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I am the second child of three in my family. Over the years (especially when I was younger) I have wished that my parents had sought my permission before they gave me a younger brother. For that matter they never asked me if I wanted an older brother either!Families are a bit like that – they are just given to you. Apart from the ones you marry into. You get very little say about whether you want the complex, joyful, frustrating, fulfilling, supportive and embarrassing relationships that come from being part of a family. There are lots of congregations that pride themselves on being a caring family – that is a very positive model for the church. But the thing with the church being a family is that we are not the parents – we are siblings. We don’t get asked whether we want this sister or brother in the faith – we just get them! When we speak in warm and welcoming terms of God as our father the flip side of that is that by the work of God other Christians are our sisters and brothers. The old saying: “you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives” is true. My prayer is that the church will model what it means to be the family of God – loving and supporting all the members even when we would not choose them for our friends. Terence
Corkin
Decisions
from the 10th Assembly
Want
to know more about the 10th Assembly? Visit the 10th Assembly Website to find out more at <http://nat.uca.org.au/assembly2003/newsmedia/> This website includes:
New Principle
for Coolamon college Rev Dr Lee Levett-Olson's induction as the Principal of Coolamon College was on Wednesday 23rd July in the Chapel of Reconciliation, Adelaide College of Divinity at 7.30 p.m. Lee was inducted by the President, Rev Dr Dean Drayton and Rev Dr Andrew Dutney delivered the address. The National Assembly approved the change to Coolamon College Council from the former 'Reference Committee'. The new council will have a nucleus of the Academic Committee made up of six members based in Adelaide, a representative of each synod and the presbytery of Tasmania, and of Theology and Discipleship, Uniting Education and the Ministerial Education Commission, plus the chairperson and principal. Dr Marelle Harisun has been appointed for a further three year term as the Chairperson of the Council.
Solomon
Islands appeal The Uniting Church of Australia has been supporting the crucial work of Helena Goldie Hospital in the Solomon Islands for many years. Helena Goldie provides a fundamental health service to the Western Province of the country. In recent years, as the country has gone into economic ruin, many health services have been abandoned, leaving people without any access to health care. The hospital is providing a crucial service to up to 50,000 people. In August, UCOA is running a special appeal to help support the vital work of the hospital. For more information please contact Uniting Church Overseas Aid, PO Box A2266, Sydney South, NSW 1235, (02) 8267 4269. You can also visit our website at <www.overseasaid.org> Subverting
Racism: Social Justice Sunday 2003 The theme for Social Justice Sunday 2003 is Subverting Racism – which is timely in a world so full of fear and distrust. Racism goes hand in hand with fear, anger, and break-down of community relationships. Racism can fuel inequality, human rights abuses, and war. In Australia, we find racism in many places and in many forms - from our local communities and everyday lives through to our Government’s policies. This racism is expressed in our language, assumptions, discriminatory treatment and exclusive practices, failure to respect the beliefs of people from different cultures, nations, or religions - and in our failure to value their lives. Racism is a sin. Racism separates humans from each other, and separates us all from God. Working to overcome racism and building communities of justice and love is an integral part of Christian faith. We can all take action toward racial justice in local communities, our nation, and the world. The Subverting Racism kit is a joint effort between the Uniting, Anglican, and Catholic Churches, and includes a statement from the National Council of Churches in Australia. The kit contains liturgical and theological resources from the three traditions, ecumenical prayers, and an action and reflection kit for congregations or groups to consider and respond to racism in local contexts, and in Australia's government policies and international relations. Social Justice Sunday is the last Sunday in September – this year, 28 September. However, you can celebrate Social Justice Sunday whenever it is convenient for your congregation, and the resource materials have been designed to be used over a series of weeks. The kit is being sent to every Uniting Church congregation. It is also available on the UnitingJustice website at <http://nat.uca.org.au/unitingjustice/resources/socialjusticesunday/2003/>. If you do not receive a copy or cannot download the materials, call us on (02) 8267 4236 and we will send you the kit. Churchill
Fellowship recognises Uniting Church achievements in poverty advocacy
