Uniting Heart & Soul of Woollahra
God, what are you up to?
It was a Friday 9 weeks ago and at 11 am Gladys gave the orders that church would go into hibernation for the coming weeks due to the impending doom of Covid.
I could be heard screaming from my car “ NOOOO GOD!!!!! I have a strategic plan for my church and this has stuffed the plan, please God what are you thinking?” I quickly dusted myself off and I went straight into action. I rallied the troops, we were going into battle mode titled “WHAT COVID?”
I called Josh Wyatt at Signal box who was working with my team at Uniting Heart and Soul of Woollahra on all marketing and creative matters to help kick start our new church plant at Woollahra. Josh was totally unflappable and said, “Ness, I’ll be at your place at 3 pm we can film your sermon for the week and get it up online”.
I kept thinking this was NOT in our plan, God, what are you up to? I called the Uniting heart and Soul worship team aka Jonty Cornford “Musician extraordinaire” and Rachel Humphries “vocal angel” and inquired into their recording capacity. Jonty immediately said, “ Yes Ness we can do whatever you need, I have recording experience and all the necessary gear to put songs together”. Rachel was also 100% on board. Afterwards, I called Jessica Chau our creative director at church and she agreed to do the prayers. Josh from Signal box would do the final edit and load it on our Facebook page and website. Phew crisis diverted, time for a pinot!
I was so grateful to be able to bless our community with a service for that week. We had about 120 people watch that week. WOW, our church numbers doubled in lockdown who would have thought?
God, what are you up to?
God had assembled a team of people with very unique skills to bring about an online church. Jessica Chau is a famous movie star in Asia who has been in many action films, she is a total natural in front of the camera. Jonty is a musician and recording artist with years of experience, Rachel is studying Vocals at AIM Currently , Josh is the digital master of all film and creative things.
Before I was a Rev I was an actor and one of my gigs was as presenter on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton in the ’90s. Was God going to actually use my TV skills for church and His mission (OK God just for a few weeks to get us through this Covid storm, so I thought). God had assembled all that we needed to do His mission for this time and place. Together we do a 30-minute online service that has a chill vibe. Music, Prayer, Message, Music is the liturgical flow of what we bring each week. Just long enough so you don’t dose off while you sip your coffee and sing.
After eight online services we have consistently seen growth and now we have over 1.3K people engaging with us in the week either on Facebook or our website.
Due to Covid, I say with a giggle, we have planted an online Uniting Church, which was possibly Gods plan for us all along but it took a pandemic for me to realise and to be brave enough to give it a try.
We want to share our resources with you at this time especially if you need good music and a no BS message about our radical Jesus. My style won’t suit everyone but some of you might see it as your jam.
You are so welcome to join us anytime you like. Find us in www.Unitingheartandsoul.org.
