St. David's is an English speaking congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia that celebrates her place in the cross-cultural parish of Balkara.
Phone: (03) 9562 7559 Email: mail@oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au 154 Drummond St, Oakleigh, VIC, 3166
Moses finds himself living in exile ‘beyond the wilderness’ because he took God’s justice into his own hands and killed an Egyptian guard.
From moments of being flawed and exiled, God calls ordinary human beings back to life in line with God’s purposes.
Sermon August 31st, 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
God take our tears …. USE THEM TO WATER SOMETHING NEW.
The gospel story of the Canaanite woman pleading with Jesus that her daughter be free from torment is particularly troubling for those who desire healing and yet do not get the healing we desire. Is God not listening? Is our faith too small? Is God doing something else that we do not expect?
These are not academic questions for people who grieve. This week has been a difficult week for my family, so they are my questions as well.
Sermon 17th August, 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
These words from Jesus come in the form of an archetypal story full of fearful elements - storm, dark, night, raging sea, depths, distance from shore, and even ghosts.
The ghost that appears is actually the comforter. Jesus message to the disciples is, “take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. We reflect on where God is present amongst the storms and how God may be found.
Sermon 10th August 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
Adriana Aranha speaks of simple and yet astounding ways to address poverty and hunger in an urban setting in Brazil and concludes that ending hunger is easy. As we reflect on the story of Jesus feeding a large crowd, where his disciples can only see scarcity, we are challenged to think how we might be more like Jesus and allow the abundance of God to guide us.
Sermon 3rd August, 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
The majority of asylum seekers will no longer be detained under major immigration reforms described by Immigration Minister Chris Evans as a more compassionate approach.
The Government will not completely scrap mandatory detention but Senator Evans says the Department of Immigration will have to justify why a person should be detained.
“A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved,” Senator Evans said.
Senator Evans says indefinite detention is not acceptable.
The kingdom of heaven is like …
Weeds, poisonous yeast, rotten fish? Jesus throws up some provocative images to get us to think about the kingdom of heaven, who is included and why.
Sermon 27th July, 2008 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
A researcher for the Australian National University says Christian denominations need to do more to address climate change.
Steve Douglas has studied the policies of the Catholic, Anglican and Uniting churches and found the Anglican Church is the least effective.
He says the Uniting Church has more policies but a poor record for implementation and the Catholic Church has a small environmental organisation but is restricted in policy making.
Dr Douglas says all three denominations need to become more focused.
The dramatic rise over the past twelve months in global food prices poses a threat to the very poorest and to humanity as a whole, says a new specialist report from the United Nations - which is seeking to coordinate global action.
The report of the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis published its Comprehensive Framework for Action a week ago.
It stresses that global food and nutrition security is imperilled by the current situation, which creates a host of humanitarian, human rights, socio-economic, environmental, developmental, political and security-related challenges.
A yachting adventure will see Jordan Garkut deliver goods and offer practical help around the southeastern islands of Papua New Guinea for the next three months.Relief primary school teacher Jordan set out on Sunday, farewelled by his family and friends from Highway Christian Church, on an adventure he has been waiting years to fulfil.Laden with school teaching and learning resources, stationary, fishing gear, clothing, seeds, hats, guitars, supplies for basic first aid, Christian resources and Bibles, Jordan is heading for Kawano Waters on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
The latest issue of Christianity 9 to 5 is available online now. Issue 32 focuses on Christian Leadership and discusses a number of issues including putting people first in management, and how to develop leaders.