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Author: UnitingWorld

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News
July 5, 2023

UnitingWorld joins the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) in expressing strong support for a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

As an agency of the of the UCA, UnitingWorld shares our church’s commitment to walk together with First Nations people in seeking justice and a greater say in decisions that impact their communities.

Inspired by this commitment, we support a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, and believe the referendum is a significant opportunity to honour Australia’s First Peoples and to work in solidarity for a better future.

“Our church heard the message from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, seeking Voice, Treaty and Truth, and it was an incredibly generous invitation to our nation,” said UnitingWorld National Director Dr Sureka Goringe.

“Our response to their generosity is to affirm our support and solidarity.”

“UnitingWorld’s approach to development is driven by the principle that lasting social change can only come when people are free and empowered to determine their own futures. A Voice to Parliament could be a powerful step to end the severe disadvantage experienced by the First Peoples of Australia,” said Dr Goringe.

UnitingWorld also acknowledges and commends the recent statement made by Pasifika church leaders through the Pacific Conference of Churches, many of whose members are the UCA’s partner churches:

In solidarity with our Aboriginal and Torres Straits sisters and brothers, we urge our Pacific Diaspora in Australia to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart and to vote in favour of enshrining a Voice to Parliament for First Peoples of the land now called Australia. (Part of the Kōñe Jubar Statement, May 2023)

UnitingWorld echoes the statements of senior Uniting Church leaders, UCA President Rev Sharon Hollis and UAICC Interim National Chair Rev Mark Kickett.

“This is an historic opportunity for Australia to acknowledge and honour First Nations people and their deep spiritual ties to this land and to walk together as a nation toward a better future,” said Rev Hollis.

“As Second Peoples and as Christians in this land, we are called to confront the oppression, dispossession and racism faced by First Nations people.”

“Now is the time for us to hear the call of God to seek justice by doing what is right for our nation,” said Rev Kickett.

“Like Jesus, we are called to be bearers of justice, not just in our words, but in our actions and by changing systems which continue to deny the place and rights of the first Australians.”

Rev Hollis and Rev Kickett encourage Uniting Church people and communities to inform themselves about the Uluru Statement and what it asks of our nation, and to create respectful spaces for yarning about the impact a First Nations Voice will make.

The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly has collected a range of resources here: https://uniting.church/voice/

UnitingWorld National Director Sureka Goringe appears in this video from
Uniting Church NSW & ACT saying YES to the Voice.

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Campaigns, News, Women's Empowerment and Peace Building (Maluku, Indonesia)
June 20, 2023

In response to a growing food crisis in Maluku, our church partners are mobilising all the resources at their disposal to improve food security and tackle poverty.

We’ve been supporting the Protestant Church of Maluku (GPM) and their development agency to expand their initiative of planting community kitchen gardens to address growing poverty and food insecurity.

Three new community kitchen gardens have been planted in 2023, using the land of local congregations and individuals in the church.

“That the church is driving this is also an encouragement for the people,” says Rev Jeny Mahupale, who has made her own family land available for the project.

“We’re still in an early trial with different vegetables like spinach but the results are good so far with fruits like rambutan and pineapple.”

The General Secretary of the GPM Synod, Pastor S. Sapulette, describes the initiative as a “planting movement” and hopes Rev Jeny and the church’s leadership will inspire others to join.

“This is a movement that was born from reflecting on the struggles of our congregations and the reality we face together as a nation,” said Pastor Sapulette.

He hopes that more congregations can be empowered and trained by Rev Jeny and her team to make their land available for economically productive crops to help tackle the food crisis.

Please pray for the work of our partners in the Protestant Church of Maluku and for an end to the food crisis there.

Thank you for enabling us to support our partners to expand this project through your donations.

We are gathering more stories from this project to share over the next few months.

Photos: Rev Jeny and the team at the community kitchen garden.

by
News
June 20, 2023

At UnitingWorld, we know that young people in Uniting Churches and UCA schools are incredibly passionate about injustice. We also know how important it is for young people to develop a deeper understanding of mission and how we can do it effectively and responsibly.

UnitingWorld Donor Relations Manager, Mardi Lumsden, has the privilege of sharing our work with young people in schools and Uniting Church gatherings.

One of Mardi’s outreach activities is a simulation game exploring the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It places groups of young people into a scenario where they imagine they are in a community in India, Tuvalu or Papua New Guinea; facing different challenges including floods, COVID, and well-intentioned churches sending second-hand goods. The participants explore what is most important for their community’s survival.

