Uniting Church in SA

31/08/2026

Today is the beginning of the Season of Creation 🌏

Christians around the world will mark this time from 1 September to 4 October, joining in prayer, reflection and action.

The season is a powerful symbol of cooperation among churches globally, recognising that our shared world is a universal gift from our Creator.

The 2026 theme, ‘Living Water’, is inspired by Ezekiel 47:9, 12. Emerging from a context of exile and loss, the passage offers hope that God’s renewing presence can restore damaged ecosystems, strengthen communities and inspire faithful stewardship of creation.

You can find UCA resources (including service orders, prayers and studies) on the Assembly website here 👇
https://bit.ly/4fReT3E

28/08/2026

An exciting event coming up at Salisbury Uniting Church this Sunday!

Together with Adelaide Congress Ministry, we are looking forward to hosting the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda, on Sunday 30th August 4pm, here at Salisbury Uniting, 59-61 Park Terrace. Come along for a vibrant and colourful performance that includes gospel music and stories of restoration and hope.

28/08/2026

A prayer for the people of Nepal from UCA President Rev Charissa Suli.

𝗔 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹

As we hear of the devastating floods in Nepal, we pause in sorrow and solidarity with all those affected. In the face of lives lost, families separated and communities facing profound uncertainty, we turn to God in prayer. We pray for those who grieve, those still waiting for news, and all who are working to bring rescue, care and hope.

God of compassion and mercy,

We hold before you the people of Nepal following the devastating flash floods in the Bhote Koshi River area.

We grieve with those who have lost loved ones. We pray for the many who are still missing, local people and visitors alike, for families waiting anxiously for news, for those who have been injured or displaced, and for communities facing such immense loss.

Draw near, O God.

Where there is grief, bring comfort.
Where there is fear, bring courage.
Where there is exhaustion, bring strength.
And in these difficult hours of searching and waiting, sustain hope.

We pray for all involved in search and rescue, evacuation, medical care and relief. Protect and strengthen them. Give wisdom to those coordinating the response, and may help reach those who need it most.

Jesus Christ, you entered into the suffering of our world and showed us a love that draws near. Draw near now to the people of Nepal in their suffering.

By your Spirit, weave together communities of care and compassion. Strengthen neighbours supporting one another, families holding one another close, and all who are offering shelter, comfort and hope.

God of life, we entrust to your mercy all who have died. Hold those who mourn. Be near to those still waiting for news. Strengthen all whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated by this disaster, and sustain them through the long journey of recovery.

Hold the people of Nepal in your love —
the love of the crucified and risen Christ,
a love that crosses every boundary,
a love that will not let us go.

Amen.

– 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙍𝙚𝙫 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙖 𝙎𝙪𝙡𝙞

27/08/2026

Reflection of the week: Holy ground, hard choices 🔥

Moses is going about his ordinary work, minding his sheep day after day in the wilderness, when his ordinary routine is interrupted by something extraordinary: God appears in the bush which burns without being consumed.

God calls Moses back toward the very danger he had fled; back to Egypt, to Pharaoh, to a confrontation he never asked for. Moses pushes back, questioning who he is to do such a thing, and, for that matter, who even is this God who is sending him. The answer he receives is famously spare: “I am who I am” or “I will be what I will be”. It isn’t a title or a resumé, but a simple statement of presence.

Many centuries later, and another calling in Matthew 16. Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Messiah, a moment of real clarity, but when Jesus begins to explain that this title comes at a price – suffering, rejection, and death – Peter pushes back. He is exhibiting that most human of traits, choosing the easy path – that type of faithfulness that skips over everything really difficult.

Then comes that line that has challenged readers for almost two thousand years: “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. What Jesus invites us to is a choice, freely made but costly, to keep loving and keep working for what is right even when it is challenging and the world pushes back.

Faithfulness isn’t about being fearless or unquestioning. Moses argued with God; Peter with Jesus; and we will too. But the call is always there: turn aside, pay attention, and when love asks you to walk toward something hard, don’t talk yourself out of it.

✍️ Clive Conway

Read the full reflection online here 👉 https://bit.ly/4ceMcN8

25/08/2026

Safeguarding Conference 2026 wrapped up on Friday afternoon.

In a final panel session, we heard from advocates with lived experience as care leavers, before the day concluded with a time of reflection and a closing ceremony.

