Welcome

It is with sadness we say farewell to Reverend David Carter who has completed six years at Glen Iris Road Uniting Church and now begins his next ministry with Koornung Heights Uniting Church. We wish him all the very best in the future. At his final service the following words were expressed by Michael, the Chairperson of our congregation:

David, you have journeyed with us as our  Minister through one of the crucial periods in the life of this congregation as we have together experienced the losses and begun to realise the opportunities of leaving High Street and moving to Glen Iris Road. You have spoken about your sense of dislocation; your frank sharing of your own pain and challenges has given us freedom to speak of ours, both collectively and individually.  You have helped us to let go of old ways and partnered with us in new ones.  Through you, we have learned to make prayer more central to our congregational life. You have encouraged us to explore how to express our faith in a post Christian world through your thoughtful sermons and services and regular study groups and meetings. We have valued your respectfulness, easy facilitative style, patience and empathy. You have shared our joys and sorrows. You have laughed with us, often in the service, when you have forgotten or mixed up our names or had trouble with the technology.  You know too much about Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings and you have bought far too many books.  Little children have been free to roam, young people have been supported and encouraged, and older people have found you a good listener. You have wept when we were weeping, leading funeral services for beloved members of our church family and their relatives, sometimes in tragic circumstances with grace, providing solace and wisdom in hard times. So often you have held the Christ light out to us and spoken the Peace we long to hear. We hope we have ministered to you in your time with us.  May God bless, disturb and guide you as you continue the pilgrimage elsewhere.

During Advent the Glen Iris Road Uniting Church will be focusing on supporting Camcare Ashburton to make the Christmas season a happier time for families in the community who are in need of some extra help. This will take the form of cash donations, the collection of non-perishable food items (particularly items for the festive season) and new Christmas gifts for children and teenagers. If you attend the Centre throughout the week we urge you and your group to consider contributing. And if you haven't visited us yet, please call in and have a chat about how you can help.

Now that the 2011 community groups meeting regularly at the Glen Iris Road Uniting Church Community Centre and wishing to continue in 2012 have been finalised, expressions of interest are invited from any new community groups looking for a home. Please email or ring us. We are very happy to answer your questions.

On Friday November 18th at 10 am the film 'Evening' starring Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Natasha Richardson, Claire Danes, and Toni Collette will be shown and discussed over a cup of coffee. You are most welcome to attend.

At ReelTime on Friday October 21st at 10 a.m. in the Centre the film "The King's Speech" will be played, followed by a discussion and a cup of coffee. If you would like to join us you are most welcome to do so. Please ring the Centre office or email to let us know you'd like to attend if you have not been before. We'd love to see you there.

Rev. David Carter will be leading a study called "Reading the Bible for what it is worth.." based on the book by U.K. Anglican, Bishop Tom Wright, "Scripture and the authority of God". Tom Wright is one of the foremost biblical theologians today. The study will consist of four sessions on either Wednesday evenings from September 28th or Friday afternoons from September 30th, depending on demand. You are very welcome to participate. To register your interest, phone the church office on 9885 8219 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

The next meeting of the Progressive Christian Network of Victoria on Sunday 25 September promises to be a stimulating reflection on the Church and contemporary values, and a challenge to how we think about Christianity today.
TOPIC: "Struggling for Women's Equality in the Church"
SPEAKERS: Muriel Porter and Mary Williams.
WHEN: Sunday 25 September, from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm.
WHERE: Glen Iris Road Uniting Church, 200 Glen Iris Road, Glen Iris.

The next meeting of the Progressive Christian Network of Victoria has special interest as it explores insights from Progressive Judaism and features an outstanding speaker.

TOPIC: 'What can progressive Christians learn from progressive Judaism?'

SPEAKER: Rabbi Fred Morgan, Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth Israel, St Kilda, one of Australia's largest Progressive Synagogues.

WHEN: Sunday 28 August, 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm

WHERE: Glen Iris Road Uniting Church, Glen Iris Road, Glen Iris

Do you know that one Australian in five is affected by mental illness. It is time for us to learn about mental illnesses and how we as a community can reach out to those in need. Glen Iris Road Uniting Church invites you to a dinner and panel discussion about mental illness, with information, personal experiences and a time for questions. Speakers on the panel include:

Indigo Daya who is Project Manager of Prahran Mission’s Hearing Voices Network, Voices Vic, an innovative consumer—led mental health program. This program lies within a network of programs called “Discovery”.

Ian Stephenson who is an active Christian and an employee of Eastern Health working in Adult Mental Health.

