News from Uniting Church SA
No images? Click here
Tuesday 30 September 2025
National History Conference to tackle big questions of church and society
What does it mean for the Church to raise a prophetic voice in Australian society? How have Christians spoken into and shaped public life, and what are the lessons for the challenges we face today? These are the big questions at the heart of the Uniting Church National History Society Conference to be held from 3–5 October.
Over three days at Canberra City Uniting Church, the conference will bring together a wide range of scholars, ministers and community leaders to examine moments when the Church has stepped forward to speak to the nation.
Renew event – 2 weeks to go!
Renew water bottles have been popping up all over the place on their way to Adelaide for the Renew event on the 17th and 18th of October. All you have to do to get one of your own is to register for Renew. And along with the bottle we’ll also throw in a Renew bag and lunch on the Saturday.
Only 2 weeks to go! Register now using the button below!
Renew Grant
Exclusive to attendees at Renew, Synod will be offering a new one-off grant for innovative projects flowing from the Renew event, thanks to the support of UCInvest.
AED order update
Thank you to all congregations who placed and paid for their AED orders promptly.
This is an update to confirm the Synod is still experiencing significant delays with the processing and delivery of AEDs orders. This is due to unexpected import delays beyond the Synod’s or our supplier’s control.
AEDs have begun to be delivered, with our first batch of 50 almost complete, however there is now a backlog of orders affecting a number of organisations, including the Uniting Church.
We are working with our supplier to ensure all orders are fulfilled as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience. Thank you for your ongoing patience.
Red Dove Café – Grant applications open
Each year, proceeds raised through the Red Dove Café at the Adelaide Royal Show go towards mission activities of the wider Church in South Australia.
One such avenue is through the Red Dove Grant, available to projects that respond to the needs of ‘the least of these’, which is so central to the mission of the Red Dove Café.
Applications for the 2025 Red Dove Grant are now open and close on October 31, 2025. To apply, please complete the form below.
SALA Festival – Season’s Bounty art exhibition
As reported in the September edition of New Times, the Season’s Bounty exhibition was recently held at Bethany Hall, Willunga Uniting Church as part of the SALA Festival.
The exhibition included works by local artist Elizabeth Bradley, whose piece Chicken Delight was purchased by the Member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie MP. The artwork was officially handed over on 29 September 2025 – a joyful moment celebrating creativity and community.
Sally Stamp is always looking for your unwanted stamps
We urgently need your stamps and collections to keep volunteers busy until the middle of December 2025. Please put notices in your church newsletters. Pick-up can be arranged in the metro area.
Maxine Haines – Convenor – UCA Stamp Group Email: jimmax.haines@bigpond.com or mobile phone 0427 972417
Events
Is liberal democracy necessary for freedom of faith to survive?
October's Progressive Christianity Forum guest speaker is Emeritus Professor Rick Sarre, asking "Is liberal democracy necessary for freedom of faith to survive?"
The idea of legislating freedom of religious faith has frustrated Australian governments over the past 5 years. No political leader wants to touch it. How can we get around this imbroglio? Professor Sarre suggests that there is a way, but we need to keep our political composure.
Tickets $15 or $12 concession | Live stream $5
When: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Thursday 2 October 2025
Where: Effective Living Centre | 26 King William Road, Wayville SA 5034.
Connect Women’s Conference
This year’s Connect Women’s Conference invites women to pause and reflect on their place and purpose “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14b). Guest speaker Charis Button (Hope Valley Church) will lead the day, which includes worship, electives, fellowship and meals.
When: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm | Saturday 11 October 2025
Where: Westbourne Park Uniting Church | 27 Sussex Terrace, Hawthorn
Cost: Adult $65 | Concession $40
Understanding the Israel and Palestine conflict – Rev Tim Costello
Malvern Uniting Church invites you to an evening with Rev Tim Costello AO on Saturday 11 October 2025, from 7 pm to 9 pm. The event, Understanding the Israel and Palestine Conflict: A Christian Response, will explore the complexities of the conflict and offer reflections from a faith perspective.
