Crosslight October 2015

Crosslight Publication of the year 2015

No. 259 October 2015

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The Church continues to support Christians facing persecution throughout the world.

Much has been written about the effects of the drug ice on individuals, families and communities. Tim Lam speaks to those directly involved.

Hobart’s Wesley Chapel celebrates 175 years of faith and worship in Tasmania.

Anti-poverty week runs from the 12th to 18th of this month. Sometimes the Christ is risen.

Christians around thebeworld proclaimthethese issue of poverty, particularly on a all world scale, can so overwhelming temptation is to avoid or ignore it.

But, as our front page image shows, change words, and have done so for centuries, in acknowledgement can happen. In North India, urban development workers from a local church, of the hope and grace are of the risen Happy Easter. supported

by UnitingWorld, creating newChrist. opportunities for people to feel a sense of hope and joy. Learn more about their work on page 8.

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Photo Credit: Alex Baker, UnitingWorld.

Moderator Dan Wootton ponders the pursuit of happiness.

A Celtic Pilgrimage offers more than a stroll in the countryside.

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Synod Snaps brings you images from throughout the Church and beyond.

Regulars Letters - 17

Reviews - 18 to 19 Placements - 20 to 21 Opinion - 22

Editorial Who is the God we worship?

PENNY MULVEY

QUESTIONS have been raised by disability advocates regarding Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to roll up the disabilities and aged care portfolio into the increased social services portfolio headed up by West Australian MP Christian Porter.

Communications & Media Services

UCA Synod Office, 130 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Phone: (03) 9251 5200 Email: crosslight@victas.uca.org.au ISSN 1037 826X

The new Social Services minister is quick to reject these concerns, saying that disabilities care will be front and centre within the portfolio.

How we, as a community, view disability, is a question we must never rest from asking…and answering. It is fundamental to who we are as Christian people living out our call.

Unlike the Federal Government, the VicTas Synod does have a minister whose prime task is addressing disability inclusion.

Ordained by God, not by the prime minister, Rev Andy Calder’s role is to encourage and promote inclusion of people with disabilities within the life of the Synod.

With the support of the Commission for Mission board, Mr Calder convened a

Crosslight is a monthly newspaper produced by the Communications and Media Services unit of The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.

It is published 11 times a year.

Opinions expressed in Crosslight do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the policies of The Uniting Church.

Advertising: Crosslight accepts advertising in good faith.

Acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement.

Advertising material is at the discretion of the publisher.

Distribution: Crosslight is usually distributed the first Sunday of the month.

disability action task group which has just launched the Synod’s Disability Action Plan 2015-2018.

Opening with an Interfaith Litany for Wholeness, the Plan provides both practical steps and theological reflections to enable Uniting Church communities continue on their journey towards inclusion of all.

“The task of the church is not to necessarily bring the person with a disability into the world of the church, but rather to see that person as one in God’s world, a world we share with each other; a world that espouses the value of suffering love above all else. Achievement takes on a different meaning – where our real value comes from our life in Christ.”

The Disability Action Plan 2015-2018 urges us to engage with the question posed by

John Swinton, Divinity professor from the University of Aberdeen, ‘Who is the God we worship?’.

“The theology of disability is central to our understanding of what it means to know who God is and to know what it means to be a human being living fully under God,” Professor Swinton wrote.

Download the Disability Action Plan 20152018, as a first step towards integrating a theology of disability into the daily work, lives and worship of your community.

Circulation: 21,000 (publisher’s figure).

Staff:

Deadlines: Advertising and editorial.

Executive Editor - Penny Mulvey Managing Editor - Deb Bennett Design and Digital Illustration - Garth Jones Journalist - Ben Grundy Senior Advertising & Print Services Officer - Andrew Juma Communications Manager - Nigel Tapp Online Content Coordinator - Emmet O’Cuana Communications Officer - Tim Lam P.A to Executive Editor - Heather Thomson Senior Media Officer - Ros Marsden

Please check exact dates on our website <crosslight.org.au>.

Closing date for November– Friday 16 October 2015.

Printing: Rural Press, Ballarat Visit Crosslight online: crosslight.org.au

ucavictas

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https://www.victas.uca.org.au/DisabilityBooklet

News “I had no one to turn to…”

PENNY MULVEY I cannot tell anyone exactly what it is that you actually go through with sexual abuse. It’s not just something that has an impact on you at the time; it’s something that lasts forever. (Philip Constable) MR CONSTABLE is a former student at Geelong Grammar. His statement was one of several presented as part of Case Study 32 at a Melbourne sitting of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Mr Constable was sexually abused almost daily whilst in boarding school, aged 8-10 years from 19561958. The emotional and psychological scars are life-long.

This aspect of child sexual abuse has been a recurrent story as survivors have come before the Commission – people do not ‘get over it’. The Royal Commission has just released its Redress and Civil Litigation report, a lengthy and considered document with 99 recommendations.

Recommendation 9 outlines principles for counselling and psychological care through redress, including that such care should be available throughout a survivor’s life, with no fixed limits and be available on an episodic basis.

Crosslight – Publication of the Year CROSSLIGHT was named Publication of the Year at the annual conference of the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) in Brisbane in late August.

The annual trophy is one of two prestigious awards presented at the dinner ceremony; the first is the Gutenberg Award, the Presidential award presented to a person or publication for overall excellence in religious communication. The other categories relate to writing, design and photography.

In the commentary relating to Crosslight’s award, the judge referred to the publication’s ethos, the publication content and design.

“If there is one word which can describe the ethos of this publication it is ‘commitment’.

There is commitment on the part of the editorial team to excellence in journalism, but an excellence which also reflects the commitment of the organisation which owns the publication. The commitment to the gospel values we all share, and the out working of those values in a divided, complex and confused global community, is evident in the ethos of this publication.”

The judge also commended Crosslight’s new design: “The result is a light and airy print aesthetic, which reflects the design approach we see in publications such as The New Yorker tablet version.”

Executive editor, Penny Mulvey, was also awarded gold in the best feature, single author category, for her 2014 article ‘Australia’s Filthy Little Secret’. The judge described the feature as “a disturbing and prophetic article about violence against women…surely worthy of a wider

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Some people can walk away from traumatic experiences. In this case I cannot and nor can other kids who were sexually abused. I am stuck with this for the rest of my life.

The report states that redress should be survivor focussed, providing a process that includes monetary payment; personal apology/acknowledgement; access to counselling as outlined above and also assurances that steps have been taken by the institution to prevent similar abuse in the future.

The Royal Commission’s preference is for a national scheme, providing an independent assessment of redress and equity of access and response.

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan has welcomed the Redress and Civil Litigation Report.

“We are pleased that the Royal Commission’s Report recommends that a process for redress must provide equal access and equal treatment for survivors,” Mr McMillan said.

Royal Commission Chair, the Hon Justice Peter McClellan AM was a keynote speaker at the National Council of Churches in Australia Safe as Churches? Conference in Sydney last month.

He told delegates that in August one of the Commissioners conducted the Royal Commission’s 4,000th private session. They have heard 4,000 stories as painful and confronting as Mr Constable’s, and there are currently more than 1,500 other people waiting to be heard.

Justice McClellan said it is the primary way readership than perhaps a single Christian publication can offer”.

The 2015 Gutenberg Award was presented to Roland Ashby and The Melbourne Anglican. Mr Ashby has been editor of The Melbourne Anglican for 20 years. The citation said: “… The Melbourne Anglican is a team publication, helmed by a person committed to excellence.”

Dr John Harrison, senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Queensland, was the keynote speaker at ARPA conference and judge of Publication of the Year. He reminded delegates of the importance of curiosity. Dr Harrison, editor of the Queensland Synod’s publication Journey in the late 20th century, believes that curiosity and the power of story telling are two essential elements of good journalism, religious or secular.

In an email to Crosslight following the conference, Dr Harrison wrote: “As an academic, and as one who is frequently asked to judge awards like the Walkleys, one sees an unbelievable volume of journalism, and a remarkable number of platforms, so for a publication to stand out like a Crosslight says much not only about its quality but its ethos.”

Other Uniting Church publications also received awards on the night.

Queensland’s Journey won silver for best feature (single author), South Australia’s New Times received bronze for best profile story, Western Australia’s Revive took home silver for best theological article and NSW/ ACT’s Insights was awarded bronze for best faith reflection.

