Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. Our next study series begins in a few weeks – on Wed August 9 (Nth Melb) and Fri August 11 (Hawthorn), and there may yet be another group. These groups are a great opportunity to spend some time together thinking about Christian faith and practice. First you read and then you join to discuss. We learn heaps together in the groups! The next book – “Migrations of the Holy” – is a study in “the political meaning of the church”, and looks into the relationship between the church and contemporary Western culture. You can read more about the book in a brief account by the author here. Plan to join one of the groups if you can!
2. Church of All Nations is sponsoring a “Conversations that make a difference” series, the first event of which will feature Andrew West (ABC Radio National), and Janet McCalman (UniMelb) discussing the place of religion in public discussions. See here for more info.
3. An invitation to service on the new Synod committees…
4. For those interested in some background reading to the readings for this Sunday July 16, see the links here. We are presently hearing the Series II OT readings on Sunday.

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. Our next MtE-Habitat reading group begins next week! Five studies using Walter Brueggeman’s “Praying the Psalms (Second Edition): Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit 
   

   Wednesdays May 31 – June 28, 7.30-9.00pm, Mark the Evangelist, North Melbourne (venue TBA depending on numbers)

   Fridays June 2 – June 30, 9.30-11.00am, Habitat Uniting Church (Augustine)

   I’m sorry the reminder is coming so late. Options for obtaining the book include (click on the links):

   Koorong [Quick – from within Australia]

   Kindle [instant]

   Book depository [Usually within a week from the UK]

   Please let me know by reply email if you’re able to attend one of these groups!

   [You can see the proposed dates and books for other series this year here.]

2. Material for the next issue of Mark the Word is due by the end of the month; please get it to Suzanne as soon as possible…
3. The latest Synod e-Newsletter is here
4. Latest Pilgrim College news
5. News regarding changes in the UCA’s “SHARE”
6. If you’d like to do some background work on this coming Sunday’s readings (Easter 7A)

Acts 1:6-14

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

Other potentially of interest:

FROM: Vic/Tas Uniting for Refugees Network

Dear Vic/Tas Uniting for Refugees Network members,

I am emailing to let you know of some great upcoming training that the Uniting Church and CAPSA (Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum) are running to offer local church and community groups an opportunity to come together and build skills for action around refugee issues in Australia.

These training sessions have been designed to support the launch of an action toolkit by CAPSA. You will be offered a hardcopy of this toolkit at any of the sessions. 

 So what’s on offer?

Training #1 – Community Conversations

Community conversations are a great way for people to learn about the issues affecting people seeking asylum, and to join the discussion about how we can be treating people with dignity and respect. We believe that when a community is made aware of an issue and works together in defence of what is fair and right, anything is possible.

We’ll present a model for having conversations in your local community and give you the tools and structures to organise your own.

 

Training #2 – Meeting your local MP

MPs are our elected representatives in parliament and have a responsibility to listen to the issues that are of concern to their constituents. In this session we will work through some of the key things to think about when arranging, preparing for and following up your meeting with an MP.

We’ll build your skills to have effective meetings with MPs that are outcome-focused and help us achieve important change for refugees and people seeking asylum.

For our Wednesday 31st May training we will be joined by former ALP candidate for Melbourne – Cath Bowtell – who has years of experience working with government departments, unions and elected officials and is currently CEO of Industry Fund Services.

For both MP sessions, we will be joined by Catherine Neville, who has held senior policy and advocacy roles in government and the community services sector and worked as an advisor and Chief of Staff for the Bracks, Brumby and Andrews Labor Governments in Victoria.

How do I get involved?

Register your attendance for one or two of the four session we have on offer:

Wednesday 24^thMay – 6.00pm-7.30pm – Community Conversation Training #1

Wednesday 31^stMay – 6.00pm-7.30pm – MP Meeting Training #1 (with Cath Bowtell)

Sunday 4^thJune – 2.00pm-3.30pm – Community Conversation Training #2

Sunday 4^thJune – 4.00pm-5.30pm – MP Meeting Training #2

All workshops will take place at the Cathedral Room, Cardinal Knox Centre, 383 Albert St, East Melbourne.

To register your attendance, please reply to this email giving me your phone contact details and details of the sessions that you would like to attend!  If you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me (my direct contact details are below).

We look forward to having a good contingent of UCA people along for these sessions, and seeing the great activity that will come out of this training.

