in cyber attacks and we urge you to remain vigilant in protecting your digital assets, particularly your email accounts. Some of the hackers are very sophisticated and are using COVID-19 themed emails to try to trick people out of money. The Government’s Scamwatch has received more than 3060 COVID-themed reports, with more than $1.3 million in reported losses. IT Services has compiled a resource explaining some of these recent attacks and also tips on how to protect yourself from scams.
If you are an older person and new to the online environment, the eSafety Commissioner also has some great resources for helping you to stay safe online and avoid the scammers.
