One of the high moments in the Eighth Assembly was when past President, Sir Ronald Wilson, shared his experience as Chair of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families who prepared the Report "Bringing them Home". The emotions were even more deeply stirred when the Rev Sealin Garlett spoke of his personal experience as one of the ‘stolen generation’.

3.1.2 Some staff members who had served faithfully in the institutions of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, working with such children heard through the media only the apology of the Church and not the totality of its resolution. They felt they were doing what God and the Church had wanted them to do at that time.

3.1.3 Consequently, without in any way diminishing the seriousness of the apology of our Church, I wrote to past staff members to tell them of the powerful moments in the Assembly, of the reasons for the apology and to give them the whole resolution which the Church had passed. The Rev Eric and Mrs Jean Moore were very helpful in supplying names and addresses of former Staff members of Croker Island. Regrettably there did not seem to be anyone who could supply the addresses for former staff at Mogumber and Sister Kates.

3.2 A history of the Congregational Church in Australia

3.2.1 Too little has been written about the history of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Australia and almost nothing about the history of the Congregational Church. I knew that the late Rev Dr Lindsay Lockley (one of my former theological teachers) had written his PhD thesis on this topic. So some team work developed. Rev Professor Dr Bruce Upham was already working on preparing the manuscript for publication. Rev Dr Geoff Barnes became the Manager for the project. I wrote to Uniting Church people who were formerly Congregationalist. About $6000 was raised. There is a hope, though one can never tell with publishing, that the book will be ready to launch at the Ninth Assembly.

3.3 The President’s Young Leaders’ Confer-ences

3.3.1 As already explained I carried a deep desire that our Church be more active in reaching people in the 20-40 age group. Some Synods through the relevant departments were already involved but more could happen in many local congregations. To highlight this concern two splendid Young Leaders’ Conferences were held at Robina on the Gold Coast.

3.3.2 In 1998 fifty young leaders from every Synod gathered and in 1999 there were thirty. The aims of the Conferences were, to have the young leaders inspired by fine leaders and speakers from ours and other Churches, to encourage them to build networks, to equip them for leadership in the Church and the community and to help them to be empowered for these tasks through the Holy Spirit. Significant leaders from the Uniting Church served as mentors, often taking holidays to do so. The Conferences met at Robina Uniting Church. The people of that congregation, led by Rev Ken Anderson and Mr Bruce Mullan contributed greatly to the success of the Conferences, as did the honorary organiser, Mr Richard Stewart of Mona Vale, Sydney. We continue to hear good things that are happening as a result of these two Conferences.

3.4.1 I have endeavoured to encourage the Church through Pastoral letters. These were written following the Assembly in 1997, at the beginning of 1999 and for the new millennium in January 2000. The four Office Bearers of the Assembly combined to present a theological statement of faith for congregations to use in January 1998. I have also written to retired ministers, widows and widowers in 1998 and 1999 through the good offices of Rev Clem Dickinson of the Beneficiary Fund. In addition to these widely distributed letters there has been a large amount of personal correspondence written.

6.1 This idea, born during the triennium when D’Arcy Wood was President, was further developed by Jill Tabart. The President’s Table provides the President with a group of people in each Synod whom the President sees more regularly, knows more deeply and to whom the President can go with special needs. I can report the following:

7.1.1 As stated earlier I set out on a deliberate policy of visiting congregations. For the first twelve months I followed John Wesley’s dictum of "Go not to those who need you but to those who need you most". Four of the six congregations where a group left the Uniting Church were visited either before or after the split. During such visits I endeavoured to preach when possible and then during a period of questions and answers interpret the policies of the Assembly.

7.1.2 That there were (and may still be) congregations which greatly disliked ‘the Assembly’ and treated the office of President with disrespect was a great burden. Dealing with a row of such meetings is heavy work. Many people were unconvinced by my spirited defence of the Assembly but most would grudgingly agree "at least you came to see us". Many of the visits to Southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, were done by car so that my wife Rae could come too. There is no budget for the President’s spouse to travel. During such visits Rae did the driving and shared in the speaking. Many friendships were formed and we are grateful to the people who so gladly gave hospitality.