ARPA, a Christian Communications Network, has 83 members across Australia and New Zealand, from small magazines to large circulation newspapers, representing a range of Catholic, Protestant and Ecumenical publishers.

for the Commissioners to bear witness to the abuse and trauma inflicted on children who suffered sexual abuse in an institutional context.

He addressed the key question of how the Commissioners determine which institution will become the focus of a public hearing.

“Decisions…are informed by whether or not the hearing will advance an understanding of systemic issues and provide an opportunity for institutions to learn from previous mistakes,” Justice McClellan told the Safe as Churches? conference.

“In many cases the issues explored, and the lessons to be learnt, will have relevance beyond the individual institution being examined.”

I have lived in fear of everything for my whole life: the health inspector at the bakery, the local council, driving my car, parking and leaving the car, will I be in trouble? or even the rubbish collection getting me for putting the wrong garbage in the recycling bin. I can’t live my life in peace, I am tormented every day by the possibilities of some authority getting me for “THINGS” or Everything.

Justice McClellan outlined the diverse range of topics being considered by the Commission including what he referred to as ‘the why question’.

“The societal norm that ‘children should be seen but not heard’, which prevailed for unknown decades, provided the opportunity for some adults to abuse the power which their relationship with the child gave them,” Justice McClellan said.

“When the required silence of the child was

accompanied by an unquestioning belief by adults in the integrity of the carer for the child, be they youth worker, teacher, residential supervisor or cleric, the power imbalance was entrenched to the inevitable detriment of many children.”

I had no one to turn to so I used to crawl under the floor of the Boarding House with all the spiders and cobwebs.

The Federal Government also released the Royal Commission’s final report on Working with Children Checks in August.

Justice McClellan said the current statebased system, with a lack of consistency and integration, has meant that children are being afforded different levels of protection depending on where they live.

He said the report’s 36 recommendations, including the establishment of a centralised database, are designed to remedy these problems.

Uniting Church President, Stuart McMillan stressed the importance of implementing child safe policies and procedures.

“I urge all Uniting Church institutions – big and small across the country – to continue their efforts and vigilance to make our Church the safest place for children it can possibly be.”

We all have a part to play in ensuring that there are no Philip Constables now and in the future who would have a reason to say these heartbreaking words: I don’t really know how to convey the absolute sense of being unable to escape this hell for three long years. As a little boy, that length of time seemed like an eternity. There was no light. It was like being buried alive.

Senior media officer Ros Marsden, managing editor Deb Bennett and executive editor Penny Mulvey celebrate.

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News UCA support for Syrian refugees THE Uniting Church in Australia has been quick to respond to what has been termed the worst refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War. It is estimated that more than 9 million people have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011. Many of those have sought shelter in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

Footage of families walking through Europe, desperate for a safe haven and a better life, have dominated nightly news for the past month. But the picture that galvanised the world into action was that of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, a little boy who drowned – along with his brother and mother – when his family attempted a desperate trip across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece.

This image and the reality it depicted put pressure on the Federal Government to announce Australia will be accepting 12,000 Syrian refugees throughout the coming months.

UCA president Stuart McMillan was one of a group of faith leaders who personally congratulated then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the government’s response. Mr McMillan then encouraged all Church members to consider how they might help.

“The Uniting Church in Australia stands ready to support these refugees from Syria and Iraq – whether they are people of faith or none, of any ethnicity, selected according to their need without discrimination…

“I urge all of us, in the weeks and months

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ahead, as we work across the councils and agencies of our Church to extend our hands in a coordinated way to support the new arrivals.”

UnitingCare national director Lin Hatfield Dodds thanked the government for listening to the Australian community.

“The UnitingCare network is ready to provide frontline care and community support to Australia’s humanitarian effort to resettle Syrian refugees,” Ms Hatfield Dodds said.

“Many of those arriving in our communities over the coming months will have experienced trauma. All will have experienced loss.”

While many from the Church community have offered practical support such as homesharing, UnitingCare suggests this will not be viable for refugees who have suffered significant trauma and loss. Such people will require expert assistance as they settle into a new environment.

Congregations are encouraged to help in other ways, such as supporting English classes and ensuring a caring and welcoming environment for refugees.

“Working together we are confident that Syrian people can rebuild their lives in the safety and freedom of Australia,” Ms Hatfield Dodds said.

UCA President Stuart McMillan has asked people to give generously to the Uniting Church Syrian Refugee Appeal.

Donations can be made online at www.shareappeal.org.au or over the telephone 1800 668 426 Cheques can be sent to: President’s Syrian Refugee Appeal, C/o- Share, PO Box 24154, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001.

Christians working for change CHURCHES have a long history of working for social justice both in Australia and overseas. The Commission for Mission supports people who are persecuted or being treated unjustly in other countries as part of its international mission work.

When responding to an unjust situation in another country however, we rely on our network of organisations (both faith-based and secular), partner churches and others who have contacts on the ground. This work of the church can often go unnoticed, but is crucial to getting situations change.

According to Christian human rights organisation Middle East Watch, Sudanese Christians face intense pressures.

Recognised Christian communities have increasingly been marginalised and their freedom to worship obstructed.

In recent years this has included confiscation or destruction of church property, forced closure of Christianowned institutions, expulsion of expatriate Christian workers and the imprisonment of some church leaders on spurious charges.

Public morality codes have also been used to charge and imprison those, including Christians, who are perceived to have acted with impropriety.

In December last year, Reverend Yat Michael, a Pastor in Sudan was arrested after preaching at a church in Khartoum where he was visiting. He was taken with no

explanation and held in detention without access to family or lawyers.

In January this year, another South Sudanese pastor, Reverend Peter Yen Reith was visiting Khartoum and was also arrested by Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service agents. It appears that his arrest and detention were linked to a letter he sent to the Religious Affairs Office in Khartoum inquiring about Reverend Yat’s arrest. He too was detained.

Uniting Church members wrote letters for the release of two pastors thanks to the information provided by Middle East Concern. This Christian organisation gathers information about cases of Christian persecution in the Middle East and North Africa from churches and Christians in those locations. Amnesty International also issued an international letter-writing action on behalf of the pastors, seeking their release. Applying international pressure by writing letters has often proved powerful and is one of the many ways we as Christians are able to bring about change.

On 5 August, a judge in Khartoum ruled in favour of Pastor Yat and Pastor Yen Reith on all but a few of the charges against them and they were released from custody.

Despite a ban on them being able to travel internationally, the two pastors were able to escape Sudan and travel to safety to an undisclosed country.

“This is great news for the Pastors and their families,” Dr Mark Zirnsak from the Commission for Mission said. “It is likely that the international attention on the case, including the letters sent from around the world, helped to see that justice was done in this case. We are grateful to all the Uniting Church members who took up the case and wrote letters.”

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Profile Hearing the call Interview with Mark Worthing, author of Graeme Clark The man who invented the bionic ear

EMMET O’CUANA ON Friday 14 August I stood with a large group of colleagues, former patients, and families touched by the pioneering work of Professor Graeme Clark and chanted happy birthday on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

Graeme Clark with Sian Neame-Smith

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This was the cap to a book launch for Dr Mark Worthing’s biography Graeme Clark The man who invented the bionic ear held at Melbourne’s State Library. In keeping with the obvious esteem felt for Prof Clark, Worthing has written a respectful account of a life spent in the field of medical science; one which balances the narrative of the development of the Cochlear implant with Clark’s own human story. Particular focus is given to the role played by his religious faith.

It was this approach taken by Worthing, a doctor of philosophy with a strong grounding in the history of science and theology, that helped Prof Clark agree to the project. The writer’s interest in revealing the balance between the various sides of this man’s life was encouraging. Just as he had no interest in a book that would focus exclusively on the work behind the bionic ear, “[he] didn’t want a Christian biography that would only be read by Christians.”

Worthing explains how stressing the human story of Prof Clark underpins the book.

“This wasn’t just a career for him. He invested everything in this and it went back to his childhood. He really cared about his patients. He got attached to them. If there was a set-back, I think he felt as badly as they did.

“Every time he meets someone who’s had a transplant and sees how they’re doing, he really lightens up. It’s so clear that for him it was never about making money or being famous. It was just about helping people who were deaf. That was it.”

As a testament to Prof Clark’s care to his patients, the family of Rob Saunders, the first recipient of the implant, attended the launch. Sian Neame-Smith, the youngest recipient of a Cochlear implant officially

launched the book, with both Worthing and Clark deferring to her on stage.

The difference Prof Clark has made to these people’s lives cannot be overstated.