Mardi runs this activity each year as part of the Senior Religion Curriculum at Moreton Bay College in Queensland at the invitation of the College Chaplain, Rev Peter Lockhart.

“The engagement by UnitingWorld in the simulation with Year 12 students is an excellent opportunity to build a sense of global citizenship as students are encouraged to think about the UN development goals and look at the world through a completely different lens,” Rev Peter said.

Mardi also ran the activity with 80 campers and 20 leaders at the Moreton Rivers Presbytery youth camp, Easter Madness, in Queensland in April.

Camp Director and Presbytery Youth and Young Adult Minister, Rev Fa Matangi, said it was a great experience that linked well to the camp theme of ‘Redefine’.

“We love having UnitingWorld come and share what they do with the young people at Easter Madness,” she said. “This was important for the campers to know that we are part of something bigger than our local churches, that awesome work is getting done outside their own suburbs.”

Having run the activity in many different places, Mardi said it is always enjoyable and inspiring to see how people respond.

“I’ve run this activity with people from the age of 8 to 88 and each group is different. They always bring their own experiences to the activity and ask different questions,” she said. “I love seeing lightbulb moments when people realise the world isn’t on a level playing field when it comes to injustice or poverty, and that there are sustainable ways the church can help.”

By inspiring a new generation of mission-minded people, we think we can help young people gain a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives as they continue our shared journey, changing lives in partnership with
the global church.

Contact us if you are interested in running a UnitingWorld activity with your group, or inviting a UnitingWorld speaker to your church. Phone 1800 998 122 or email info@unitingworld.org.au.

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News
June 20, 2023

We’re excited to welcome Rev Dr Apwee Ting as our new International Partnerships Manager.

In the role, Apwee will nurture connections between the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) and partner churches overseas, as well as facilitate theological and missional dialogue within the partnership networks. His deep familiarity with the rich cultural diversity of the UCA and passion for building relationships across cultural divides will be an invaluable asset.

For the last seven years, Apwee has worked for the Uniting Church Assembly, firstly as the National Director of Multi/Cross-cultural Ministry and then as a valued founding member of the Assembly Resourcing Unit (ARU). In his work with the ARU, Apwee’s support for National Conferences, his wise counsel regarding relationships with partner churches overseas and the respect he has earned within the diaspora communities of the UCA have been an asset to the national work of the Church.

Apwee’s role with the ARU was formally closed and he was inducted into his new role with UnitingWorld at a ceremony at Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney on 4 May 2023.

We look forward to this exciting new chapter!

UnitingWorld Board and staff members welcome Rev Dr Apwee Ting at his induction ceremony.

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Blogs, Campaigns, Women's Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation (Bali, Indonesia)
May 17, 2023

Here at UnitingWorld, we believe the most effective way to help people overcome poverty for good is sustainable development in partnership with local communities.

Our partner church’s project to end poverty in rural Bali is a great example of the lives that we can change, and how by working together we make a bigger impact to end poverty.

It’s a program that helped thousands of families keep their heads above water during the pandemic and that is now helping people like Komang, his wife, Desak, and their three children escape intergenerational poverty.

Komang comes from a low-caste farming family. Growing up far from the tourist circuit and its employment opportunities, he never had the chance to pursue an education but was fortunate to secure a job as a driver for the provincial government.

When his father died of COVID-19, he had to leave his job to look after his elderly mother at home (pictured). He worked as a day labourer for fishermen nearby and tried building back the family vegetable farm, hoping to make a life of it. He worked hard to provide for his family and hoped to give them opportunities he didn’t have.

But in the quiet village economy, Komang was only just managing to make ends meet. When the economic downturn hit, he started to despair that he wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for his children to go to school or have proper health care.

He couldn’t see it, but a whole network of people was working together and was ready to help him find a path to a more secure, hopeful future.  

Komang heard about the Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM), the development agency of our partner, the Protestant Church in Bali, from the elders of his village who were hosting a meeting to connect the community with MBM staff.

“We received information from the village that there would be a visit from MBM, who could help with our low income,” said Komang. “So, we attended a meeting together with twelve other families from our community. They listened to our struggles with the economy, job-losses, high cost of living… and explained how they can help.”

Komang told them his biggest challenges were learning how to grow a new business and finding money to start. Our partners said they could help with both.

UnitingWorld supporters helped resource our partners to provide Komang with technical help to launch a chicken-breeding venture and cash to buy the things he needed to get started.

Working hard to make the most of the opportunity, Komang turned 100 chickens into a thriving small business! He can now afford to send his children to school and buy the essentials they need.

