Category: Wider Uniting Church

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Uniting Barwon Emergency Food Room – Food items required

As you may be aware, demand for emergency food supplies are increasing in the Barwon region.  Uniting runs emergency food pantries in Norlane and Grovedale, and St Luke’s is a designated drop off location for food items.

Currently the emergency pantries are in need of:

  • Coffee
  • Sugar
  • Tomato sauce or BBQ sauce
  • Peanut Butter
  • Vegetable Cooking Oil
  • Corn Kernels
  • Cup of Soup – chicken
  • Coco Pops
  • Cornflakes
  • Rice Bubbles
  • Oats – traditional or quick oats
  • Self Raising Flour
  • Shampoo/Conditioner

Smaller packets /jars are more useful than large packets/jars.

You can drop items into St Luke’s on Tuesdays and Friday mornings between 10 and 12 noon.

There are many other ways to be involved in the food for families program – see here: https://foodforfamilies.org.au/get-involved-individuals-families/

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Let’s Yarn about our Multicultural Church

The Assembly Resourcing Unit is inviting people who are inspired to talk about what it looks like to live faith and life cross-culturally to come together on Thursday 29 July for an online conversation.

  • What does it look like to embrace unity-in-diversity in our Church?
  • What deeper forms or models of shared life might God be calling us to?
  • Where might new opportunities lie for collaboration?
  • Where can you see intercultural creativity and imagination?

Intercultural is one of four pillars in the most recent Strategic Plan of the Assembly describing centres of future work and development needed to enable the Church to move boldly and confidently into the future. In our life and worship we seek to be a community of faith sharing faith across boundaries, in which the rich diversity of God’s people is seen and celebrated.

We would love to hear what our intercultural church looks like from where you stand, and yarn some more about the possibilities to come.

You can join Let’s Yarn About Our Intercultural Church on Thursday 29 July, 7.30pm AEST via Zoom with the following link or by putting in the meeting I.D. and passcode below.

Join the meeting

Meeting ID: 936 4281 6151
Passcode: 479873

More information here:

https://uniting.church/lets-yarn-about-intercultural/?fbclid=IwAR16HV0WGSJ2OgnvvpigMmkjjo3WCizLK3BGczthIAl4BgFe6Z-5dq2GP1k

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Food relief – items of need for Uniting Barwon

Uniting logo as a thumbnail

 

During sharing the journey (Sunday 27th June worship), Jean mentions items that the Uniting Barwon Emergency Food Room are in need of:

  • Coffee
  • Sugar
  • Tomato sauce or BBQ sauce
  • Peanut butter
  • Vegetable Cooking Oil
  • Corn kernels
  • Cup of Soup – Chicken
  • Coco pops
  • Cornflakes
  • Rice Bubbles
  • Oats – traditional or Quick oats
  • Self Raising Flour
  • Shampoo/conditioner

NB: Smaller packets/ jars are more useful than large packets/jars.

These items can be dropped off to St Luke’s Highton, Tuesday and Friday mornings or can be dropped at Uniting Barwon’s Grovedale location (https://www.unitingvictas.org.au/locations/grovedale-272-torquay-rd/)

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Pastoral Care training for caring people

Pastoral Care as we ride the waves of a Pandemic

The Presbytery of Port Phillip West is pleased to offer training in how to deal pastorally with our current “Covid/Semi Post-Covid/Back into Lockdown” on-going experiences. How and why do people drop out of church and activities?

What practical things can we do to help people as they consider returning to church?

We are running two three-hour seminars:

Pastoral Care as we ride the waves of a Pandemic – Part 1 and Part 2 –

These seminars will contain the following material and is based on the study and training developed by Rev Dr John Savage, a United Methodist Minister from the USA.

