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Agencies, groups and committees There are currently 30 national agencies, working groups, committees and task groups that form part of the National Assembly. The following provides brief information about each. A number of the agencies have free resource kits and resources for sale. Click on the agencies name to go to their web site. Please contact individual agencies for further information. There are also currently two temporary task groups. The National Secretariat consists of the General Secretary, the Associate General Secretary, Administration, Accounts, and Communications. They handle areas in the church of national significance as well as the day-to-day running of the National Assembly office. This includes maintaining and altering Church Regulations, Procedures and Guidelines (following changes agreed on by Standing Committee), coordinating and attending national meetings, payroll, processing of accounts, publication sales/distribution and web development. General Secretary: Rev Terence Corkin The Uniting Church's Beneficiary Fund is the superannuation fund for ministers of the word, deacons and deaconesses. Employer and member contributions are managed by a corporate trustee with twelve people on the Board of Directors. Chairperson: Rev Robert Hoskin The Christian Education function of Assembly is associated
in the team, Uniting Faith and Justice, with Theology & Discipleship
and Uniting Justice. The Christian Education function provides leadership
and resources to support: The Uniting Church is involved in an amazing web of relationships with other churches. Christian Unity focuses on these ecumenical relationships in Australia, where they are linked to fourteen other Christian denominations through their involvement in and membership of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA). Through their bilateral dialogues they have a close relationship with nine other denominations. These dialogues seek to promote greater understanding, develop areas of theological agreement, and find ways of mutual sharing in mission as a way of fulfilling Jesus' prayer, 'that they may be one, that the world may believe' (John 17:21). Based in: Melbourne, Victoria Chairperson: Rev. Rodney Horsfield Church Polity advises the Assembly, the Standing Committee and the General Secretary on the polity of the church, in light of the Basis of Union, the Constitution and the Regulations. Chairperson: Rev Dr Andrew Dutney Coolamon College is a specialist provider of distance theological education. The goal is to enhance people's understanding of the Christian faith, increase their skills in ministry and deepen their spirituality. The College is a national Uniting Church agency, but it enrols students from all church backgrounds and none. The College was established in 1993 and since then has enrolled over 2,500 students. Students study for individual units or an award, ranging from Certificate level studies to post-graduate. Coolamon College is linked with the Brisbane College of Theology for the purpose of undergraduate awards and is a member school of the Sydney College of Divinity for the purposes of the post-graduate awards. Chairperson: Dr Marelle Harisun Principal: Rev Dr L Lee Levett-Olson Covenanting provides national leadership to the Uniting Church in the covenant relationship between the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and the rest of the Church, and to resource the councils of the Church in developing that relationship. National Director: Mr Peter Lewis The Defence Force Chaplaincy provides members of the defence force and their families, together with patients and staff of repatriation general hospitals, with Christian ministry in order to meet their spiritual needs. They work collaboratively with the Department of Defence to develop character building from a Christian perspective. Convenor: Rev A Gale Hall The 'Disaster Relief Fund of the Uniting Church in Australia' was established by the Assembly of the Uniting Church so that the church as a whole could provide assistance in disaster situations within Australia in order to assist in the recovery of individuals and communities. The Fund is administered by a group of trustees appointed by the Assembly Standing Committee. Trust Secretary: Mr. Jim Fraser Established in 1912 by the Rev. John Flynn, Frontier Services, formerly the Australian Inland Mission, provides outback and remote Australia with aged care, home and community care, health services, family and children's support, respite care, counseling and social welfare. They are also active in the role of reconciliation. Their operations cover 7.5 million square kilometres of outback and remote Australia, about 85% of the continent. Chairperson: Rev Gregor Henderson The work of Gospel and Gender is now being carried out by Theology and Discipleship Historical Reference Committee and Archives The Historical Reference Committee and Archives is responsible for collecting, sorting and cataloguing national records of the church, answering research enquiries, promoting research and publication of the history of the Uniting Church and its parent churches and advising on appropriate methods of record keeping.