“The dream that I have always hoped for is that our family can change for the better, to do more prosperous work so that we can have a decent life and without lacking anything.

The role of the MBM staff means a lot to our success. From the beginning until now, they accompanied us in providing help and and group training with others who were given the same support. This way we can each make improvements, sharing the experiences of raising chickens.” 

We talk a lot about the importance of partnership at UnitingWorld, because we really do believe that when we work together — churches, local communities and leaders, people like Komang, and you and me— we unlock the most effective route out of poverty.

And when partnership is at its best, all parts are able to give and to receive and to celebrate the incomparable joy of each life made more abundant.

 

You can make a powerful impact this tax time 

We’re fundraising to resource the critical work of our church partners in the Pacific, Asia and Africa; giving people the tools and opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty. We hope to raise $500,000 to continue this life-changing work.

Right now, your donation will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to make up to six times the impact ending poverty! 

Find out more and donate at www.unitingworld.org.au/endpoverty 

 

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, we’re making a huge difference together; lifting families out of poverty and helping people improve their lives.

by
News
April 24, 2023

“As Christians, we are called to walk or to voyage in the way of Christ. To tread lightly on the earth and to sail gently on the seas. We are called to act justly, to be compassionate and to live humbly with our God.”

As part of the inaugural UnitingWorld Sunday event, which launched on 7 May, we asked our long-time friend and partner in Fiji, Reverend James Bhagwan, if he would prepare a sermon on what it means for us to be part of the global body of Christ.

As General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Rev James is passionate about ecumenism and working together to see justice in our world.

From the deck of the traditional voyaging canoe, the Uto ni Yalo, he shared a video message on 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 ‘one body, many members’ and what the passage means for people in the Pacific.

“As members of the global family of God, the global household of God, we are reminded that we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers,” he says.

“In this time of climate crisis, as creation is groaning, as our sisters and brothers continue to cry out for justice: economic justice, political justice, social justice, justice for creation…

We are called to act.”

During his sermon he also extended a generous acknowledgement of the missionaries who travelled across the Pacific islands, and the importance of the continuing partnerships we hold at UnitingWorld.

In addition to the sermon, a full liturgy, information booklet and worship playlist has also been created to help churches host a UnitingWorld Sunday service and learn more about what we do in partnership with the global church.

Glenbrook Uniting Church, NSW

“The worship resources made it easy to adapt to our congregation,” said Rev Ellie Elia, minister of Glenbrook Uniting Church in NSW.

“The recorded sermon by Rev James Bhagwan was beautiful and powerfully portrayed how we as a local congregation in the Uniting Church in Australia, are a valued part of the ‘crew’ on Christ’s Pacific canoe, through the work of UnitingWorld.

“It was a gift to celebrate and support our global neighbours,” said Rev Ellie.

“The liturgy that was prepared for us was really well done,” said Dr Sue Fairley at Chermside Kedron Uniting Church in QLD. “It’s so exciting to hear about the work of UnitingWorld and to celebrate that this is part of who the Uniting Church is.”

You can host a UnitingWorld Sunday service whenever it suits your church calendar. It’s a great way to connect with our partners and fundraise for their incredible work. You can see the full range of resources and order them for your church at www.unitingworld.org.au/sunday

Watch Rev James’s full sermon below (8 mins).

Direct download video  | Full video credits on the Vimeo page.

Visit UnitingWorld Sunday resources page

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by
News
April 4, 2023

UnitingWorld has welcomed Peter Keegan as Head of Programs, replacing Jane Kennedy in the role (you can read her reflection on her time at UnitingWorld here).

Peter has worked in the international development sector for over 17 years, in both programs and advocacy focused roles. Most recently he has been part of the executive team at Transform Aid International as Director of Advocacy and has also previously worked with World Vision in the UK and Australia, and in the programs team at UnitingWorld (between 2011-14).

Peter is passionate about development that is led by local partners and communities; aware and actively engaging with the structural, systemic and cultural drivers of injustice; and draws on the rich theological resources and imagination of the Christian tradition.

UnitingWorld National Director Dr Sureka Goringe said she was thrilled to have Peter in the role.

“Peter’s familiarity with and deep commitment to our partnerships approach is an excellent foundation for his re-induction to UnitingWorld,” said Dr Goringe.

“The experience and dedication he brings will be so valuable to our team and partners and we look forward to seeing the fruits of his leadership across our programs.”

