75. APPRECIATION OF JOHN MAVOR (Robert Johnson and Barbara Bailey)

That the Assembly record its thanks to God and its deep appreciation for the service of Rev John Mavor as the eighth President of the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia:

The Eighth Assembly Meeting in Perth in July 1997, raised huge issues for the Uniting Church and beyond the church, for our community. The consideration of reports and decisions regarding sexuality, the stolen generations, church structures, and ministerial education are still reverberating through the Uniting Church in Australia and into our community. People came to that Assembly with strong and differing convictions, and perhaps even stronger feelings on these matters.

The Uniting Church in Australia gives thanks to God that, in John Mavor, we have had a big man who has given wise leadership as the Church works with these important issues.

At the Assembly John inspired us with his vision and enthusiasm for the Church, and chaired the meetings with wisdom, firmness and a strong desire to allow all to contribute to the life of the Assembly and the decisions which were made.

John has a strong and mature faith in a big God and a great capacity to witness to that God and to share that faith with others. John has continually pointed us to a loving God who is greater than any of our preconceptions and whose love is wider than any of our limitations. John has continually invited us to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and helped us to be aware of the Holy Spirit moving with strength and life among us.

This God has given John a big heart for people, an ability to be concerned for the whole Uniting Church, to love everyone and to help us to move forward. John has had particular concern to go as President to be with those who are hurting, angry, or feeling excluded by the church. He has done this at great personal cost to himself and his family.

John has been truly a leader for the Uniting Church. He has pointed us beyond ourselves to the God who calls us and is calling us forward together in mission. He is a leader because he loves to encourage others to exercise their gifts for ministry as part of this mission. He knows how to get the best out of people, with encouragement, with appropriate freedom, and a willingness to speak the hard word when it is necessary.

John has driven an enormous number of kilometres around Australia in his desire to be with the Uniting Church wherever the need was. Actually, we should note that John probably drove very few of these kilometres himself - Rae, as an expression of her support for John and his ministry, has come on most of these trips and has usually driven the whole way, to enable John to prepare for his next engagement by praying, thinking, or sleeping!

John had particular concerns for the Uniting Church during these three years. He really wanted to encourage young people in the church and so initiated and ran a young leaders conference each year in order to build up and prepare those young adults for leadership in our church. He continued his practice of giving strong encouragement and leadership to young people - is he the only person who has been to every N.C.Y.C. yet?

John has a strong relationship and respect for Aboriginal and Islander people, and for the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress. That has been clear in the way in which he has worked hard to deepen and honour those relationships and to represent the interests of Aboriginal and Islander people to government and in the community. In a similar way, John has had a strong relationship with the migrant ethnic churches and members of the Uniting Church and has pushed us strongly along the road of truly becoming a multicultural church.

Perhaps John's greatest gift to the church has been prayer. We know that John not only prays in private and with Rae for the Uniting Church, constantly, but with us. All of us who have been visited by John Mavor know that when we have shared our concerns for the church, John will always conclude with words such as, "I'd like to pray for you" or "Let's make a prayer".

The Uniting Church in Australia gives thanks and praise to God for not only providing us with a big man to face a testing time for the church, but that John and Rae have been so prepared to give themselves to this God and to the task the Uniting Church in Australia has entrusted to him.

We pray that God will bless John and Rae in their retirement and in the different avenues of ministry which we are sure they will discover in that retirement.

76. APPOINTMENT OF BUSINESS COMMITTEE (Business Committee)

The Business Committee advises that it will present proposal 3 in the following form. Four names have been added to those in proposal 3.

That the Assembly appoint the following persons as members of the Business Committee for the Ninth Assembly: Jan Trengove (Chairperson), Elizabeth Burns, Geoff Collins, James Haire, Marelle Harisun, Gregor Henderson, Bruce Irvine, Taek Lee, Karan Hudson, Subramaniam Manopavan, John Mavor, Jan Oliver, Brian Robins, Isabel Thomas Dobson, Kate Thompson and Ian Tozer.

77. APPOINTMENT OF MINUTE SECRETARIES (Business Committee)

The Business Committee advises that it will present proposal 4 in the following form. Five names have been added to those in proposal 4 and one has been omitted.

That the Assembly appoint the following persons as minute secretaries: Rodger Bassham, Margaret Burns, Noreen Bray, Ted Bray, Judith Chadwick, Val Chapman, Merv Maddern, Brian Robertson, Rhonda Robins, Allan Shephard, Coralie Simpson and Maxine Watchman.

78. APPOINTMENT OF SCRUTINEERS (Business Committee)

The Business Committee advises it wishes to insert the following names in proposal 10.4:

Beth Ackland, Margaret Boundy, Merv Boundy, Mavis Ellis, Trevor Forby, Fay Goldsworthy, Frank Moore, Marlene Moore, Geoff Pope, Don Sarre, Rosemary Sarre, James Wallace and Judith Wallace.

79. ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS WITH THE ASSEMBLY (Business Committee)

The Business Committee advises that it will present proposal 11 in the following form.