“Many people don’t realise what the bionic ear is,” Worthing explains. “They think it’s a sophisticated hearing aid. It’s not – it’s a bionic ear. It’s for people who are completely, totally, profoundly deaf. That’s it. It doesn’t amplify existing hearing. It interfaces directly with the nerve endings in the brain that control hearing and completely bypasses the brain.”

Prof Clark’s own personal faith supported him in difficult times – with peers in the scientific community going so far as to accuse him of training Saunders to lipread (“Somehow he’d have had to delude everyone into thinking he did it! That would be pretty hard to do” laughs Worthing).

However, not only was his Christian faith a support – it framed his understanding of science as missional. “For him, those in Christ are called to help people,” says Worthing.

“He believes that God can answer prayers through miraculous intervention and heal, but also using the brains and abilities God has given us allows us to develop good medical practice. That’s part of Graeme’s own tradition as a Christian physician and surgeon.

“That’s why he was really keen that came through in a story. Not just – ‘here’s a guy who did a whizz-bang-thing and is quite clever, and now there’s a company, and they’re making quite a lot of money selling it’, but here’s someone who, through care for people and influenced by his own Christian faith, decided to make a difference. He persevered and in the end he was able to.”

The contrast with the reported actions of Martin Shkreli at the time of writing, a hedge fund trader who purchased an AIDS vaccine and raised its price from $13.50 per pill to $750, could not be more stark.

Prof Clark’s religious views led to him briefly write about how he could simultaneously believe in God and support the theory of evolution, a position that earned him criticism from both ‘sides’ of the debate.

“He never saw it coming”, muses Worthing sadly, suggesting that Prof Clark’s withdrawal from developing his thinking on faith and science in public was a loss.

“It’s a pity that he got hammered for that, because I think he would have continued to engage more actively and written more about his faith and his belief. But instead he determined to never publish anything more about science and faith again.”

During the writing of the book, Worthing himself made the decision to leave professional academia to become a parish pastor – for all of six weeks at the time of interview. He now divides his time between a small number of doctoral students and his small Adelaide congregation.

Another book on the history of medicine within the Golden Age of Islam is out soon, and if that is not enough, Worthing is excited about developing ties between his congregation and the rich cultural life of Adelaide. He is particularly excited about a ‘cheekily humourous’ Christmas play, aimed at engaging the local youth more with the church.

Clearly his research into the life of Prof Clark has encouraged some innovative thinking of his own.

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News Great things, great love CATH TAYLOR MOTHER THERESA is credited with saying: “We cannot do great things, only small things with great love.”

Sometimes, perhaps we can do both.

Kakuma refugee camp is a sprawling mass of humanity on the border between Kenya and South Sudan. Under canvas and tin supplied by the UNHCR and the Kenyan government, more than 150,000 people make their homes, many separated from brothers, sisters, children and parents by fighting across the border in South Sudan and Somalia. Into this maelstrom, another little life emerged last month.

Her name is Deborah (pictured at right).

She might never have been.

It was an ordinary morning for young South Sudanese midwives completing their practical placements in the Kakuma Mission hospital. Most in their early 20s, they’ve been relocated to Kenya with the help of the Uniting Church in Australia after their training facility in the South Sudanese town of Leer was razed to the ground amid heavy fighting. Some of the women don’t know where their families, husbands, and even children, are – people fled into the surrounding bush as the conflict erupted.

The young women carry on with their studies as registered refugees in Kenya in a school run by UnitingWorld’s partner, the Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency of South Sudan. They’re determined to finish their midwifery course, go back to their country and serve their sisters. Until then, they will stay and serve their fellow refugees.

“A woman from the camp was brought in to us that morning,” midwife tutor, Jane said.

“She was haemorrhaging and her child was experiencing foetal distress. An emergency caesarean was required to save her life and the life of her child. She was South Sudanese and spoke only Dinka, and the doctor requested that our student speak with the distressed woman in Dinka and explain the procedure to her.”

Further complications arose and permission was needed to be granted for an operation that would save the mother’s

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life – but also make it impossible for her to have further children. Again, the student midwife was called upon to assist, patiently persuading the family of the absolute necessity of the operation in spite of the risks and long-term outcome. Some hours later, a healthy child was born and the mother’s life saved.

“As the mother began to recover, she told our midwife, Deborah, how much her support and encouragement had meant to her,” Jane said. “It was so important to the young mother that she has named her child after the midwife.”

Deborah, namesake for a newborn refugee child, knows exactly what it means to live a fragile existence. Her own parents and brothers are in a different refugee camp in Uganda. She has not seen them in many months.

“I have wanted to be a midwife since I was in primary school,” Deborah said.

“I want to be first a midwife, then a doctor to serve my people. In South Sudan, too many mothers and babies die in childbirth, there are not enough midwives. I am relocated here to study and serve because of the love of the people who donate and the love of my tutors.”

It’s pretty amazing to reflect on this love and determination, given that these young women are themselves displaced from their homes, living as refugees with no way of knowing where their families are or when they might see them again.

UnitingWorld’s Everything in Common catalogue has a range of Christmas gift ideas to help support people like Deborah in South Sudan, saving the lives of mothers and babies.

Go to www.everythingincommon.com.au to select a gift.

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Profile Wesley Chapel turns 175 NIGEL TAPP IN the 1800s, the pious Methodists of the Wesley Chapel in Melville St, Hobart, certainly did not take kindly to their members partaking of alcohol.

In fact, imbibing saw more than one gentleman find himself not only mentioned in the church’s minutes for being drunk and disorderly, but having his membership ticket revoked.

Penance and personal piety had to be completed before the repentant miscreant was allowed back into fellowship.

But smoking, it seems, did not overly concern members. During World War I the men decided they needed a smoking room – free from women – in which to meet.

Thus, The Lodge was created, although it is not known how long smoking was in vogue or exactly where on the site The Lodge stood.

At the same time it was agreed women also needed a place to hold Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps meetings for ‘patriotic purposes’. Wesley offered their rooms for the women to meet. Of course, prominent men of the church presided over the meetings.

And, when 14-year-old Maria Burgess sang in the choir at the opening service for the Wesley Chapel in 1840, few attending could have imagined she would become the world renowned opera singer Madame Marie Carandini, who took the world by storm in the 1850s and 1860s.

These are just some of the stories which have come to light from Wesley museum’s extensive collection of papers and submissions throughout the years. They offer an insight into times past as the Wesley Chapel prepares to celebrate its 175th anniversary on 25 October.

Wesley upstairs

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With such a long history the church is one of the oldest continuous places of Christian worship in Tasmania, but it does not recognise the beginning of Methodism in Hobart.

In fact Methodism has been in existence on the same site since 1826, when the original Wesley Chapel, now Wesley Hall, was opened.

It came six years after Rev Benjamin Carvosso preached the first open air sermon from the Court House steps in Liverpool Street which signalled the arrival of Wesleyan Methodism into the young colony.

Rev Carvosso later recalled that day: “At the time appointed many came together. I took my stand on the steps of the door having my congregation partly within and partly without. With the help of my wife, Mrs Deborah Carvosso, I commenced the worship by singing part of one of our hymns, which I believe was the first time ever that singing was introduced into worship on the island. So we sang nearly alone, as might be expected.”

Located next to the existing chapel, the new place of worship – once described as a ‘cathedral of Methodism’ – was built at a cost estimated to be 4150 pounds. The foundation stone was laid by the Governor, Sir John Franklin, on 27 December 1837.

A State contribution of 700 pounds was much lower than originally offered. But a bazaar, and other appeals and loans from the public and support from the church in London meant the chapel was free from debt by 1849.

By any standard, the new chapel was considered an impressive building, with the capacity to seat 1100 people. The cedar pews were fitted with doors with painted numbers which allowed church trustees to identify the seats rented to particular families.

Front pews on both sides of the chapel provided extra space for families with children.

At the rear of the chapel several pews did not have doors and such seats were reserved for the ‘poor’.

A report in the Hobart Town Courier described it as a “rather out of the ordinary style of architecture and magnitude. It presents

Tongan Methodist College Choir’s 1933 visit to Wesley

an attraction quite English in its appearance.”

“Usefulness, and not ostentation, being the order of the day with the Wesleyans, their places of worship seldom exhibit anything but what is exceedingly plain.

“But, as regards the new edifice in Melville St, the interior portion of it is fitted with a degree of elegance and beauty that is seldom surpassed.”

The opening service took place on 18 October 1840 and was timed to coincide with the arrival of the Wesleyan Mission brigantine, Triton, which had been in the South Pacific and arrived with many members from Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand Maoris.

