Anne Ryan (forget her UC title but she is based in Newcastle) ran a course in this part of the world (New England-North West) last year that might be compatible with what Terence suggests.
'A Place to Start' deals with basic issues of Christian history, theology and doctrine. I think Anne put it together herself. Unfortunately I was unable to attend any of the sessions (5 or 6 I think) but got good reports.
Kind regards,
Lindsay Brash.
At 08:05 AM 4/03/04 +1100, Terence wrote:
Hi Tom,
There is provision for the receiving of members on transfer - it is
regulation 1.1.21
It will be necessary to satisfy oneself locally that a person has been a
member of another denomination. However there is no hard and fast rule on
this although some sort of certificate is usually available.
Now to the important part. I believe that it is vitally inportant that some
sort of orientation / induction process take place prior to making a
decision about accepting the person into membership. In fact I think it
would be better to do it even before a formal request is considered ie for
people who are thinking about transfering to the UCA. This process can be
used to encourage disciplines of the faith but (given the current times) to
also work on their understanding of the privileges and limitations of the
congregation. Yes I am talking about polity / ethos lessons.
Perhaps what we need at this time are opportunities all over the country for
people to meet and be led in thinking about what kind of the church the UCA
is. Why is it that the Assembly believes we can / should have room for
individual conscience on important matters? What does that say about the
kind of open / respectful / humble community of faith we seek to be? This
can provide a great opportunity to bring people together across the
congregation to talk about what they value about the UCA. It can be a time
of creating / naming images that can sustain people in the fellowship of the
Uniting Church.
Something like a short series for people being received on transfer could be
a marvellous vehicle through which we articulate the vision of what it means
to be the UCA. That is certainly what we need at this time - an identity
that is not defined by doctrinal purity but more by the quality of our
relationship with Jesus Christ and how much we show that character in our
relationships with others.
Just a thought.
Terence
