We acknowledge the sovereign and unceded land and waters of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the work of younger Indigenous leaders in the community.

We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. There is no reconciliation without justice and the telling of truths hard to hear. There is much good work to do.

congregation

We are an ecumenical (open to many Christian traditions) and affirming congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia. The Eucharist is at the heart of our life together.

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community

We offer opportunities for community participation and service via the South Sydney Herald newspaper, the Orchard Gallery for artists, and partnership with local organisations.

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garden

We grow flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables in Mirrung Garden, a safe place for refreshment, sustainable practice, education and contemplation – a collaborative work.

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un/mission

We are a welcoming and diverse group of people from South Sydney and beyond.

We are open to God at work in the world. We seek to be a community of peace, justice, compassion and faithfulness.

We look for the Holy Spirit in all things and we strive to care for all creation.

With Christ/a, we dare to be honest in our lives and to explore difficult questions together. We are open to different points of view.

We share love, friendship, hospitality and hope with each other and with our neighbours, regardless of faith or sexuality.

We seek to overcome both exclusion and abuse.

homily

Ordinary Sunday 28B | October 6, 2024
Job 23:1-9; 16-17; Psalm 90; Mark 10:17-31
‘Let go the rope, pick up the thread’

William Blake’s etching of Job, his wife and his friends (1825) tells the story. Job seeks a God of goodness/justice. His friends try to help but can’t help blaming Job, the victim. Their theologies are rigid, their images of God fixed in place.

Still, Job, with his wife, faces the difficulty, embraces even this opportunity for learning, for reimagining. In the name of justice, for goodness’ sake, Job speaks. He says he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know where God is, who or why.

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news

‘Let go the rope, pick up the thread’

HOMILY: William Blake’s etching of Job, his wife and his friends (1825) tells the story. Job seeks a God of goodness/justice. His friends try to help but can’t help blaming Job, the victim. Their theologies are rigid, their images of God fixed in place.
October 13, 2024/by Andrew Collis

What’s on this week

NEWS: See what’s happening at SSUC this week ...
October 9, 2024/by Andrew Collis

‘Rest for your souls’

HOMILY: After a vision at the ruined San Damiano Church, Francis began physically repairing the building, interpreting God’s command to “rebuild my Church” literally at first, before realising it also referred to spiritual renewal.

Where in this story do you rest (what appeals to you most)? How might it offer you deep or soulful rest?
October 6, 2024/by Andrew Collis

‘Jesus the Fire of God’

HOMILY: As we wind our way toward the conclusion of this Season of Creation next Sunday, with its celebration of Saints Clare and Francis of Assisi, the resources provided by the Uniting Church and, indeed, the global church, go missing in action. There are no specific liturgical resources provided for today, and no suggestions for a theme. That being so, I’ve decided to lead you on a pathway that begins and ends with fire.
September 29, 2024/by Andrew Collis

‘Look to the mountains, listen and remember’

HOMILY: I look to the mountains, the psalmist sings … and as a Korean it is the mountains, those beautiful bosoms of my country that greet me and embrace me when I return home. Korea is full of bumps and hills and mountains.
September 22, 2024/by Andrew Collis

‘On drawing and being drawn’

HOMILY: In January I had the opportunity to visit lutruwita/Tasmania (Launceston and Hobart) for the first time. Highlights included walking and drawing in the Tamar Valley, at Cataract Gorge where stone boulders are considered ancient sentinels, and at kunanyi/Mount Wellington, a dolerite mountain type rising more than 1200 metres above sea level.
September 22, 2024/by Andrew Collis