Part 1 Seminar:

  • Identifying inclusion and exclusion experiences
  • Understanding the track that leads to on-going attendance or no further attendance (relevant to church and any other group life)
  • Identifying the implications for our own setting
  • Coming back after Covid
  • How to care for people who have stopped attending

Part 2 Seminar:

  • Enabling tracks to return to church/group life.
  • Entry/Re-entry process and the readiness grid
  • Visiting inactive members and closure in a visit
  • What keeps active members active?
  • “Why are you still a Christian?” a module from Makes you Wonder.

There will be two time slots for each seminar to cater for as many people as possible.

Pastoral Care as we ride the waves of a Pandemic – Part 1.

Aug 12, Thursday 6.00 pm – 9.00 pm Zoom only

Aug 20, Friday 9.30 am – 12.30 pm Zoom or in person at Hoppers Crossing UC.

Pastoral Care as we ride the waves of a Pandemic – Part 2.

Aug 26, Thursday 6.00 pm – 9.00 pm Zoom only

Sept 3, Friday 9.30 am – 12.30 pm Zoom or in person at Hoppers Crossing UC.

This training is offered free as a gift from the Presbytery of Port Phillip West.

It is open and would be of benefit to ministers, pastors, chaplains, people involved in pastoral care, welcomers and church councillors.

You need to register through the following link https://www.trybooking.com/BSEGF

Pastoral Care Seminars

We have had over 200 people attend our previous pastoral care seminars with very positive feedback. The interactive nature and the ability to become more aware of how and why we listen have been common threads from the participants.

We are repeating our initial Pastoral Care Seminar 1 on the following dates and you can register here for this seminar https://www.trybooking.com/BRJHY

  • July 16 Friday 9.30 – 12.30pm Zoom and in person at Hoppers Crossing
  • July 21 Wednesday 6.00pm – 9.00pm Zoom only
  • Sept 14 Tuesday 6.00pm – 9.00pm Zoom only

This seminar teaches you about active listening, communication, and the specific listening skills of paraphrase and perception checks. This session is a pre-requisite for other sessions of the Pastoral Care Seminars being run later in the year.

Seminar 7 “Dealing with Criticism, fogging and listening conversation”

September 16 or Sept 24

Seminar 8 “Neuro Linguistic Programming and listening conversations”

Oct 7 or Oct 22

You can register for these seminars here https://www.trybooking.com/BSFZS

Blessings

Jeanne and Narelle

Presbytery Ministers

Presbytery of Port Phillip West

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Reconciliation in the Park Sunday 30th June

From Jan at Uniting Barwon:

Hello everyone

Reconciliation week 2021 starts on Wednesday this week the 27th May 2021. The largest local reconciliation event in reconciliation week in Geelong is Reconciliation in the Park held in Johnstone Park on the Sunday of Reconciliation week.  This year this will be Sunday 30th May 2021.

As part of Uniting Barwon’s  Reconciliation Action Plan we have established contact with the local community reconciliation group Geelong One Fire Reconciliation Group. Geelong One Fire helped establish Reconciliation in the Park and has supported it each year since its establishment. This year Uniting Barwon is going to assist Geelong One Fire with their support for the event.

Uniting Barwon people will be assisting with;

  • Set up which starts at 7.30am at Johnstone Park and runs until about 9.45am,
  • Various activities during the day, and
  • Pack up which will start between 3 and 3.30pm and run until about 5pm.

Those assisting will be given some time to participate in and enjoy the activities taking place.

If you are interested in assisting in any of the roles please contact Des Younghusband by Thursday 27th May 2021, please also enquire of your families, friends, acquaintances and network members if they might be available to help.

If you are unable to assist please consider coming along to enjoy the activities and again encourage your families, friends, acquaintances and network members also to do this .

20210503 Flier Rec in Park 2021

Attached is a flyer for the event feel free to pass it on to your contacts or request more copies from Des Younghusband.

To register to assist or if you have any queries Des Younghusband’s contact details are:

T 03 4210 1115 M 0417 354 515
E Des.Younghusband@vt.uniting.org