Vanessa Williams-Henke (Rev. Ness)
Podcasts from Uniting Heart and Soul
April 18 2024 - 098 "DARK NIGHT of the SOUL" - Taylor Forward (Part Two)
April 9 2024 - 097 "SMALL TOWN DRIFTER" - Taylor Forward
April 7 2024 - 096 "THE LIFE OF BRIAN" - Comedy, Christianity and offense with Dave Cornford
March 31 2024 - 095 "THE PASSION of the CHRIST" - The suffering, death (and resurrection) of Jesus
March 24 2024 - 094 "THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST" - Exploring the humanity of Jesus
March 17 2024 - 093 "TELLING BETTER STORIES" - Easter narratives with Dave Cornford
March 3 2024 - 091 "LIFE as a SCHOOL CHAPLAIN" - Pastor Richard La'Brooy
February 25 2024 - 090 "BIG FEELINGS WELCOME" - Peer work and mental wellbeing with Catherine Garner
February 18 2024 - 089 "BULLIED on the BIGGEST LOSER" - Ajay Rochester
February 11 2024 - 088 "I WAS TAKEN from my MOTHER" - Ajay Rochester
February 4 2024 - 087 "A DISH best served COLD" - Exploring revenge and forgiveness
January 28 2024 - 086 "HOW to RUN THROUGH a BRICK WALL" - examining discipleship cycles
January 21 2024 - 085 "FILTHY MISFITS" - Spiritual Misfits with Will Small
January 14 2024 - 084 "DO YOU GET ENOUGH REST?" - Burnout, rest, and a subversive sabbath
December 31 2024 - 083 "ONE STEP BACK, TWO STEPS FORWARD" New Years Special 2023
December 24 2023 - 082 "FILTHY HOPE INCARNATE - Christmas Special 2023
December 17 2023 - 081 "FOR THE LEAST OF THESE" - Rev Bill Crews
December 10 2023 - 080 "WHO IS GOD CALLING YOU TO BE?" - Rev Greer Hudson
December 3 2023 - 079 "DECONSTRUCTING HELL" - Heaven, hell, and the afterlife
November 26 2023 - 078 "MERRY UNCHRISTMAS" - Reclaiming December and advent
November 19 2023 - 077 "PROVE YOUR INNER VOICE WRONG" - Rev James Aaron
November 12 2023 - 076 "ANGRY AT GOD for the CRIME of BEING" - The Book of Job
November 5 2023 - 075 "TRAVERSING THE HOLY CITY" - Leontine and Alan from Yalla Israel Podcast
October 29 2023 - 074 "FOLLOWING in the FOOTSTEPS of CHRIST" - The last week of Jesus' life
October 22 2023 - 073 "AN ENCOUNTER with the HOLY SPIRIT" - Rev Ness' pilgrimage to Jerusalem
October 15 2023 - 072 "CREATING COMMUNITY in the EASTERN SUBURBS" - Rev Danielle Hemsworth-Smith
October 8 2023 - 071 "DEFINE THE GREAT LINE" - Chris Dudley from Underoath
October 1 2023 - 070 "JESUS IS MY BOYFRIEND" - CCM, pipe organs and Kendrick Lamar
September 24 2023 - 069 "GRIEF, LOSS, and the FUTURE of the CHURCH" - Rev Phil Swain
September 17 2023 - 068 "GRACE IN REAL TIME: - Imposter syndrome, wellness, and strong language
September 10 2023 - 067 "HOPE ON THE BRINK" - Suicide and mental wellbeing with Rev Jon Humphries
September 3 2023 - 066 "Do all CHRISTIANS have DADDY ISSUES?" | Father's Day Reflections
August 27 2023 - 065 "IS MISOGYNY an IDEOLOGY?" - David, Goliath and the Narcissist
August 20 2023 - 064 "MINDFULNESS & MRIs" - Anxiety, Bohemian Rhapsody, and angels
August 13 2023 - 063 "THE CULT of the CHARISMATIC LEADER" - Untangling systems of spiritual abuse
August 9 2023 - 062 "TRANSFORMING WORSHIP" - with Rev Jon Humphries
July 30 2023 - 061 "A VOICE for FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES" - Nathan Tyson
July 23 2023 - 060 "WHY BE NORMAL?" -| Rev Jon Humphries
July 16 2023 - 059 "LEARNING TO LOVE while HEALING from ABUSE"
July 9 2023 - 058 "THE SCHOOL THAT HOPE BUILT" - Gemma Sisia - Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
July 2 2023 - 057 "IT'S OK, GOD LOVES YOU" - Rev Ben Gilmour
June 25 2023 - 056 "YOUR SEXUALITY is a GIFT" - Surviving conversion therapy with Rev Ben Gilmour
June 18 2023 - 055 "SURVIVING the SEX TRADE" - Re-evaluating the book of Esther
June 11 2023 - 054 "PROFESSIONAL DANCE is SAVAGE" - with Sarah Rose
June 4 2023 - 053 "EXPERIENCING the HOLY SPIRIT" - featuring MOLK
May 28 2023 - 052 "ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SHAME" - Jonty and Ness unpack some of their own shame around mental illness, trauma, opening up and being vulnerable. What's waiting for you on the other side of shame?
