Echunga Uniting Church

06/09/2026

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, granddads, and father‑figures in our church family. We loved sharing donuts and coffee together after the service - such a nice way to celebrate and catch up.

To the men of our congregation: thank you. Truly. Your steady faith, encouragement, and spiritual mentoring bless our whole community. We’re grateful for you today and every day.

Above all, we thank God for being our good, good Father - the one who guides, loves, and sustains us.

27/08/2026

🌿 Feeling overwhelmed by the pace of life?

Between work, family, commitments and the constant noise of modern life, many of us rarely experience true stillness.

There's growing evidence that silence, reflection and unhurried attention are good for us — for stress, for focus, for emotional wellbeing. Long before that research, followers of Jesus were turning to prayer, silence and contemplation as ways of becoming attentive to God's presence and peace.

💧 Still Waters is a gentle 45-minute gathering shaped by music, Scripture, prayer and quiet reflection. There's no pressure to speak, sing or join in — you're welcome simply to sit.

Whether you're a person of faith, spiritually curious, or simply longing for a calm and restorative space in your week, you're warmly welcome.

✨ Come and breathe.
✨ Come and listen.
✨ Come and rest.

📅 Wednesday 2 September
🕚 11.00am – 11.45am
📍 Echunga Uniting Church, [street address]

All welcome. Come on your own, or bring someone who needs the same.

25/08/2026

What a joy these past four weeks of Soup & Scripture have been. Gathering around steaming bowls of soup, opening the Gospel of Mark together, and sharing the kind of honest, thoughtful conversation that warms more than just the hands. Each week has felt like a little pocket of community - delicious meals, good company, and scripture that invited us deeper into faith and into one another’s stories.

Thank you to everyone who came along, stirred a pot, offered a reflection, or simply sat and shared the moment. Your presence made it rich, meaningful, and full of grace. Here’s to many more tables shared and many more conversations that nourish the soul.🍲📖✨

18/08/2026

Seven free date nights. ❤️

Most couples struggle to set aside time for each other, not because they don't want to, but because life can be a bit crazy.

So here's an opportunity to create some space: seven Wednesday evenings where the only thing on the agenda is the two of you.

📅 The Marriage Course begins Wednesday 9 September, 7–9pm
📍 Wandeen, Main St, Echunga
🍽️ Free meal and a glass of wine, beer or cider every night

No group sharing. No role play. Nobody asking you to talk about your relationship in front of strangers.

You sit at your own table, watch a short video presentation exploring key aspects of healthy relationships, then talk, just the two of you.

For couples at any stage. Together for two years or forty. Going well, going through a difficult season, or just a bit tired. 🙂

Free, dinner included — but please book with Valerie so we can cater.

📞 Valerie — 0407 602 800
✉️ [email protected]

More information about the course: https://alpha.org.au/more-from-alpha/the-marriage-course/

Hosted by Echunga Uniting Church.

07/08/2026

SOUP & SCRIPTURE 🍲📖

We had a wonderful first evening last week — 23 of us sharing soup, bread and some genuinely stimulating conversation as we started into Mark's Gospel together.

Four Sundays to go, and we'd love more of you to join us. Soup and bread around the tables, then we read Mark together — slowly, honestly, and with plenty of room for questions.

📍 Echunga Uniting Church
🗓 Sundays 9, 16, 23 & 30 August
🕐 5:00–6:30 pm · soup from 5:00
💲 Free · no booking needed

Families, kids and any guests you'd like to bring are all very welcome. Come for one evening or all four.

To help us cater, RSVP to [email protected] — but if you decide last minute, just come anyway!

03/08/2026

So much of life asks us to hurry.

To keep moving. Keep producing. Keep coping.

Yet the invitation of Jesus remains the same:

"Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Still Waters is a quiet gathering shaped by prayer, Scripture, music and silence. Together we create space to lay down what we carry, to listen more deeply, and to remember that before we do anything for God, we are loved by God.

Come and breathe.
Come and listen.
Come and rest for a while in the presence of God.