 Kind regards,

 Jill Ruzbacky
 
Social Justice Officer, Justice & International Mission
Commission for Mission
130 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000
t  (03) 9251 5266  | f  (03) 9251 5241  | m  0417 878 982
e  jill.ruzbacky@victas.uca.org.au
w  victas.uca.org.au

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. This coming Sunday’s service – Passion/Palm Sunday – will feature a full reading of St Matthew’s passion narrative.
2. The latest Presbytery update (March 28) is here.
3. The latest Pilgrim college update (March 30) is here.
4. The latest Synod newsletter (April 6) is here.
5. Information on the progress of the Implementation of the Major Strategic Review
6. Palm Sunday walk info; UCA members are invited to gather in front of Wesley Church, Lonsdale Street, at 1pm where the Moderator will speak, before proceeding to the beginning of the walk from the State Library by 2pm.
7. Nomination forms are now available for this years Synod meeting (Box Hill from 8^th to 13^th September); speak to Craig if you’re interested in attending.
8. Our Mark the Evangelist luncheon is coming up — Sunday April 23; Wes Campbell will be our guest preacher on that day.
9. Our Easter services are as follows:
   

   Passion Sunday April 9, 10.00am with Eucharist

   Maundy Thursday April 13, 7.30pm with Eucharist

   Good Friday April 14 10.00am

   Easter Vigil Service Saturday April 15 8.00pm

   Easter Day Service 10.00am with Eucharist

10. There is an ecumenical service at St Paul’s cathedral on ANZAC Day, 11am.

 

Other things of potential interest:

A Tenebrae service at Auburn Uniting Church

UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA MEDIA RELEASE, 1 April 2017

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan has asked Church members to lend their support to UCA appeals for communities suffering in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie.

 “Our Church will be there to support people in need and help Queensland and northern NSW recover,” said Mr McMillan. “Please continue to pray for the safety and the welfare of all affected communities, as they come to terms with their losses.”

“I ask all UCA members to please try to support our appeals, which go to support ministry in these communities.” Cyclone Debbie made landfall on the Whitsunday Coast as a Category 4 storm with winds of more than 260 kilometres an hour on Monday 28 March causing extensive damage. Five days later water, shelter and communications are still limited into towns of Ayr, Bowen and Proserpine. Torrential rains from the weakening cyclone have also seen rivers in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales reach record peaks, causing major flooding in Beaudesert, Lismore and the Tweed Valley. Tens of thousands of residents had to be evacuated.

Counsellors from Lifeline UnitingCare Community in Queensland are working in the disaster-affected communities to supports locals to deal with the trauma of the last week. Disaster relief chaplains in NSW are working at evacuation centres in flood-affected areas in Lismore and the the Tweed Valley. National Disaster Recovery Officer Rev. Dr Stephen Robinson says all communities face a long road to recovery. “What’s most needed now are our prayers and support,” said Rev. Dr Robinson. “Your donations will support the recovery of those affected by providing personal and practical care to people, many of whom might otherwise fall through the gaps of formal support.”

 “The Uniting Church is well-placed to provide this kind of support, because we’re part of the affected community, and we’ll be there alongside the community into the future.”

 In the weeks ahead, the Synods of Queensland and NSW/ACT will be sending trained peer supporters to come alongside church leadership as the process of recovery begins. Rev. Dr Robinson will be following up with affected presbyteries and congregations and working with Synods to assist the recovery effort. Queensland Synod has launched a Disaster Relief Appeal.  The NSW/ACT Synod is encouraging its members to donate to the Moderator’s Appeal.  The Assembly’s National Disaster Relief Fund remains open to receive donations, with funds to be drawn on by Uniting Churches and agencies supporting recovery in affected areas. https://assembly.uca.org.au/national-disaster-relief-fund/. Donations of $2 and over are tax-deductible.