What the Islanders made of Hobart in spring is not known but the weather would certainly have been much crisper than many would have been accustomed to at home.

It is known that the opening celebration lasted three days, with Sir John and Lady Franklin attending one of the services.

The text Rev Carvosso first preached on his arrival in 1820 was repeated as part of the celebrations. The verse from that text “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead and Christ shall give you light” (Ephesians 5:14) has become the church’s unofficial mission statement.

While ministers no longer visit people by horseback or deliver food by the crateful, Hobart Wesley still seeks to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged through its daily twocourse lunch program, which operates from Monday to Friday.

The No Bucks Café menu prides itself on being all homemade, piping hot and served with a smile.

For some, the meal is their only decent feed for the day, while for others the human contact on offer is just as important as the tasty food.

From Monday to Thursday about 30 people will wander in during the two hours the cafe is open, but Friday’s barbecue can attract close to twice that number of people.

Also located on the Wesley site is the Wesley Heritage Museum, which houses one of

Wesley Junior Choir Christmas 1961 with Conductor Victor Lonergan, Organist Arnold Robinson and Rev William Ellis

the most significant collections of early Methodism in the Southern Hemisphere.

The collection is regarded by the National Library of Australia, Arts Tasmania and a small but knowledgeable Tasmanian museum community – as well as Methodist movement historians in England – as being of immense importance and significance.

There are large prints, photographs, bound copies of the Methodist Magazine (which are older than the founding of Hobart), colonial furniture, Staffordshire crockery and pottery and honour boards dotted throughout two downstairs rooms and a choir vestry above.

Even two original letters penned by John Wesley hang on a wall.

Supporting overseas mission work has been a passion for the congregants since the turn of the 20th century.

Between 1908 and the 1960s, The Ladies of Wesley created 11 editions of the Hobart Cookery Book, which was the most prominent cook book of its time. Recipes and home remedies – including the inhaling of turpentine for asthma and how to cook a kangaroo – were included.

Proceeds of the sale of the cookbooks went to the Methodist Overseas Missions Fund.

The Wesley Chapel’s 175th anniversary will be celebrated on Sunday 25 October commencing at 2pm. In keeping with tradition, Wesley will host a hymn fest featuring the Hobart Orpheus Choir, Tasmanian Chorale and Tasmanian Song Company. A Tongan soloist will also perform along with a Fijian group to honour Wesley’s South Pacific ties.

Wesley 1886

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News Support for human trafficking advocates PHUKET authorities recently acquitted Australian journalist Alan Morison, and his Thai colleague Chutima Sidasathian, of defamation charges brought against them by the Thai Navy.

They faced up to seven years in prison on charges relating to republishing, online, a paragraph from a Reuter’s news report.

The Reuter’s article outlined reports that Thai naval forces were complicit in human trafficking of Rohingya asylum seekers.

Uniting Church members wrote letters to the Thai Government asking that the charges be dropped, and to the Australian Government urging intervention in the case.

The court found the report was not defamatory, was in the public interest and that the most serious criminal charges, under Thailand’s Computer Crime Act, should never have been laid.

Mr Morison and Ms Sidasathian have steadfastly refused to apologise for republishing the Reuters paragraph.

“We had no intention of apologising for something that we haven’t done,” Mr Morison told The Age newspaper.

“This was a matter of important principle.

This case was wrong from the beginning, with one or two officers acting on bad advice.”

In late August, anti-human-trafficking researcher, Andy Hall was indicted to stand trial for another troubling Thai defamation case.

The case has been brought by a pineapple processing factory, Natural Fruit, after Mr Hall contributed research for nongovernment organisation Finnwatch.

The research exposed violations of Thai labour law at the Natural Fruit factory at the start of 2013. Mr Hall now faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

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Journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian

Mr Hall has previously conducted research, on behalf of the Commission for Mission, into food processing factories in Thailand that supply the Australian market.

In some cases human trafficking and forced labour were discovered.

Justice and International Mission unit director Dr Mark Zirnsak stressed the importance of supporting individuals undertaking advocacy work.

“If Andy is sent to prison for investigating human trafficking, it will deter other researchers and anti-slavery organisations from undertaking similar research,” he said.

“This case needs to be dismissed if the Thai Government wishes to persuade the world it is serious about eliminating human trafficking.”

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

News Re-development for synod building 130 LITTLE COLLINS STREET, home to the synod-based ministries and operations since 1967, will be demolished in 2019 to make way for a new development, pending State Government approvals.

This follows the decision by the Synod Standing Committee to enter into a joint venture partnership to construct a mixeduse accommodation hotel and residential apartment building. informed the Church in December of last year of the decision of the Standing Committee to divest 130 Little Collins Street, to enable synod operations to move into a Uniting Church hub at the newly developed Wesley Upper Lonsdale site.

The Property Board is expecting an announcement relating to planning approval for Wesley Upper Lonsdale in the next few months. Assuming this project is given the green light, Wesley Congregation, Wesley Mission Victoria and synod-based operations and ministries will move to that address in late 2019.

The Property Board’s advice to the Standing Committee in August of last year was that selling 130 Little Collins Street in an open market would not generate enough funds to cover the Wesley Upper Lonsdale lease obligations long term. As a result the Standing Committee rejected a straight sale, and focused instead on options which added value to the sale of the property.

In a letter to the Church last week, Moderator Dan Wootton said the Standing Committee also considered the potential of ongoing income to support further the mission of the wider Church.

“As part of its resolution, the Standing Committee has requested the Property Board, in consultation with BOMAR, to

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

provide it with a revised allocation of the proceeds that includes specific allocation ‘for whole of Church mission’,” the moderator wrote.

Director of Property, Paul Walec, said the Uniting Church will contribute its land and expertise to the joint venture partnership, but stressed the Uniting Church is not going into the accommodation hotel business.

“The Church shares profit from the development through the sale of the apartments and the accommodation hotel.

This will be invested and channelled back into the long-term lease obligations of synod-based ministries and operations as well as other mission activities of the Church,” Mr Walec explained.

The chairperson of the Property Board, Rev David Parker, said that the various options put to the Standing Committee had been carefully assessed from a legal and financial viewpoint, set within a missional overlay.

“Over the last few years significant changes have been made to improve accountability, and to ensure proper stewardship and good governance. There has also been ongoing thinking relating to the Church’s missional approach to property.”

“The Synod Property Board and Finance Committee approved a detailed assessment of the risks and associated mitigation strategies for each of the three options presented to the Standing Committee.

Their advice was that the joint venture had a lower level of risk than the other two disposal options.”

This is a significant development project for the Uniting Church which Mr Parker said will provide long-term financial sustainability for the mission of the Church.

The 2019-2020 timeline, pending State Government approvals, is to ensure synod operations moves only the once – from its current home to Lonsdale Street.

11

People Music through the years FOR more than half a century, the congregation of Lake Bolac’s Scots Uniting Church, in Victoria’s Western District has sung hymns accompanied by Marj McKenzie’s organ playing.

Mrs McKenzie arrived in the area as a newlywed more than 50 years ago. Soon after moving to her husband’s family farm, she volunteered at Scots UC, where she has

played music ever since.

Throughout the years she has become a familiar face in the music scene in the district, teaching at a number of schools as well as volunteering with the Lake Bolac Music Club, the Ararat Musical Comedy Society and the Sing Australia Choir in Ararat.

Ms McKenzie’s milestone was recently featured in the Ararat Advertiser. She told the paper that she loves contributing to the life of the church through her music.

“I love the music, I like the hymns,” she said. “I will continue to play the organ as long as I am there and capable of doing it.”

Like many church members, Ms McKenzie is very modest about her achievements.

She told Crosslight “I find this all a bit embarrassing, but apparently others are interested in the story.”

Neighbour and friend Richard Peters said Ms McKenzie is typical of many country people and doesn’t really understand what all the fuss is about.

“I think it’s remarkable that Marj has given 50 years of unflinching service to our church, as well as all the other activities she’s involved in, while also raising five children,” Mr Peters said.

A century of worship in Mildura

What mines are yours?

JESSIE CATO has recently been employed by the Justice and International Mission (JIM) unit as a part-time coordinator for their Publish What You Pay (PWYP) campaign.

PWYP is an international campaign aimed at creating greater transparency in the extractives – mining, gas and oil – sector.