James Godfrey who is a Mental Health Chaplain in a partnership ministry of the Presbytery of Yarra Yarra and EACH Social & Community Health.

Date: Saturday 6 August at 6.30pm
Cost:  $30 for dinner and panel discussion.
RSVP to 9885 8219 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by Wednesday 3 August.
Where: Glen Iris Road Uniting Church, 200 Glen Iris Road, Glen Iris

Thank you to the good people of AMAGOA (Modern Aboriginal Art) for the loan of one of their beautiful aboriginal artworks during a church service in July.The entire proceeds from AMAGOA's four-day hire of the Centre have been donated to the Uniting Church in Australia's Frontier Services to assist their Aboriginal women's health initiatives.

Throughout May and June we are focussing on Wesley Mission's 2011 Baby Needs Appeal which supports families with tiny children living in great hardship during this particularly cold season. Donations of baby clothing, disposable nappies, baby wipes, baby bottles and baby toiletries are urgently requested. Although much needed, for health regulation reasons soft toys, baby food and formula cannot be accepted. However donations of money will allow food items to be purchased by Wesley Mission. Please drop any donated goods into the boxes provided in the hall foyer at the Centre. Donations of money should be taken to the Centre office. Thank you as always for your generosity.

The three major celebrations of Christian faith plumb the depths and potentiality of birth, death and what the Gospel writers call resurrection.

Christian creeds revolve around these three experiences, two of which are simply human experiences and the third is is the arena of unbelief, for no one has experienced resurrection.

You may have had the experience of giving birth, or being present at a birth.  You may have sat with a family member, or a friend through the portals of death. In very different ways these are profound moments of life, times of grace.

But resurrection? There is nothing in human experience which enables us to make sense of this experience which Christians believe was the experience of Jesus the Christ.

It is non-sense. It is impossible. It doesn’t fit human experience one iota. The gospel witnesses don’t try and make it fit. Jesus’ resurrection is a new creation, an impossible possibility.

The Easter story is not about a ghost. It is not evidence that human beings survive death, or have immortal souls. The Easter gospel is that in their darkest hours women and men  experienced the impossible, the battered body of the crucified Jesus was not destroyed, but transformed.

I am agnostic about whether this was a bodily or a spiritual experience. People spend books debating these matters, and each marshals powerful arguments. Living in a society with a strong bent towards materialism makes believing in the Resurrection even harder. We like to be in synch with what we think others believe.

However, this story is not about an individual. It’s not a con job designed to trick the world.

This story is about us - our birth, our living, our dying and whatever lies behind that reality.

The United Church of Canada has a contemporary creed which invites us to say ‘in life, in death, in life beyond death we are not alone. God is with us.

It is St Paul who calls Jesus the second Adam. Drawing on the myth in Genesis in Adam all people are born to die. The victory of resurrection is that in the second Adam death is defeated. This is a gift for the whole world, what the Bible calls the new creation.

Can we prove it? No. Can we live it? Yes. The Resurrection story is continued in the book of Acts, and is continued in the world wherever communities choose to live in the paradoxical belief that Love always trumps death.

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

Glen Iris Road Uniting Church Kindergarten is holding an Open Day on Saturday 28th May from 10 am to 12 noon at the rear of 200 Glen Iris Road, Glen Iris. To access the kindergarten enter from Gladstone Street or walk through the Centre carpark from Glen Iris Road. All welcome. For further details phone 9885 5798.

You are very welcome to join us at our Holy Week Services. We worship at:
10 a.m. on Palm Sunday (April 17th);
7.30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the former Wesleyan Chapel;
6.30 p.m.on Maundy Thursday to share a meal together as we remember the Last Supper;
9.30 a.m. on Good Friday;
and at 10 a.m on Easter Sunday to celebrate the risen Christ.

Self-denial is an oxymoron in a consumer society in which 'what I want, I want now, if not sooner'!!

Every major religion in the world encourages periods of fasting or self-denial.

Jews have up to six days, especially Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) of total fasting during the year. Muslims observe Ramadan, a month of fasting from dawn to dusk. Christians have Lent - a forty day season which observes the period Jesus wrestled with temptations in the desert.

It’s interesting that in the past few years FebFast has been widely supported by secular society, with its particular emphasis on not drinking alcohol for a month.

The Mental Health Awareness Seminar has been postponed until a later, yet to be confirmed, date.
Both pianos have now been adopted. We are very pleased and trust they will bring joy to their new owners.

