It’s rather strange to realise that for Lent 2020 we are having to give up gathering as a church community. Lent – time to give up Usually, Lent inspires people to give up a range of things – personal favourites like chocolate or wine, or meaningful experiences like meals in a restaurant. It’s usually about…
In the early days of my tertiary studies, I studied Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the process, I learned a bit about his grandfather – Erasmus Darwin. He was a natural historian and once wrote one poem that filled a whole book. This poetry was full of observations about the lives of plants. It didn’t…
Like most children, I was a very curious child. And I went on to become a very curious adult. I have not changed. Sometimes it got me into trouble and dad would say something like: “Curiosity killed the cat”. I always thought and still think that is a rather silly thing to say. Of course…
Loving God, As people of a faith tradition, we believe in hospitality. We believe in responding with kindness and generosity, in sharing, offering companionship, welcoming and helping others. Help us to understand hospitality. Are there boundaries to hospitality? May our questioning bring Your forgiveness. Fill our hearts with Your love, and be with us, so…
The earliest inhabitants of the area now covered by the City of Port Phillip were the Yalukut Weelam, one of the five clans of the Boon Wurrung, known as the coastal tribe, and who were members of the Kulin nation, the sovereign First Peoples of this place. We honour their elders past, present and emerging…
Please see attached a letter from The Moderator of the Uniting Church Vic/Tas (Rev Denise Liersch) re the recent bush fires. If you would like to make a contribution you could do this at the Uniting VicTas Bushfire Appeal via the following link https://www.vt.uniting.org/uniting-vic-tas-2020-bushfire-appeal/. This gives UNITING the option of buying urgently needed goods or funding recovery.
You probably won’t know ‘Harry’. You might have seen him walking down either Chapel or Carlisle St. You might not have. Harry doesn’t say very much. Keeps himself to himself. Most times he just stands in the doorway of an empty shop that’s been available for lease for months. He just kind of blends into…
It’s the end of the school term and I was able to get to one of the grade 6 concerts. It’s a very special feeling watching your 2 eldest grandchildren who are cousins performing on stage. Especially when you know they have been rehearsing at home for weeks, stressing out over complicated choreography, and driving…
Last Saturday I was queuing up to order a meal in a pub. It was a long queue. Christmas music was playing. Two men in front of me (about my age) were passing the time by talking about the next few weeks and all the end-of-year functions that they would be involved in. They were…
Anyone walking past 163 Chapel St will notice that scaffolding has gone up and repairs to the tower will begin shortly. I want to invite you to think about this work as a metaphor. Scaffolding doesn’t actually support the tower; the tower supports the scaffolding. It wraps around it and enables people to access difficult…