To achieve this in Australia, Ms Cato advocates for the introduction of mandatory disclosure legislation and for Australia to commit to implementing the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

“As we move within 12 months of the next federal election, advocating for the major political parties to commit to the introduction of mandatory disclosure regulations will be the focus of the campaign,” Ms Cato said.

Celtic pilgrimage BEECHWORTH has a rich history of Celtic influence and culture. The discovery of gold at Beechworth in 1852 brought many Irish miners to the area. Every November, the regional Victoria town hosts a popular three-day festival celebrating its Celtic roots.

Beechworth Uniting Church has been running an annual Celtic pilgrimage for the past 14 years. The contemplative walk takes place immediately after the festival and is open to people of all faith traditions.

The Celtic Pilgrimage was recognised with an honourable mention in the Synod Ecumenical Awards last year.

Participants are encouraged to reflect on Christian, Indigenous and Celtic spirituality as they make their way through bushland, along the rail trail, from Wandiligong to

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“It is a big task, but one that PWYP Australia believes is achievable. For the campaign, funding is a huge challenge; the role is currently a part time position for 12 months, though the aim is to raise money to be able to continue past that and hopefully in a full time capacity.”

Before joining the JIM unit, Ms Cato was based in Dili, Timor Leste, as a gender officer with agricultural organisation Seeds of Life. She is currently studying for a masters in developmental studies with a specialisation in gender. She feels her passion for social justice and change is an important part of her work with the JIM unit.

“I really enoy working within the Uniting Church, it’s wonderful to be amongst people who share my commitment to social justice and advocate for that in their daily work,” she said.

THE weekend of 20 – 21 June was a time of thanksgiving and celebration, as St Andrews , Mildura UC celebrated its 100th anniversary.

The weekend began with a meet-and-greet launch. Visitors with a connection to the church mingled as they enjoyed the historic artefacts, documents and photographs on display.

Moderator Dan Wootton was a special guest at the centenary dinner on Saturday night. He was joined by past clergy and civic leaders as he unveiled the honour roll recording the names of ministers who had served the church since union.

The past, present and the future were all represented on the night. Speeches were delivered from the original cedar pulpit, and members were treated to traditional Cook Island music and dancing from the large Tongan and Cook Island communities represented in the area in recent years.

Guests arrived to Sunday morning worship in heritage vehicles and members of the Mildura and District Pipe band joined in a call to worship. More than 200 people attended a Sunday lunch, where friendships were renewed and memories shared.

A history booklet is available for $12 including postage by writing to PO Box 532, Mildura 3502, or contacting the office on 03 5023 3724 or email mildura.uca@bigpond.com

For more information go to: https://www. facebook.com/PWYPAustralia or contact Jessie.Cato@victas.uca.org.au

Beechworth.

Rev Caro Field is one of the organisers of the event. She said the pilgrimage has a strong emphasis on hospitality, a central element of Celtic Christianity.

“We have many participants who return year after year, although each year we also have new walkers,” she said.

“There is this interesting mix of walkers who are old hands delighted to catch up with their friends from past years, but also ensuring that new people are made welcome and helped to feel part of the group too.”

This year, the pilgrimage will take place from 8-13 November. The theme for the 2015 pilgrimage will be ‘Celtic Christianity living, following, and travelling’.

If you would like to join the pilgrimage this year contact Don Pope on (03) 5728 2835, or email beechworthcelticpilgrimage@gmail.com

Celtic pilgrimage group 2014

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Uniting Agewell Celebrates Foundation Day

Ageing well - our vision for the future EACH October, Uniting AgeWell celebrates its Foundation Day with a series of special community events. And while 2015 marks 11 years of service, the provision of senior services by the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania extends back to the late 1940s.

Inspired by their congregational vision, mission and dedication, many of our seniors communities were established by individual congregations responding to the needs of local older people. Congregations transformed their vision to reality through planning, hard work and persistence. They lobbied governments for finance, encouraged and managed bequests of land and fundraising campaigns, garnered local community support and volunteered their time providing practical and pastoral assistance to ageing members of their communities.

Uniting AgeWell continues that tradition. Its name proudly shows the strong connection to the Church and its beliefs, as well as representing a positive view of ageing in the 21st century.

I joined Uniting AgeWell as its Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer in January of this year. Throughout the past ten months I have witnessed the commitment and skill of our Board, staff and volunteers as they rise to the challenges of change brought about by an ageing population, extensive government reforms to aged care, increased market competition and the groundswell of consumer expectation.

Our focus is on supporting older people to experience a sense of wellbeing, choice and independence at every age and stage of their lives; to feel they are valued members of their

community with easy access to the services they need to live the life they want.

It’s what we call ageing well.

With services available throughout metropolitan and regional Victoria and Tasmania, Uniting AgeWell provides a range of options to support a person’s health and wellbeing, including independent and assisted living, home care, social support and therapy programs, respite and residential care communities.

The stories highlighted in this special Foundation Day feature show how Uniting AgeWell’s 2,500 staff and 700 volunteers support more than 7,000 people each year to age well and to live to their potential.

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan measures its Gross National Happiness (GNH), which seems like an excellent approach to what matters in life. If we were to evaluate happiness for seniors, we already know some of the areas to start measuring. They are identified in the Uniting AgeWell Service Model. Our sense of wellbeing arises from being part of and contributing to a community; having control over the decisions about our lives; and being nourished emotionally and spiritually as well as physically.

This is why the AgeWell approach is so important to us all. I encourage you to be an active part of that journey.

Valerie J. Lyons Executive Director & CEO – Victoria & Tasmania Uniting AgeWell

Supports you to engage with your community, remain active and celebrate life with others.

AgeWell Being Encourages wellbeing of body, mind and soul.

AgeWell Assist

Access

Choice

THE AgeWell philosophy is built on the recognition that people want to grow old in their own community. To be as independent as possible and have purpose. And to be valued and make a contribution.

AgeWell recognises the different stages of the ageing process. These are reflected in the services you may choose to support your goals, while offering service continuity and peace of mind as your needs change.

Our aim is to support everyone on their individual ageing journey through choice, autonomy, flexibility and community.

The Uniting AgeWell Service Model has six elements: Connect, Being, Assist, Restore, Care and Palliate.

AgeWell Connect

Wellbeing

A different approach to ageing

CROSSLIGHT - SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE FROM UNITING AGEWELL

Provides support, services and assistance to lead the life you want.

AgeWell Restore Enables you to access therapies and assistive technology to restore and maintain your health, independence and wellbeing.

AgeWell Care Offers you a continuum of care and support when and where you need it.

Indep dence en

AgeWell Palliate Provides dignified end-of-life care in the setting you want, honouring the spirit within.

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Uniting Agewell Celebrates Foundation Day

Cultivating community connections HEALTHY food options with high nutritional value are particularly significant as we grow older. The increasing appreciation of quality fresh food is evident through the proliferation of community garden spaces.

Such spaces provide an opportunity for families and broader communities to come together and enjoy green spaces and a shared appreciation for fresh fruit and vegetables.

Michelle Thompson is the Community Programs Coordinator at Uniting AgeWell in Noble Park. She believes that ‘good food’ provides many opportunities to cultivate relationships, increase social engagement and foster broader community links.

For this reason Uniting AgeWell in Noble Park is on its way to establishing a full-scale community garden space with outdoor kitchen facilities.

“We want to engage the entire community,” Michelle said.

“That means our residents, families, clients, volunteers, staff and broader community groups.”

Namaste CREATING a caring and supportive environment for older people is key to the ethos of Uniting AgeWell.

For residents with advanced stages of dementia, the need for a holistic approach is especially critical.

Uniting AgeWell currently utilises an award winning program that provides a model of care specifically directed to support individuals with dementia.

Initially developed in America, the Namaste care program is tailored towards improving wellbeing and overall quality of life through high-touch sensory-

Construction is now underway, with landscaping to continue in the coming months. Michelle said the finished space will encourage social engagement between residents, family members and local community groups.

“There aren’t a lot of activities around this area for older people,” she said.

“So we started to think about the idea of developing a wheelchair accessible community garden with raised garden beds.

“The idea of a community garden isn’t just about being outside – it gives people a sense of purpose and strengthens social connections.”

As well as the community garden, Michelle and a team of volunteers made up of staff and residents are producing a cookbook.

“Our older generations have fantastic recipes that people are always trying to get hold of,” she said.

“So we came up with the idea of putting together a professionally produced cookbook filled with recipes submitted by staff, residents and volunteers.

“We are using recipes that have meaning for people – something their grandmother used to make, something they used to cook for their children, or something that’s been handed down over successive generations.