That the Assembly associate the following persons with the Assembly for the business as listed, with the right to speak but not vote:

(a) Ecumenical guests

(i) from other Australian churches and the National Council of Churches in Australia, for the whole of the Assembly:
Archbishop Ian George, Anglican Church of Australia
Rev David Gill, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in Australia
Mr Robert Leane, Past President, Churches of Christ in Australia
Rev Dr Michael Tan, President, Methodist Church in Australia (Australasia)
Rev Alan Filipaina, President, Congregational Federation of Australia
Bishop Michael Putney, Roman Catholic Church
Rev Dr David Stolz, Victorian President, Lutheran Church of Australia

(ii) from overseas churches and from international ecumenical bodies, for the whole of the Assembly:
Rev Agustinus Aesh, Moderator, Gereja Masehi Injili di Halmahera
Mrs Ma Sophia Lizares Bodegon, United Church of Christ in the Philippines
Rev Tony Burnham, General Secretary, United Reformed Church UK & Council for World Mission, UK
Mrs Valerie Burnham, United Reformed Church UK & Council for World Mission, UK
Rev David Bush, President, Methodist Church of New Zealand
Rev Daniel Caihe, Evangelical Church in New Caledonia & The Loyalty Islands
Rev David Campbell, Presbyterian Church in Ireland World Church Relations Committee
Mr Young Jin Choi, Presbyterian Church of Korea
Rt Rev Dr V Devasahayam, Bishop of Chennai, Church of South India
Rev Francisco de Vasconcelos, Moderator, Protestant Church in Timor Lorosae
Rev Penisimani Fonua, General Secretary, Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga
Rev Tomasi Kanailagi, President, Methodist Church in Fiji
Mr Kriang, International Relations, Church of Christ in Thailand
Rev Kyu Ho Lee, Moderator, Presbyterian Church of Korea
Rt Rev Cliff Leeuw, Moderator, Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa
Rev Samson Lowa, Moderator, United Church in Papua New Guinea
Rev Marjory A MacLean, Depute Clerk to the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
Rt Rev Vinod Malaviya, Bishop of Gujarat, Church of North India
Rev Thobias Messakh, Moderator, Gereja Masehi India di Timor
Rt Rev Dr Trevor Morrow, Moderator, Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Mrs Carys Morrow, Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Rev Baiteke Nabetari, Moderator, Kiribati Protestant Church
Rev Ross Olivier, Executive Secretary, Methodist Church of Southern Africa
Rev Dr Arnold Parengkuan, President, Gereja Masehi Injili di Minahasa
Mrs Heung Ae Park, Presbyterian Church of Korea
Ms Kathleen Richards, World Alliance of Reformed Churches
Bishop Philemon Riti, Moderator, United Church in the Solomon Islands
Rev Prof Dr W A Roeroe, Retiring President, Gereja Masehi Injili di Minahasa
Bishop Alan Sarte, North Luzon Jurisdiction, United Church of Christ in the Philippines
Rev Herman Saud, Moderator, Gereja Kristen di Papua
Rev Pamela Tankersley, Business Co-convener, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
Rev Alis Tira, Secretary for Mission, Kiribati Protestant Church
Rev Dr John Titaley, Dean of Faculty, Satya Wacana Christian University, Indonesia
Rev Sammy Titaley, Moderator, Gereja Protestan Maluku
Rev Tangimetua Tangatatutai, President, Cook Islands Christian Church
Rev Esau Tuza, General Secretary, United Church in the Solomon Islands
Rev Kalsakau Urtalo, Talua Principal, Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu
Rev Jill van de Geer, General Secretary, Methodist Church of New Zealand

(b) persons who will assist in resourcing the Assembly:
· Jill Tabart, for the whole of the Assembly;
· John Adams, for the business of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and Covenanting and related business;
· Bubsy Arulampalam, John Barr, Robin Boyd, Rob Gallacher, Laurie Fitzgerald and Julie Woolcock for the report of Unity and International Mission and related business;
· Nancy Bomford, Cheryl Lawrie and Chris Walker, for proposals 14 and 28 and related business;
· John Brown and Sue Blacklock, for the report of Covenanting and related business;
· Susan Burt, for the report of the Task Group on the Teaching Ministry and Mission of the Church and related business;
· Geoff Collins and Ian Tozer, for the report of Social Responsibility and Justice and related business;
· Ann Connan, for the report of the Uniting Church Adult Fellowships National Committee and related business;
· May Chang and Stephen Pearson, for the report of National Finance and related business;
· Philip Creed, for the report of Uniting Education and related business;
· Rod Dungan, for the report of Uniting Education and business relating to children's and youth ministry;
· Beth Hancock, Peter Harris, John Oldmeadow and Deidre Palmer for the report of Coolamon College and related business;
· Bob Macintosh and Bill Reddin, for the report of Defence Force Chaplaincy and related business;
· Anita Monro, for the reports of Coolamon College and Gospel and Gender and related business;
· Bill Munro and Perc Marland for proposal 37 and related business;
· Des Perry and Leonie Walker, for business related to diversity and sexuality;
· Ruth Powell, for the report of the Strategic Planning Unit and related business;
· Brian Robins, for the reports of the Facilitation Group and related business;
· Carla Tongun and Timothy Tot Chol, for proposal 20 and related business;
· Laurie Turner, for the report of the Beneficiary Fund and related business;
· Rosemary Young, for the report of Frontier Services and related business.

Rationale:
The Assembly always associates our ecumenical and overseas guests, not just out of ecumenical courtesy but because we recognise our need to receive their contribution to our Assembly. We are part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church and hearing from guests from other parts of the church is an important expression of that fact.

Resource people nominated by Assembly agencies are always associated with the Assembly for that particular business. In addition the Assembly has adopted the practice this past decade of associating the ex-President (Jill Tabart in this instance), who relinquishes ex-officio membership of the Assembly as soon as the new President is installed.

The others recommended to be associated are;
§ two church members from the Presbytery of The Downs, to assist in the presentation of proposal 37;
§ two church members from Uniting Network, following a decision of the Standing Committee after representations from UN asking that the voice of gay and lesbian church members may be directly heard in the Assembly's discussions on diversity and sexuality.

80. TASK GROUP ON THE TEACHING MINISTRY AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH
(report C28)

The Task Group advises it wishes to replace proposal 22.8 with the following:

note with appreciation Uniting Education's "Belonging" project and Coolamon College's "Discover…" program and encourage both agencies to continue developing teaching materials for creatively discipling new and continuing members of the Church;