The National Director of UnitingCare Australia, Lin Hatfield Dodds, has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study anti-poverty measures and the effects of competitive tendering on community services in Europe and North America. She will bring back to Australia insights from organisations in these two related areas. Lin's role with UnitingCare will enable the insights gained from the project to be promoted through parliamentary briefings, submissions to inquiries, engaging peak community bodies, the media, Uniting Church publications, and in the practices and initiatives of the 400 agencies in the UnitingCare network. UnitingCare
on Taxation Reform UnitingCare Australia is giving evidence at hearings for Senate Inquiry into Taxation Reform. UnitingCare Australia put in a submission to the current Senate Inquiry into the Structure and Distributive Effects of the Australian Taxation System (available at <http://www.unitingcare.org.au/library/submissions/index.htm>), and gave evidence at the hearings at Parliament House on Monday 28 July. Extracts from UnitingCare’s submission:
“Reducing the pernicious effective marginal tax rates caused by the interaction of the tax and social security system is the most urgent and important area of taxation reform in Australia today. Providing practical pathways back into employment is one of the key planks of empowering individuals and addressing social exclusion, benefiting all Australians. Eliminating the poverty traps caused by overlapping social security taper rates and the income tax system is central to this, along with practical recognition or support for employment related out of pocket expenses (which are generally not tax deductible). It is well within Australia's means to address these issues in the current term of this Government. “A second, simpler, issue relates to the tax treatment of gifts to charities and other community organisations. Current tax deductibility of donations represents less than 2 percent of the public sector support for the charitable and community sector, and is crucial to maintaining the sector's independence and ability to innovate in serving Australian society. Providing pathways out of poverty is one of the most
important - and difficult - challenges of our time. The design and implementation
of holistic poverty reduction strategies that address the underlying causes
of social disadvantage is a critical issue for Australia today, as the
gap widens between the haves and the have-nots. Research Request: Tercentenary
Celebrations of the Birth of John Wesley John Wesley's 300th birthday was celebrated in Lincoln Cathedral in England on 17th June. This was followed by a workshop on global mission in Llandudno, Wales. 61 churches with Methodist connections around the world participated in this workshop. Rev John Barr, Executive Secretary of Uniting International Mission, represented the President of the Uniting Church in Australia at this workshop and also at the General Conference of the Methodist Church in Britain that followed The workshop released a joint message affirming that Methodism is committed to "apostolic faith, evangelism, discipline, preaching of the Word, class meetings, personal and social holiness." "These are features", the joint message said, "that ought to continue to be evident in the work and witness of the church as they are relevant to this and every age". The joint message also condemned the world economic system that has produced massive unemployment, corruption, greed and violence. Attention was also given to the abuse of women and children in war, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the need for churches around the world to strengthen partnerships and facilitate the sharing of a common commitment to mission. Participants from North America, Latin America, the Carribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific demonstrated a dynamic witness to Wesley's vision that "the world is my parish". While European churches are experiencing siginificant numerical decline, there was a challenge from African, American, Asian and Pacific churches to "seize the moment" and share the Good News of Jesus Christ as an urgent priority. Volunteers
in Mission to Jaffna Trevor and Beverley Watson from South Australia have just taken up an placement with the Church of South India Diocese of Jaffna where they will be serving in the Agricultural Institute, Jaffna College and in McLeod Hospital. The Jaffna Peninisular is under the control of Sri Lankan forces while the nearby Vaani Region is controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. A peace process is now underway after many years of war in the region. Rev John Barr, Executive Secretary of Uniting International Mission visited the region in May. Our partner church, the CSI Jaffna Diocese, is working hard to restore the peace and rehabilitate thousands of people who are victims of the violence.
Koreans
call for Peace Rev Dr Byung-Gon Choi, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Korea, Rev Dr Sang Hak Kim, General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Korea and Rev Kim Ok Nam, Vice Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea all expressed their deep concern recently over rising tensions on the Korean Peninsular. These church leaders were in Sydney and then in Melbourne to attend the Tenth Assembly. The Uniting Church in Australia, through Uniting International Mission, will appeal to the Australian Government to persue peaceful negotiations and avoid the kind of confrontation that has been used by Western powers in Iraq. A New
Multicultural Ministry Poster!