“There’s a lot of cultural diversity among

our residents, so we want the recipes to reflect that diversity.”

Michelle believes the links between good food, social connections and health and wellbeing are a key element of Uniting AgeWell communities.

“People love sharing meals and talking about gardens – that’s a really integral part of getting together,” she said.

“So the idea is to provide space for residents and families to spend time together outside.

“Good food is always important but as we’re ageing nutrition becomes even more important for general health and overall wellbeing,” she said.

enhancement, communication and engagement.

Many individuals with dementia become withdrawn, so an essential element of the program is utilising physical contact as a means of establishing communication.

The program involves a twice-daily sensory enhancement program that includes therapeutic touch, music and aromatherapy to create a soothing environment for residents.

Staff are also trained in advanced dementia care, with a focus on connecting with people who have lost the ability to verbally communicate.

Kerry Whitlock is Uniting AgeWell’s palliative care specialist and oversees the

Namaste program at Uniting AgeWell’s Carnsworth site.

“The Namaste care model works to decrease a client’s stress and anxiety and, consequently, their family’s,” she said.

“Through this style of care we’re finding straightforward ways to calm the person and surround them with a peaceful environment at the end of their life.

“It’s very simple things, but all these little things really add up to a much greater level of care and support.”

Staff work with residents in a holistic way to increase social engagement and minimise anxiety.

“People with advanced dementia lose the ability to communicate and when people

The cookbook titled ‘From seed to table’ will be available for sale by the end of the year at $25 a copy, with all proceeds going towards the community garden. To order or make a donation, call 9554 0717

lose that ability they often feel isolated,” Kerry said.

“This can cause increased anxiety and confusion about what’s happening around them.

“So it’s critical to create a soothing environment and maintain communication and wellbeing.”

Ilka Turner has seen first-hand the enormous benefits of the program through the care of her partner Kevin Hogg.

“I’m delighted Kevin is receiving extra attention,” Ilka said.

“He’s more responsive and much more alert and looks brighter – it’s a wonderful program that’s certainly useful in a residential setting.”

Members of Uniting AgeWell's Palliative Care team, from LtoR, Care Managers Jenny Rodda and Perri Hammond, Lifestyle Coordinator Vindhya Mendhis and Palliative Care Specialist - Quality Kerry Whitlock

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Uniting Agewell Celebrates Foundation Day

Restoring health and wellbeing REMAINING active as we age is an essential ingredient to maintaining physical health and mental wellbeing.

An initiative of the AgeWell Restore program at Uniting AgeWell’s Strathdon Community in Forest Hill is ensuring people remain active in a safe and supportive environment.

The Helsinki University Research (HUR) gym program utilises specially designed air resistance exercise equipment tailored to support older people maintaining and regaining fitness levels.

The gym is particularly suitable for people with mobility and sensory impairment and for those who might otherwise feel intimidated attending mainstream gyms.

Each weekday, physiotherapy and exercise physiology staff assist clients to build fitness and greater physical resilience after illness or injury.

The specialised equipment uses air resistance to reduce stress on joints and connective tissue. SmartTouch technology automates exercise programs and pre-sets

Respite gives peace of mind FOR many families, taking on the role of fulltime carer for a loved one is a challenging and at times daunting prospect.

Caring for partners or elderly parents in a fulltime capacity presents a range of physical and emotional challenges, so additional support networks are vital.

Uniting AgeWell offers a range of flexible respite care options specifically tailored to support family members caring for a loved one.

This enables carers to undertake other responsibilities or simply take a break while being assured their loved one is in a caring

ListenWell PASTORAL care is a central aspect of Uniting AgeWell’s aged care services.

Rev John Clarke is the Director of Mission for Uniting AgeWell and said a caring and supportive community has far-reaching benefits.

His role is to act as a conduit between the Uniting Church and the day-to-day operations of Uniting AgeWell services. In this way emphasis is given to the practical application of the ethos of the Church as applied in an aged care setting.

“We put significant effort and resources into pastoral care and a part of that is through the Uniting Church chaplains we have at all our sites,” John said.

“These sorts of roles are established to ensure the values of the Church are reflected in all aspects of Uniting AgeWell care and services.”

The ListenWell program is one example of the Church’s ethos in action.

The program involves training volunteer pastoral visitors, who work under the oversight of chaplains, to provide pastoral care for residents.

Chaplains match volunteers with suitable residents for regular visits and, in doing so, increase pastoral care and broader

and supportive environment.

Sherryn McMahon is the Manager of Integrated Services at Uniting AgeWell’s Kingsville site in Melbourne.

Sherryn says many family members acting as carers often face periods of ‘emotional burnout’ from the strains of taking on a primary carer role.

“It can be a really natural thing for family members to take on the role of carer but you do need support,” she said.

“Being a carer can be very draining both physically and mentally – it’s really a twentyfour-seven job.

“People may have mobility problems and need virtually constant assistance and some carers may not always have additional family to help out.”

Respite care offered by Uniting AgeWell covers both short-term and longer term care options for families.

Lee and Heather Kisler have lived at Uniting AgeWell’s Amarco independent living apartments for a little over a year. Lee has been his wife’s fulltime carer since she was diagnosed with dementia about 10 years ago.

Heather attends respite care three days per week, which enables Lee to go shopping, socialise with friends and catch up on household chores.

“I catch up with family and friends once or twice a week,” Lee said.

“Heather and I are used to socialising, but it’s got a bit difficult in the past few years.”

Lee said it gives him peace of mind to know that Heather is happy while in respite care.

equipment for resistance and heart rate limits.

The equipment also records activity and progress back to staff and clients.

Ana Mubaslat is the Community Programs Manager at Forest Hill. She said strength and balance training are key factors in health and wellbeing for men and women over the age of 65.

“We’ve found that when people are physically active they have much greater social engagement and involvement in other activities,” Ana said.

Anne Seeney is one of many regulars to the HUR gym site at Forest Hill.

“I’ve had some work-related injuries in the past so I find the low impact exercise of enormous benefit in terms of back pain,” Anne said.

“The SmartTouch card system is great because it ensures you’re exercising at the right rate for you and keeps track of your exercise.

“We won’t be trying out for the Olympics any time soon, but it’s great for keeping active and mobile.

“There’s also a social aspect to it as well because many of us have been coming for several years – it’s great for keeping active but also just general wellbeing.”

Sherryn said particular emphasis is given to organising activities clients want to take part in and creating a caring environment.

“Many people will come in for respite care regularly so they get to know staff and other clients really well,” she said.

“People become familiar and friendly with staff, and we make it an environment with a community feel that is really welcoming and supportive.”

Lee said the couple’s daughters often joke their parents are living ‘on a cruise ship’ with the support they receive from Uniting AgeWell.

“We have a lovely woman come to help Heather with showering and dressing in the mornings. On Fridays she stays and does some housework and – most importantly – the ironing!” Lee said.

community connections.

“That’s important as there are huge pastoral care needs for people settling into a new community,” John said.

“We’ve got more than 40 pastoral care volunteers trained to be able to listen actively and reach out to people – particularly those who would otherwise be quite socially isolated.”

Uniting AgeWell chaplain Cathy Beaton said residents may wish to discuss ‘big picture’ aspects of growing older or simply have a chat and a cuppa.

“People love to talk,” she said.

“It might be about family or just a chat about the footy.

“Sometimes it is just at that social level but once a rapport is built it can go into deeper things.

“This might be about people’s worries, grief over the loss of a loved one or just whatever is on their mind.

“Once people build relationships they’re comfortable to talk deeper issues and genuine friendships are established.

“It might be a spiritual discussion on life issues or just a chat with a friendly face.”

If the role of a pastoral care volunteer interests you, please contact Rev John Clarke on 9251 5209 or email JClarke@unitingagewell.org

CROSSLIGHT - SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE FROM UNITING AGEWELL

Chaplain Cathy Beaton with Beryl Pearson at Noble Park

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Uniting Agewell Celebrates Foundation Day

Life is made of special moments YOU are never too old to dream or to wish for something special in your life. The Wishing Well program at Uniting AgeWell is striving to help clients achieve their dreams, no matter what they might be.

Funded through the annual Uniting AgeWell Charity Golf Day and other community fundraising events, the Wishing Well program has made many dreams – some big, some small – come true. From flights in a helicopter, to a romantic Valentine’s dinner, or an encounter with white lion cubs, the wishes are as diverse as they are individual. And that’s what makes Wishing Well so special.