May 21 2023 - 051 "MOTHERS, CHILDREN, and MESSY FAMILIES" - Reflecting on Mother's Day
May 14 2023 - 050 "HELP, THE CHURCH HURT ME!" - Celebrating 50 Episodes of Filthy Hope
May 7 2023 - 049 A PANDEMIC of LONELINESS - Rev. Jon Owen
April 30 2023 - 048 A FRESH START - Jesus ascends after His resurrection
April 23 2023 - 047 ONLINE MINISTRY is CHANGING - Julian Ciach from Click Church
April 16 2023 - 046 WHAT IF GOD CAN'T STOP SUFFERING?
April 9 2023 - Easter Sunday - 045 HE IS RISEN!
April 7 2023 - Good Friday - 044 FORGIVE THEM, THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING
April 2 2023 - 043 SERVING FOR THE SAKE OF SERVING - Passover and the Last Supper
March 24 2023 - 042 A QUIET REVOLUTION OF GRACE
March 17 2023 - 041 THE MONSTER IS THE HERO - with Rachel Humphries
March 10 2023 - 040 BEING A CHRISTIAN DOES NOT MAKE ME A GOOD PERSON - In part three of our look into some of the weird sh*t in the Bible Rev Ness and Jonty unpack the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert.
March 3 2023 - 039 THE GOSPEL OF THE UPSIDE DOWN - The Transfiguration
February 26 2023 - 038 WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH ANGELS? - Weird Sh*t in the Bible Part 1
February 17 2023 - 037 JESUS VS. THE CHURCH - Rev Ness and Jonty talk openly about how they feel about the future of the church, and address the question: do you really love Jesus, or do you actually just love your church?
February 10 2023 - Highlight from episode 36 - The Journey of Leadership in the Church - Rev Ness and Jonty chat to Somerset Drayton about some of the formative experiences she has had on her journey of leadership in the church.
February 12 2023 - 036 Build the Kingdom, not the Castle - Rev Ness and Jonty chat to Somerset Drayton about her artistry, her calling to ministry, some of the challenges she has run into along the way, and our call to take part in Kingdom-minded ministry, not castle-minded ministry. Oh, and over the course of the episode this podcast turns into a HBO's The Last of Us podcast. Hope that's ok.
February 7 2023 - 035 God of the edges - with Moderator Simon Hansford - Rev Ness and Jonty have a sit-down with Uniting Church NSW/ACT Moderator Simon Hansford, covering topics like regional ministry, natural disaster relief, looking forward to the future of the Uniting Church in Australia, and the possibility that the Good News is not always good news.
December 31 2022 - 034 New Year's Eve Special - This episode was shot back in October, before Kanye West's terrible statements, so regrettably Jonty is indeed wearing his Yeezus tee. We recognise this may come across as insensitive and apologise unreservedly.
December 23 2022 - 033 Christmas Special 2022 - Rev Ness and Jonty reflect on the Christmas narrative and their own experiences of Advent.
December 15 2022 - 032: Artistry with Leanne Maybury-Smith from Studio 17 - Rev Ness and Jonty have a chat to visual artist (and old friend of Ness)
December 8 2022 - 031: Uniting Heart & Soul Records - A 2023 Preview - Jonty preview demos of some of the music UH&S will be releasing in 2023 under Uniting Heart & Soul Worship, as well as unpacking our first single Mary, Did You Know?
December 1 2022 - 030: Discipleship and Growing Young with Steve Molkentin - Where do young people fit into the church? Jonty talks to Steve Molkentin (AKA Molk) from Pulse about the challenges and opportunities facing young people in the Uniting Church.
November 24 2022 - 029: Music, Art and the Future of the Church with Tash Holmes - Jonty has a chat with Tash Holmes about music and art, and the spaces for creativity within the church.
