A common question asked of people of religious faith is ‘how can there be a God if there is so much suffering and evil in the world?’ Bob Carr raised this objection in the Good Weekend recently (23/06/2018). Sometimes this question is a genuine one, asked as people wrestle with the stark realities of pain and tragedy and consider the possibility...
What do you hunger for? This is one of the two questions we are attending to at Richmond Uniting during Lent. The second question is: How might you respond with compassion to hunger in the world in a new way? We are seeking to attend to both these questions during Lent and to take up practices that correspond to our answers, both in...
I was recently asked by someone whether I felt under attack. They asked because I am a Christian and a Christian Minister. They wondered if I felt like I was being hassled or harangued, accused or silenced in our culture, because of my faith. I suspect the question was prompted by the recent rhetoric of politicians, both in Australia and internationally, who...
If you are looking forward to Christmas or dreading Christmas, if you go to church regularly or never go to church, if you are super busy or bored, you are invited to come along to Beer and Carols. This is a friendly, no pressure, event hosted by Richmond Uniting and Chalice - Northcote Uniting at the warm and inviting Wesley Anne...
I am not gay. I am a Christian. I am a Minister. When the Marriage Equality survey vote results were announced I cried. I cried with tears of joy and sorrow. The tears of joy were for my friends who are gay and queer. I also cried tears of joy for all the people around Australia whose non-heterosexual relationships were being...
All Saints' Service on the Steps 6pm Wednesday 1st November 2017 On the Richmond Uniting Church Steps - 304 Church St Richmond In a culture bereft of rituals, an opportunity to pause, remember and light a candle for loved ones who have died through overdose, through illness, through accident, through suicide. All very welcome to attend...
I love being in ministry in Richmond. It is not just because the Tigers have been my team since I was a child. It is not just because being located in the inner city means that you get to mix with a wildly diverse group of people; artists, people seeking asylum, academics, people who are homeless, retired people and students. I also love...
During the last week hundreds of people in the Uniting Church gathered for a 5 day meeting. Some of these people were from Tasmania, some were from Victoria. Some of these people were lay people, some were ordained. Some of these people were in the 70s, some were in the 20s, with many in between. And some of these meeting...
At present in our community, across the airwaves and across social media platforms, a great deal of shrill rhetoric and hate speech is spewing out. This is exhausting to consume. Furthermore this kind of speaking and judging of one another (on all sides) does little to edify our thinking or doing or being. For followers of Jesus we are confronted with the...
At the moment we are facing a variety of complex debates in our society. Just to name two, debates about Euthanasia and Marriage Equality are continuing to incite passion and cause pain. In both these debates the term ‘Christian’ is used and misused, by individuals and lobby groups, as well as by some in the media. This misuse occurs when it...