For Doris Thackery, aged 96, it was a ride from Hobart’s Salamanca Market to the summit of Mt Wellington on a Harley Davidson.

“My trip up Mt Wellington was very exciting and wonderful on a Harley trike. I was looked after so well by Dave, the driver. It was something I never thought I would do, but thanks to Wishing Well, I got my wish.”

The pleasure Wishing Well brings into the lives of Uniting AgeWell’s clients and their families is palpable. Failing health, special care or transport needs can make a seemingly simple request difficult to achieve without the

Directing your own care CONSUMER Directed Care (CDC) is an improved way of delivering aged care services in Australia.

In 2012, the Australian government identified that, if older people are to lead meaningful and better lives and remain living at home for longer, aged care services would need to provide genuine choice and flexibility and empower people to direct their own care and services.

CDC is not a type of home care package. It is the approach used to provide home care services. Since July 2015, all governmentfunded home care packages are delivered on a CDC basis.

Home Care Packages can be used for personal care, domestic and personal support, clinical care, assistive technology or other services in the community.

Joy Bryan (pictured) is a retired schoolteacher who has lived in a Uniting AgeWell independent retirement living unit in northern Tasmania for the past seven years.

Throughout that time Joy has maintained

support of the Wishing Well program.

Wish organiser Simone Cosgriff, has received many letters of thanks, mainly from families or friends, for making these magic moments happen.

“Our aim is to make the experience as special and as seamless as possible. No wish is too small. The buzz we all get from seeing someone rediscover how to fish, enjoy high tea with their friends, or watch their favourite AFL team play at the MCG one more time, makes it all worthwhile,” Simone said.

The Wishing Well program would not be possible without community support. To help spread the word, the Men’s Shed participants at Uniting AgeWell’s Rosetta Community in Tasmania volunteered their time and talents to construct wooden wishing wells for display, making it a fun reminder for people to post a Wishing Well nomination.

Carefully designed so they could be flatpacked and transported to Melbourne, the wishing wells are waiting to be reassembled and painted by a group of volunteers this month. Once completed, they will be distributed to Uniting AgeWell communities for further decoration and prominent display.

If you would like to get involved in the Wishing Well program, please contact Simone on T: 9276 5712 or email SCosgriff@unitingagewell.org

her independence with the help of a Level 2 Home Care Package (HCP). Severe osteoarthritis meant Joy needed help three days per week with showering and dressing as well as help with housework and meal preparation.

Earlier this year, Joy’s osteoarthritis became more severe and she experienced other medical complications. She felt she needed more support in order to be able to stay at home. Joy required a morning and evening visit to help with personal care. She also needed help with shopping, which she had previously done independently.

Uniting AgeWell was able to transition Joy onto a Level 4 HCP so that she now has the assistance that she requires (approximately 10 hours per week).

“The care package has helped me tremendously,” Joy said.

“I am very independent and have an active social life. With the help I receive I’m able to stay in my own home with friends and family close by. I’ve just recently had the Wi-Fi connected and learned how to use an iPad, so that will help me to stay in touch even more.”

CDC offers flexibility and choice and aims to put the client in control of decision making.

This means the client chooses the services they want, how they wish to receive them and how involved they want to be in managing those services. There’s also a greater level of transparency and reporting on how a person’s package funds are spent.

Fonda Voukelatos, Uniting AgeWell’s Executive Manager Business Development has been overseeing the implementation of CDC within the organisation.

“We’ve introduced a simple five-step approach to give our clients the confidence and support they need to make the choices that suit them,” Fonda says.

“From the initial conversation with one of our Care Advisors, through to developing, implementing and reviewing care arrangements and goals, we are committed to making a person’s experience of organising and receiving services as simple, flexible and responsive as possible.

“We know that some of our clients will want us to provide full case management and coordination to give them peace of mind, while others may want to select and arrange their own services and actively manage their budget. It’s about listening to people and providing a unique service for each person.”

Uniting AgeWell services are available across Melbourne, Bendigo, Geelong and Tasmania. For more information, or to speak to someone about your needs, p. 1300 783 435 or w. unitingagewell.org 4

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Feature

ICE

I

beyond

the headlines Crystal methamphetamine, more commonly known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, has featured prominently in news headlines in recent times. Stories of violent attacks on innocent bystanders and ice-induced psychosis are reported to be occurring with alarming frequency. Crosslight attempts to sort fact from fiction.

TIM LAM

Feature

Family support and effective treatment flip-side to Ice fear Ice: an epidemic?

EPIDEMIC. Scourge. Crisis. These are some of the words used by media and politicians to describe Australia’s ice problem.

The reduced cost and increased purity of methamphetamine in Australia has seen higher levels of harm amongst people who use the drug. Regional and rural communities in particular have been affected by an increase in ice usage.

Some who work in rehabilitation have expressed concerns about the proliferation of alarming media stories. An overemphasis on the harmful effects of ice, without consideration of the possible pathways to rehabilitation, can create the perception that there is little chance of recovery for users.

Ice is undoubtedly a severe health and social issue, but out of the darkness emerge stories of courage, hope and resilience.

These stories are a reminder that ice addiction is not a death sentence and that effective treatment options are available.

While ice is a significant health, social and economic issue, experts debate over whether it is in fact an ‘epidemic’.

UnitingCare ReGen CEO Laurence Alvis cautions against overstating the severity of ice in Australia.

“The harm is real and needs to be addressed, but it is still only affecting a

Budget cuts threaten rehabilitation services FAMILY support is invaluable in helping people recover from methamphetamine dependence, but it can also have a severe emotional and financial toll on family members.

This stress is exacerbated by the lack of accessible treatment services in the community. Federal government cuts to health services mean thousands of people needing vital drug and alcohol support are being turned away. ReGen has a long waiting list that can vary from 20 to 50 people.

Trevor King, UnitingCare ReGen’s Director of Programs, said families are bearing a particular burden when it comes to dealing with ice.

“We know that families can be a tremendous source of support for recovery, but we also know that they can experience significant stigma, grief, financial stress and social isolation,” he said.

small percentage of the population, less than 3 per cent by most reliable measures.

This does not constitute an ‘epidemic’,” he said.

“Alcohol, by far, is still responsible for the greatest harm within our communities.”

Methamphetamine use in Australia has remained stable over the past decade. What has changed is the way the drug is taken.

The most recent National Drugs Strategy Household Survey indicated that the use of methamphetamine in its purer, and more potent, crystal form (ice) has more than doubled between the period 2010-2013.

The physical symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal last longer compared to most other drug types. A typical residential withdrawal lasts seven to 10 days. Methamphetamine withdrawal takes about a month.

One of the great community fears is the risk of violence by ice users.

“There is much that family members can do to manage loved ones’ behaviour and reduce risk of violence,” Mr Alvis said.

“We’ve done it in our own services. We have the highest ever rates of people undertaking methamphetamine treatment and our lowest ever rates of violent incidents.”

Rather than adopting an alarmist approach, Mr Alvis suggests increasing funding for evidence-based treatment options.

Law enforcement is only part of the

solution. It must be complemented with approaches that support people who are methamphetamine dependent.

Misrepresentations of facts and simplistic slogans can further stigmatise an already vulnerable group of people and make the community more afraid to engage with them. Mr Alvis said effective drug policy frameworks are already in place in Australia. The National Drug Strategy’s Harm Minimisation model incorporates three key strategies: supply reduction (policing and border control), demand reduction (treatment services and public health campaigns) and harm reduction (needle and syringe programs, supervised injecting centres). ReGen’s work focuses specifically on the areas of demand reduction and harm reduction.

“Each strategy addresses a different set of needs and complements activities in the other two. In isolation, none will solve the problem,” Mr Alvis explained.

ReGen began noticing an increase in people seeking help with methamphetamine dependence in 2012. The number of people seeking methamphetamine treatment at the agency increased from 6 per cent of total ReGen clients in 2010 to 30 per cent in 2015.

“We recognised that we needed to make some changes to the way we delivered our services so that we could respond to the particular needs of this highly-stigmatised

group,” Mr Alvis said.

UnitingCare ReGen began embarking on a new approach to support people who are methamphetamine dependent. It introduced greater flexibility to the ReGen service model and focused on providing people with sustained support over a longer period.

“Our goal was make it easier for people to engage with treatment and stay engaged,” Mr Alvis said.

“So far, it’s working well with our combination of residential and nonresidential services, including withdrawal, counselling and rehabilitation programs, producing sustained benefits for participants and their families.”