7.1.3 Pins in a map of Australia indicate that we visited from Minjilang (Croker Island) in the north to Hobart in the south, from Geraldton in the west to Norfolk Island in the east. All but two presbyteries were visited and in some presbyteries meetings or services were held in six or more centres.

7.2.1 During the three years I was privileged to participate in the meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Debrecen, Hungary, be a member of the Executive of the World Methodist Council which met in Rome and Hong Kong and attend the meeting of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe as a Visitor. I also attended the 50^th Anniversary of the Church of South India. Rae and I together visited the Methodist Church in Fiji; the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga; the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Taiwan; the Presbyterian Assembly in Belfast and the Methodist Conference in Cork (Ireland); the Presbyterian Assembly and Methodist Conference in Aotearoa New Zealand; the Methodist Conference in Southport (Great Britain); the Kirchentag in Stuttgart (Germany) and the Assemblies of the PCK and PROK in Korea. People everywhere have been interested to hear from and about the Uniting Church and partnership relationships have been strengthened.

Our congregations are spread throughout the nation. More needs to be done in developing an Australian theology that makes sense to the non-church attenders so evident in Australian society today but we are well located geographically and theologically to do it.

8.1.5 Our Church has a strong commitment in matters of justice.

Whether it was making an apology to the Stolen Generation, trying to make the GST a more compassionate tax or arguing for better rates of pay for homebased outworkers, our Church was there. There will be major matters of justice to face in the next three years.

8.1.6 The people of the Uniting Church respond to human need both in Australia and Overseas.

The Assembly Disaster Relief Fund does an excellent job in helping communities where disasters have struck. This is usually done ecumenically and with a focus on pastoral care. Our people also responded significantly to situations overseas. Large amounts of money have been given for famine relief in PNG and to help in places of crisis in Indonesia.

9.1 How will we hold together ministries of care and the congregational witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ?

As stated earlier our ministries of care are extensive, professional and usually Govern-ment supported. Whilst the Church was very involved in starting many of these activities, the main involvement of the congregation now is to have some members on a Board. It is difficult, if not impossible, to recruit sufficient staff with a Christian experience. How can the Church maintain the witness to the Gospel in the midst of Government demands, community expecta-tions and financial stringency? How can the Word be linked to the deed?

9.1.1 Some agencies have appointed ministers as chaplains. Some chaplains have recruited lay volunteers to help them. Word and deed can be linked but it is taking a very deliberate effort by the Church to achieve it.

9.2 The Church will need to develop new forms of ministry that are based on a new vision of what it means to be Church and not just on economic necessity

It is easy to work out, that as the cost of providing traditional forms of ministry increases and the size of the congregations in some areas decrease, the point of financial imposs-ibility is reached. Mission grants from the Synod may prolong the time but inevitably it must be faced. The Uniting Church is well placed to face this situation with the possibility of Community Ministers, Lay Ministry Teams, Partners in Mission and the possibility of lay people conducting the Sacraments. It seems likely that the number of ministers earning their salary through secular employment and serving the congregation voluntarily ('tent making’ or bi-vocational ministry) will increase. A greater number of institutions will employ chaplains. The services of Deacons for front line ministry tasks will be earnestly sought but paying for them will be a real problem in many cases.

9.2.1 One of the things that has impressed me as I have listened to people from Lay Ministry Teams was not only their excitement at leading worship or visiting but they had discovered a new vision of what it meant to be Church. No longer was the whole process minister centred. The Resource Minister and the Lay Ministry Team members were living out the concept of the priesthood of all believers together. If we move into new ministry patterns without the appropriate theology of Church our efforts will be expedient and short lived.

9.3 We need to work for a pattern of leadership that is based on gifts and experience and not simply upon status

The idea that an ordinand in first placement is equal in status to a minister in the congregation who has served for 30 years is egalitarian and has sometimes worked. In other places it has had devastating consequences for both the ministers and the congregation. I am not suggesting a return to the pattern of Superintendent Ministers that existed in one of our former denominations, but I do believe that where there is a ministry team there needs to be a leader of the team. A regional congregation with its multiplicity of programs and staff will lack focus unless there is the clear designation of a leader. This is not advocating authoritarian leadership but urging Church Councils to be more active in discerning who has the Spirit given gifts for leadership and who has developed that gift and then give them the opportunity to lead. It is heartening that new Regulations 2.3.11 and 2.3.12 encourage these possibilities. The Basis of Union calls the Church not only to discern gifts but to provide opportunities for people to use them.

