News from Uniting Church SA
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Tuesday 26 August 2025
Introducing Rev Ann Perrin – Workshop facilitator
Introducing Rev Ann Perrin, who equips presbyteries and congregations in the NSW and ACT Synod to develop their missional capacity with a focus on developing growing younger congregations in regional population centres.
Ann has been the Advocate for the Growing in Faith Circle for the UCA Assembly, Team Leader for the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery and Chairperson of the Presbytery of Tasmania. She has served congregations including multicultural congregations, the Tongan congregation, as Minister of Clarence UCA in Hobart and as an intentional interim minister. Ann has participated in Project Reconnect and has a particular passion for rural and regional communities and the big impact of small faith communities.
Ann will be delivering 2 workshops at Renew: Spirited missional renewal in the rural heartlands and Stories from rural Australia: Where God is at work and we are hearing the call.
Renew 2025 – Resources now available
With Renew 2025 only 7 weeks away, we've created a range of resources to help you spread the word in your congregations. These include:
- A PowerPoint slide – for you to display during your services
- A poster – for you to print or email to friends and members of your congregation
- A logo – for anywhere else you can think of!
You can download these resources right now from the link below. And look out for more resources coming soon.
Don't forget to register for the event as soon as possible to assist us with planning.
Renew Grant
We're excited to announce that, with the support of UC Invest, the Synod is launching a new one-off grant for innovative projects flowing from the Renew event. This grant is available exclusively to attendees at Renew!
UnitingWorld – Gaza Crisis Appeal
You can help support the people of Gaza impacted by violence, through UnitingWorld's Gaza Crisis Appeal. Your gift will support ACT Alliance and their local church partners to provide urgent emergency relief and to work to restore basic services for people affected by the violence in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Please give today to bring hope and relief where it is needed most.
Thanks to Claerwen Little
A statement from the Board of UnitingCare Australia – 21 August 2025
After almost nine years of distinguished service to UnitingCare Australia and the UnitingCare network, UnitingCare Australia's National Director Claerwen Little has tendered her resignation to pursue opportunities in consulting and advisory. She will continue in her role until the end of September.
The Board would like to express their deep gratitude for her leadership as National Director. She has been instrumental in achieving significant social policy change and government reform in aged care and community services in Australia and has led the transformation of the UnitingCare network into a unified powerhouse of influence and service delivery.
The search for a new National Director will commence shortly.
New Manse Management Policy
The Synod of South Australia has released a new Manse Management Policy to guide the care and oversight of church-owned manses.
Manses are more than houses – they are homes for Ministers and their families, places of rest and hospitality, and a vital resource for ministry. This new policy has been developed to ensure that manses remain safe, functional, and well-cared-for into the future, while also helping congregations meet the growing legal responsibilities of landlords in South Australia.
The policy was shaped through extensive consultation with the Synod Property Committee, Joint Presbytery Leaders, and the Synod Standing Committee. It establishes a consistent approach across the Church, including the use of professional property management, clear agreements with Ministers, and the establishment of sinking funds to plan for long-term maintenance.
By providing a clear framework, the policy aims to reduce the burden on volunteers, safeguard our resources, and support Ministers in their call to serve.
The policy is now available on the Synod website here. Congregations are encouraged to read the policy and begin preparing for implementation in line with the transition dates outlined.
For more information, please contact Synod Property Services at property@sa.uca.org.au or phone 8236 4200.
Safe Church alert
Churches may receive an email from a company ANCC who is offering to provide Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Record Checks. Please note this is not applicable or necessary for congregations as all our screenings are conducted through the Synod Screening Unit and Department of Human Services.
Reminders for screening that are due for renewal come from the UCSA Screening Admin (ssu@sa.uca.org.au). DHS is actively sending reminders to all who have WWCC due for renewals, but please wait until you get a reminder from this office to recommence the renewal.
Our next Screening Assistance Day will next be offered on Tuesday 23 September. The team is available to help with screening applications either by appointment over the phone or in person at the Synod office. Bookings can be made by either emailing ssu@sa.uca.org.au or calling the Synod office 8236 4200 for that day or at a time convenient for all.
Red Dove Cafe – it's not too late!
There are only a week or so till the Red Dove Cafe is fully operational! We would like to invite you to sign up now and come and join the fun and fabulous opportunity to work with others and serve the community.
All are welcome, Email volunteers.rdc@gmail.com to sign up and we will contact you about available shifts.
A new way of enjoying the Show
Come and experience a whole new way of enjoying the Royal Adelaide Show – combining volunteering at the Red Dove Café with a deeper experience of reflecting missionally on your observations during the day. This exciting initiative, offered for the first time this year, will be led by Rev Scott Litchfield from Mission Resourcing.
The whole-day event will begin with coffee or breakfast, followed by orientation and a time spent walking around the Show in ‘observation mode’. After doing a shift at the Red Dove Café, you’ll have another period of focused observation in one of the ‘worlds’ at the show, then regather as a group to share your reflections.
