News from Uniting Church SA
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Tuesday 29 July 2025
Closing this Thursday! Don’t miss out!
No late applications will be accepted!
A reminder that Uniting Foundation grant applications for 2025 close on Thursday July 31. For further information, contact Alice Hammer on (08) 8236 4206 or ahammer@sa.uca.org.au or check out the website UCA SA – Uniting Foundation.
Another Uniting Foundation Grant success story – The Shared Table Café
In 2024, Sunset Rock Uniting Church in Stirling applied for a grant to help them develop The Shared Table Café and nature play area, and we’re pleased to announce that this exciting new space opened on Wednesday 23 July, with the help of local MP, Josh Teague.
The Shared Table Café is a community-focused, family-friendly café space open on Wednesdays from 8:30 am to 3 pm. It offers great coffee, homemade treats, and a beautiful nature play area for children — creating a safe and welcoming place for families, caregivers, and locals to relax, connect, and feel at home.
AED Grants – also closing on Thursday!
A reminder that the deadline for eligible congregations to order their AED is fast approaching. To ensure receipt of the $1000 AED Grant towards the cost of an AED, orders must be received by 31 July 2025.
Ordering and purchase details were emailed to all eligible church locations on 30 June 2025. If you are an officer of the church council/responsible body (Chair, Secretary or Treasurer) and did not receive the information, please email the Synod office promptly at: whs@sa.uca.org.au
All places of worship are required to install an AED before the 1 January 2026.
Renew – registrations are open
Registrations are NOW OPEN for Renew Synod Resourcing event – a dynamic event to help you refresh, reimagine and reignite the life of your church. Click on the link below to learn more about the program, keynote addresses and workshops.
The event is being held on Friday evening October 17, and all-day Saturday October 18. On the previous evening, Thursday October 16, the Polkinghorne Oration is being held, also at Adelaide West UC. Why not combine the two events? You'll find a booking link to the Polkinghorne Oration later on in this edition of eNews.
A whole new way of enjoying the Royal Adelaide Show
You are invited to 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!
Digital Donation Program
Department of Treasury and Finance
The Digital Donation Program was created to assist South Australian community based, not-for-profit organisations to access devices from surplus government stocks. By re-using surplus government devices across the State and making them available to not-for–profit organisations in the community, we are able to implement a program that benefits both the community and our planet.
There are specific requirements your organisation must meet to be eligible for the Digital Donation Program.
Events
Embodying God’s mission in a multicultural neighbourhood – an Awaken Adelaide Learning Plenary
The next Awaken Adelaide Learning Plenary for Missional Leadership is coming up on August 21.
Rev. Dr Karina Kreminski, Mission Catalyst from NSW & ACT Synod, will be speaking on the subject of Embodying God’s mission in a multicultural neighbourhood.
When: Thursday, 21 August, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Yarthu-Apinthi / Uniting College for Leadership and Theology, 312 Sir Donald Bradman Dr, Brooklyn Park SA.
RSVP: Please RSVP to mr@sa.uca.org.au for catering purposes.
Amplify Conference – This Saturday 2 August
Amplify is Australia’s largest children, youth, and family ministry conference and will be held on Saturday 2 August 2025 across four hubs in South Australia: Brooklyn Park, Salisbury, Rostrevor, and Port Lincoln. The event features exclusively recorded, inspiring messages from keynote speakers with expertise in their fields, along with a wide range of quality electives covering children, youth, and family ministry, leadership, culture, faith communities and more.
Speakers include Tery Williams (opening plenary session), Suzie and Peter Botross (youth ministry) and Ainsley Freeman (children and families).
Lay Preachers’ Sunday August 3
The first Sunday in August is Lay Preachers’ Sunday in SA. We encourage congregations to celebrate and give thanks for the faithful ministry of Lay Preachers, whose service brings the Gospel to many each week. Suggested short and long liturgies are available on the Synod website. You’re welcome to mark the occasion on Sunday 3 August or a nearby date.
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, 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.
Fundraising concert – KickStart for Kids
Trinity Sessions and the Effective Living Cantre are hosting their annual fundraising concert on Sunday August 17 at 4 pm, with all proceeds going to support KickStart For Kids – a charity dedicated to providing essential school breakfasts, uniforms, and holiday programs for children in need across South Australia.
This uplifting event promises an afternoon of great music and community spirit, all for a vital cause.
Community Connections – Weaving Lives Together
On Saturday 23 August, come and be part of an interactive day of learning and discovery focused on how God is working in our communities – and how we can join in! The event will feature small groups, electives, a marketplace of ideas, a ‘clearinghouse’ of community connections theology, sacred space for quiet reflection, and more.
Guest speaker Rev Dr Karina Kreminski, a Uniting Church minister from Sydney and author of Urban Spirituality, will share her wealth of experience in neighbourhood mission and community engagement. Local voices from the SA Community Connections Collective will also be involved.
Cost is $30 ($20 concession, or $25 each for groups of 4+ from the same church). Morning tea and refreshments are included. Bring your own lunch or grab something nearby.
Now Showing: The First Hymn
The First Hymn tells the story of an ancient scrap of papyrus uncovered in the deserts of Egypt, containing remnants of the oldest known Christian hymn. In its lyrics, Professor John Dickson finds evidence of early Christian beliefs that some claim did not exist at that time. But discovering this ancient treasure is just the beginning. With the help of world-renowned Christian composers Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding, Professor Dickson embarks on an epic journey to reimagine the First Hymn as a modern worship song for today’s generation.
The First Hymn is screening at HOYTS Cinemas Norwood and Tea Tree Plaza on 2, 3 and 6 August.
Upcoming events
July
August
2 – 2025 Bethany Hall SALA Art Exhibition
2 – The Buddhist Monk who Loves Jesus
2 – Amplify Conference, with hubs at Brooklyn Park, Salisbury, Rostrevor, and Port Lincoln
4 to 10 – Loneliness Awareness Week 2025
7 – Do we need to rethink forgiveness? at the Effective Living Centre
8 – Oodnadatta Congress Celebration Weekend
10 – Sunday Evenings – Interactive Worship August
17 – KickStart for Kids Fundraising Concert at Trinity Sessions
17 – An afternoon with Henry Olonga at Newland-Victor Harbor
News highlights from the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia this week include:
Reflection of the week
Perfectionism: The Enemy of Goodness and Grace
The greatest enemy of ordinary daily goodness and joy is not imperfection, but the demand for some supposed perfection. — Richard Rohr, Eager to Love
Thérèse of Lisieux was a French Carmelite nun with minimal formal education, who in her short, hidden life of only twenty-four years captured the essence of Jesus’ core teachings on love. Thérèse was declared a Doctor of the Church, which means her teaching is seen as thoroughly reliable and trustworthy. She ‘democratized holiness,’ as Brother Joseph Schmidt said, ‘making it clear that holiness is within the reach of anyone willing to do God’s will in love at each successive moment as life unfolds.’
Father Richard Rohr
Prayer points
God of boundless love and radical welcome, in a world aching for justice and healing, empower us to be voices of compassion, and hands of hope. We seek renewal, courage, and clarity to love boldly, serve humbly, and walk faithfully in the way of Christ.
To those who are grieving, bring comfort.
To those who are struggling, give strength.
To those who are excluded, bring welcome.
To our leaders, bring wisdom.
To all creation, bring healing.
May your justice roll down like waters,
and your love flow through us like a mighty stream.
From Psalm 107:
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
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
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.