📅 Wednesday August 5
🕖 11-12
📍 Echunga Uniting Church

All are welcome.

26/07/2026

Why pray?

Most of us are pretty good at managing. We sort things out ourselves, we'd rather not be a bother, and asking for help can feel like the last resort. So it's a fair question to bring to church: why pray at all?

This Sunday we began a new series for the term — Lord, teach us to pray. We started where Jesus' own friends started: not as experts, but simply asking him to teach them. And his answer was surprising. He didn't hand them a method or a technique. He handed them a single word — Father.

That's the heart of it. Prayer isn't about getting the words right or wearing God down. It's about who we're talking to: a Father who is good, who hears us, and who can be trusted even when the answer isn't the one we hoped for. 🙏

Whether prayer is a daily rhythm for you or something you set aside long ago, you're warmly welcome to join us this term.

▶️ Watch/listen to Sunday's message: https://www.youtube.com/live/Pu3TseKfUtI?t=2434

📖 Study guide (on your own or with a group): https://1drv.ms/b/c/9476fa69dd9e0e24/IQCRmohStLHSRaxTfN7Nw9pDAVAUk19EQnSWE9LFO4JN_vY?e=f5eN7g

✍️ Read the written reflection: https://open.substack.com/pub/nicholastuohy/p/i-like-not-needing-anyone

Join us every week for praise and worshipTHEME: WHY PRAY?BIBLE RE...

24/07/2026

SOUP & SCRIPTURE 🍲📖

Soup first. Then one of the strangest, fastest, most compelling books ever written.

Five Sunday evenings in August, we're reading the Gospel of Mark — the earliest account of the life of Jesus — from start to finish, around tables, over a hot meal.

No prior knowledge assumed. No questions off limits. You don't need to own a Bible, believe what we believe, or say a word if you'd rather listen. Believers, doubters and the curious are all genuinely welcome — hard and thoughtful questions usually make the table better!

No sign-up sheet, no collection, no one will follow you up afterwards. Come, eat, listen, argue, go home 😊

Families welcome — dinner's sorted, and you're home in time for showers and bed.

📍 Echunga Uniting Church
🗓 Sundays 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 August
🕒 5:00–6:30 pm · soup from 5:00 sharp
💲 Free · no booking needed · just come
🥣 Dietary needs? Message us and we'll sort it.

Come for one evening or all five. Come hungry — for dinner, or for a story worth arguing with.

Contact our Minister, Nick Tuohy, if you have any questions.
[email protected] 0413 132 108

14/07/2026

On Sunday we stood with Paul on the steps of a Roman fortress — beaten, in chains, given one chance to speak to the crowd that had just tried to kill him. And what does he do?

No lecture.
No argument.
He tells his story. 🙌

At the heart of the message preached by Pastor Nick was a simple conviction:

Christianity begins not with a set of beliefs, but with an encounter with the living Christ — and the story of that encounter is the most powerful witness most of us will ever carry.

Paul's story wasn't polished. It included the worst thing he ever did. And yet a member of the very community he came to destroy looked at him and said two astonishing words: "Brother Saul." 💛

One phrase from the message:

✨ Grace doesn't erase the story — it redeems it. ✨

Not everyone gets the lightning of a Damascus Road. Quiet stories count. Slow stories count. And every one of us has a story worth telling, in our own words.

If you'd like to watch or reflect further, the links are below — the study guide includes a simple practice for the week: write your story of faith in half a page. ✍️

🎥 Message:
https://www.youtube.com/live/ZFLbKLCdy6o?si=wWd06kFRlR7Ng8qI&t=2721

📖 Devotional Study Guide: https://1drv.ms/b/c/9476fa69dd9e0e24/IQCaY9E4nRndRJArdce9fZT1AQ6HX4fwmTfsBDwmsvxIeug?e=NPaVqk

09/07/2026

The newest edition of the New Times features our own Amanda and her beautiful gallery.

More than an art space, her gallery has become a ministry in its own right- offering hospitality, encouragement, and a place where creativity and faith meet. It’s wonderful to see her work celebrated in such a meaningful way.