Category Archive

In the winter basketball season of 1988, my two brothers, aged 18 and 13 and bunch of church youth and adults (including Peter Battersby), entered a men’s basketball team in the Saturday church basketball league. It was the first sports team to represent UPBC after a long hiatus. Wearing dark green singlets with iron on numbers and yellow footy shorts, … Read More

“There is no individual discernment outside community, and no community discernment without individual discernment.” Ruth Haley Barton  I wonder if the last 5 sermons I preached will be my most important at Unley Park? As we consider our future, we have learnt about discernment. The core message has been spiritual discernment, which requires us to grow in faith. Without God … Read More

At Unley Park we love working with others to help people follow Jesus. Our belief is God’s work is so important, and the opportunities are so great, our church must connect with others.  One of our long-term mission partners is Engage Work Faith. We promote the valuable events and mission resources they offer. Several members of our church participate in … Read More

As you think about the significant decisions you’ve made in your life, how have you prepared yourself for discernment? How have you prayed?  Our surrender and God’s strength are required to discern and do God’s will. These prayers prepare us for the decisions we make and the challenges we face: Two prayers of surrender, two prayers for strength.  Prayer of … Read More

Spiritual practices help us see God in our lives. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuits in 1541, described discernment as “finding God in all things to love and serve Him.” He created the Prayer of Examen to help people notice and respond to God’s presence daily. A simple guide for this prayer is:  Recalling our feelings can help us identify key moments. … Read More

Our church is developing our ‘Our Life in Jesus’ plan for the next 5 years. We want to approach this as a discernment process—listening to God, alongside our congregation. We are seeking God’s will for our church, our mission, and four key areas of our church life:  “Our life in Jesus helps others:  We will be having sets of focus … Read More

What would you say the difference is between discerning and deciding? Both involve making choices, both require distinguishing the better options. My sense is discerning involves deeper and stronger consideration in the decision process. Could it be discernment requires wisdom and maturity?  When have you needed this deeper wisdom? How has this come? Who among your family or friends do … Read More

We partner with organisations to achieve more than we could by ourselves. Through May and June, we heard from 4 ministries and had special giving appeals for their work.   Sarah from Open Doors told us about their work in supporting persecuted Christians. Nigel and our young adults spoke about Encounter Youth’s work at Schoolies, Hindley Street, high schools and now … Read More

Things are gathering pace as the SALA Team works to bring together our 5th annual SALA Exhibition, beginning with a launch on 9th August!  Our theme this year is Anticipate, which has proved a bit of a challenge for some but is resulting in some fantastic artwork! As followers of Jesus, our anticipation is grounded in the hope we have … Read More