Greetings, July is Black History Month in Australia, a month which aims to showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, heritage and cultures.  It seeks to acknowledge and celebrate First Australians’ achievements and contributions.  Black History Month commences with NAIDOC week. The theme for NAIDOC 2021 is “Heal Country!”  According to www.naidoc.org.au this calls for…

Greetings, On June 22 the Uniting Church celebrated its 44th Anniversary. An anniversary is one of those times when we give thanks for what is past, reflect on the present and look to the future.  As a church, for us this includes being reminded of the participation of God in our journey to this point…

Greetings, I’m not sure how you celebrated the Queen’s Birthday holiday on Monday … maybe searching the Honours List or sitting back with a cuppa reading a good book or watching a favourite program.  As Tony had the day off we decided to have a family drive into the Dandenong Ranges (of course only travelling…

Greetings, I have been conscious in recent conversations of people remembering what it was like when they could … I came across the following reflection which speaks into this so I thought I’d share it. The past is always brighter when viewed from the depths of the present.          Memories taken on a rose-tinted hue          when they…

Greetings I wonder if any of you own an old family Bible?  It might be that it is a fairly new edition, a wedding gift, or it might be one of those old heavy volumes, a prized position which has been passed down through the generations.  We have two in our house – one from…

Greetings … You are welcome – I am welcomeWe are welcome to be Jesus’ friend The invitation of the Triune God (creator, liberator and comforter) is addressed to each of us, and is highlighted in these words which form the chorus of You are Welcome by Snack Music.  This invitation is one of welcome, and…

Greetings … National Reconciliation Week is upon us again.  According to the Reconciliation Australia website (www.reconciliation.org.au) the week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to…

Greetings … Psalm 98, the psalm for this Sunday, opens with the following words:    O sing to the Lord a new song,   for he has done marvellous things. Throughout the psalm we are exhorted to praise God for the marvellous things that God has done.  We are encouraged to join our voice with that…

Our gospel reading for this coming Sunday comes from John 15:1-8.  This is the passage that contains the last ‘I am’ statement of Jesus.   ‘I am the true vine’ is how the passage opens, before Jesus goes on to focus on the connections between the vine, its branches and the vine-grower who tends and shapes…

Greetings … It seems impossible to not mention the fact that this coming Sunday is Anzac Day, a day of special significance in Australia and New Zealand.  While Anzac Day was originally designed to commemorate the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War,…