On Tuesday 7th June, more than 70 people came to share in the Playtime Conference. Key note speaker Mike Frost challenged playgroup leaders to not think of their groups as existing to ‘build up the church’, but instead to proclaim the true mission of the church, to alert people to the reign of God through Christ. Despite competition from some vocal babies, all were inspired by Mike’s stories and… Continue reading

Happy Anniversary to the Uniting Church in Australia – 34 years on June 22nd Older members can remember the momentous event when three separate denominations joined together to form the Uniting Church in 1977. But it is worth taking the time to tell the story to younger generations or new members, so that the joy of that occasion and all that has been achieved is not lost. Here are few… Continue reading

Messy Ministry! A residential in-service for those who work in children, family, youth ministry, also rural ministry and pastors, lay preachers and resource ministers. Monday August 15 – Friday August 19 2011 at the Centre for Ministry, 16 Masons Drive North Parramatta. Keynote speakers Lucy Moore and Duncan Macleod.  Ph: 02 8838 8910 Costs $300 for 5-day program (includes 5 lunches, 3… Continue reading

Grace Cube The Grace Cube can be cut out, folded up and glued into a cube, each side providing you with a different way to say grace at the meal table, take it in turns to throw the dice before you eat and say the prayer on the cube. A Grace is a prayer said before meals as a simple way to thank God for our lives and for providing us with the food we eat. Download the Grace Cube Other… Continue reading

After several years of lobbying, a 10 week trial, an independent review and much deliberation time, the NSW parliament passed an amendment to the Education Act 1990 which now allows schools to host ‘special education in ethics’ classes as an option for those children whose parents do not wish for them to attend a Special Religious Education (SRE/Scripture) class. These ethics classes can… Continue reading

UnitingPeople has just released the 100 Ways to celebrate Christmas booklet on their site. Designed to be a free download for you to keep and refer back to year after year, it is available in A4 and A5 sizes and filled with great Christmas activity ideas. As they explain: At the core of Christmas we celebrate peace & joy & love. It isn’t always easy to experience this, when… Continue reading

Many churches are thinking about Messy Church as a way of reaching the ‘messy edges’ and connecting with their communities. Terrigal UC is the first NSW church to be officially linked to the international Messy Church website Terrigal UC are having a Christmas Messy Church on Saturday 27 November at 6pm. Engadine UC have formed a team and have a Messy Church on Sunday 28th November at… Continue reading

There has been much discussion of late around the trial of ethics classes for students who do not attend Special Religious Education. Now that the 10-week trial has come to a close, we begin the official time of evaluation to assess whether the classes were effective for students and whether the implementation processes were appropriate. The Uniting Church has been involved in discussion… Continue reading

The following criteria can be used to evaluate the quality of a playgroup.  If you run a playgroup, consider how well your playgroup fulfills these criteria. Clear, informative signage Welcoming and inclusive Safe environment – clean, well-maintained, well fenced, safe storage Child-protection policy Special needs accommodated Membership information, costs, requirements including… Continue reading

(A short talk given by Judyth Roberts at the Breathe Conference, August 2009) Why talk about playgroups? Because playgroup is what happens when you put a child in the midst! (Mark: 9:36-37) Families with young children in our society are hungry for our hospitality … Searching for safe places for them and their children … Waiting to be welcomed… Here are 10 compelling reasons… Continue reading