A new UnitingCare Australia mandate, which better reflects the identity and mission of the Uniting Church, was approved at the March meeting of the ASC in Sydney.

UnitingCare Australia, National Director, Lin Hatfield Dodds, told the ASC the UnitingCare network has continued to expand since the last mandate was approved in 2000 and a new mandate was needed to better reflect the role of UnitingCare Australia in facilitating cooperation across the network and developing policies that reflect the Church’s mission.

“The Guiding Principles and Values” section in the new mandate clarifies clearly that the Uniting Church engages in community service delivery out of the challenge of Christ's ministry, which calls us to examine the nature of how we serve others.

“It expresses our desire to live out a Christian vision which is inclusive and all encompassing, which seeks equality of opportunity for all, underpinned with an understanding that God’s love is extended to all people without discrimination on the grounds of age, sender, sexuality, ability, class, colour, creed or cultural origin,” Ms Hatfield Dodds said.

The new mandate also provides more clarity about how UnitingCare Australia works including it’s national committee structure which brings together expertise from across the country and its reporting responsibilities to the Assembly and Assembly Standing Committee.

“Over the past decade, UnitingCare agencies and missions have grown significantly in size and in scope - we are now the largest non-government provider of community services in Australia. This has required the Uniting Church to reflect not only on issues of governance and cooperation across a 400member network but also how the network continues to reflect the Church’s mission identity.

“The new UnitingCare Australia mandate helps ensure the Church’s mission remains at the heart of the work we do.”