[Back to Contents Page]

WHEN CHURCHES JOIN - 6. General Documents

Local Ecumenism Information Kit
- Developed by the Local Ecumenism Working Group, NSW Ecumenical Council, October 2000
Phone (02) 9299 2215 for more information.

[Back to Contents of Local Ecumenism Information Kit]

Appendix 2. Understanding the Member Churches of the NSW Ecumenical Council

2.10 The Uniting Church in Australia

The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a member church of the NSW Ecumenical Council through its NSW Synod, which is comprised of fourteen Presbyteries.

The UCA was formed in 1977 by the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches. A significant part of the Presbyterian Church and some Congregationalists elected not to enter union.

The name chosen for the new body was the Uniting Church, as an expression of a commitment to continue to seek to overcome divisions within the people of God. One of its first acts as a church was to commit itself to the ecumenical movement and its Councils.

At the time of Union, people thought it would take many years to weld three church traditions into one, but this has not proved to be the case. Fewer people are conscious of what it was like to be a Congregationalist, Methodist or Presbyterian than of being 'Uniting'. For others, how we are church today is much more important than the traditions of former years.

In the last twenty-five years, there have been significant ways in which we have sought to be 'Uniting Church in Australia, which risks living the way of Jesus, participates in God's action in the world, enables people to discover new life through the Spirit and lives by that discovery'.

• Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress is responsible for the church's ministry with the indigenous people in Australia.

• Australia's cultural diversity has been embraced enthusiastically by the Uniting Church, which worships in ninety (90) different language groups. Those languages include the various indigenous peoples. Sharing resources and assets with indigenous and various cultural groupings is a constant challenge.

• The Basis of Union (of the UCA) declares that the congregation is 'the embodiment in one place of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, worshipping, witnessing, and serving as a fellowship of the Spirit in Christ'. Members meet regularly 'to hear God's Word, to celebrate the sacraments, to build one another up in love, to share the wider responsibilities of the church and to serve the world'. Thus the congregation is the basic unit of mission in the church. The last few years have seen changes in local church structures, which give greater emphasis to the mission of the congregation in the local community.
Congregational life is expressed in a variety of ways, each of them seeking to be church, whether as regional, local neighbourhood, parish mission or faith communities. Some congregations are linked through common mission; others are linked by geographic location. Some follow traditional patterns of worship, others alternative styles.

• Our relationship with the community, in which we live, is an important factor in the life of any community of faith. We are all called to join with God in transforming the world. We seek to reach out to those who are not within the church, standing with them in their joys, pain and sorrow as we respond to the needs of the community.

• UnitingCare (a national network of Uniting Church agencies) is the largest non-government community service provider among more than 400 agencies in the church. The work of these agencies seeks to honour the dignity of all people, working towards social justice in community, restoring human relationships and advocating for those most disadvantaged in society.

• Ongoing consultations with people of other traditions of the church and with people of other faiths remind us that we need to know who we are in Christ. Australia is a multi-religious society. As we engage in conversations with other people in the community we need to be aware of who it is God is calling us to be as individuals and communities of faith.

• There is a rich diversity in the lives and gifts of people God calls into the church. This giftedness is being encouraged as new ways of being church emerge. Many congregations, particularly in rural communities, are finding it increasingly difficult to support ministry in the traditional form. The development of the Rural Ministry Network links people in various parts of Australia and the world.

• Ministering within various local communities has highlighted the need for people to be trained in the traditional ordained role as Minister of the Word, or Deacon (offering leadership among the people of the Uniting Church in a ministry of service to the world), or as Deaconesses, as well as Youth Workers, Community Ministers (trained recognised leaders in local community without regular ministry placement), Lay Pastors and Lay Preachers.
At the same time, there is a strong emphasis on the ministry of lay people. Educational programmes have been developed nationally (for distance education) as well as locally to encourage people wishing to develop their gifts and calling.

• Arising from the inability of both the Eighth (1997) and Ninth (2000) Assemblies of the Uniting Church to determine issues regarding committed same sex relationships and ordination, a statement was adopted (2000) which in part acknowledges that 'diversity of viewpoints and lack of resolution of these issues have resulted in tension within the life of the church' and a prayer 'that God will continue to bless and use the diverse gifts of all church members as we seek to work together to make known God's love and salvation'.

• The Uniting Church tries to work in a consensus model. People are empowered to try to discern God's will through participatory decision making, from the grassroots church councils to the synods (states) and the national assembly.

• Finally, a strong commitment exists to be genuinely uniting. This was recognised in the Basis of Union and highlighted by the Reverend Prof. James Haire at his installation as Assembly President in July 2000.

Do we take Christian unity seriously? Will we give our all for its achievement?
Ask no longer "Which church do I belong to?' Only ask, 'Whose church do I belong to?'