News from Uniting Church SA
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Tuesday 23 September 2025
World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel
This week, the global church observes the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, inviting us to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land. The week calls for an end to Israeli oppression and a future of peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
In 2023, the Synod of SA adopted a resolution supporting this observance. A range of resources – including prayer cards, liturgies, reflections, and peace-building tools – is available from the World Council of Churches and the Uniting Church Assembly. Additional prayers and reflections are also available from the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.
Congregations and faith communities are encouraged to engage with these materials and share them throughout the week.
The Renew water bottle – Available now!
We’ve been besieged with enquiries about the Renew water bottle. Okay, ‘besieged’ may be a slight exaggeration, but there’s no doubt about it, the Renew bottle has created quite a splash!
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 3 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.
New Times is in the mail
The September edition of New Times has been printed and posted and will be in your hands in the next few days.
Highlights of this edition include the heart-warming story of Teresa’s dream to contribute to a hospital in South Sudan; the fascinating reflections of Uniting College students on their time spent Walking on Country; the wonderful efforts of The Hive team in Bordertown; and other uplifting tales of service and dips into history.
We’ve also started a new ‘Quick Bites’ column where we take a brief look at recent events and provide links to on-line photo galleries that let you see more than we could normally carry in print.
Remember, New Times is your magazine. We’re always keen to receive your articles, letters, news items, photographs and feedback, and happy to work with you to help develop ideas that you might have. Deadline for the December edition is Friday October 17, 2025.
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.
It’s time to end the waiting!
As reported in a recent eNews, the Moderator of the Uniting Church in South Australia, Rev Peter Morel, has added his signature to a national open letter calling for an end to the prolonged waiting faced by refugees and asylum seekers
In 2023, the Synod of South Australia resolved to call all members of the Uniting Church to pray and work for justice for refugees and asylum seekers, and in their long wait for Resolution of Status (RoS) and partner/child visas. As stated in the Uniting Church's Our Vision for a Just Australia, we join with the wider Church in advocating for a fair, robust, and timely process for assessing the protection claims of those seeking asylum.
Over 100 days, from August to November, communities throughout the country are invited to hold a peaceful prayer vigil near MPs offices, praying for justice for people seeking asylum and calling to #EndTheWaiting for thousands of people who have sought safety on our shores but still remain in limbo, facing an uncertain future.
Click the button below to find out more about how you can join in prayer, including attending a prayer vigil in your electorate.
Together, through prayer and action, we can add our voices to the growing call for justice and dignity for those who have waited far too long. For campaign resources and information, visit www.endthewaiting.com.
Season of Creation
1 September – 4 October
Throughout September and into early October, millions of Christians across the world are marking the Season of Creation, an annual invitation to pray, reflect and act in care for the Earth. The Season of Creation website reminds us that:
“Creation is God’s sacred gift, entrusted to our care. Christians are called to protect and nurture Creation in peace, working in partnership with others and passing this responsibility on to future generations. Its deep interconnectedness makes peace both essential and fragile”.
“The world we have known, enjoyed and celebrated is changing rapidly. Biodiversity is being lost at a rate not seen since the last mass extinction. The hope of keeping average temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius is fading. The futures of young people are threatened by the cascading impacts of the loss of biodiversity and a changing climate. Industrialization, colonization and the extraction and consumption of resources have created great wealth, unequally distributed.”
“As an ecumenical family, we can engage in these actions and contribute to ensure that the web of life is preserved and cared for. Our prayers, sermons and liturgies must call for justice not only for humans but for all Creation”.
The UCA has a range of resources available for worship and reflection which can be found here: https://uniting.church/season-of-creation-2025-has-begun/.
Events
Principles of church renewal – Thursday 25 September
The Presbytery of Southern SA (POSSA) is hosting two sessions providing a unique theological overview of the process of congregational renewal, and principles and practical strategies on how a congregation can find a new future participating in the mission of God.
