Month: August 2015

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News & Announcements

Assembly pauses for Congress ordinations

The 14th Triennial Assembly broke for the evening on Friday 17 July to bear witness as two Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) chaplains, Samuel Dinah and Robert Jetta,  were ordained by moderator of the Uniting Church in WA, Rev Steve Francis, and UAICC WA Regional Committee chairperson, Rev Sealin Garlett.

Rev Robert Jetta and Rev Samual Dinah were prison chaplains and Robert had also been ministering at Waroona Uniting Church, prior to their ordinations. They will both continue in these roles. Waroona Uniting Church is the only joint First and Second Peoples congregation of the Uniting Church.

Sam spent 25 years as a prison liaison officer with the Aboriginal Legal Service prior to beginning his chaplaincy work. During the service, UAICC national chairperson and regular prison visitor,  Rev Dennis Corowa jokingly suggested he had spent more time in prison than many of the men he ministered to behind bars. But, he knew how appreciated by his Aboriginal brothers in Townsville those visits were.

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News & Announcements

Cool Burn: sharing in diversity

This September, the Cool Burn Intercultural Youth Camp will engage youth from around the church with an inspiring and relationship-building experience. This is the second time the camp has  run; with last year’s event a successful and engaging time for those involved.

A joint initiative of Uniting Church in WA’s Multicultural Ministries and First Third, the camp invites young people aged 13 and over to come and share time with God and with people from different cultures within the diversity of the Uniting Church in WA. Running over the weekend of 19–20 September it will be a fun and reflective time including loads of activities, worship and  sharing between cultures.

Rev Dr Emanuel Audisho, multicultural ministry co-ordinator said that the camp will create lasting relationships between different cultures within the church.

“We have in our vision to encourage the youth to come together from different cultures and backgrounds, to sit together, share with each other and to have fun,” he said. “We want to let them  know that we are many people, one body of Jesus Christ and that the Uniting Church is a multicultural church, the church for all God’s people.”

The camp will be held at the Alfred Hynes Seaside Camp in Rockingham and to register, or for more information, contact Alice Boomer at alice.boomer@wa.uca.org.au or call 9260 9800.

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News & Announcements

The church in the midst of change

UnitingWorld hosted three lunches at the recent 14th Triennial Assembly which discussed the work of our Uniting Church international partner churches.

At one such lunch, two presenters from church partners in the Pacific joined Dr Deidre Palmer, moderator of the Uniting Church in South Australia in a discussion about gender equality. Later in  the week, Deidre was voted by the Assembly as the president-elect of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Deaconess Martha Yamsiu – the gender officer for the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu spoke of the many challenges women faced in her community. She outlined the disregard of women as religious leaders in the community and the ongoing issues around gender violence – a silent issue for many women living in Vanuatu. Martha spoke of the successful workshops UnitingWorld and  The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu have been undertaking in Vanuatu to educate and inform men and women about respectful relationships.

The second speaker Rev Maleta Rumaroti, secretary for mission, Kiribati Uniting Church, presented on climate impact and rising sea levels in Kiribati. Changing environmental factors due to  climate change have magnified issues of gender inequality with women bearing more of a burden as a result. High tides have led to increased illness with mosquitos breeding and causing dengue  fever. This has resulted in increased workloads for women, as they take care of their partners, children, elderly, sick and the disabled.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Partner church guests take in the sights of Perth

International guests to the 14th Triennial Assembly a tour of local Indigenous sites, visited local enterprises, and enjoyed some local multicultural hospitality on day four of the meeting.

UnitingWorld guests and other ecumenical partners found themselves warmly welcomed at St Aidan’s Claremont Uniting Church as guests of the congregation and the Western Australia  Multicultural Committee at an Assembly Multicultural Dinner.

“The most lovely food and the most lovely people!” enthused Pacific partners in particular as they tucked into traditional taro and other delicacies from their homelands. Domino’s Pizza also put in  a special appearance, as did a youth choir singing grace and Rev Steve Francis, moderator of the Uniting Church in WA.

UnitingWorld guests continued to be impressed with Western  Australian innovation and commitment on a morning tour of the Good Samaritan Industries warehouse in Canningvale. Donning bright fluorescent vests – some of which they were reluctant to hand back later – the team toured the floor of the factory which provides employment for people with disabilities, who sort and prepare donated goods for sale in iconic ‘Good Sammy’ stores throughout WA.

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News & Announcements

Youthful members unite

The Uniting Church in WA supported three youthful members to the recent 14th Triennial Assembly Meeting. They share their experiences with Revive.

Kelly Crothers
Rockingham Uniting Church

One thing that was constantly discussed at the Assembly was a reading from Luke, chapter 24, verses 13-35. In that reading, two men were walking to a village called Emmaus, and on that road  Jesus greeted them, but their eyes did not let the men recognise the newly resurrected Jesus.

During Assembly, when we discussed heavy issues such as same-gender marriage and relationships, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and the rights and  recognition of the Aboriginal and Islander peoples of Australia, sometimes it felt like there was no spirit around us, nothing to support us and guide us, and I asked “where are you?”

The answer is  simple. He was there the whole time.

I didn’t realise it, I was blind, the same way the two men on the road were when they encountered Jesus. They didn’t realise that he was there  all along. And there were moments amongst the  angst, hurt and loneliness that his presence felt so real and more present than it ever has in my life before. Speaking to other members of the youth, I know they also felt his presence and his  absence during the Assembly.