Cost is $10 per person, with tea and coffee provided.
Please register online and for more information, contact admin@malvernuc.com
The Polkinghorne Oration – 16 Oct 2025
The Polkinghorne Oration will be held on 16 October 2025 at Adelaide West Uniting Church, 312 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Brooklyn Park. The event will begin at 7 pm, with doors opening at 6:15 pm.
This year’s guest speaker is Rev Tim Costello AO, who will address the theme, “The Challenge of Our Times: Climate Change in the Context of a Culture in Crisis”.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for concession. A livestream link will be available to all registrants.
Loss and hope – Naming the reality and moving into the future
All Uniting Church members are warmly invited to the morning session of the Presbytery of Southern SA AGM on Saturday 1 November, 9.00 am–1.00 pm at The Corner Uniting Church.
Guest preacher and presenter Professor Liz Boase, a Hebrew Bible scholar and Dean of Graduate Research at the University of Divinity, will speak on the themes of trauma, lament, anger, judgement, and hope through the lens of the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, and their relevance for the Church today.
Enquiries: Beth Seaman – southern.prc@sa.uca.org.au
Upcoming events
October
2 – Is liberal democracy necessary for freedom of faith to survive?
4 –Spring plant sale at Angaston UC
5 – Sunday evenings – Worship through discussion October
11 – Mitcham Village U/C community garden open day
11 – Connect Women's Conference
11 – Understanding the Israel and Palestine Conflict: A Christian response
12 – Celebrating 150 years of Maitland Uniting Church
12 – The Kym Purling Trio in concert
16 – Polkinghorne Oration with Rev Dr Tim Costello
17–18 – Renew synod resourcing event
18 – Stillpoint guided retreat
19 – Live Arts at Newland – Victor Harbor
19 – 150th Anniversary of Clarendon Uniting Church
News from the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia this week includes:
Reflection of the week
Can We Love All?
Congressman John Lewis (1940–2020) describes his Christian faith as the foundation of his commitment to nonviolence:
I believe in the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. I accepted it not simply as a technique or as a tactic, but as a way of life, a way of living. We have to arrive at the point, as believers in the Christian faith, that in every human being there is a spark of divinity. Every human personality is something sacred, something special. We don’t have a right, as another person or as a nation, to destroy that spark of divinity, that spark of humanity, that is made and created in the image of God.
Father Richard Rohr
Prayer for the week
A prayer of lament, hope and faithful service
God of the broken and the scattered,
Your mercies are new every morning.
You do not abandon us to despair,
but meet us in the ashes with compassion and strength.
You have given us a spirit, not of fear,
but of power, love, and self-discipline.
So kindle the gift within us,
the courage to speak truth,
the grace to forgive,
the faith to serve without seeking reward.
Give us strength, O Lord
not so we may be mighty,
but that we may be humble.
Open our hearts, O Lord
that we may be compassionate.
In exile and in promise,
in lament and in resurrection,
You are our God.
We trust in You,
we wait for You,
and we walk with You.
Amen.
Resources to help people worship and pray together as a gathered community or at home. These resources are generously prepared by Rev Cheryl Wilson.
Positions and placements
Activity Facilitator – Beyond Limits Outdoor Education – Open now
First Third of Life Ministry Leader – Keiraview Uniting Church, Wollongong, NSW – Closes 7 October
Centre Manager, Tarooki – Robe – Closes 12 October
Lead Activity Facilitator – Beyond Limits Outdoor Education – Closes 13 October
Maintenance Hand – Adare Camp and Caravan Park – Closes 13 October
Program Coordinator – Closes 15 October
Children and Family Pastoral Coordinator – Closes 15 October
UC eNews is the weekly email newsletter of the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia. If you’d like to include content in UC eNews or on the Synod of South Australia website, please submit it by COB Mondays.