Thank you to all speakers and everyone who helped to make the event a success! We were challenged, encouraged and inspired by the conversations that took place over those three days.

21/08/2026

This week, church leaders, practitioners and advocates are gathering in Adelaide for Safeguarding Conference 2026, a national and ecumenical conversation around shaping safer communities.

At the opening event on Wednesday night, BBSafe CEO Sarah Lim and UCSA Associate General Secretary Andrew Robertson set the vision for the days ahead, unpacking the conference theme of ‘Safe. Seen. Strong.’

Attendees also heard a fascinating keynote presentation from Robert Fitzgerald AM, the Australian Age Discrimination Commissioner.

20/08/2026

📣 Job opportunity!

Are you passionate about working with young people?

Playford Uniting Church is looking for a permanent part-time Youth and Young Adults Pastor. The position will be responsible for providing oversight to the existing Youth Leadership Team, developing a young adult ministry, and being an engaged member of the Playford UC community.

Find application details and full position description here 👉 https://bit.ly/4xcKgNC

20/08/2026

Reflection of the week: Dear old Peter 🪨

Dear old Peter – he’s what you’d refer to these days as a ‘polarising figure’. Two Sundays ago, in Matthew 14, when, showing off, he tries unsuccessfully to copy Jesus’ feat of walking on water, Jesus admonishes him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt me?” In this week’s reading, in Matthew 16, showing off again probably, he seems to get it completely right when he tells Jesus in verse 16, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”.

Why did I say “seems” to get it right? Well, the problem is that, even though Peter appears, in this episode, to fully embrace Jesus as Messiah, it’s almost certain that he, and the other disciples along with him, had the wrong idea of the sort of Messiah Jesus would actually turn out to be. The Messiah of Jewish tradition, who Peter was now identifying Jesus with, was prophesied to be a mighty king in the line of the great King David who would vanquish the Romans and restore Israel to its former glory – and the last thing such a Messiah would do is get themself arrested and executed by those self-same Romans!

In fact, Jesus turned out to be a Messiah not to save us from the Romans, but from … ourselves! Thus, there is a tyrant, far greater than any mere Roman emperor, operational in our lives, and we know exactly who it is: our own natural-born self-centred selves. A friend once told me a lovely aphorism which not even Chat GPT can trace: “Who’s in charge, loving God or tyrannical me?!”

Yes, good old Peter, the ‘everyman’ we identify with so closely, because we recognise his faults in ourselves, at the same time as aspiring to follow the trail he blazed to becoming a person of true courage and faith.

✍️ Fergus McGinley

Read the full reflection online here 👉 https://bit.ly/4g8QxE3

12/08/2026

Reflection of the week: Crumbs from the table 🍞

Matthew 15:21–28 is a rather confronting passage. A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus begging for her daughter’s healing. Jesus doesn’t respond to her at first, then, when the disciples encourage him to send her away, he tells them, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”. He then appears to compare the woman to a dog – though the Greek word he uses, kynária, is closer to “little dogs” or perhaps even “puppies”, rather than a street dog (kyōn), which perhaps softens the comparison a little.

In response, the woman takes Jesus’s own words and, with quick thinking, courage, and perhaps even a hint of sarcasm, responds that “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”.

Maybe the question this passage leaves us with is just this: is there someone whom we’ve overlooked, whose voice we haven’t fully welcomed at our table? To her credit, the Canaanite woman didn’t just wait to be invited in but kept speaking with love and courage until Jesus hears her and says, “let it be done for you as you wish” and her daughter is “healed instantly” (v.28).

But not everyone is empowered to speak up for themselves in that way. Perhaps our challenges are to just listen a little more closely to the voices we might have missed, be more aware of those with no voice, and to be ever mindful of the unconscious biases through which we sometimes listen.

✍️ Clive Conway

Read the full reflection online here 👉 https://bit.ly/45koUBG

10/08/2026

Adare Uniting Church recently celebrated its 70th birthday! 🎂

Moderator Rev Peter Morel preached at a special anniversary service on Sunday 26 July. Following the service, current and past members enjoyed connecting over a community lunch at Adare Camp and Caravan Park.

Adare UC will also host a lighter, less formal celebration on the afternoon of Sunday 27 September. Past members and friends are invited to join the congregation for music, song, stories, and afternoon tea.

More details here 👉 https://bit.ly/45JVGft