Templestowe Uniting Church

A Congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria, in an outer Eastern Suburb of Melbourne.

The Church in the Village, 104 Atkinson Street, Templestowe, Vic.

Enter car park from Wood Street off Anderson Street near the shopping centre.

*** NOTE: THIS IS THE HOME PAGE OF MY LAST PARISH
AS AT 21 DECEMBER 1997, JUST BEFORE MY RETIREMENT***

Some topical sermons apart from the RCL lectionary lists linked to the Worship and Preaching index page are linked below.
For the current (quite different) site of Templestowe Uniting Church see http://www.templestoweunitingchurch.org/

Sunday Service 10 am

with Sunday School during school terms

Groups and Activities

| Youth and Children | Music and Drama | Prayer and Bible Study |

| Fellowship Groups | Community Outreach |

Mission Statement and Action Plan

Some sermons during 1997

Normally I followed the Revised Common Lectionary, which sometimes gave rise to subjects of topical interest, while on a few occasions I departed from the lectionary to deal with current issues in the congregation or in public affairs.

|Aboriginal reconciliation: Do you feel a need for reconciliation |

| Creation: Faith and Science |

| Unity in Christ |

| Do Christians believe in progress |

| Do we need a king? |

| Looking forward in hope and fear |

| Rejoice the Lord is near! |

| Ruth the outsider|

| Truth and Mercy in the Sexuality debate |

| Loyalty in the body: Sex and faith |

| Sermon at a marriage service |

| One flesh |

| Divorce and Christ's humanity |

| Speaking the truth in love |

A revised 1999 topical sermon: Chance or community chest? The morality of gambling

Note: Copies of the written version of the sermon, as provided here, are made available in the Narthex for further study, and usually contain more detail and may be more complex than is spoken in the preaching. Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version, which is copyright National Council of Churches in the USA and used with permission.

Minister:[at end of 1997]: Rev Dr David Beswick (109 Wood Street, Templestowe, Vic 3106. Tel 03 9846 1285)

From 15 January 1998: Rev Tom Rose [later Rev Andrew Boyle]

E-mail: Contact DB

David Beswick's Home Page

A Brief Introduction to Templestowe Uniting Church Congregation

We come from a variety of backgrounds including the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches which formed the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977. Some of us came from other traditions and some have no recent church background. There is a strong emphasis on biblical teaching, fellowship and social justice.

This congregation was established in 1895 by the Presbyterian Church and served a small rural community until about 1960 when it grew rapidly, called its own Minister and built a new church, in which we worship today. We still conserve the original church built in 1896.

We worship God in ways which are meaningful today while drawing on the riches of the varied traditions. Sunday morning worship is usually in a traditional form while there are smaller evening services and other occasional services held from time to time which are more informal. Members have many opportunities to participate.

As needs change we develop better programs for young people and the Sunday School. We share a paid youth worker with the Pilgrim Uniting Church, Doncaster.

There is a wide range of special-interest activities for people of all ages. These enable people to grow through sharing, prayer, bible study and community service

Parish History Publication

FRUIT of the SPIRIT: A history of the Uniting Church, Templestowe, Victoria, Australia, 1895-1995 was published as part of the centenary celebrations. Copies may be ordered from Peter Fishley, 3 Lignum Court, Lower Templestowe, Vic. 3107, for $17.50 including postage within Australia.

[The page last updated by David Beswick, with minor amendments 29 October 2006, but essentially as it was at the end of 1997.]