November 17 2022 - 028: Artistry with Jak Sherlock - Jonty sits down with his mate Jak to talk about artistry and faith.
November 10 2022 - 027: Artistry with Marty Cornford of Afterthought - Jonty has a sit-down with musician and songwriter Marty Cornford. Oh, he's also Jonty's brother. Check out Afterthought on YouTube or Spotify
November 3 2022 - 026: A Conversation with Michael Jensen - Jonty and Ness sit down with the Rev Dr Michael Jensen to have a chat about the Anglican Church, young people, social justice in the Eastern Suburbs, and everything in between.
October 27 2022 - 025: Artistry with Rachel Collis - Jonty has a yarn with Rachel Collis, a singer-songwriter whose new double album, Mayfly.
October 20 2022 - 024: Faith in the Workplace with Rev Ness - Jonty interviews Ness about her working life, her career before becoming a Minister, and the challenges of finding a healthy work/life balance.
October 13 2022 - 023: Artistry with Jonty Cornford Ness - interviews Jonty about his life and work as an artist.
October 6 2022 - 022: Mailbag Episode - Rev Ness and Jonty go through a handful of the many messages and questions from listeners we have received since starting this podcast. We also share a nice surprise.
September 29 2022 - 021: The Exorcist Part One - Rev Ness and Jonty dive into a discussion about the demonic and the nature of evil framed by a look into the 1973 film The Exorcist.
September 22 2022 - 020: Swearing & Language - Strap the fk in, because you cts are gonna fkn flip the fk out. That's right, we're going to be talking all about swearing and foul language from a Christian perspective. In order to talk about them, we do use the full gambit of curse words pretty liberally in this episode, so if that's going to be too much for you then this episode may not be for you. And that's ok!
September 15 2022 - 019: Dating (Love, Sex & Jesus Part 9) We round out our series on intimacy and sexuality with a chat about the wild world of dating.
Paul & Morgan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWaNbFuGpJg&t=15s&ab_channel=PaulandMorgan
September 8 2022 - 018: Celebrating Palm Sunday (Love, Sex & Jesus Part 8) This week we attempt to be professionals while talking about masturbation.
Teen Sex By The Book by Patricia Weerakoon: https://www.koorong.com/product/teen-sex-by-the-book-third-edition-patricia-weerakoon_9781925725988
"Can Christians Masturbate?" by God Is Grey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8U4xe41eY4&t=59s&ab_channel=GodisGrey
September 1 2022 - 017: Marriage & Affairs (Love, Sex & Jesus Part 7) As we continue our look into topics of intimacy and sexuality, Ness gives us a peek through a window into her marriage, some of the rough patches, and the places where God intervened on their behalf. It is a story of healing and grace where brokenness and separation had every right to come out on top.
August 25 2022 - 016: Queer Theology Part 2 with Rev James Aaron (Love, Sex & Jesus Part Six) Jonty and Ness are joined by the legend himself - James Aaron. James shares stories of the queer experience in the church, in ministry, and in his health journey. Watch Ryan Sickler's Dave Chappelle story here.
August 18 2022 - 015: HEAVEN IS FOR REAL (Film Review) Jonty and Ness break down the 2014 film Heaven Is For Real with special guest Richard Penisini.
August 11 2022 - 014: Abortion and Roe v. Wade (Love, Sex & Jesus: Part 5) Ness tells a story from her past, and we hear from a dual-citizen lawyer on the recent Roe v. Wade controversy.
August 4 2022 - 013: Queer Theology (Love, Sex & Jesus Part 4) Jonty and Ness crack open the Bible and dive into some of the most famous Bible verses that are used to talk about homosexuality to see what they actually say. We also hear from both Matthew Vines and Caleb Kaltenbach on these verses from a New York Times piece called Debating Bible Verses on Sexuality.
