JOIN US AT OUR SERVICES
Welcome to the online home of Newland Memorial Uniting Church, Victor Harbor.
We come together to worship God. Our worship is an expression of our love of God and our desire to support each other as we follow the example of Jesus, finding ways to share God’s love in the world.
We are a warm bunch of people. We welcome you whether you are newly arrived in Victor Harbor or if you already live here. Feel free to call in to a service and meet us.
We enjoy doing things together and share in a variety of activities that serve our local community and beyond.
Our regular service is 9.30am every Sunday.
Each Thursday, we are open from 10.00am – 11.00am for personal reflection. Health Department rules mean that you must register your attendance. The pipe organ will be played during this time.
Don’t forget to check out our LiveArts@Newland programme in the Upcoming Events section by scrolling down this page. Or, search the website for LiveArts@Newland Bookings at Swan’s Pharmacy or https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist/newland NOTE: Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performance.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 7, 2021
The Rev Dr Adrian Brown
The ACCC is a federal regulator that is in place to help us from becoming victims of shoddy manufacturers and corrupt business operators. Unfortunately, their efforts don’t always succeed, and we regularly read of people who have become victims of such practices. It is even worse when we read of the way in which some perfectly respectable businesses fall foul of corruption and the temptation to prefer greed to honesty.
This has been with society ever since we saw free will as including the right to make money at the expense of others. Similarly, there have also been people who have sought to reach out for justice for those who have been victimized.
Jesus was one who met injustice with justice and a quick read of some of his stories (parables) will confirm that. He was also prepared to be more upfront about hypocrisy when it came to the abuse of commerce in the temple where you had to use temple money to buy what was needed to practice various rituals. Jesus is angry with the way in which the authorities have allowed the demands of the Ten Commandments to be ignored for the sake of profit.
Jesus’ anger leads to him overturning the tables of commerce in the Temple precincts and pointing to a new understanding of temple which goes beyond the marketplace, one where God is seen to be present apart from a building.
We could use the overturning of a few tables in our systems, and we could do worse than seeking to learn again from the One who has the authority to overturn corrupt systems how to love God and love one another. Everything we do impacts our faith, and our faith impacts everything we do because if God is not centred on any one place but everyplace, then how we live, give, speak, decide becomes the public place of encountering God.
Read John 2: 13-22