Guest speaker Tim Hein is the Minister at Malvern Uniting with his wife Priscilla. He recently concluded 14 years on the faculty at Uniting College of Leadership and Theology where he lectured on the subject of Church Revitalisation and Renewal. He is the author of Understanding Sexual Abuse: A Guide for Ministry Leaders & Survivors.
Part One: The Nature and Dynamic of Renewal
7 pm Thursday, 25 September 2025
Part Two: The Process of Renewal
7 pm Thursday, 20 November 2025
Location: Malvern Uniting Church, 44 Marlborough St, Malvern.
RSVP: Email southern.secretary@sa.uca.org.au
Multifaith Peace Vigil – Pilgrim Uniting Church
In this time of turmoil in the world, you are invited to gather for a time of prayer, candle lighting, and quiet contemplation. Between 4 pm and 6 pm on Friday 26 September at Pilgrim Uniting Church (12 Flinders Street, Adelaide), short prayers or reflections will be offered every half hour by a range of people.
This is a space for solidarity, compassion, and shared hope. All are welcome.
For more information, contact (08) 8212 3295 or email cmegaw@pilgrim.org.au.
Historic organ concert at Semaphore UC – Sunday 28 September
Semaphore Uniting Church’s historic and beautiful organ will be brought to life once again this year by Graham Bell.
Money raised will go to the Organ Fund for the upkeep of this historic and greatly admired organ.
The organ was built in 1882 for a private residence where it was originally located in the dining room (see the picture below). The two halves of the organ casing originally flanked a window above the console. The instrument was purchased by what was then Semaphore Methodist Church in 1903 for the princely sum of £275 plus another £254 for cartage and installation, and has been bringing joy to the congregation for 122 years.
WHEN: 2 pm Sunday 28 September 28, followed by afternoon tea.
WHERE: Semaphore Uniting Church, 146 Semaphore Road, Exeter SA 5019.
Tickets $ 10 at the door. Please ring Frances on 0407 687 311 for bookings or more information.
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 Kym Purling Trio – In Concert at Morialta
Kym Purling returns to Morialta with his jazz trio (featuring Tim Bowen and Jackson Mack) for an afternoon concert on Sunday, October 12 from 2:00 to 4:30 PM at Morialta Uniting Church, Magill. Tickets are $35, available through the church office (08 8331 9344) or via Kym Purling Trio Tickets, Morialta Uniting Church, Magill | TryBooking Australia. Limited door sales available if not sold out. Proceeds will support church projects.
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.
Upcoming events
September
27 – The Corner UC Mini Market
27 – Create @ The Corner – Suncatchers
28 – Historic organ concert at Semaphore UC
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
19 – Live Arts at Newland – Victor Harbor
News from the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia this week includes:
Reflection of the week
A Choice for Love
To be in love is to be standing in a different space. Love is not only what we do; it’s how we do it. When we stand in the state of love that Jesus offers, we live inside of a different energy. For those moments, we’re not entirely self-preoccupied. We try to care for the world. We’re able to say, “I have one life and when I leave here, I want to make sure this world is a little better because I was here.” What might happen if we woke up each day with this intention: “How can my existence on this earth increase the quality of life on this planet?”
Father Richard Rohr
From Psalm 146
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Prayer for the week
For the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel – from the WCC
God of love and justice,
We ask you to open our hearts for empathy for the suffering on all sides.
For those in Gaza who are in darkness in the face of death and destruction. Hear their cries.
For those in the West Bank who are victims of settler violence and theft of
land. Strengthen them in their struggle for justice.
For those who are held in Gaza as
hostages. For their desperate families who fear the worst. For those who mourn the death of their loved ones. Send light into their darkness. Open the door for a release of all hostages, and all those unjustly detained.
We bring before you hate and division around the world as a reaction to the war in the Holy Land:
Send your spirit of love and reconciliation into our hearts, so we have the courage to uphold the sanctity of life, see the beauty of all human beings created in your
image and overcome all hate.
God of reconciliation,
Send your spirit of wisdom and prudence into the hearts of those in power that a just and sustainable peace with room for a good life for both Palestinians and Israelis may become possible.
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
Centre Manager, Adare – Victor Harbor – Closes 30 September
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
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.
