Features

Features

Light and Life out of Darkness: An Easter Reflection 

In the pre-dawn darkness, Mary of Magdala pushed down on the fear and grief in her being and ventured out of the safe place, secure behind solid walls and locked doors, and into the wild and dangerous world. She left the followers of Jesus behind in their fear of Roman soldiers or Temple guards who were […]

Rev. Geoff Stevenson · 24 March 2026

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Faith in the Age of the Manosphere

Boys, Belonging, and the Search for Meaning Public conversation about boys and young men has shifted noticeably in recent years. Words like manosphere, once confined to internet subcultures, now appear regularly in mainstream media, political debate, and family conversations around dinner tables. Two recent Netflix programs — the new documentary by Louis Theroux and the […]

Adrian Drayton · 23 March 2026

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The Day the Metaverse Went Quiet

People have probably already forgotten about Mark Zuckerberg’s bold vision for the future which happened in 2021. For a moment — not long ago, but long enough to feel distant — the future had legs. Not metaphorical ones. Digital ones. They floated awkwardly above cartoon torsos inside bright, frictionless rooms where gravity felt optional and […]

Adrian Drayton · 22 March 2026

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Project Hail Mary: Salvation, Sacrifice, and the Courage Borrowed from Friendship

When Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir’s follow-up to The Martian, arrived in 2021, it felt like an unusual bestseller. It was science fiction, yes — full of equations, orbital mechanics, and alien biology — but at heart it was disarmingly sincere. Now, with the film adaptation bringing the story to the screen, that sincerity remains […]

Adrian Drayton · 19 March 2026

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The Disappearing Edges

Embracing The Strange. I try to copy the bird’s tune by whistling it. My dog looks up at me tilting its head. Every morning now for a week I hear the same little tune coming from a bird outside the bathroom window. The tune has four notes. If I knew more about music – four […]

Karina Kreminski · 16 March 2026

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Holy Week in a Disenchanted Technical Age

Entering the Strange, Beautiful World of Easter A common question I have heard over the years in the Uniting Church, whether in small groups, family, or among colleagues: How are we meant to believe in a literal resurrection? It is a serious question. It is a modern question. And it is often asked sincerely, not […]

Rev. Ben Gilmour · 11 March 2026

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Creation Care as Faithful Worship

It’s often easy to overlook that fact that the Bible actually has a lot to say about the stewardship of the planet. Genesis 2:15 presents a clear picture of what and how we should be treating the environment. God placed humans in the garden “to till it and keep it.” Work and care go hand […]

Adrian Drayton · 9 March 2026

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In Defence of the Em Dash (and Its Slightly Shorter Cousin)

There is a very loud campaign underway against the em dash. You’ve seen it. A raised eyebrow on social media. A snide comment in a writers’ forum. “Ah yes,” someone types, “another em dash. Clearly written by AI.” The implication being that the humble dash—once the mark of a careful essayist or mildly dramatic columnist—has […]

Adrian Drayton · 3 March 2026

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Speaking Truth with Gentleness in Divided Times

In First Epistle of Peter 3:15–16, believers are instructed to set apart Christ as Lord in their hearts and to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks for the reason for their hope. The instruction does not stop there. It adds that this answer must be given with gentleness and respect, keeping […]

Adrian Drayton · 2 March 2026

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Colonisation on Pandora

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Waterand Avatar: Fire and Ash. Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment in James Cameron’s hugely successful Avatar franchise, is wrapping up its in-theatre run. If you have missed it on the big screen, you will be able to watch it on Disney+ in […]

Katherine Grocott · 25 February 2026

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Carrying Your Cross Today

Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” The verse is direct. If you want to follow him, you deny yourself. You take up your cross. You do it daily. There is no gap between belief and […]

Adrian Drayton · 24 February 2026

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American Dictatorship

Why the United States Has Slipped into Authoritarianism and May Soon Be a Dictatorship, and What Americans and the International Community Can Do About It A View from the Outside I’m an Australian. I wrote this essay from the other side of the Pacific, watching events in the United States with the same mixture of […]

Graham Joseph Hill · 23 February 2026

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The Jesus Way

A Life of Radical Love in a World of Self-Interest People of the Way In the book of Acts, before the early Christians were ever called “Christians,” they were known by a simpler, more potent name: people of the Way. This designation, appearing in Acts 9:1–4 as Saul breathes murderous threats against the disciples, reveals something […]

Graham Joseph Hill · 18 February 2026

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When Forgiveness Costs Everything: Revisiting The Mission 40 Years On

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1: 5 In 1986, The Mission arrived with the confidence of a prestige epic: sweeping landscapes, Ennio Morricone’s aching score, Robert De Niro hauling a sack of armour up a cliff in penance, the searing image of a martyr being sent over a […]

Adrian Drayton · 16 February 2026

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Leaning Into Lent

This year Lent begins on 18 February. It is one of those times in the Christian calendar that people know is about giving something up. But Lent is also the season that asks you to stop pretending that faith is effortless. It sits in the church calendar as a long stretch of days that resist […]

Adrian Drayton · 11 February 2026

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Autosanctity

The Sacralization of Self in a Supposedly Secular Age In 2015, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist named Tim Hunt attended a conference in South Korea. During a toast at a luncheon, he made an ill-judged attempt at self-deprecating humor about women in laboratories. Within hours, his remarks had been tweeted, condemned, and amplified worldwide. Within days, […]

Graham Joseph Hill · 10 February 2026