From Andy Calder, Disability Inclusion

Director, Uniting CPE – The John Paver Centre

“The most extraordinary, precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness I have ever read. It is to my mind a masterpiece.” – Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks

Jan Dale has written to let us know about a wonderful film which was made about Prof. John M. Hull. Their father was a Methodist minister, Rev. J.E. Hull, his last ministry being at Elsternwick Methodist around 1960. John went to live in the UK in the late 50s and was considered one of the most influential religious educators in the world.  He held the first full professorship in Religious Education in England (at Birmingham University).  John became blind in mid-life after a history of eye problems.  John kept an audio diary recording his struggle with loss of sight and subsequently published it in a book “Touching The Rock: An Experience of Blindness.”   The filmmakers discovered the book and decided to make a documentary and then discovered that the original diary tapes still existed.  These, along with recent interviews with John and his wife, are used as the film’s dialogue with actors lip synching. Sadly John died as a result of an accident just after the filming began.  The film has won many awards and received extraordinary reviews.

There is to be a special screening on April 26th at Cinema Nova at 6.30 but only if enough tickets are sold by 17th April.  The screening is the first time it has been available in a cinema in Australia. https://tickets.demand.film/event/1522

There is an app available for visually impaired people through MovieReading which automatically synchs with the film and gives an audio description of scenes, writing on the screen etc. in between the film’s dialogue

I commend this film to you and your networks

With thanks, Andy.

Commission For Mission
130 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000
t  (03) 9251 5489  |  f  (03) 9251 5491  |  m 0417 562 556
e  Andy.Calder@victas.uca.org.au
w  victas.uca.org.au

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. Our congregational picnic is this Sunday, March 26, following worship on that day (Royal Park) — BYO everything to gather at the Australian Native Gardens section of Royal Park, near the corner of Gatehouse Street and The Avenue, Parkville (map) – about 5 minutes from the church.
2. If you’re wondering what is going on with the children’s talks in church recently, there’s a description of the logic on this new page on our web site. From the bottom of that page you can jump to another page which includes a demonstration of the memory palace concept with a 360° panoramic picture of the church as an aid to developing the memory of the unfolding story.
3. If you’d like to do some background work on this coming Sunday’s readings (March 26, Lent 4A), these links will be of assistance:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

Other things of potential interest:

A local fundraiser for a Philippines charity

 

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. The Wednesday night Lenten study group has commenced; next week’s (second, March 15) study will meet 30 minutes earlier than advertised (600pm tea, 630pm study); the study is available here.
2. The most recent Presbytery Newsletter (March 9) is here.
3. The most recent Synod Newsletter (March 8) is here.
4. The March Pilgrim College News is here.
5. Pastoral Statement from President Stuart McMillan about the Uniting Church in Australia’s appearance at a public hearing for Case Study 56 of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
6. For the diary: our congregational picnic is coming up on March 26, following worship on that day (Royal Park).
7. If you’d like to do some background work on this coming Sunday’s readings (March 12, Lent 2A), these

Genesis 12:1-4a

Psalm 121

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

John 3:1-17

Other things of potential interest:

From the UCA’s Refugees Network (March Update):

Dear Vic/Tas Uniting for Refugees Network Members,

There are quite a few events coming up in the next month or so, and we’d love your help in promoting these within your Congregations / Schools / local communities and online!

These are important events for us to support as we gather together with others from others right across the refugee sector to keep calling for #Justice4Refugees and for the Government to #BringThemHere !

Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees:

It’s just over a month until Palm Sunday and we’d LOVE your help in promoting the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees!

The flyers for both the Melbourne and Launceston events are attached, and the Facebook event pages for the corresponding events are:

Melbourne:          http://bit.ly/PalmSunday2017

Launceston:         Coming soon!  In the meantime contact jeff@citybaptistchurch.net for further information

Please can you make sure that the relevant events are promoted on any noticeboards or newsletters in your local Congregations / Schools / local communities?   If you’d like bulk copies of the Melbourne or Launceston posters (A3 or A4 size) and the Melbourne double-sided leaflet (electronic copies are attached) please let me know, as I’m happy to send out to you – we have plenty to distribute!

Palm Sunday Walk pre-event in Melbourne:

As in previous years, we are inviting UCA people (and anyone else who’s interested in joining us!) to gather together at Wesley Uniting Church in Lonsdale Street at 1.00pm on Palm Sunday before walking down to the State Library together.   Rev. Sharon Hollis the Synod’s Moderator will be speaking to those gathered before we head off behind the UCA banners!

Please help invite others to attend that event too – for those on Facebook you’ll find details of the event here:  http://bit.ly/PSPreEvent   For others, simply just turn up ahead of the 1pm start at Wesley!

