News from Uniting Church SA
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Tuesday 18 November 2025
2026 Calendar – Order now!
The 2026 UCASA Calendar is now available to order and as usual there is an ‘Early Bird’ discount for pre-orders until December 7.
The calendar provides congregations and individuals with lectionary readings and important dates related to the life of the church.
This year's theme is Open doors, open hearts, and we will be showcasing just a few of the many examples of hospitality, generosity, and caring service happening throughout the SA Uniting Church, its schools, communities and agencies.
Christmas Worship Services 2025
Please email your Christmas Worship times to engagement@sa.uca.org.au.and so they can be featured on the Synod website at this link: UCA SA – Christmas Services 2025.
For all other Christmas events, please list them in the usual way via our Events submission form at UCA SA – Submit an event.
Christmas 2025 Resources
To support our congregations, we’ll also soon have a Christmas PowerPoint template and other resources available on our website.
Support the Christmas Bowl
For 76 years, Australians have given to the Christmas Bowl as an act of faith, generosity, and hope. Born in the aftermath of World War II, it began as a simple idea: churches across the country joining together at Christmas to share what they could so that others, far away, could have food, shelter, and safety.
Today, the Christmas Bowl continues to carry the prayers, gifts, and compassion of Christians across generations. It is a tradition that has quietly reshaped lives in places most of us will never see.
Your gifts have supported refugees, rebuilt homes after disaster, and reminded people in crisis that they are not forgotten. From Gaza to Ethiopia, from remote Pacific islands to communities recovering from natural disasters, the Christmas Bowl is more than an appeal. It is the wider church’s legacy of love in action.
Please join us in praying and acting for peace in the world. Because everyone deserves a safe place to belong.
Products added to children’s sand recall – SafeWork SA
You may have heard in the news over the last few days about the recall of some popular children’s play sand products, which may contain asbestos.
Whilst the risks are considered low, due to the potential for these products to be used as part of children’s ministry activities, it is important that congregations identify, remove from use and dispose of any such products safely. Further information relating to the specific products can be found on the following sites:
UPDATED: Products added to children’s sand recall | SafeWork SA
Recall_notice_Assorted+sand_(Kmart+&+Target+AU) +Nov+2025.pdf
If you have any specific questions relating to this matter, church council members may contact the Synod on 1300 766 956 or email the Synod WHS Coordinator whs@sa.uca.org.au.
Disability access and inclusion reading list
Our Graduate Disability and Advocacy Officer, Anna Wilson, has worked with Anna Witty, Head Librarian at Adelaide Theological Library, to put together an excellent reading list of disability-related books to assist congregations to be communities “where all are welcome, all are valued, and all are loved – not in spite of their differences, but because of the richness they bring” (Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli).
The list contains brief descriptions of all the resources, links to the on-line materials, and library references to the locations of books so you’ll be able to find them easily in the Adelaide Theological Library at UCLT.
Updated UCA Constitution and Regulations – Now available
The Assembly has released an updated Constitution and Regulations book for the first time since 2018. The updated edition is available for purchase or to read online via the links below.
Renew – Keynote videos are now available
Keynote videos
Links to the Keynote sessions from the Renew event are now available on the UCA SA YouTube page. Click on the links below:
Renew Grant – Applications closing soon
Funding for innovative projects and ideas flowing from the Renew event is available to anyone who attended the event through the Renew Grant, thanks to the support of UCInvest.
If you have an idea inspired by the event, we encourage you to apply. Simply fill in the form below to submit your proposal. Applications close November 30 and the grants will be awarded on December 14.
Events
Feast Festival – A night of inclusive worship and community
Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Christians with worship, music, and inclusive conversation at an ecumenical service hosted by Church of the Trinity, Clarence Park. All LGBTQIA+ people, friends, families, and allies are welcome to join in reflecting on life, love and diversity.
The evening will include thought-provoking discussion, music, and a good old-fashioned supper.
When: 7 pm, Sunday 23 November 2025
Where: Church of the Trinity, 318 Goodwood Road, Clarence Park 5034
Awaken Adelaide – Learning Plenary for Intercultural Leadership
The next Awaken Adelaide event is coming soon!
The workshop will explore ‘Toward an Intercultural Transformation: Becoming an Intercultural Church’. The keynote will be delivered by Rev. Dr Paul Goh, Mission Activator, and the workshop will be facilitated by Dr Rosemary Dewerse, Academic Dean and Research Coordinator at UCLT
When: 5.30 pm–8.00 pm, Thursday 27 November 2025
Where: Yarthu Apinthi (Uniting College) | 312 Sir Donald Bradman Dr, Brooklyn Park
Please RSVP to mr@sa.uca.org.au for catering purposes.
