The New South Wales Synod Newsletter OCTOBER 2003 Part 1
Uniting Church in Australia NSW SYNOD 222 Pitt Street SYDNEY Telephone - 8267 4300 Email - [EMAIL PROTECTED] General Secretary - Rev Dr Chris Budden
Dear friends and colleagues
Like most Ministers, I have spent most of my Ministry with laughing, suffering, celebrating, oppressed and dying people. I have led worship, shared with people in the celebration of sacraments, taken part in protests, sat by hospital beds, led Bible studies. I have wanted to know how my present experience of life, my glimpse of God and Gods Spirit, and the wisdom of the Scriptures and Church help me and others live.
I have been greatly influenced by four biblical images.
? The first is of the people of Israel trying to form themselves into a community that is obedient to God, and faithful to the laws of God, knowing that what defined them was not law but the call of Abraham and the escape from Egypt. The laws were to enable the people to conform to who God is One who liberates and sets free. The opening words of the Ten Commandments are: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Deuteronomy 5:6).
? The book of Job wrestles with the issue of what happens when a persons experience clashes with tradition and theology. Job claimed an innocence which contradicted the traditional theological framework that said only the guilty and sinful suffer. Jobs friends insisted that he acknowledge that he was sinful, despite what he might say. In the end God vindicated Job, and critiqued the friends view of what made for a moral universe. The issue for me has always been, as it is in Matthew 25: 31ff, what happens when you discover Gods grace in places where a plain reading of tradition suggests you should not?
? Jesus struggled constantly with those whose reading of the law would label people as sinful and unclean, and would exclude people from the community and from the grace of God. It was not that Jesus did not support the law, but when a particular reading of the law meant people could not know Gods grace, then the law was set aside. In his practice of dining with tax collectors and outcasts, in his radical inclusiveness, it seems to me that Jesus affirms that what is important for God is not the holiness of the few but wholeness of all.
? I am a Protestant; my faith is deeply grounded in Pauls comment:
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 3: 21-24). That passage came not from abstract reflection, but from the major struggle in the early church: must one become Jewish and be subject to the law before becoming a Christian? The answer is no because salvation is by grace through faith. I dont mean that life and holiness is unimportant. But holiness must flow from our life in Christ, from the Spirit which makes new birth possible, and is not our achievement. Nor is it what is demanded before faith is possible.
There has been a lot of talk about why the sexuality decisions were not referred to the various councils of the church for a vote. There is a suggestion at the moment that there should be a survey of all congregations to find out what people believe. Out of those images which I have spoken of, I want to raise a couple of questions.
First, what will we discover if we have a survey? How much will our answers depend on the questions asked? We will discover what people believe about the questions asked, but will that help us know what the Bible says, or how people would respond if faced with real people and not questions?
Second, sexuality demands a difficult discussion between people about sexuality, the Bible, and our faith in God and where God is in our life. Will a survey actually help us have this conversation? Will it help us be the church of Jesus Christ, and help us discover what God is saying to the Church?
At its recent meeting the Synod acknowledged the anguish being experienced in the Church, and the very different opinions on sexuality and leadership which exist. It asked that I draw together some resources that explain the decisions of the Assembly, that will help us better understand the Scriptures, and that helps congregations and presbyteries understand their responsibilities. The resolution of the Synod is enclosed with this letter.
Those resources are almost complete and should be forwarded to Ministers and Church Council Secretaries about the same time as this Newsletter.
We need to take the time to study, reflect, talk together, pray and struggle with each other. We are the church by the grace of God, and the unity of the Church is important to God as Jesus prayer (John 17: 23) indicates. We need to find ways to contend with each other in love, and not use Scripture or tradition or human need or surveys as weapons in a war against each other. I pray that we may be able to keep talking and stay in this together.
Best wishes Chris Budden
Highlights from Synod
The Synod met from Saturday 27 to Tuesday 30 September, again using the facilities at Canterbury Race Course. Earlier plans to spend Saturday as an elective and community time had to be altered as it became obvious that the business would be quite heavy. Saturday morning was formal business, and we also met on Sunday evening.
Some of the highlights were:
? The worship on Saturday night, which was a truly wonderful expression of the multicultural nature of the Uniting Church.
? The involvement of KinS.
? The election of Jim Mein as Moderator elect.
? The extension of the appointment of Tina Rendell as Executive Director of the Board of Mission for another five years, and the extension of the term of the General Secretary to the end of 2005.
? Three Bible studies in which people explored the question of Jesus who do you say that I am?
? A long debate about sexuality and leadership. The decision of the Synod is attached.
