Leura is located in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales,
100 kilometres west of Sydney.
Leura Uniting Church is located on the corner of Grose and Megalong Streets, Leura.
Our Congregation
Our congregation is chaired by the Reverend Dr William Emilsen. More details can be found by following the Our Community link.
We embrace diversity, and welcome all who seek to know more of God.
Leura Uniting Church, in addition to this website of information and activity pages, has a Facebook page.
The web address is https://www.facebook.com/LeuraUnitingChurch , or, just search for Leura Uniting Church on Facebook.
Service Times and other Activities
Our regular service is on Sundays at 9.30 am. The first Sunday of every month is a Contemporary Service, the third is a Communion Service. We also have a children’s group, a youth group, a Taize service, a reflective service and various community support activities. Details of services may be found by following the Services and Activities link.
At the bottom of this page are links to dedicated pages for some of the Services and Activities.
Hall Bookings
The hall of Leura Uniting Church is available for regular and occasional bookings. Please contact Ross Neville on 0247 031 761 or by email, rossneville01@gmail.com
What’s happening….
. December
Fri 20 Advent Festival 10am Lawson see Bulletin
Tue 24 Suasage Sizzle 6.30pm , followed by Carols Christmas Eve 7pm
Wed 25 Christmas Service 8am
A list of Leura Activities for 2019 are at the bottom of the page.
Reflections on this week’s Bible readings
from the Bulletin …
Advent 2 Matthew 3:1-12 8 December, ‘19
The theme this Sunday is PEACE
How can we say Jesus birth brings an era of peace throughout the world/. Our world is not at peace. Nation vs nation, religion vs religion; ideology vs ideology; Christian denomination vs Christian denomination; race vs race; men vs women. There is conflict everywhere, every night.
2,000+ years Jesus and Christianity don’t appear to have achieved much peace. The answer is in the message John gives us today.
Human kind has to repent. Repentance has to happen with each individual, each generation, each race, each nation.
What is the meaning of repentance?
Repentance is more than turning away from sin—it is also a turning to a fruitful life “a fundamental turnaround involving mind and action and including overtones of grief, which results in ‘fruit “ To repent is not just to feel bad but to begin to think differently and therefore to act differently.
In his teachings, Jesus and John not only warn us that the kingdom is imminent, but will also help us to understand the “rules of the road” for kingdom living to adopt a kingdom lifestyle in the here and now. In their statements that the kingdom has come near, John and Jesus are telling us that we do not have to die and go to heaven to begin kingdom lives. We begin to live kingdom lives the moment that we allow God to be our king—the moment we begin, however imperfectly, to try to do what God wants us to do—the moment that we adopt Christ as Lord of our lives.
Our work of preparation will not be complete until the day that Jesus comes again, at which time he will complete it.
Do you agree with this statement!! Is this one of the reasons the world is not at peace? “People no longer feel guilty of sin but think of themselves as victims of impersonal forces that shape their lives.”
Ross Neville
Quiet reflection, … John the Baptist
With John’s voice, the church asks us, both personally and communally, to level and straighten out whatever is an obstacle or danger on our journey to God. What are the “potholes” in our discipleship, those sins of omission? From what do we need to be converted if we are to make the way smoother for others who find it difficult to travel to God because of our intolerant or erratic behaviour? Have we a kingdom vision that can enable us to see around the twists and turns of personal tragedy or ecclesial failure and recognise there an advent of Christ – his presence with us in the suffering, dying, and rising from these painful realities? Verna Holyhead
Other nearby Uniting Churches
Katoomba – Sunday Worship 9.00am – Contact Ann Palmer 4782 1880
Blackheath – Sunday Worship 10.30am – Contact Bob Hendy 4787 7007
Hazelbrook – Sunday Worship 9.30am – Contact Marjorie Leggatt 4759 1228
Other Uniting Church Congregations
To view other Congregations of the Uniting Church in Australia follow the link,
Find a Church
Current Activities
Links, in red, lead to pages with more details about the activity.
Day Retreats An opportunity for renewal and refreshment of faith. Restarts on 6th April 2019.
Drawing and Painting Group see Weekly timetable on Services and Activities Page.
Leisure Learning – Sew & Chat see Weekly timetable on Services and Activities Page.
Open Table a sharing place to assist all members of the Mountains community.
Pilgrimages we seek God, and spiritual refreshment, walking in the bush. Starts from Leura Uniting Church at 8am. Restart date for 2019 to be advised.
Playtime 10am-12noon on Mondays during school term.
Primary Learning Support Centre see Weekly timetable on Services and Activities Page.
Quiet Reflection a guided meditation and reflection on the readings for the week.
Taizé Service renewal through common prayer, singing, silence and personal meditation. On the 3rd Sunday of the month. Restarts on 17th February 2019.
Ecumenical Advent Festival
Friday 20 December 10am – 12 noon at Santa Maria Hall, Lawson.
This will be a time of prayer, readings, poems and carols, concluding with the sharing of an early finger food lunch.
Enquiries: Sr. Jacinta 4757 2290
Blue Mountains Centre for Faith & Public Issues
Public Forum
Sunday 3 November, 2019
at 2pm in the Leura Uniting Church
“Where is the human species going?”
Reflections on Yuval Noah Harari’s View of History
by Emeritus Professor Garry Trompf
Is ours just the history of an irresponsible animal?
Is history just the product of our arrogant opportunism?
Is there ultimate meaning in history?
Are we as clever animals better replaced by more clever machines?
Enquiries William Emilsen: wemilsen@gmail.com