The Glen Iris Road Uniting Church has two pianos in reasonable condition which are surplus to requirements. We are happy to give these away in exchange for a donation to our Victorian Flood Appeal. If you are interested, please contact us by email, phone or come into the Centre to see if one or the other would suit your needs.

Glen Iris Road Uniting Church is hosting a seminar on Sunday March 6th to inform people about mental health issues in our community and how to identify those who need help. It will run from 1 to 3 pm. Further details will be available here in late February.

A very warm and enthusiastic welcome to what we at Glen Iris Road Uniting Church hope will be a wonderful year of partnerships with those who run or attend programs, the Glen Iris Primary School community, and the new and returning Glen Iris Road Uniting Kindergarten families, who all share our Centre and its facilities. Please do not hesitate to call at the Centre office for a chat or to ask if there is something we can do to help you. If you wish to learn about classes and activities you might like to join, please  have a close look at the website to find out what goes on in the Centre. Or if you are comtemplating learning more about the Christian faith you are most welcome to attend our Sunday church services or call in for a chat with our minister, Rev. David Carter.

What resolutions have you made? Any at all?

Resolutions are all the go for a few days, or weeks during January. Like the pages of a new book, or the beginning of a new job, many of us begin with great intentions of doing something in life differently.

But, all too often, the drag of how we have always done things, or a lack of willpower to really change means that with a while all is back to normal.

It’s not that we cannot change, but the issue is, do we really want to - exercise more, eat less, serve as a volunteer, set new goals.

During the first service of this year I suggest four resolutions we could work on together. They are nothing new - what resolutions ever are?

The first is sharing hospitality and friendship in the way we become church together.

The second is making time for spiritual growth & exploration with others

The third is participating in common worship as an essential rhythm of life.

The fourth is contributing to the life and witness of this community.

These are not the only possible resolutions for church health, but they are doors which allow the Spirit to breathe our vision: building an active, welcoming and creative church in the present, for the future.

May God bless, guide and disturb you during 2011.

Thank you very much to the children of Glen Iris Primary School, Solway Primary School and Glen Iris Road Uniting Kindergarten who, at their Christmas services, generously donated toys and food items for the work of Camcare Ashburton. The Glen Iris Road Uniting Church congregation also contributed toys and a cheque for $1,000 making, in total, four car loads of goods. Camcare Ashburton were thrilled to receive these.

Can you remember finding wrapped presents hidden in parents' bedrooms? The anticipation was great. Christmas is a busy time - preparation, shopping, cards and invitations.
It's easy to crowd Christ out of Christmas! So this is an invitation to join with a community and unwrap Christmas.
The birth of Jesus was in hard times. There was no room at the inn, and much more important things were happening. Yet some heard angels singing, saw a star in the sky and unwrapped Christmas. It was God's revolution of love, goodwill and peace.
You are invited to unwrap Christmas with us.
Sunday 19th December 10 a.m. Family service for all ages
Friday 24th December Christmas Eve 11 p.m. Candle lit service
Saturday 25th December Christmas Day service 9.30 a.m.

The Glen Iris Road Uniting Church community packed twenty Christmas hampers for Moreland Hall. Thanks to everyone who contributed. For the first two weeks of December we will be supporting Camcare Ashburton to provide Christmas presents to the children of families in the local area who need help. Items especially appreciated are: gift vouchers from the big stores, balls and sports equipment, trendy T-shirts or underwear, inexpensive but trendy sunglasses, summer blockbuster DVDs (rated 'M' or below), or jumbo containers of sweets (available in supermarkets at this time of year). Please do not bring soft toys. Alternatively, gifts of money so that Camcare staff can make targeted purchases are also very acceptable. Please leave contributions with Centre Management during the week or bring to Church on December 12th to place under the Empty Christmas Tree.

On Sunday November 14th 2010, 3 pm, at Glen Iris Road Uniting Church the Progressive Christian Network of Victoria invites Rev Dr Lorraine Parkinson to explore how progressive understandings of God and Christian scripture can create space for living in a world that, according to human ego, is imperfect.

Are you thinking about purchasing Christmas cards yet? In the Centre there are sample cards and order forms for the Share Christmas card range. Share is the fundraising arm of the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. Share is integral to the ministry of the church, and raises funds to address urgent human need and enhance the quality and scope of support services to disadvantaged or vulnerable Victorians and Tasmanians. By puchasing these cards, or making a donation, you are helping Share to provide financial assistance through grants to UnitingCare agencies and other community programs providing child and family support, youth and disability services, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, supported accommodation projects, aged care services and emergency relief centres.