Author: maureenshirley

Living contemplatively: for the good of human community
Rev Dr Gary Stuckey

Gary is a retired Uniting Church minister from Adelaide, South Australia.
In 2005, after serving several congregations in SA and interstate, he helped found Stillpoint, a contemplative worshiping community. In 2008 the Stillpoint Faith Community co-located with the Stillpoint Centre of Spirituality where Ann Siddall was the director. On Ann’s retirement in 2010 Gary became the Director of the centre as well as being the minister with the Faith Community.
He has had over 30 years’ experience as a spiritual director and nearly that long teaching meditation and leading retreats. He has taught the History of Christian Spirituality and an intensive on Benedictine spirituality at Uniting College of Leadership and Theology and co-taught in an ecumenical program for the formation of spiritual directors. He serves as a tutor with the Monos Foundation (UK), a centre for the study of monastic spirituality. He is a Brother in the Community of the Transfiguration, a Baptist Monastery in Victoria (Aus), endeavouring to live a monastic lifestyle in the world.

New Romans Chapter 6 is out now through fergusmcginley.com. Including detailed commentaries on Paul’s original Letter to the Romans, New Romans is a new letter to a new, 21st century audience, exploring the great Gospel themes of grace, faith, Metanoia (spiritual transformation) and Kingdom, in a new and exciting way.
Catch up on the Introduction and Chapters 1-5 at New Romans – Chapter 7 is due for release on 4 December. To make sure you don’t miss out on future chapters, contact Fergus at fergmcginley@gmail.com or subscribe to fergusmcginley.com

New Romans Chapter 5 is now available at https://fergusmcginley.com/category/new-romans/ You can subscribe at https://fergusmcginley.com

Join us at 7pm on Thursday 1 October at the Effective Living Centre, 26 King William Road Wayville, or via live stream, for Progressive Christianity Forum.   Do we need more poetry and less doctrine? We do hear this question posed by progressive Christians. In response, liturgist and biblical scholar, poet and storyteller, Sarah Agnew will begin with a bit of fence-sitting, affirming we do need both poetry and doctrine. From there dive deeper with Sarah into the nuances of how poetics enriches and enlivens the doctrine we inherit, to keep us progressing forward in faithfulness.    Widely published poet, scholar, and liturgist; member of the newly formed Uniting Church Assembly Liturgy Reference Group; speaker, workshop leader, and composer, Sarah’s words and wisdom are welcomed in many forums. Currently serving as Minister in placement with Christ Church Uniting, Wayville, Sarah spends her restful time knitting, reading, and sitting under the vast Australian sky marvelling at the Sacred in creation.  General admission $15, Concession $12, Live stream $5.  See our full year program here.

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New Romans chapter 4 is now available at https://fergusmcginley.com/category/new-romans/ you can subscribe at https://fergusmcginley.com

Looking for books or information? Our friends and colleagues at ProgressiveChristianity.org have a vast set of publications to meet the broad interests of Progressive Christians.
https://progressivechristianity.org/resource/

NEW ROMANS CHAPTER 3
“Holy Spirit—holy smoke, holy cow! I promised at the start of this letter that I would explain to you how it is that Jesus can bring us grace and peace now, 2000 years after his departure—this is how! A capital S Spirit, sent by the selfless love teaching capital G God, intervening in our lives to broker the capital M Metanoia, the wonderful spiritual transformation we can undergo through faith, trust, belief in that self-same God. Or rather, the Spirit is that intervention, that moment in which, so to speak, a channel opens up and the great God on high pours into us the spiritual energy and agency we need to get over the hump. Wonderful counsellor, comforter, advocate—it’s the Spirit, stupid!”
New Romans Chapter 3 is out now through fergusmcginley.com. Including detailed commentaries on Paul’s original Letter to the Romans, New Romans is a new letter to a new, 21st century audience, exploring the great Gospel themes of grace, faith, Metanoia (spiritual transformation) and Kingdom, in a new and exciting way.

Catch up on the Introduction and Chapter 1 and 2 at New Romans – Chapter 4 is due for release on 17 August. To make sure you don’t miss out on future chapters, contact Fergus at fergmcginley@gmail.com or subscribe to fergusmcginley.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fergus McGinley is an Adelaide writer, teacher, lay preacher, parent, grandparent, with a background in science, philosophy, education and theology. He is the author of many essays, articles and sermons, and the recent book, The God Who Doesn’t Exist (ATF Press, 2025).

Fergus McGinley – New Romans, Chapter 2

“So, a capital G God, a divine parent rather than a bossy omnipotent creator, who gives birth to the universe, then, when humans come along, acts as our selfless love teacher to save us from our self-centred, self-destructive selves and broker mother Metanoia in our lives, with Jesus of Nazareth somehow a vital step in the process? Sounds far-fetched as usual; but, on the other hand, maybe it’s just too good to not be true?!”
New Romans Chapter 2 is out now through fergusmcginley.com (The God Who Doesn’t Exist, 2025). Including detailed commentaries on Paul’s original Letter to the Romans, New Romans is a new letter to a new, 21st century audience, exploring the great Gospel themes of grace, faith, Metanoia (spiritual transformation) and Kingdom, in a new and exciting way.
Catch up on the Introduction and Chapter 1 at New Romans – Chapter 3 is slated for release on 13 July. To make sure you don’t miss out on future chapters, contact Fergus at fergmcginley@gmail.com or subscribe to fergusmcginley.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fergus McGinley is an Adelaide writer, teacher, lay preacher, parent, grandparent, with a background in science, philosophy, education and theology. He is the author of many essays, articles and sermons, and the recent book, The God Who Doesn’t Exist (ATF Press, 2025).

NEW ROMANS by Fergus McGinley
Announcing the online release of the new project by Fergus McGinley (The God Who Doesn’t Exist, 2025). Including extensive commentaries on Paul’s original Letter to the Romans, New Romans is a new letter to a new, 21st century audience, exploring the great Gospel themes of individual and cultural transformation (metanoia), Kingdom, grace and faith in a new and exciting way.
Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 now. Chapter 2 is slated for release on 20 June. To make sure you don’t miss out on future chapters, contact Fergus at fergmcginley@gmail.com or subscribe to fergusmcginley.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fergus McGinley is an Adelaide writer, teacher, lay preacher, parent, grandparent, with a background in science, philosophy, education and theology. He is the author of many essays, articles and sermons, and the recent book, The God Who Doesn’t Exist (ATF Press, 2025).

Is Followership Progressive?

Is Followership progressive? Traditional approaches to leadership don’t always deliver what leaders, teams or organisations need. If being progressive means asking a larger set of questions (and not necessarily agreeing the answers) our understandings of leadership can be scrutinised. How does taking followership seriously question tradition and orthodoxy in organisations? Are there faith-based implications? In this interactive conversation Dr Ruth Sims will challenge how you think about leadership relationships and roles. Since completing her PhD on followership behaviours Ruth has developed a professional practice which makes followership ideas and research accessible through writing and workshop development and facilitation. She has presented her work to academics and practitioners at corporate training events, international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals as well as on substack. Ruth is an active member of the Christ Church Uniting congregation and a non-executive director of Uniting Communities.   General admission $15, Concession $12, Live stream $5.  See our full year program here.

Click here to book