 

Picture: Peter receives a gift from Bishop Nyoman Agustinus of our partner the Protestant Christian Church in Bali (GKPB) in March 2023.

by
Blogs
April 2, 2023

Rev Dr Steve Bevis is Minister at Burwood Croydon Uniting Church and Chair of the UnitingWorld Board.

Blog Originally published on the Burwood Croydon Uniting Church website here. 

Burwood Park is classic European Australian park at the edge of a now-bustling urban centre. People stream out of shops and businesses to sit on the grass, enjoy the shade of sprawling tree-lined paths, and, of course, dine at a cafe – what experience of being in a park feels complete these days without handy access to coffee or chai?!

The entrance to the park, though, has intrigued me since our arrival. A large sandstone arch welcomes all visitors. Across the top, and on both sides it proclaims: Thanks Be Unto God Who Gave Us The Victory. I wonder what people make of it? Yes, it is a monument to lives lost in 1914-1918. It was and is fitting to honour those for whom total sacrifice came upon their lives, and at too young an age. Yes, it is thanks for peace, but, as we know, it was a false peace: for this ‘us’ to whom victory  was ‘given’ produced not peace, but a climate of fear, instability, exclusion, marginalisation and further mistrust. You know where the story goes. So what does it speak today?

And not just generally, in a secular age. What does it say to ‘us’ when Australia and China are at loggerheads? When 30 Billion plus dollars are spent on nuclear submarines to ‘secure peace’? When Burwood is full of families of Chinese origin? Where a vibrant Chinatown exists? It makes me wonder.

And I also wonder about our Pacific neighbours, caught up in this posturing and positioning, and who are promised that they will be given peace and prosperity by these outside powers. And all the while the seas rise. Every cent spent on nuclear powered military is one less spent on those in poverty, on addressing the root causes of climate change. And what does all this bring in the meantime? Does it build a climate of peace, or a climate of fear?

But there is another aspect to this scene, that perhaps speaks another story if we could read it. For on either side of this monument are palm trees, silently bearing witness to something else: to peace, to life itself, not the pain of death and destruction.

It’s a reminder to me of the way Palm Sunday has become associated with peace and justice. In memory of Jesus who entered the capital and was greeted with palm branches and crowds sensing something special – a person who brought people together, who spoke up for the poor, who healed and transformed, who spoke out against injustice – today, people march for refugees on temporary protection visas, for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, for peace itself.

Jesus did not enter as a conqueror returning from battle. He was not the God who ‘gives us the victory’ through military battle and strategy. No, he was the opposite. His God-given victory was of a different type. And, I think, in some way he gives us another image of what it is to be human. To initiate change through humility, through bearing witness to truth and the shared dreams of all.

To me it is a reminder that I need to participate in actions that create not a climate of fear, but a climate of peace.

We humans can change the climate, the earth’s atmosphere, and our collective emotional and psychological climate.

Today those beautiful palms bear witness to me of the path of peace. Palms are a now-universal symbol of peace; of paradise, of oasis, of rest, calm and restoration. Every time I see those Palm trees in the park I will hear them speaking a deeper truth than or idea that which is proclaimed by the arch.

Let those suburban palms, like those trees scattered across our suburbs, be a reminder of peace, of the needs of all people, including our South Pacific neighbours who are facing a climate of fear because of the actual changes in the climate, and of which they are already bearing the brunt through cyclones and rising seas. And to that end, let those palms stand as a reminder not only of the real needs of neighbours, but of life itself. Picture, if you can, beautiful palms, standing not in a Sydney park, but palms on a Pacific atoll, as the salt waters rise and wash them away. This Sunday, this Palm Sunday, and Palm Sundays for many years to come, need to be a reminder that the beauty, peace and promise of life itself is at stake for so many. Even for some of those very palms. Let’s do our part to together create a climate of true peace, for all.

-Steve Bevis

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Campaigns, News, Social Empowerment for Excluded Castes (India)
March 27, 2023

Imagine living in a rural village of about 250 people. It’s been your home since birth, and each day follows the simple but tough life of subsistence farming. Access to health services, education, and employment opportunities is severely limited, so, like everyone here, you make a living off the land and strive to give your children the opportunities that you didn’t have.

But for four to five months of every year, the dry season and erratic rainfall make it impossible to grow your crops. When the seasonal drought hits and there isn’t enough water for farming, you and every working-aged person along with your families must migrate far away from home to try to find work to survive. The village becomes practically deserted, leaving only the elderly. Think of what this instability does to your children’s education and the development of your community!