July 28 2022 - 012: Purity Culture with Anonymous Guest (Love, Sex & Jesus Part 3) This week we are joined by an anonymous guest to talk about the effects of purity culture, and systems of control and abuse built around the concept of a woman's purity.
May 20, 2022 - Filthy Hope Ep. 005: The Unlikely Minister We take a quick break from asking the question "where the f**k is God" while Ness tells a story about God working in unlikely places and Jonty gets on his high horse about movies.
May 13, 2022 - Filthy Hope Ep. 004: Where the F#@k is God Part Four - Childhood Trauma w/ Rev Ness This week Rev Ness recounts her story of surviving childhood trauma and abuse, and the complexities of finding God in the midst of that trauma. We do need to warn you: this episode goes there. It contains accounts of sexual assault and violence, so listener discretion is encouraged.
May 6, 2022 - Filthy Hope Ep. 003: Where the F#@k is God Part Three - Psychology w/ Julie Ryan. We continue to ask the tough questions about God's presence amongst some of the messiness of our lives. This week psychologist Julie Ryan talks to Jonty about her experiences working in psychology, and what's going on at the Oasis in Double Bay.
April 29 2022 - Filthy Hope Ep. 002: Where the F#&k is God Part Two - Depression & PTSD w/ Jonty. We continue to ask the question of where God is amongst the tough moments in our lives. This week Jonty shares about his experiences of depression and PTSD, and how those experiences were tied up in spiritual trauma in the church.
April 22 2022 - Filthy Hope Ep. 001: Where the F#&K is God Part One - Anxiety w/ Rev Ness. In week one of our series "Where the F#$k us God," Rev Ness shares her story of dealing with anxiety and mental health issues.
We now have Podcasts from Uniting Heart and Soul
3 April 2022 - Luke 15:11-32 Family Business
27 March 2022 - Luke 1:26-38 The Birth of Jesus is Announced
20 March 2022 - Luke 13:1-9 "Repentance"
6 March 2022 - Luke 4:1-13 "Temptations"
27 February 2022 - Luke 9:28-36 "Transformation of Jesus"
20 February 2022 - Luke 6:17-26 Epiphany 6 "Sermon on the Plain"
13 February 2022 - Luke 5:1-11 "Push out into deep water."
6 February 2022 - Luke 2:22-40 "Jesus is presented in the Temple."
30 January 2022 - John 2:1-12 "The first miracle of Jesus"
23 January 2022 - Luke 4:15-21 "The Spirit of the Lord is to preach good news to the poor."
16 January 2022 - John 1 "Before the world was created, the Word already existed"
9 January 2022 - Baptism of Jesus
2 January 2022 - Christmas 2 - New Year Resolutions
26 December 2021 - Christmas 1
19 December 2021 - Peace- Advent 4
12 December 2021 - Love - Advent 3
5 December 2021 - Peace - Advent 2 John the Baptiser
28 November 2021 - Hope - Advent 1
21 November 2021 - Mary, Mother of Jesus - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
7 November 2021 - Another Unnamed Legend - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
31 October 2021 - The Samaritan Woman - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
24 October 2021 - Joanna - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
17 October 2021 - Salome - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
10 October 2021 -Poor Widow - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
3 October 2021 - Priscilla - God's Wonder Woman of the Bible
26 September 2021 - Kick Ass Men in the Bible, Paul and Silas
19 September 2021 - Kick Ass Men in the Bible, Saul who became Paul
12 September 2021 - Kick Ass Men in the Bible, Judas Iscariot
5 September 2021 - Kick Ass Men in the Bible, Joseph
22 August 2021 - Pillars of Health, Emotional Health
15 August 2021 - Pillars of Health, Spiritual Health
8 August 2021 - Pillars of Health, Physical Health
1 August 2021 - Pillars of Health, Mental Health
25 July 2021 - Feeding the 5000, Rev Brian Jago
4 July 2021 - Daring to be Healthy & Well
27 June 2021 - Daring to be Patient
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