For me the clues to our distinctiveness are in the Basis of Union, especially the first three paragraphs.
In para 1, the churches entering union did so to "seek a wider unity in the power of the Holy Spirit." In para 2, the Uniting Church "believes that Christians in Australia are called to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ which transcends cutural and economic, national and racial boundaries, and to this end the Uniting Church commits itself ........... " In para 3, "God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church's call is to serve that end: ...... " What more definitive charter could one have? Jim Winn 22B Doreen Street Vale Park, SA 5081 AUSTRALIA (O) 08-8266-6089 (M) 0418-841-476 On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 09:13:13 +1000, you wrote: >I know we have discused "core belierfs/values/creeds" for christianity, >but I have a question about these for the UCA. > >What makes a church/congregation or group a Uniting Church one? What is >it that is distinctive and unique about the UCA, why am I a member of >this organisation and not another? I have been involved with several >other denominations but when the UCA began I joined it on the grounds of >the Basis of Union, What I liked was not only its faith statements >(which it shares with many others) but also its organizational structure >(with our emphasis on the laity and congregation, and the interrelated >links with others) that is I think unique to the UCA. > >I was asked recently what is different about the UCA. That and another >issue of a presbytery denying the validity of an elected congragational >chairperson has me thinking. The simple answer would be if a group is in >interelation with other councils of the UCA, or perhaps if it displays >the logo outside its buildings. I have been in many situations where >rules are bent (even broken) some for very good pastoral and missional >reasons and others where the 'benefits' are not all that clear. > >So I ask the question:- Is there some core and unique belief, value, >structure, creed, that is indispensible to being a Uniting Church or a >UCA member? > >I would be interested in other's thoughts. >Peace, >Rob ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