This was the case for a village in Sarenga, West Bengal before our partners the Church of North India (CNI) through the Diocese of Durgapur asked how they could help.

The villagers’ request was a simple one: find a way to put in place a sustainable source of crop irrigation that doesn’t dry up when the rain stops and the local streams become empty.

Thanks to the generosity of UnitingWorld supporters, our partners were able to purchase and install two submersible pumps that can channel large volumes of water across long distances. The new sources of irrigation mean that the community can continue farming throughout the year and not have to travel away and work for others to earn a living. Summer in Sarenga this year has the usual erratic rainfall and dryness. But due to this project, we know that there is now an entire village of people who no longer have to uproot their lives for months at a time and who are hard at work contributing to their families and community.

UnitingWorld’s Program Manager Shreshtha Kumar visited the village this year and was blown away by the complete turnaround described by the people.

It’s so heart-warming to see how the village has become a self-sufficient community. The people can now rely on far better food security and the whole life of the village is benefitting.

Our partners are also helping the community to access high-quality education through their study centre and self-help groups, teaching skills to people to help them develop extra sources of income and pathways to career opportunities.

This is how our partners are making incredible change in 26 rural villages across Sarenga and Ranibandh provinces as well as in two urban slums in Durgapur. These communities are extremely poor and marginalised but are on the way to having more sustainable, healthy and hopeful futures thanks to the love and support of our partners.

This project is such an inspiring example of the life-changing work that UnitingWorld and our supporters get to be a part of, and it’s a testament to our belief that just a few small interventions—guided by communities themselves—can lead to radically positive and long-term change for so many people.

As part of Lent Event, we’re fundraising to support this work that is changing lives and transforming communities in India and beyond. Will you help us reach our goal? Your gift will go a very long way to helping so many people and communities lead lives of dignity and hope.

Durgapur Sewing Centre for Adolescent Girls and Married Women

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, we’re making a huge difference together; lifting families out of poverty and helping people improve their lives.

 

by
Blogs
March 24, 2023

This week we said a very grateful and fond farewell to Jane Kennedy, who has been serving with us in various roles for a decade. We asked her to share a reflection on her time at UnitingWorld, which you can read below.

She also spoke about her time at UnitingWorld to UCA President Rev Sharon Hollis on her podcast. You can listen to it here.

I started at UnitingWorld in 2013 working with our Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu partners and recently counted 25 and 14 trips respectively over 5 years! I loved getting to know the partners so well during these trips and supporting their work, marveling at their resilience and their joy, seeing places many Australians have never heard of or only aware if they were birdwatchers or jungle trekkers! We ate meals together, I witnessed community life lived as it would have been hundreds of years ago, perhaps took too many risks traveling through conflict areas and into remote villages to better understand the context. I visited 11 provinces of PNG and three islands of Vanuatu, the beauty and the challenge often visible in equal measure. I loved it all.

My next role was as Associate Director of our Asia and Africa projects and I led a team of program managers working closely with our partners across South East Asia and South Asia as well as Zimbabwe and South Sudan. Some of the most incredible travel experiences of my life were in these regions and the warmth and hospitality of our partners and their communities was life giving. Not to mention the incredible food!

For the last 18 months I have been the Head of Programs working with all our partners. Our team of program managers is so committed and connected to the work our global partners are doing across the world and it’s been wonderful to witness the breadth of it. I will miss the warmth and passion of our partner teams and the ways in which they serve without question within their churches and regions, often, in fact usually, in the face of impossibility difficult circumstances.

It’s easy to see ourselves in a wealthy country like Australia as the ones doing the giving, of coming to support those less fortunate. But I’ve learnt that I am the one less fortunate when it comes to the richness of relationships and community our partners have invited me into over the years. They process poverty and disasters and heal in community, they understand their true wealth is in their interdependence with each other and their sense of land and place. They place value on celebratory meals and henna, flower arrangements, locally made fabrics, song and dance. It’s our role to transfer the wealth and shift the power however we can. As our strategic documents say, giving money in this way is not largesse, but justice.

The UnitingWorld team and the Uniting Church is better for being in relationship with our global partners, both in listening when they ask us to hold our own government to account and learning how to face our own hardship. I am better for knowing them and their generosity.

I will miss our Australian team also but am grateful for lifelong friends, some funny and beautiful memories and the opportunity to be a part of something so transformational in the world.

-Jane

 

What’s next?

Jane will be completing her studies in counselling and psychotherapy and plans to focus on trauma-informed programming in the aid sector and freedom from religious trauma. We wish her all the best on her next adventure!