The program is entirely FREE, and is being offered on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th of September. Spaces are limited, so book early on the link below
UPDATE: The September 2 session is now booked out!
Thanks from the UCA Stamp Group
We are thankful to all the church fellowships, businesses and individuals who continue to support the UCA Stamp Group by saving and donating stamps. Numerous stamp collections that are no longer needed have been donated and more are always gratefully received.
The UCA Stamp Group offers Australian and overseas stamps for purchase at the Synod Office, 212 Pirie Street, Adelaide, on Monday mornings from 9:30 am to 12 noon. Collection from the metro area can be arranged if required.
For more information, please contact:
Maxine Haines – Convenor
Email: jimmax.haines@bigpond.com.
Mobile: 0427 972 417
2025–26 Celebrate Together Round 2
Funding Available – Celebrate Together Grants
Grant funding is now open through the 2025–26 Celebrate Together Round 2. These grants support multicultural organisations to host festivals and events that share cultures, customs and traditions with the wider South Australian community.
- Funding available: Up to $5,000
- Project period: 6 months, commencing 1 January 2026
- Applications close: 11 pm, Sunday 14 September 2025
Please note, this grant is highly competitive and attracts many applications.
The application form, guidelines, and online grant tutorials are available at
Celebrate Together Grants | Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Events
Highbury Street Fund – Call for applications
The Highbury Street Fund supports leadership development across a variety of church expressions for CALD congregations and faith communities.
Applications are now open for projects that meet the Fund’s criteria. Further information and the application form are now available!
Applications close: 31 August 2025.
Applications will be considered at the Uniting College Grants Committee meeting in early September.
State Youth Conference (SYC)
13 September
For young people aged 12 to Year 12, join others from across SA for a day of worship, teaching, and community at Hope Valley Uniting Church.
Theme:
"Christian discipleship is not about a set of rules and propositions but about being captivated by a person." – Lucy Peppiatt
The call of Jesus is radical, it causes people, to this day, to leave behind the things to which we cling and to step out onto the water with Him. Throughout history it has called fishermen to leave their nets, cricketers to leave their bats, tax collectors to leave their booths and the nobility to leave their wealth. Over and over again, Jesus calls, “Come, follow me”.
Come explore what it truly means to follow Jesus—through relationship, not just rules.
Adelaide Male Voice Choir
14 September
Come along and enjoy a delightful afternoon of music presented by the ever-popular Adelaide Male Voice Choir, followed by a relaxed afternoon tea.
Bring your friends and enjoy a vibrant mix of musical styles—including show tunes, spirituals, folk songs, and sea shanties. Proceeds from the event will be shared with the choir, so your support makes a real difference.
If each of us brings a friend, it’s sure to be a wonderful success! Mark the date in your diary now!
Where: Morialta Uniting Church
26 Chapel St, Magill South Australia 5072
When: 2–4 pm, Sunday 14 September 2025
Tickets are available through the Morialta UC office or via the link below.
A Day to Reconnect – Retreat at Sunset Rock UC
Take a day to pause, reflect, and reconnect with God.
Join us for a one-day retreat on Saturday, 18 October 2025, at Sunset Rock Uniting Church. The retreat will include guided prayer, personal reflection, silence, and space to rest in God's presence.
Time: 9:30 am – 3:00 pm
Cost: $30 (includes morning tea and lunch)
Contact: office@sunsetrockchurch.au
Upcoming events
September
News from the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia this week includes:
Reflection of the week
Mind your mind
When you learn to mind your mind, you begin by allowing your thoughts and feelings to shout or cry, to throw a tantrum and have a meltdown. It’s fruitless and ultimately quite harmful to perpetually beat down those feelings. So, for some period of time, you let your inner committees express their distress and negotiate, firing up the subway for a frantic rush hour.
And then, at some point, you have to get off the train and exit the station and find a quiet place. Perhaps you’ll meet with a circle of trust, processing with some friends what you’re struggling with. Perhaps you’ll find some solitude to practice private contemplation.
Brian D. McLaren
A prayer for the week
For hospitality
Gracious God, who call us
to love as Christ loved;
to open our hearts, our homes, and our lives to strangers, seekers, and those in need.
Help us remember that in welcoming others, we may be entertaining angels.
Let our compassion be bold and active, expressed in deeds as well as words.
Teach us to honor all people;
those imprisoned, those suffering,
those forgotten by the world but never by You.
May our faith be rooted in justice,
our hospitality in humility,
and our generosity in grace.
In a world that so often builds division,
make us builders of bridges,
hosts of peace,
and bearers of hope.
____
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured,
as though you yourselves were being tortured.
Hebrews 13:2–3
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
Administration Officer, Resources – Closes by 1 September
First Third of Life Ministry Leader – Keiraview Uniting Church, Wollongong, NSW – Closes by 8 September
Centre Manager, Adare – Victor Harbor – Closes by 30 September
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.