The Story of Bethlehem –Contextualising life in Palestine
Join Mercy Aiken and Cole Martin for a Zoom webinar exploring life in Palestine and peacebuilding in the Holy Land. Hear firsthand stories, insights, and reflections, followed by a Q&A.
When: 1:30 Adelaide | Sunday 30 Nov 2025
Where: Zoom Webinar with Q&A.
Learn more about the people, culture, and challenges of Bethlehem this Advent.
‘At The Still Point’: Mystery, Misery and Ministry in Fraught Times – Professor Mark Burrows
A morning with Professor Mark Burrows
Writer, retreat leader, poet, and scholar
Explore the voices of poets and mystics who show that, even in challenging times, the ‘unknowing’ of wonder is the beginning of wisdom. Inspired by T. S. Eliot’s words, “At the still point, there the dance is”, this session offers reflection and insight.
Professor Mark Burrows is an internationally recognized theologian, poet, and translator, author of bestselling books on Meister Eckhart and a leading interpreter of Rainer Rilke’s writings.
When: 9.30 am–12.30 pm, Monday 1 December
Where: Yarthu-Apinthi (Uniting College) | 312 Sir Donald Bradman Dr, Brooklyn Park
Christmas Carols – Western Link UC
The Western Link UC Christmas Carol service will be held on Sunday 7 December at 10 am.
Everyone is invited to come along and enjoy singing loved and well-known songs to herald in the Advent Season, then share morning tea Enquiries:
When: 10 am, Sunday 7 December
Where: Western Link Uniting Church | 93 Crittenden Road, Findon
Enquiries: Pam (8443 8145) or Marion (0437 128 365).
The Shared Table Christmas Market – Sunset Rock Uniting Church
Get into the festive spirit at The Shared Table – Sunset Rock UC as they gear up for a cheerful community morning filled with local creativity and Christmas joy. There’ll be plenty to see, taste, and enjoy, including coffee, BBQ, local crafts, handmade gifts and so on.
Bring your friends, family, and Christmas spirit for a relaxed, fun-filled morning in the Adelaide Hills. Perfect for finding those unique gifts, supporting local makers, and soaking up the holiday atmosphere.
When: 9.00 am–1.00 pm, Saturday 13 December 2025
Where: Sunset Rock Uniting Church, 40 Spencer St, Stirling SA 5152
Upcoming events
November
22 – Merry Magill Market
22 – Create @ The Corner: Gingerbread Houses
23 – Come and Sing Messiah at Clayton Wesley UC
24 – Poets' Corner with Bob Magor
28 – World Community for Christian Meditation Australia national gathering
December
3 – International Day of People with Disability
7 – Christmas Hymnfest at Spicer
13 – Create @ The Corner – Vinyl Record Wreaths
News from the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia this week includes:
Reflection of the week
Not as rational as we think
We may live in the same country, the same city, or even under the same roof, but we live in different realities.
—Brian McLaren, Learning How to See
CAC faculty member Brian McLaren is concerned about the cost of our increasingly limited ability to see beyond our religious or political points of view.
Over the last decade, I have felt increasingly alarmed about the vitriol, distrust, and destructive miscommunication that are tearing people apart everywhere I turn … in nations, in religious communities, in businesses, in non-profit organizations, in friendships, even in families.
Father Richard Rohr
Isaiah 65:17
For behold, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Prayer of the week
A prayer for Pentecost 23
God of new beginnings,
You promise a world renewed –
a creation where justice and peace embrace,
where the wolf and the lamb dwell together,
and where none will hurt or destroy.
We hunger for your vision of wholeness.
In the midst of conflict and fear,
teach us to be builders of hope,
to plant seeds of compassion,
and to seek the welfare of all your children.
You call us to persevere when the foundations shake,
to trust that not even a hair on our heads is beyond your care.
Strengthen us to speak truth with courage,
to resist despair with faith,
and to embody your love in every act of justice and mercy.
Spirit of life, renew our hearts when we grow weary,
Make us generous in service,
joyful in gratitude,
and bold in imagining a new heaven and earth.
Until that day when swords are beaten into ploughshares
and all creation sings your praise,
keep us faithful to your way of peace.
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
Kitchen Hand / Housekeeper – Tarooki Campsite – Open now
Customer Service Officer – Tarooki Campsite – Open now
Centre Manager , Tarooki – Robe – Open now
Administration Assistant – Closes 19 November
Associate Pastor (Families and Children) – Closes 24 November
Coordinating Chaplain - Mount Gambier, SA, Australia – Closes 28 November
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.
