here goes
Assembly Update October 2003 http://nat.uca.org.au Highlights, Part 1
Just a thought
When my youngest daughter was seven months old we moved to a small country town in western NSW where she lived for the next seven years. Every week one of the saints of the church brought around a double chocolate filled sponge or, failing that, snowballs.
In due course we moved to another larger town where, due to my role as Presbytery Minister, I did not have such an intimate relationship with my local congregation. One day, about six months after our arrival out of the blue my youngest daughter pipes up Where is the lady who brings the cakes?
Mrs G had, through her faithful, appropriate generosity made a profound impact on my daughter. As far as my daughter was concerned churches were like that lovely people came to visit and brought you things that were a blessing. This generous faithful lady defined Christian community for her. The church was a place where you were loved and love was practical and tangible and reliable.
Theres an old song, based on a Bible verse, that talks about they shall know we are Christians by our love. Where is the lady that brings the cakes?
Terence Corkin, Assembly General Secretary
People in Mission 2004-5
The People in Mission program offers an exciting opportunity for adults of all ages from early adults to early retirees - to participate at a practical level in the Uniting Churchs partner relationship with churches in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a discipleship pathway for people seeking to live out their calling to follow in the way of Christ. As well as sharing in the mission and ministry of the partner church, participants are richly blessed by friendships forged and the experience of hospitality in another culture. Participants have an opportunity to reflect on ones own culture with new eyes. 'Experiencing another culture surprisingly teaches you just as much about your own culture as it does about the culture you are immersing yourself in' (Michelle and Greg Erofeyeff, Samoa 2001-2). The experience of living in another culture enables participants to gain skills in cross-cultural and inter-faith relationships, so vital in our Australian context.
People in Mission placements are negotiated with the partner church and are an expression of the churchs mission and ministry in their context. Placements are diverse; some require vocational skills and experience, and others simply require a willingness to work alongside local people, assisting and encouraging them in their work. Current placements include teaching (primary, secondary, and tertiary, across most subject areas), TESOL, agriculture, I.T., medical, management, working with children and young people, administration, tutoring, and water engineering. A list of placements for 2004-5 can be found on the People in Mission website, <www.uim.uca.org.au/peopleinmission> and
promotional resources are available.
For more information, contact Sandy Boyce, People in Mission Coordinator, t: (08) 8236 4240, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(People in Mission is an activity of Uniting International Mission, the agency in the Uniting Church with responsibility for international relationships)
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH ARE WE?
PRESS RELEASE
The President of the Uniting Church, Rev Dr Dean Drayton, said that he welcomed the news from the EMU sponsored conference held in Sydney in late September that the majority of people in the Uniting Church want to stay and address their concerns within the life of the church.
EMU also stated that a Reforming Alliance would be established to work for reform of the Uniting Church. The heart of the Uniting Church is to be a reformed church and as such we're always open to reform, Dr Drayton said but we have not done that by forming factions around a single issue". Part of our culture as a church is to have open and transparent processes so I'm disappointed that it was a closed caucus that met, and that I, as national president, was specifically excluded from it.
Yet for the Assembly General Secretary news of the formation of a reforming alliance raises more questions than it answers.
What is the reform agenda of the alliance? We are aware that there are concerns about the Churchs position on same gender relationships and ordination. What other practices of the Uniting Church does the group wish to change?
What kind of group are people being invited to join? Mary Hawkes reported to officers of the Assembly that the alliance is a group that is generally for the support and encouragement of people of an evangelical perspective - much less structural, much more relational she said. Yet in The Age (25/9) she is reported as saying We're very determined. We're not in the mood for playing games and sitting round tables." "We're ready for some serious action, working to change the way the church operates and to bring it back to biblical principles. If we can't get a change in leadership we'll work around them."
Mary has indicated that there will be a statement of belief and work is being done on a doctrinal statement. Why do we need a statement other then the historic creeds of the church and the Basis of Union are they too broad for the alliance?
It is interesting to consider how the alliance understands The Basis of Union and leadership when it threatens to ignore the leadership of the church, which has been duly appointed and elected by the membership of the Councils of the church.
The alliance reported that they will conduct a survey to ascertain the views of members of the church in relation to sexuality and leadership with a simple yes/no question. There is a responsibility on the framers of the question to ensure that the way it is framed does not distort the findings. People are very cynical about statistics as they can be manipulated. We will be wanting to know that everything was done fairly and according to proper process, the General Secretary said.
EMU petition
At the August meeting of the Standing Committee the EMU petition was addressed. As an indication that the Assembly took the petitioners seriously the Secretariat has written to approximately 18,000 of the 20,000 signatories that signed the petition presented to the ASC. A decision was made not to reply to people who provided overseas addresses. The balance of the number were addresses that were not clear enough to read or not provided.
I hope that anyone who did not receive a response to the petition will understand the reason. However if anyone wishes to know what was the ASC decided they may access the web at <http://nat.uca.org.au/ASC/membershipministrynsexuality.htm> or by contacting the Assembly office on
t:(02) 8267 4204.
APPEALS
YAP - Young Ambassadors for Peace. A unique opportunity for a group or congregation to sponsor 5 or more peacemakers and take part in a YAP workshop! Conditions apply. Over 260 participants have undertaken training within 2 years in 5 countries. The growth of this program will escalate with your support. Please call (02) 8267 4269 to make a donation.
NORTH KOREA - Keep a child warm this winter! Over 70,000 children will be facing -20 degrees over the Christmas Season. These children are severely underweight and are suffering from malnutrition. Your tax-deductible donation will help provide 2 items of clothing for 5,000 children. Please call (02) 8267 4269 to make your donation.
