The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, known for its progressive stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and members of the LGBT community as elders and ministers. The Presbyterian Church (USA) was established with the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades, the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.
Wollongong, colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
The United Church of Canada is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada.
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union of Australia united under the Basis of Union. According to the church, it had 243,000 members in 2018. In the 2016 census, 870,183 Australians identified with the church, but that figure fell to 673,260 in the 2021 census. In the 2011 census, that figure was 1,065,796.
Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering 7.15 square kilometres (2.76 sq mi). As at the 2021 census, the suburb had a population of 10,954.
The Illawarra Mercury is a daily newspaper serving the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has been published since 1855, making it one of Australia's oldest newspapers and the second oldest regional newspaper in New South Wales. It has been published daily since December 1949, and has had no local daily competition since the 1960s. It has strong links to the Illawarra community.
Gareth James Ward is an Australian politician who was the New South Wales Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the second Berejiklian ministry from 2019 to 2021. Ward is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and has represented the seat of Kiama since 2011. He was suspended from NSW parliament after being charged with sexual intercourse without consent, and indecent assault. He is currently awaiting trial, and continuing to act as the MP for Kiama on full pay.
The City of Wollongong is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Motorway and the Illawarra railway line.
The Diocese of Wollongong is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Australia. Established in 1951, the diocese covers the Illawarra and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney
Marianne Frances Saliba is an Australian former politician. She was the Mayor of the City of Shellharbour from 2012 to the 23 December 2021. She was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2007, representing the electorate of Illawarra.
Rev. Gregor Sutherland Henderson is an ordained Christian minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. For 12 years he was the General Secretary of the UCA's National Assembly and was the President of the National Assembly for three years 2006-2009.
Peter Lindsay Hayward is an Australian Anglican bishop who has served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney since 13 April 2010, in the role of Bishop of Wollongong.
Ryan John Park is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since March 2011, representing the electorate of Keira. He is the current Minister for Health. He previously served as the NSW Shadow Minister for Health since 2019, and the Shadow Minister for the Illawarra since 2013. He is the third most senior Labor MP in the NSW Legislative Assembly.
The Synod of South Australia is the entity of the Uniting Church in Australia covering most of the state of South Australia. It is one of six geographically-based Synods of the church. The leader of the Synod is the moderator elected to the position for a period of three years. The legal entity for the South Australian branch of the Uniting Church is The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (S.A.) The synod publishes a bimonthly magazine, the New Times.
The Synod of Queensland or Queensland Synod is a state council of the Uniting Church in Australia.
The Synod of New South Wales and the ACT is a regional council of the Uniting Church in Australia having responsibility for the congregations and presbyteries in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. From its creation in 1977 until 29 March 2008, the Synod had the shorter title of Synod of New South Wales.
St Stephen's Presbyterian Church is a heritage-listed former Presbyterian church at 2 Allowrie Street, Jamberoo, Municipality of Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Colley and built in 1875 by John and James Marks, D. L. Dymock and W. Stewart. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The church building was sold to private interests in 2009.
Bob Sredersas was a Lithuanian-Australian art collector. Sredersas came to prominence after donating his private art collection of over 100 works to the City of Wollongong. The collection, which included pieces by artists such as Arthur Streeton, Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Preston and Norman Lindsay, assisted in establishing the Wollongong Art Gallery.
