Assembly '97 Home page Documents News		Assembly Report to Synods This year's Assembly report consists of extracts from the minutes of the Eighth Assembly. The Assembly met in Perth in July 1997, and addressed many far-reaching matters in the life and witness of the church, some of which are outlined in this report. The Assembly minutes will be available in October. Synod members are free to copy this report as they wish. 1. Basis of Union "to amend the Constitution by adding a new clause 2 to read: "BASIS OF UNION 2. The Church, affirming that it belongs to the people of God on the way to the promised end, lives and works within the faith and unity of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, guided by its Basis of Union."" [Note that amendments to the Constitution require the approvals of set majorities of synods and presbyteries, before taking effect.] 2. Bible — Understanding and use of the Bible "to request the Standing Committee, following consultation with the Commission on Doctrine, to appoint a group representative of the different perspectives in the Uniting Church in Australia, to prepare and make available material on ways in which the Church understands and uses the Bible in seeking to live in faithfulness to the Gospel;" [Standing Committee has decided this task group will be based in Adelaide. Its members should be appointed by the end of the year.] 3. Christian Unity "to encourage synods, presbyteries, and parishes to maintain the ecumenical principle that the establishment of all new congregations and mission initiatives should take place in consultation with other churches; the development of local ecumenical partnerships should be pursued, particularly in rural areas; property sharing arrangements with non Uniting Church migrant-ethnic fellowships and congregations be seen as opportunities for ecumenical ministry and mission co-operation;" [In follow-up to one Assembly decision, the Standing Committee has invited the Anglican Church to engage in a new dialogue aimed specifically at reaching agreement for mutual recognition of ministry.] 4. Church Structures "in light of the revised 'Pilgrim People' Report, to authorise changes to the Constitution and Regulations of the Uniting Church to provide for: (a) removal of the parish and the parish council as required or essential parts of Uniting Church structures, and the authorisation of a variety of models by which congregations can be structurally linked where the presbytery so decides; (b) establishment in each congregation of a local "Church Council" to have oversight for the total life and mission of the congregation and the responsibility for resourcing that life and mission unless the Presbytery authorises more than one congregation to form a joint Church Council; at least half of those elected to the Church Council shall be elected to fulfil the ministry of elder (as per Basis of Union 14 (b)) unless the presbytery authorises a congregation to make other arrangements; (c) each congregation to be directly related to the presbytery and to elect one of its members as a representative to the presbytery, provided that congregations with more than 150 confirmed members or members-in-association may elect one additional layperson; (d) opportunities for the presbytery, in consultation with congregations, to cluster congregations for mission and administration as may be appropriate or necessary, and for such time and such purposes and under such arrangements as the presbytery decides; (e) reform of the system by which ministers are placed through adoption of the placements process set out in Section 5 of the report of the Task Group..." 5. Code of Ethics "to approve the Interim Code of Ethics; to request the Commission on Women and Men to: (i) establish a task group to oversee the implementation of and ongoing consultation on the Code of Ethics; (ii) consult with synod moderators, secretaries and the Assembly Standing Committee in order to develop a consultation strategy for the next three years; (iii) bring a revised Code of Ethics for approval to the Ninth Assembly;" 6. Covenanting "The Stolen Generations" "to commit itself and encourage the whole Church to support the recommendations of the Inquiry wherever possible; to affirm the apology made by the Standing Committee in September 1996; convey the apology to the associations of people who passed through Croker Island, Mogumber and Sister Kate's; make copies of the apology available to the Aboriginal press; and encourage synods and individuals to make apologies where appropriate in local situations; to request the Covenant Steering Committee in collaboration with other churches to press the Federal Government to issue an unconditional apology, to establish a national compensation fund as recommended in the report and to invite individuals and churches to contribute to the fund; to offer to contribute to the fund through special offerings made on a national "Sorry Day"; 7. Sorry Day to warmly support the proposal to introduce a national "Sorry Day"; to request the Covenant Steering Committee in co-operation with the Congress to initiate plans for the national "Sorry Day" to be observed throughout the Uniting Church; 8. Covenant Symbols to commend to all parishes the desirability of displaying in Uniting Church places of worship and Church halls visible symbols of the covenant between the Congress and the rest of the Church; 9. Commencing meetings with recognition of prior Aboriginal ownership of land to adopt the policy of commencing all meetings of the Assembly with a recognition of prior Aboriginal ownership of the land and the sacredness of the place; such recognition could include a welcome by local Aboriginal land-owners or it could be as brief as a statement by the chairperson at the beginning of the meeting, saying, "I wish to pay respects to the Aboriginal people of this place and particularly those who have cared for this part of the land from time immemorial."; to recommend that synods and presbyteries adopt a similar practice; 10. Native Title to call on the Federal Government, in amending the "Native Title Act": (a) to recognise the supreme importance for the identity, health and well being of Aboriginal people of their relationship with their land; (b) to take into account the importance of this fact for the well being, harmony and economy of the nation as a whole; (c) to reject any proposal that will have the effect directly or indirectly of extinguishing or diminishing native title rights; (d) to develop a regime of co-existence in the land whereby native title rights are upheld at the same time as pastoralists, mining companies and other developers are granted secure, but limited statutory rights in the same land; (e) to require and facilitate regional/local negotiation between registered native title claimants and other people with interests in the land, concerning their various rights in relation to the land, and to register such agreements under appropriate legislation." 11. Doctrine "to note the increased discussion in the Uniting Church of questions about alternative communities of faith and the celebration of the sacraments in communities other than established congregations; to request the Commission on Doctrine to study these and related questions and after consulting with appropriate Assembly and synod agencies and individuals already participating in alternative faith communities, to report on them to the Ninth Assembly;" "to request the Commission on Doctrine, in consultation with the Commission on Liturgy, to redraft the former question about the Reformed Confessions in the services of ordination to include reference to justification by grace and the centrality of Christ as outlined in the Basis of Union, and report to the Standing Committee;"

"The Uniting Church affirms that it belongs to the people of GOD on the way to the promised end." Basis of Union, Revised edition published 1992