9.4 Though huge advances have been made, the task of developing a covenant between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the Uniting Church is far from accomplished

The Uniting Church rejoices in the formation of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress as one of the great movements of the Spirit in the life of our Church. Rev Dr John Brown and now Peter Lewis have worked strenuously building the concept of covenant. Many people in Uniting Church congregations signed the Sorry Day Book. Until more congregations have a burden for a covenant with Congress and are also encouraging their local community in the task of reconciliation the vision of covenant is incomplete.

9.5 The statement that the Uniting Church is a multicultural church needs to be a reality more than a slogan

Of course it is a statement of fact and we can count over one hundred and fifty of migrant ethnic congregations to prove it. Only when congregations share property gladly, Pastoral Relations Committees of Presbyteries have a much deeper cross-cultural understanding and multiculturalism is taught significantly in all Uniting Church Theological Colleges will we be nearer to becoming a truly Multicultural Church.

9.6 The Uniting Church needs a great global vision

The denominations that formed the Uniting Church had a great heritage in international mission. The Basis of Union commits us to a special involvement in Asia and the Pacific. The sad reality is that the financial commitment of our Church to international mission has steadily declined since Church Union. At the same time the needs have increased. Tourism, in which Australian people are involved, brings particular hazards to Pacific Island people. Many institutions built at the zenith of Australian missionary effort have rusted rooves and decaying woodwork due to the ravages of the tropics and the absence of maintenance which cannot be afforded. Indonesia, the most populous Islamic country in the world is but a short plane or boat ride from our shores. In the midst of militant Islam and pressures for national disintegration, the Christian Churches in that country bear their witness to Christ. Surely we could do even more as a Church to stand with them in their time of need. More than recapturing the visions of the past we need to see where God is calling us in global vision as we go forward into the future.

9.7 The Uniting Church needs to keep focal its vision to be a National Church

The Anglican and Catholic Churches are diocesan in their structure. The Baptist Church is a union of congregations. The Uniting Church seeks to be a National Church with the four councils of congregation, presbytery, synod and Assembly. The Assembly can speak for the whole Church.

9.7.1 This national identity may be achieved through:

9.7.2 The important thing is that the vision of being a National Church is not lost but is intentionally developed.

10.1 Many of the thoughts in this Report come not only from my term as President but also from a lifetime of ministry. I not only conclude as President at this Assembly but I retire from active ministry.

10.2 To chair the Eighth Assembly was one of the greatest experiences in my life. Contacts made there have continued over the last three years. The Standing Committee has worked vigorously to carry forward the decisions and the mission directions of the Assembly. I am grateful to the members of the ASC for their committed and thorough work. The four Assembly officers – President, ex-President, President-elect and General Secretary – meet after each Standing Committee. This has been extremely helpful and supportive of me personally.

10.3 In concluding this report I must make special reference to two people. One is the Rev Gregor Henderson our General Secretary. He was responsible to me as President and I was responsible to him as an Assembly staff member – a nightmare for secular manage-ment consultants but a warm reality for us because of our respect for each other. This last triennium has not been easy for Gregor. We, however, weathered things together, supported each other and Gregor never lost his great vision for the Church or his infectious enthusiasm. I have often called on his expertise. We have not only survived the last three years, we have had a lot of fun while doing it. Gregor Henderson has been a wonderful servant for our Church.

10.4 My wife Rae, has not only been my partner in life, she has been a partner in ministry. But never more so than this last three years. Rae has found living out of suitcases for up to three weeks on end in a variety of accommodation quite difficult. She has, however, shared in all this because she felt the call of God to it. I have been deeply grateful for her partnership and we have had a marvellous time together.

10.5 So I thank you, the people of the Uniting Church, the people who have entertained us, have pastored us and prayed for us. But most of all I thank Jesus Christ in whose name it was all done.