If you can’t join us at Wesley, you’ll be sure to find us gathered behind the Synod and the “Uniting for the Common Good” banners at the State Library!

Lentara Asylum Seeker Program Update:

Could you spare a cup of coffee to support someone seeking asylum?

Lentara’s Asylum Seeker Program supports vulnerable asylum seekers with safe housing, a basic living allowance and material aid. The people we support have no work or study rights, no income support and no Medicare and therefore no way to live with dignity. We are not government funded and are wholly reliant on individual donations, grants and philanthropic funding.

This year we need to raise $40,000 dollars to meet our fundraising deficit.

What does $40,000 mean to people like you and me?  A cup of coffee? A piece of cake?

$5 can provide one child a healthy meal

$10 can give one family access to public transport

$50 can give one child access to a GP

$137.60 can provide the basic living allowance to one family

$200 can provide cost of housing utilities

$500 can pay the rent and utilities for one family for one month

Fundraiser for Palm Sunday and Refugee Legal

The Refugee Advocacy Network are holding a fundraising event to help raise funds for the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees event (as it’s a costly event to pull together), and also for Refugee Legal who provide much-needed legal services to people seeking asylum and refugees who live in our local community.

The evening will be an opportunity to have fun; deepen your understanding of the issues affecting refugees; support the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice, and the important work of Refugee Legal.

There will be a lot of things happening on the night and we’re keen to give this our support.  They are hoping to sell 200 tickets for the event, as we’d love to see some of you there for what will be a fantastic night!

More details are on the attached flyer, and to book your ticket please visit:  https://www.trybooking.com/OWFS   There’s a few of us from the Network going and have booked our tickets already, so we’d love you to join us on the night!

International Women’s Day – 8^th March

Another International Women’s Day has rolled around!

There will be breakfasts and gatherings as women celebrate the gains in rights and opportunities. And rightly so, says refugee rights activist Pamela Curr.

But what if you’re a woman who doesn’t enjoy those freedoms – a woman in detention?

This is a timely reflection on International Women’s Day today – http://bit.ly/INewMatildaIWD

Thank you ALL for your ongoing support and commitment to working together to support refugees and people seeking asylum!

Kind regards – Jill

Jill Ruzbacky Social Justice Officer, Justice & International Mission Commission for Mission 130 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000 t  (03) 9251 5266  | f  (03) 9251 5241  | m  0417 878 982 e  jill.ruzbacky@victas.uca.org.au w  victas.uca.org.au

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. A reminder that Lent begins with our Ash Wednesday service tomorrow evening, Wednesday March 1, at 6pm at Mark the Evangelist.
2. Our Lenten Studies (the Friday group) have already begun, and continue at Hawthorn at 9.30am; the Wednesday series will begin on March 8 (North Melbourne, 7pm). Copies of the study booklet (on the theme of the Lord’s Prayer) are now available on Sundays, or by download from the Studies page on our website (here).
3. For the diary: our congregational picnic is coming up on March 26, following worship on that day (Royal Park).
4. If you’d like to do some background work on this coming Sunday’s readings (March 5, Lent 1A), these links might be of assistance:

5. Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

   Psalm 32

   Romans 5:12-19

   Matthew 4:1-11,

   Other things of potential interest:

   A seminar at Brunswick UCA

Friends,

the latest MtE Update!

1. Our Lenten Studies begin on Friday February 24 (Hawthorn 9.30am) and Wednesday March 8 (North Melbourne, 7pm). Copies of the study booklet (on the theme of the Lord’s Prayer) will be available on Sunday, or by download from the Studies page on our website (here).
2. On Monday February 20 (6.30pm) we will be presenting Brother Bray of Bethlehem University at a public event in our hall. More details are available here. Please forward information about this event to other people you think might be interested. We hope also to be able to offer hospitality following the presentation; if you are able to help be bringing something to share, please speak to Alan or Ann about how you can assist.
3. The most recent Presbytery newsletter (Feb 13) is here.
4. The most recent UCA Refugee Network update is here.
5. There will be a congregational meeting following worship on Sunday February 26. The main reason for the meeting will be the presentation (for reception) of our 2017 budget; the budget papers are available from the church on Sunday.
6. If you’d like to do some background work on this coming Sunday’s readings (February 19, Epiphany 7A), these links might be of assistance:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Psalm 119:3304

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Matthew 5:38-48