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Welcome to Community
Connections. Community Connections is a monthly email which contains news and announcements from the New South Wales Synod, along with items of social, religious or cultural interest and information on upcoming events. Its primary aim is to promote the wider work of the Click here to find out how
funds raised through Living is Giving are supporting our
tertiary chaplains and mission workers. And please keep this area of
ministry in your prayers. Click here
for Community Connections
in a PDF that you can print off and distribute, or email to others in your
congregation and community
(requires Adobe Acrobat reader — click here
to download). NEWS AND
INITIATIVES •
With Grace and Courage: Synod 2007, Friday October 5 to
Tuesday October 9 •
Important property
information •
National Assembly 2007 federal election
resources •
Joy and thanksgiving at release of Korean
hostages EVENTS
AND ACTIVITIES •
Interfaith forum
at University of Western Sydney, September
11 •
Faith and
climate change seminar, September
23 •
Lay preaching
course in Tongan, from October
14 •
2007
cross-cultural gathering, October 29 and
30 •
Reel Dialogue
Conference, November 2 and
3 LIVING IS
GIVING: PRAYER POINTS AND RESOURCES •
New Living is Giving
Powerpoint •
Prayer point: Mission focus area 4, Sharing faith
in schools and universities NEWS
AND INITIATIVES With
Grace and Courage: Synod 2007, Friday October 5 to Tuesday October 9
When Synod meets this year
up to 500 people will consider and make decisions about the work of the
church in Please remember to pray for
the Synod meeting and for those involved in it — including the incoming
Moderator, the Rev. Niall Reid, who will be installed in the Synod opening
service on Friday October 7, 7 pm, at Wesley Mission, and the Rev. Sue
Scott, who will lead daily Bible studies at
Synod. Special prayers for Synod
can be found in September Insights or on the Synod 2007
website. Important
property information In
the next week all Church Council Chairpersons and Presbytery Secretaries
in the New South Wales Synod will receive important information from
Uniting Resources Property Services regarding property
revaluation. It
is strongly recommended that this letter is opened promptly and handed to
the appropriate person to deal with immediately so that a response can be
submitted by September 18 where necessary. More information is
available at www.unitingresources.org.au/ps/insurance
or by contacting Helen Meillon email insurance@nsw.uca.org.au, phone
8267 4350. National
Assembly 2007 federal election resources The National Assembly is
producing a set of election resources around the theme of “growing a
nation of hope” to help The cornerstone of these
resources is the booklet Growing a
Nation of Hope: your faith, your vote, your voice. Areas
covered include climate change, counter-terrorism and human rights,
indigenous health, industrial relations, aid and development,
reconciliation and multiculturalism. It also includes an election toolkit
with useful links and suggestions for planning activities and getting
involved. A
copy of the booklet, together with a set of Hot Issues Briefs (double-sided A5
sheets that take a snapshot look at some of the key election issues) will
be mailed out to all congregations in early September along with
information about how to place further orders. All material is free of
charge. The materials will also be
available from the UnitingJustice website (http://nat.uca.org.au/unitingjustice/)
together with a set of issues papers offering in-depth coverage of the
issues raised in the booklet as well as several additional key issues.
After a
short-term exposure trip, Julie Neill from She’s now on a
12-month People in Mission placement through Uniting International Mission
at Agape orphanage in Chiang Mai in Agape exists
for children of HIV/AIDS affected families. With 72 children to look
after, there’s never a dull moment for Julie and the other
volunteers. Read Julie’s
story in the September issue of Insights. Joy and
thanksgiving at release of Korean hostages The National Council of
Churches in EVENTS
AND ACTIVITIES Interfaith
forum at On September 11, the
My
Faith, Our Australia takes place on every
campus. It will allow people from a diverse range of religious backgrounds
to interact and ask each other questions about their faith
experience. The keynote speaker, Frida
Whitlam, is an active member of For more information, click
here or contact Sally Yabsley on 040257 2060 or via sally@broomball.com. Board of
The Board of Mission will be
holding a two-day workshop at Dubbo RSL on September 11 and
12. The purpose of the workshop
is for the Workshop topics will include
the impact of climate change, carbon trading, organic farming and
alternative energy sources for rural communities in the
future. For more information contact
the Board of Mission Rural Office on (02) 6361 4224 or bomrural@bigpond.net.au. Faith and
climate change seminar, September 23 The Climate Institute will
host a seminar on faith and climate change on September 23 in Other speakers will include
local religious representatives who are committed to making a difference
by linking their faith with their desire to mitigate climate
change. Venue: UTS Tower Block
Broadway Date: Sunday September 23,
2.30 pm to 5.30 pm For more details visit www.climateinstitute.org.au
or contact Geoff Callaghan, (02) 9252 5200 or gcallaghan@climateinstitute.org.au Lay
preaching course in Tongan, from October
14 A
lay preaching course will be conducted by the Rev Dr. The course is available for
Uniting Church Tongan lay preachers and for those who just want to listen
to the lectures in the Tongan language. Lay preachers who want to be
accredited by the ELM Centre will be have to register when they attend.
