Naomi's on the move

Naomi Rosenberg (Ministry of Deacon), along with her husband Marty (Minister of the Word) are on the move after four years on Southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), with ten congregations and ministry in the community. Marty will be taking up a placement at Sunset Rock UC. Naomi will take a break from diaconal ministry responsibilities for a while. We look forward to hearing further news from Naomi and Marty as they settle back into life in Adelaide.

Congratulations to Elaine

Congratulations to Dr Elaine Ledgerwood who graduated today with a PhD.

Rev Christa Megaw

Christa was ordained as a Deacon on 21st August, 2011 at a service at Adelaide West UC, along with four others ordained as Ministers of the Word. Congratulations, Christa!

Sandy in Moshi, Tanzania for World DIAKONIA Executive

Rev Sandy Boyce has been in Moshi, Tanzania, for the DIAKONIA World Federation Executive meeting in the last week of July. Students from Lyamungo Secondary High School joined the DIAKONIA Executive, and entertained with many songs.

Denise Champion - Johannesburg

The 12th World Assembly of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women will be held in Johannesburg from 10th to 16th August, 2011, with eleven Australians attending. The conference theme is Bambelela! (‘Never give up!) Christ is our hope!

Around 1000 women from 60 countries will gather for the conference, which includes worship, learning, social action, Bible Study, conversation, music and so much more. There is an excellent line up of leaders and speakers

Denise Champion, a Deacon candidate for Ministry from the SA Synod will travel to Johannesburg as the Uniting Church in Australia indigenous representative. Denise has been a faithful member of the Uniting and Aboriginal Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) for many years, and has worked on the SA Regional Council and as the state's Women’s coordinator and other projects.

Christa Megaw to be ordained

The SA Synod & Presbytery meeting in June 2011 agreed to ordain Christa Megaw in August as a Deacon in the UCA. Christa currently works in the International Mission team, part of Mission Resourcing SA. Recently, another Deacon, Adam Tretheway, began as the other International Mission Officer, a role left vacant by Lyn Leane (Deacon candidate) so that she is able to continue her study and formation requirements for ordination.
It would be interesting to do some research into how many deacons are involved in cross cultural and multicultural ministry and mission, and how many could track the influence of cross-cultural and multicultural ministry and mission on their call to diaconal ministry.

An introduction to cosmology by Louise Mattay

Came across an article in Wellspring publication dated June 2010 written by Louise Mattay, a retired UCA Deacon. 'An introduction to cosmology'makes for an interesting read. She quotes from several authors including Brian Swimme, who describes in The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos – Humanity and the New Story the difference between Cosmology and Science. ‘Science is not the same as cosmology, even when a cosmology is deeply informed by science. Cosmology is the story of the birth, development and destiny of the universe, told with the aim of assisting humans in their task of identifying their roles within the great drama. Science on the other hand is focused on obtaining a detailed understanding of the physical processes of the universe.’ He goes on to state: ‘The great news of our time is the evolutionary story in which we come to realize that we humans are all embedded in a living, developing universe, and that we are therefore cousins to everything in the universe.... Cosmology as an ancient wisdom tradition draws from science, theology, art, poetry, and philosophy, but is, strictly speaking, its own distinct tradition. It is not a question of eschewing scientific or theological terms altogether, but rather of aiming for language arising out of our experience of living within an unfolding cosmos.’
The article invites us to recognize that 'As the new universe story seeps into our awareness, it challenges us to expand the way we think about and respond to the life around us. As clearly as the parables told by Jesus challenged his listeners to ask questions about who they were and what their relationships meant, so the new universe story challenges us. This new world view acknowledges evolution as a creative process urged on from within by the very Spirit of God’.
Fascinating reading. Thanks, Louise!
You can read the full article (and other Wellspring articles)here
.