“Hearing
Luke’s story in the year of Luke - 2004” The Network of Biblical Storyteller (Aust.) – (NOBS) – is seeking expressions of interest for the presentation “SON OF GOD: SON OF MAN – Stories from the gospel of Luke” in churches, theatres, colleges and other community locations during 2004 – the lectionary year of Luke. In this 90 minute performance, Biblical Storyteller, Philip Liebelt, dramatically tells from memory, almost half the gospel beginning at the annunciation and ending with the resurrection appearances. Philip is a UCA Minister of the Word, national co-ordinator of NOBS (Aust.) and a trained teacher with drama qualifications. He is currently writing a Masters thesis in Biblical Storytelling. In association with performances he is available to lead workshops, classes and short courses in related areas of storytelling and narrative theology at churches and theological colleges, as well as modified programmes in primary and secondary schools. Further information is available from NOBS (Aust) at:
PO Box 495, Niddrie VIC 3042, t: (03) 9336 3132 Visit: <www.unitinged.org.au> Resources for Download for more information. Sponsored by Uniting Education. Teaching
Faith: Religious Education in Schools Sharpen your skills in RE teaching by studying this topic by distance education. You can do it all at home. This topic is designed for anyone who is involved in any Christian education experience offered in primary or secondary schools. Teaching Faith is a topic in the Coolamon College Explore... program. Students studying topics in this program can choose to complete individual topics or work towards a fully accredited diploma. After you have completed the work for this topic, you should:
For more information about Teaching Faith, or any other
exciting opportunities to study by distance, contact the National Office
of Coolamon College, (07) 33779940, or 1800 639 385, or Conference
on World Mission and Evangelism– Call for expressions of interest The World Council of Churches has announced the convocation of the next World Conference on Mission and Evangelism. It will be held in Athens, Greece, from 12 to 19 May, 2005. The UCA has been asked to nominate a short list of persons
as potential participants, who could bring a contribution to the theme
from a mission point of view and on the basis of their experience. The
theme is: It is the World Council itself that will select the approved delegates from the short lists submitted. No person nominated should take participation for granted until that approval has been given. The web site for the conference can be accessed through <www.wcc-coe.org> Expressions of interest must be received by 30th September
2003 and should be sent to: Upcoming
Conferences The NSW Board of Mission is running two back to back mission conferences in October - November 2003. Both conferences will be held at the Centre for Ministry, 16 Masons Drive North Parramatta 1. SURVIVING AS A CHANGE AGENT Leading change is a part of every ministry in the Uniting Church today. Are you in a ministry where you are leading congregational change, leading change in a presbytery or agency or trying to offer a new way forward on an issue in your local community? Maybe you’ve been an advocate for change in different settings for a long time? This two day gathering aims to offer a broad range of insights from long term practitioners on leading change and not burning yourself out in the process. Speakers include Dave Andrews (TEAR Australia), John Capper (Tabor College), Robyn Brown (NZ) and Fr Brian Gore. 2. E-MERGING CHURCH II: SKETCHING TOMORROW It is time to re-vision and re-construct everything we take for granted about "church" but no-one knows how to do it yet. This conference is a blank sheet of paper that we invite you to join us in sketching the future on. Bring your theories, ideas, doodles, dreams and rumours of hope to share with us. We have gathered representatives from innovative mission projects to tell their stories about what God is doing in post-Christian Australia. These people are not big-time gurus who know all the answers. They are simply workers at the coalface of mission who have seen God at work outside and on the fringes of the church in post-Christian Australia. Speakers include Dean Drayton (President of the Uniting Church in Australia), John Thornton (North West Regional Church), Mark Greenlees (Gungahlin Uniting) and Steve McLean (Lakeview Uniting) Updated information and registration details on the
conference website <http://www.nsw.uca.org.au/bom/bom_main/MissionConf03/conference03.htm> History of the Uniting Church launched at Assembly The book ‘Uniting Church in Australia – The first twenty-five years’ was launched at the 10th Assembly. Written by 11 authors, this book discusses and celebrates the movement of each synod’s history. Editor Rev Dr Bill Emilsen said the book aimed to preserve our history to help people with ‘amnesia’ in the church - those who read will be proud of what the church has achieved in such a short period of time - and to give the present and future generation a greater understanding of the Uniting Church. Rev Prof James Haire launched the book and encouraged congregations of the Uniting Church to read it to gain a greater understanding of the church. He believes that “you cannot understand the church if you do not know its history and movement”. Heart felt tributes were given to Susan Emilsen who died while the book was being written. Rev Dr Dean Drayton said that it was her desire to have to book completed and thanked Bill Emilsen for his courage and commitment to the book. Swimming
between the flags Swimming between the Flags - Reflections on the Basis of Union (ed. W. & K. Abetz, published Bendigo: Middle Earth Press, 2002) offers answers on what it means to be guided by the Basis of Union in the light of key questions of our time. Answers come from across Australia, across a range of ages, cross-culturally, from professor to 'parish' minister to lay person, male and female. There is room for diversity. There is also unity in the substance of the faith. The book is varied enough to appeal to lay people as well as ministers. Contributers include: '... it is a book to "stab the spirit wide awake"...'
Swimming between the Flags - Reflections on the Basis of Union is available in Uniting Church college libraries and from Unichurch Books, Melbourne, Queensland Christian Vision Books, Brisbane, Open Book, Adelaide and Consider Books, Ulverstone, Tasmania. It can also be purchased direct from Middle Earth Press, 213 Arnold St., Bendigo, 3550. Recommended retail price, $19.95. Books are selected by Hugh McGinlay e: <hugh@rainbowbooks.com.au> DOING JUSTICE EXPERIENCING GOD IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN VOICES OF THIS CALLING MISSION AFTER CHRISTENDOM JACOB’S HIP SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA – II THE OUTRAGEOUS PURSUIT OF HOPE PRAYERS DURING THE NIGHT |
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A
special laminated A3 size colour poster has been designed with a ‘WELCOME’
in at least 28 of our community languages. Placed on your church notice
board, this could be a useful way of welcoming people from a variety of
cultural backgrounds. These can be obtained at $4.00 per copy (includes
postage) by contacting Assembly Multicultural Ministry. Contact Ruth Crispin
e: <