VACANCIES
UIM has a vacancy for an enthusiastic Donor Liaison Officer, working 35 hours per week. For a full job description please contact Jane on (02) 8267 4223. Applications close 1 November 2003.
UCOA
Uniting Church Overseas Aid issues another newsletter in October, which includes tremendous work done in Vanuatu! Your support for the Australian Eye Team who visit Vanuatu annually would be greatly appreciated. Eye clinics are doing more than giving sight to the locals!
What else happened at the 10th Assembly?
Audio Visuals available!
Want to see and know more about what else happened at the 10th Assembly? There are two video VHS /DVDs available.
Highlights of the 10th Assembly - A 10 minute video/DVD has been produced by Greg Fry and John Emmett of highlights of the Assembly. It will be shown as part of the Assembly report to Synods during September and October. Copies will be available in a few weeks. This audio visual includes scenes of the opening service, parts of Bible studies, excerpts of Professor James Haires expresidents report, some parts of the assembly agencies reports, children in KUCA-A, Overseas guests, UAICC report, etc.
Opening Service a 90 minute video VHS or DVD of the opening service, with the wonderful music and presentations around the Elijah story, including the presidents sermon. A powerful, uplifting and challenging service not to be missed. Thanks to Greg Fry who filmed and produced this footage.
Cost: $11 each for video or DVD includes postage and GST.
Special of $20 for both. Multiple copies to the one address will be $10 each.
To order contact <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and mark clearly audio visuals of 10th assembly
Growing Multicultural Congregations- A one day conference, 15th November 2003
Many congregations sense the need to engage more effectively in ministry and mission in their multicultural context.
To further explore how congregations can become more intentionally multicultural a one day conference sponsored by the Board of Mission and ELM will be held at the Centre for Ministry, NSW on 15th November. Topics include "Emerging Models of Multicultural Congregations", Mission Planning, Structure and Leadership, Intergenerational issues, Worshipping in a Multicultural Church; Reading the bible from a cross-cultural perspective, Conflict resolution, Sharing Property.
For more details or to register contact Rev Myong Duk Yang e:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
National Consultation on Evangelism
Theology and Discipleship is hoping to hold the third national theological consultation in Adelaide from 17 to 19 August 2004. This will be on the theme of helping Congregations to engage in the ministry of evangelism as outlined in the discussion paper "Becoming Disciples" and endorsed by the recent Assembly. An invitation has been extended to Daniel Benedict of the United Methodist Church, USA, author of "Come to the Waters". There will be also be some practical training workshops. Once the arrangements are locked in, an invitation will be issued to each Presbytery to nominate two persons by a given date. After that, registrations will be opened up to all, with a maximum of about 120 participants. Watch this space!
Now is the time for orders for Gift of Grace Rose 2004
We know many of you are still patiently waiting for your 2003 rose order to arrive, but now is the time to get your orders in for your rose delivery for 2004! Contact Sue Neilson at the Assembly Office t: (02) 8267 4238 to have an order form sent to you or download it from the website. <http://nat.uca.org.au/home>
The rose growers, Peter and Kim, from Corporate Roses in South Australia, would like us to give them order numbers for 2004 by the end of October so that they know how many to grow for next year. We have had wonderful stories about how the rose has been used in many special ways, and it truly lives up to its name of being a gift of grace. So please order now.
If you are still waiting for your 2003 roses to arrive, the wait will soon be coming to an end. The growers have advised us that NSW orders should be sent at the end of October, followed by Victoria and South Australia. The roses are later than anticipated because of the extremely cold weather in August. They will be in strong growth when they arrive, and you will be soon be picking the magnificent blooms.
Remember to send us your stories and pictures of what you have done with your roses to the National Assembly Office, PO Box A2266, Sydney South NSW 1235.
Don't miss out on your "Gift of Grace". Order now!
Ecumenical work awarded
Recently Rev David Gill was awarded AM (Australia Medal) for his work over many years in Australia, Asia and beyond in fostering and building ecumenical relationships. David recently received the medal from the Consul-General in Hong Kong where he now works as minister to the Kowloon Union Church.
David was instrumental in preparing the way for the Roman Catholic Church to join NCCA in 1994 during his long term as general secretary to National Council of Churches in Australia. In this position, he also played a significant role in fostering close ties with churches in Asia and was highly respected as a leader in CCA (Christian Conference of Asia). Dr Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the CCA, said that David has always been at the heart of the Asian ecumenical movement . CCA organized and hosted the award ceremony in Hong Kong. Professor James Haire, president of the National Council of Australia, and ex-president of the UCA, who was also present at the ceremony, paid tribute to Davids pioneering work in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society like Australia. David paid tribute to people he had worked with and said he was glad to be an Australian because it is a country so full of hope, of promise and of possibility.
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Stephen Webb Media Officer Communications Unit NSW Synod, Uniting Church in Australia Box A2178, Sydney South, NSW 1235, Australia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: +61 2 8267 4308; Mobile: 0423 259 945; Fax: 9267 4716; Web: nsw.uca.org.au/cu/ & insights.uca.org.au/ ------------------ The Communications Unit publishes the monthly magazine Insights, conducts public relations for the NSW Synod of the Uniting Church, and provides a variety of communications services. These include writing, editing, web consultation and development, desktop publishing and graphic design, public relations and advertising. For a consultation or free estimate on your project call the Communications Unit at (02) 8267 4307.
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