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News & Announcements

14th Assembly round-up

The 14th Triennial Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia was held in Perth from Sunday 12-Saturday 18 July. Uniting Church members of the Assembly came together to discern the will of God and the direction of the church for the next three years. Following are some of the decisions that were made at Assembly. For in-depth coverage of these decisions and more visit http://assembly2015.uca.org.au.

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President’s pastoral letter on theology of marriage discussions

The president of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, has written a pastoral letter to the church about recent theology of marriage discussions. His letter follows.

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

When we gathered as the body of Christ for the 14th Assembly in Perth this passage of scripture was in my mind: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love, Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4: 2,3 NIV).

At the 14th Assembly meeting we received the Report of the Task Group on the Theology of Marriage and Public Covenants for Same-Gender Relationships within the Uniting Church. This work was commenced by the Doctrine Working Group on referral from the 13th Assembly in 2012. A challenging, at times difficult and emotional discussion of the report and the proposals arising from the report took place over a number of sessions. The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress exercised its right not to participate in the discussion, but remained in the gathering. The Multicultural and Cross Cultural National Reference Committee urged us through its paper to make ‘space for grace’. I now write to you as members of the Uniting Church expressing the pastoral concerns of the gathering for the whole church.

Friends, we continue as a community of culturally and linguistically diverse people to have respectful conversations. We will employ culturally sensitive processes, to be determined by the First and Second people groups within our church. We have been encouraged by the Multicultural and Cross Cultural Ministry National Reference Committee to allow the space for grace. In this space communities will firstly, be able to engage with the concept of marriage and secondly, they may engage with the concept of same-gender relationships.

We seek to be an inclusive church that celebrates diversity and embraces LGBTIQ people as full members of the church community. For the times we have failed to be this loving community of Christ and caused hurt, we apologise, ask forgiveness and pray for healing and reconciliation for us all.

Christian community modelled on Jesus’ unconditional love and acceptance is what we strive to attain. We know that the world is watching to see how we treat one another. Paul says in Romans we belong to one another, the commandment is to love, to put the interests of others ahead of our own interests.

In this next three years my prayer for us all is that we might listen deeply to one another, with our heart and to the Spirit who grants us understanding beyond human wisdom.

Shalom.

Stuart McMillan
President of the Uniting Church in Australia

12 August 2015

The Reports and Proposals from the 14th Assembly can be found online at http://assembly2015.uca.org.au/proposals-and-reports/

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News & Announcements

Interfaith September: bringing new light to scripture

In multi-religious Australia, as we come to terms with increasing fear and distrust of those from other faiths, we need to double our efforts to build interfaith harmony, says newly elected Convenor for the Assembly Relations with other Faiths Working Group, Rev Michael Barnes.

“It is part of our call as Christians to work for peace and harmony and we cannot do that today without first building trust, understanding and friendship among people of different faiths.”

Interfaith September is an opportunity for Uniting Church members to begin conversations on how we relate to people of other faiths.

Resources are provided to guide weekly worship with written reflections on the lectionary readings for September. Video clips featuring interviews with religious leaders of the Christian faith and those of different faiths will reflect on the themes in the scripture readings offering insights from the perspective of their own faith.

“When we consider how a person of another faith might understand Christianity and our own Scriptures, we are encouraged again to look at those scriptures and the Christian tradition in a new light,” says Michael.

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News & Announcements

Culturally appropriate marriage discussion to continue

Over days of difficult and prayerful discussion, the 14th Triennial Assembly has committed to continue to engage in a culturally-appropriate conversation about marriage and same-gender relationships.

In addition to this conversation, the Assembly resolved to issue a pastoral letter to the church affirming the Uniting Church as an inclusive church embracing those members who identify as LGBTIQ. If a change to the Marriage Act is made between now and the next Assembly in 2018, the General Secretary of the Uniting Church in Australia, will issue a letter to all Uniting Church authorised celebrants advising them of their freedoms and constraints under that legislation and in their church-authorised role.

“It’s important that if there is any change to the Marriage Act, that all of our authorised celebrants are on the same page as to what that means,” said Rev Alistair Macrae, convenor of the National Working Group on Doctrine.

It was requested that the General Secretary’s letter would be translated into several languages so as to be clear and accessible to all culturally and linguistically diverse  communities. Another proposal outlining procedures for respectful conversation with the multicultural bodies of the church was referred to the Assembly Standing Committee. A proposal to reaffirm the Uniting Church’s existing stance on marriage and reject any public celebration of a samegender union lapsed.

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News & Announcements

Assembly updated on Royal Commission

The Assembly Standing Committee has been authorised, by members of the 14th Triennial Assembly, to make changes to regulations in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional  Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Rev Allan Thompson, the executive officer of the Uniting Church National Task Group on Engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses  to Child Sexual Abuse, spoke about the Commission, the Task Group’s report and the proposal relating to it.

“The Commission has been both necessary and helpful for Australia, and necessary and helpful for the Church,” said Allan.

He said that there has been an increase in awareness of incidences of abuse as a result of the Commission. Churches have also been forced to learn from the past to improve the safety of children in the care of the church into the future.

“If the Commission has been good for the consciousness and the conscience to continue for the nation it has also been good for the church, for abuse did occur in some of our agencies, schools and communities of faith.

“As soon as the Royal Commission was announced the Standing Committee established the task group, and asked synods to do the same. All synods responded and had the same terms of reference,” he continued. “The Uniting Church must be a safe place for children.”

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