I have a diverse range of friends. Some friends are Christians. Some friends are atheists. Some friends are agnostic and some are exploring a variety of faith traditions and expressions of spirituality. In a recent conversation with one friend - who I imagine sits somewhere between being an atheist and agnostic - he was highlighting that the oldest physical copies of...

At Richmond Uniting Church we stand in solidarity with all those who seek to care for the earth. This is because we understand the earth as the Divine's good creation. This is not some simplistic literalist understanding of the earth being made in 6 days. The biblical text makes it clear that creation stories are not meant to be understood literally,...

Anger, Justice, Love - A reflection on Isiah 5.1-7 and Luke 12.49-56 by Rev. Dr. Sally Douglas at Richmond Uniting Church, Sunday 18 August 2019. Copy this link into your podcast player of choice if you would like to receive updates as they are released https://anchor.fm/s/c70d97c/podcast/rss...

In western culture suffering and death are taboo topics. However, avoiding talking about suffering does not alleviate it and trite comments of sympathy are of little help, and often cause a great deal damage. We need to talk about suffering, below is a link to a reflection on a Christian theology of suffering...

There has been some recent discussion, and misinformation, about the Uniting Church in the national media. That a journalist would misrepresent people of religion is not a new phenomenon. Within the context of this episode of hurtful mis-information, I am grateful to our President Dr Deidre Palmer for clarifying the unity and diversity within the Uniting Church: https://crosslight.org.au/2019/05/27/uca-reaffirms-same-gender-marriage-stance/. In line with Uniting...

All around the world followers of Jesus are celebrating the church season of Easter. They are celebrating the strange, unexpected heart conviction that death and violence do not have the final word: that in Jesus - the humble, holy, human face of God - risen life is stronger than all deathliness and death dealing. However, while we celebrate this conviction, this...

Leigh Sales, Australian Journalist and author, has written an important book about suffering and death Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience, and What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life. While is it ok to talk about sex in our culture, for many, suffering and death talk are the new taboo. Sales choice to raise the profile of this out...

We live in a curious time in which so many people in the Western world know so little about Christianity. On one level this may seem like a trivial byproduct of the decline of Christendom. However there are dangerous consequences that fall out from this reality. One of the consequences of this collective distance from the accounts of Jesus, is that...

When people find out that I am a minister (and not the political kind) often their first question is 'what do you do?' Do you lead worship /mass/ services on Sundays? Often people struggle for the words to describe this. I answer that I do. Then sometimes, the next question people ask is 'but what do you do on the other...