? The decision to establish a Korean Commission as a way for Korean language congregations to relate to the rest of the Synod. There is still some work to be done on the details of the Commissions life, and a wide ranging group of people are to do that work. The powers of the Commission will be those which Presbyteries refer to the Synod, membership will be representative of lay and ordained people, and various age groups, and each congregation will have to decide whether they wish to join the Commission or find their primary care within a Presbytery.
? A discussion of the future of theological, ministerial and discipleship education and learning, that raised the issue of whether the present schools at the Centre for Ministry should combine into one body. A large and representative group has been appointed to continue to explore that issue.
? The Synod adopted focus areas to give better expression to the Synod goals. The Boards will now consider ways these focus areas can be implemented, and this will flow into the Synods Budget process. A copy of the focus areas is attached.
? There were resolutions about asylum seekers, Medicare, free trade negotiations, and depleted uranium weapons. These will be conveyed to members, with requests for follow-up action where appropriate.
Council of Synod was asked to (i) appoint a NSW Committee on Relations with Other faiths, (ii) appoint a group to investigate long term funding for community based pastoral ministry in areas of concentrated public housing,
(iii) consider suggestions about the future of Insights, (iv) consider proposals not dealt with in regard to sexuality and theological education, and (v) approve developments with the Korean Commission.
Council of Synod has also been asked to consider the need for a governance review that would look at the need for a leadership team within the synod to provide better co-ordination across the synods work, and better oversight of risk management.
The Synod also confirmed the decision to meet next year in Tamworth from Saturday 25 to Tuesday 28 September. While it is early days in terms of arrangements, it is likely that Saturday will be an elective day, with Jim Meins installation as Moderator occurring on Saturday night. Please put this in your diary now!
New Arrangements for Assembly publications
The Assemblys arrangement with Rainbow Books to distribute materials will come to an end on September 30 2003. MediaCom, which is well known within the Uniting Church will take over the distribution of Assembly publications from October 1 2003.
Given concerns raised by some book shop operators about the level of discounts that would be available, further negotiations were undertaken and MediaCom has agreed to provide the standard 40% trade discount to UCA bookshops.
For those of you that have bookshops I request that you make this information known as soon as possible.
One of the commitments required under the memorandum of understanding with MediaCom is that the Assembly make known to congregations that MediaCom will be the distributor for Assembly publications after October 1 2003. It would very much appreciated if you can include this advice, and contact information, in your next newsletter to congregations. The contact details for MediaCom are:
Mailing address: PO Box 610, Unley 5061, South Australia Phone: (08) 8371 1399 Fax: (08) 8297 8719 Phone toll free: 1-800-811-311
Web page: http://www.mediacom.org.au Email address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Found at Synod
A black and white, zebra striped, glass case and glasses were found at Canterbury Racecourse. If these are yours please contact Sandra Wright on 8267 4325 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From the School of Continuing Education:
Intentional Interim Ministry basic education program for 2004:
Registrations are now being taken for the 2004 course, with the phase 1 and 3 residentials to run 3-7 May and 8-12 November. The early bird price is $950 all-inclusive, live-in for the whole program. Contact Ilona Day for more details or to obtain a registration form: 8838 8936 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Intentional Interim Ministry Get-Together :
The SCE invites everyone who has undertaken the IIM basic education program to gather for a day of reflection. All are welcome, whether currently in an IIM placement or not. The reflection day will be at the Centre for Ministry from 9-4 on Wednesday 11 February, 2004. Cost: $10, including lunch, morning and afternoon tea. Contact Rob McFarlane to discuss the program: 8838 8935 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please RSVP to Ilona Day for catering purposes: 8838 8936 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Seminar Week 2004:
It is a great pleasure to announce the initial details for the annual joint UTC/SCE Seminar Week for 2004.
Seminar Week will happen at the Centre for Ministry from Monday 16 to Friday 20 August, 2004. The theme for the week will be God and Society.
The international speaker for Seminar Week 2004 will be Will Storrar, Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology and Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues (Edinburgh). CTPI is probably the best known and longest lived research centre in public theology in the English-speaking world. It plays a leading part in the national life of Scotland, showing how theology intersects with practical life and the mission of the church.
Public theology is about how the Christian faith speaks in the public forum on beliefs and values. In a post-Christendom, democratic culture like Australia, creating a public theology is a pressing issue. It invites us to be less inward looking. It must be prepared to engage with the issues of the day, yet remain faithful to biblical and theological traditions.
Will describes himself as a reflective practitioner. He has spent 8 years in parish ministry, followed by 8 more years teaching practical theology before his present appointment. He says he has an evangelical commitment to liberating and responsible practice in church and society.
For more details contact: Rob McFarlane (SCE) on 8838 8935 [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Clive Pearson (UTC) on 8838 8932 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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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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