The Legal Reference Committee provides advice to the Church, especially the Assembly, on legal and constitutional matters, including the Regulations. Chairperson: Mr Malcolm Gledhill Ministerial Education Commission The Ministerial Education Commission has national responsibility in the area of theological education within the Uniting Church. It:
Chairperson: Rev. Chris Udy Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry Multicultural Ministry was officially acknowledged in the Uniting Church in 1985. The Uniting Church has continued to renew its vision of being a multicultural church and witness to a unity in diversity that transcends cultural barriers. Today many Uniting Churches reflect the great diversity of cultures that make up modern day Australia. In addition, there are about 150 migrant-ethnic groups from 26 different cultural traditions who worship in languages other than English. Chairperson: Revd Dr Apwee Ting National Director: Revd Dr Tony Floyd National Coordinating Group on Ministry with Children, Young People and their Families Provide advice to the General Secretary on matters relevant to the responsibilities of the Assembly that impact on children and young people Contact: National Coordinating Group on Ministry with Children,
Young People and their Families
The NFC is responsible for the financial management and oversight of all funds of the Assembly. This includes maximising its resources, and determining policies and practices, which ensure that funds are used responsibly to finance the work and mission to which it is called. Chairperson: Mr Bruce Binnie Reception of Ministers determines, on a request from a synod, whether any former minister of the Church or minister of another denomination satisfies the criteria for eligibility for admission as a minister of the Church. They also offer advice to Synods from time to time concerning the criteria for eligibility for admission as a minister of the Church. Chairperson: Ms Janet Wood Relations with Other Faiths promotes knowledge and understanding of other living world faiths and their communities in Australia and advises the Assembly on appropriate ways to foster relationships with such communities. Chairperson: Rev Ray Richmond Executive Officer: Ms Wendie Wilkie Theology and Discipleship is made up of four working groups; Doctrine, Evangelism, Missiology and Worship. They provide theological leadership by assisting the Church to reflect on, articulate and apply the Christian faith, engage the culture, and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. They advise on matters of doctrine, develop policy and resources for worship in UCA congregations, including the preparation of those orders of worship which require Assembly approval. They promote spiritual development of Church members, develop networks of theologians and practitioners in doctrine, evangelism, missiology and worship within the UCA and establish resource working groups to fulfil this mandate and facilitate mission planning from a national perspective, noting the various mission contexts within Australia. T&D now also covers the work of Gospel and Gender National Director: Rev Dr Robert Bos - robb@nat.uca.org.au Chairperson: Rev Elizabeth Walker Phone: +612 8267 4220 (Admin- Ruth Crispin) Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Congress shares an office in Townsville with Calvary Presbytery, but they reach out to many areas of Australia. It is the job of Congress to:
Chairperson of Congress: Rev Sealin Garlett National Administator: Rev Shayne Blackman Uniting Church Adult Fellowship National Committee The National Committee coordinates the organisation of Adult Fellowships across Australia in the seven synods. Adult Fellowships exist in the parishes - each is the coming together of women and men in the Church for a wide variety of spiritual, social, educational, recreational, service and mission support activities. The Synod Committees have a coordinating role and the National Committee has a corresponding member on each to liaise. President: Mrs Joan Kelley The UnitingCare network across Australia consists of over 400 community service agencies, thousands of programs and projects, more than 23,000 staff and over 12,000 volunteers. The network serves around 800,000 Australians each year. It provides services in the areas of aged care, childcare, children and youth, family support, disability, remote communities, and emergency relief. This caring for people and communities forms a very significant part of the mission of the Uniting Church in Australia. UnitingCare Australia is the national agency that sits alongside this Australia-wide network. Based in Canberra it consists of just five staff members, a national reference committee, three advisory committees in aged care, disability, and children's, youth and family services, plus short-term working groups. Its roles include national policy-making, evaluation of policy and practice in our community services, advice and support to UnitingCare agencies, research, government relations and public advocacy. Chairperson: Rev Richard Miller National Director: Ms Lin Hatfield Dodds UIM works in two main areas: Uniting Church Overseas Aid and International Mission. Established by the National Assembly in Adelaide, July 2000, Uniting Church Overseas Aid has been given the responsibility for all the Aid and Development issues. UCOA Assists a wide number of underdeveloped countries including: India, Myanmar, Tanzania, Sri-Lanka, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Bougainville, South Africa, Mozambique, and Papua New Guinea National Director: Rev Bill Fischer Uniting
International Mission UIM works with its partner churches to facilitate mission in a variety of areas, including bible translation, prison ministry, evangelism, empowerment of marginalised groups, advocacy, exchange of personnel, congregational ministry, theological education and peace-building initiatives in areas of conflict. National Director: Rev Bill Fischer Mission Statement: To be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ by pursuing social and ecological justice and peace in Australia and the world. Mandate:
Chairperson: Rev Dr Murray Muirhead Current Task Groups From time to time, where a need has been identified, temporary task groups are set up to investigate and report back to the Assembly. The following two task groups were formed following the 9th Assembly 2000. Task Group on Theological Education Ministry of Deacon Review Group Further Information: Assembly Office
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