The Uniting Church in Australia has established a National Historical Society. Those who are already engaged, through state Uniting Church Historical Societies, through the teaching of religious/church history or through regional or local church history groups and programs, welcome this move and look forward to what it will contribute to the important processes of understanding, recording, debating and celebrating our history and allowing that history to inform our future journey as a pilgrim people on the way.
To formally launch the new national society, and also to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Uniting Church (not to mention the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation) a conference is being planned for 9-12 June 2017 (the Queen’s birthday long weekend). The conference will be held at Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide, starting at 5.00pm on Friday 9 June and finishing by 12noon, Monday 12 June.
It will feature major contributions from specially invited keynote speakers and panel discussants; short papers presented by conference participants, including academics, non-academics, local historians, archivists, former missionaries, members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC), clergy, laity and anyone interested in and engaged with Uniting Church history; workshops and field visits; and plenty of opportunities for networking.
Save the date now and start planning your paper or workshop. Expect to see further information and a conference registration brochure soon.
For more info contact Rev Dr Alison Longworth at longw@iinet.net.au, Leanne Davis at lmdavis@internode.on.net, or Dr Judith Raftery at judith.raftery@adelaide.edu.au.