For more information,
contact the ELM Centre, (02) 8838 8910 or elm@nsw.uca.org.au. 2007
cross-cultural gathering, October 29 and
30 At
The Collaroy Centre, Guest speaker – the Rev. Dr
Tony Floyd, National Assembly, National Director, Multicultural and
Cross-cultural Ministry Theme: Making Peace in
Multicultural and Multi-Faith This annual event is
especially beneficial for people from non-English speaking backgrounds who
are serving in English-speaking ministry contexts; leaders working with
mono-ethnic or mixed ethnic groups; council leaders working with or
supporting the ministry of those who come from non-English speaking
backgrounds; and young people living in a multicultural context with a
desire to enter cross-cultural ministry This retreat is a rare
opportunity to meet ministers and leaders who are already engaged in such
ministries and mission, to listen to speakers, share ideas and experiences
in a non-threatening environment and find answers to issues and
questions. It will be enlightening journey with
others. Monday October 29 and
Tuesday October 30 Registrations close Thursday
October 18 For more information phone
Reel
Dialogue Conference, November 2 and 3 Subtitled “Faith and Film in
Dialogue”, the first Reel Dialogue conference is a weekend designed to
equip ministry agents and interested church members to use film more
effectively in worship and in small groups. It is also hoped that the
conference will identify and develop a network of passionate people who
are using film in a way that invigorates both their church and
communities. Attendees will encounter the
complex engagement between faith and pop culture, and learn how to explore
and effectively express the theological dimensions of contemporary
culture. Keynote speakers are Dr Mark Seton of the University of
Early bird rates before
September 29 — $100 for individuals and $85 for groups of five or more —
after September 29 individual rates are $120 and groups of five or more
are $105. Conference update: Christian
Multimedia and Audio Advice will have staff on hand on Saturday September
3 to talk to delegates about their multimedia needs. Sony, Roadshow and
Icon Home Entertainment have generously donated gifts for the delegate
packs for the event. Hurry book today! Discount
rates finish on September 29. For more details or to
receive a registration brochure or to register online, go to www.reeldialogue.com. LIVING
IS GIVING: PRAYER POINTS AND RESOURCES New
Living is Giving Powerpoint A
new Powerpoint presentation on Living is Giving outlines the mission focus
areas congregations and individuals can support in 2007–08, and gives a
good overview of how Living is Giving is bringing God’s message of love
and hope to communities. To
access the presentation, click here.
If you encounter problems, contact Prayer
point: It
costs at least $10,000 to $15,000 a year to place a mission worker on a
university campus within Contributions from
congregations and individuals through Living is Giving keep this important
ministry alive. •
Pray for our mission workers and chaplains as they stand alongside
students at critical points in their faith journey, providing
encouragement, support, or just someone to chat
to. • Pray that the opportunities
and services offered through tertiary ministry — including Bible studies and discussion groups;
pastoral care and support, and advice for students, staff and faculty on
the campuses; participation in protests against injustice and questionable
government and business policies; and opportunities to explore faith at
greater depth or for the first time — will help students and staff to
learn and grow. •
Pray for tertiary students as they seek to balance the many financial,
academic and other demands they experience. Pray for them as they grapple
with issues of faith in the midst of the numerous other ideas and
ideologies they encounter as students. Click here
for the latest update on this mission focus area. You can print out this
update and share it with your congregation. For more information on
Living is Giving, and stories of how your giving is making a difference,
visit http://livingisgiving.nsw.uca.org.au.
Studying
journalism and would like to offer your skills to Insights? Go to http://nsw.uca.org.au/cu/internships.htm
to learn how. Don’t forget about the Moderator’s
Drought Appeal. Your donation will help provide counselling,
chaplaincy services and emergency relief to drought-affected
people. CONTACT US: cu@nsw.uca.org.au RECOMMEND US TO A FRIEND:
Recommend Community
Connections to a friend. Forward it on, or direct them to http://nsw.uca.org.au/e-news. You are receiving this
email as a member of the community of the New South Wales Synod of the
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