About - Highfield Road Uniting Church

Our Story

Highfield Road Uniting Church Canterbury was initially a small Methodist church that grew to become a significant part of the Canterbury community. We are over 100 years old and in 1977 became part of the Uniting Church of Australia which is a union of Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. Everyone is welcome at our church, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or social status.

Meet Ross, Our Minister

Our Minister the Reverend Ross Pearce came to Highfield Road Uniting Church in 2014. He was a lay preacher in the Port Phillip West Presbytery for many years, before being called to ordained ministry. Ross is passionate about congregational ministry, particularly worship, prayer life, mission and outreach. He is an excellent preacher and, as a keen theatre performer / director, sometimes bursts into exuberant song during his sermon. Come along and enjoy worship with us.

Our Chairperson of Council

Richard Nixon supports the Minister and leads the Council in ensuring pastoral care of the congregation and the effective management of church property, finance and compliance.

Our Church Council Secretary

Heather Ball plays a vital role in the congregation. As church council secretary, she takes and distributes to the minutes of Church Council meetings, is the contact person for Synod and Presbytery, distributing information to council members and attends to correspondence.

Our Elders

Elders are leaders chosen by the congregation because of their maturity, pastoral sensitivity and commitment to God and the church. They offer guidance and pastoral care to our congregation. Every member is placed under the pastoral oversight of one of the Elders, which helps to build a strong, vibrant community of faith. Elders receive support and encouragement from the Minister.

Child-safe Policy

Highfield Road Uniting Church (UCA) takes the matter of safeguarding children very seriously. All members of the congregation, staff and volunteers are responsible for supporting and adhering to the Uniting Church child safety principles, policies and procedures as set out on the Uniting Church of Victoria and Tasmania website.

We endorse these UCA principles:

All children who are involved in any of the Uniting Church’s activities, services, events or programs have a right to feel and be safe. The Uniting Church in Australia is committed to provide safe environments where children are cared for, respected, nurtured and sustained.
We have zero tolerance of all forms of child abuse and will do all in our power to safeguard children from abuse.

The Church commits itself to the creation and maintenance of a child-safe culture to ensure the care, protection and safety of all children engaging with the Church in any of its entities.
Abuse thrives on secrecy. To prevent child abuse across the Church, we are committed to providing clear leadership and open and transparent governance to combat secrecy.
The Church clearly affirms its commitment to upholding the law. This includes the requirement to report abuse to the appropriate authorities.