The Victorian Government has recognised the effectiveness of ReGen’s Torque program. Earlier this year, the state government announced a $24.6 million package to expand treatment services in Victoria. UnitingCare ReGen was chosen to run a new program based at Connections UnitingCare’s NarreWarren site. This will enable ReGen to provide rehabilitation services for people living in Melbourne’s outer south east region.

“Our message to the community is that methamphetamine use is not a death sentence,” Mr Alvis said.

“There are clear risks but, with the right support, people are rebuilding their lives.”

“The damage to health, relationships, employment and other indicators of wellbeing can be severe.”

The federal government launched a $20 million ‘Ice Destroys Lives’ media campaign this year and spent an additional $1 million on a controversial ‘dob-in-a-

April this year. Common feedback from the community consultations was the need for more rehabilitation services.

Both residential and non-residential rehabilitation services throughout the country are struggling to meet demand.

Taskforce members Ken Lay and Dr Sally

dealer’ hotline.

“Cutting treatment services, while spending millions on ineffective, fear-based TV campaigns and ‘dob-in-a-dealer’ phone lines is not helpful,” Mr King said.

One of the government initiatives to tackle ice is the National Ice Taskforce launched by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott in

McCarthy met with ReGen staff, consumer consultants and participants earlier this year to hear about the success of their Torque program.

“We have been very encouraged by the work of the Taskforce, both in their consultations with service providers and discussions with people who use our

services,” Mr King said.

“Taskforce head Ken Lay has consistently recognised that we can’t arrest our way out of this problem. He sees the need for a broad based response that includes evidence-based and adequately resourced treatment services and a focus on building resilience amongst children to prevent future AOD (alcohol and other drug) use.”

Mr King is confident the Taskforce will make informed recommendations to the federal government. However, he expressed concerns at the government’s approach to ice, which has seen the drug framed as a law enforcement issue, rather than a health issue.

“Tony Abbott called for national leadership on this issue but offered little more than service cuts and ‘tough on drugs’ rhetoric,” he said.

“From the outset, the federal government focused almost entirely on law enforcement, while cutting funding to treatment and harm reduction services and removing public health peak bodies.”

The final National Ice Taskforce report, including a clear strategy and recommendations, will be presented to the Council of Australian Governments before the end of the year.

Facts about ice • An estimated 2-3 per cent of the Australian population use methamphetamine. Approximately half of them use ice (1-1.5 per cent of the population).

• The prevalence of methamphetamine use in Australia has remained stable since 2001.

• The use of methamphetamine in powder form has decreased from 51 per cent of all methamphetamine use in 2010 to 29 per cent in 2013. However, the use of the drug in crystal form (ice) has more than doubled from 22 per cent of all methamphetamine use to 50 per cent during that same period.

• Ice is not a major drug of choice for young people aged 12-17. An estimated 2.9 per cent have tried methamphetamine compared to 28 per cent for alcohol and 14.8 per cent for cannabis.

• The price of crystal methamphetamine has decreased dramatically to about a third of the cost in 2009, making it more accessible and affordable.

• Ice-related emergencies rose by 27 per cent in regional Victoria from 2012-13 to 2013-14. There was a 10 per cent increase for metropolitan Melbourne in the same period.

• Alcohol remains overwhelmingly the cause of ambulance call outs with an average of 45 ambulance call-outs a day, compared to 4 per day for ice.

• For every dollar spent on drug treatment, the community saves $7, compared with $2 for stronger policing.

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CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Sarah’s story Sarah Britton is a mother of two boys, aged eight and nine. She was also an ice addict and had been using the drug for 11 years.

For Sarah, ice was a means to cope with the trauma of an abusive relationship.

“I know there are other people out there who want to have a good time and party and really get off on the drug, but I never did. I did it as an escape from my situation,” Sarah said.

Sarah’s partner at the time was also an ice user. Because of its purity, ice is the more potent form of methamphetamine and its side effects are more intense. A symptom of using ice is that it heightens paranoia, irritability and aggression. Stories of ice destroying families and crippling relationships are sadly all too common.

“Having a partner on ice brings out a lot of anger and rage in domestic violence,” Sarah said.

“Whatever’s in you – if you’ve got torment or fury or anger – the drug will bring it out 10 times. It’ll bring it all up to the forefront and it’ll come out.”

“A lot of drug addicts, especially me, didn’t have any problem-solving skills and so I turned towards drugs,” Sarah said.

“ReGen staff teach you ways around the problems when they arise and what to do about it.

“They teach you skills that I’ve basically

This can be a challenging process, but Sarah said Torque provided her a safety net that she could return to each morning.

During rehabilitation, Sarah had one-onone sessions with a counsellor to identify the reasons for her drug use and establish goals she wanted to achieve. These sessions

The journey continues Earlier this year, Sarah gave a talk at the annual ReGen innovation seminar. Sarah’s mother was in attendance as a show of support for her daughter. Post-treatment support from family and friends is critical for long-term recovery from drug dependence.

“I’ve got a good supportive mother who helps me,” Sarah said.

“She helped look after my children and if you could get a group of supportive people around you, it helps as well.”

Ice is a complex, multi-layered problem and there are no quick-fix solutions. Approaches to combating ice need to take into account other social issues, such as domestic violence. Sarah believes many people in an abusive relationship turn to ice to block out the pain. She also suggests having effective rehabilitation services in prison to help cut down ice addiction in the community.

Sarah’s story demonstrates that it is possible to recover from ice addiction and, in the process, develop important life-long skills.

She advises ice addicts to take up the detox and rehabilitation services offered by agencies like UnitingCare ReGen to help turn their life around.

“There’s nothing good about the drug,” she said.

“To get off ice you have to want to change, otherwise it’s quite pointless.

“I definitely recommend Curran Place detox and then the Torque program through ReGen because I’ve never met any group like it. It’s been a real success story for myself.

“I don’t think ReGen get enough coverage for what they do. They’re so good they should be global. Really, they are wonderful.”

Sarah recently completed UnitingCare ReGen’s Consumer Participation Training and is now assisting the agency as a consumer consultant. In her new role, Sarah will be helping other drug addicts overcome their addiction.

“I’m able to give back to what the people of ReGen have given me as I can train up and help other drug addicts for them. It’s something that I really look forward to.”

Road to recovery Last November, Sarah decided she wanted to end her addiction and visited the detox unit at UnitingCare ReGen’s Curran Place facility.

“I had enough of my lifestyle and the drugs,” Sarah explained.

“I wanted to be a better mother for my children and to give them a chance of having a good life.”

Sarah recalled spending much of the first three days at the detox facility “crashing out”, as ice deprives a person of sleep.

Withdrawal is just the first step in the recovery process. After completing detox, Curran Place referred Sarah to UnitingCare ReGen’s Torque rehabilitation program. This is a six-week non-residential rehabilitation program run at ReGen’s Coburg site. It assists participants to develop coping skills and maintain their motivation to cease substance use. The period following withdrawal is a vulnerable time as there is a high potential for relapse.

“The first three or so weeks I was in there, I was really overwhelmed and didn’t take much in. I thought ‘what was the point of me being here?’” Sarah said.

Meeting other people was a major part of Sarah’s rehabilitation process. She reflected that being in a safe and secure group environment helped break some of the social anxieties many drug addicts have.

“I had a big social phobia because ice isolates you from people. You think you’re the only one living this life. But in a group, you realise you’re not the only one living this life and that there are people out there,” she said.

“Just sharing stories and hearing other stories helped me out too. You can learn from other people and they can learn from your stories.”

In addition to interacting with other recovering addicts, Torque helps participants reintegrate into society through gym sessions at the Coburg Leisure Centre.

Other activities such as drumming, art therapy sessions and mindfulness exercises are also available to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

A key feature of Torque is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions. CBT aims to prevent relapse by challenging problematic thinking patterns and increasing the participants’ range of coping skills.

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

encouraged her to confront her fears instead of escaping from them.

“It has turned my life around. It really has,” she said.

“There are times when trauma comes up and I’ve got to face the pain and the hurt and the fear to be able to move forward.

“I now have no desire for the drug because I’ve passed the point of the drug. I’m going straight to the source of it – the fear.”

been looking for my whole life – how to cope through hard times and how to disassociate yourself from many things that may trigger drug use.”

Because Torque is a non-residential day program, participants return home every night. For Sarah, this gave her an opportunity to practice the new skills she acquired in a non-supervised environment.

helped Sarah confront many of the fears and anxieties that contributed to her drug use.

“I didn’t look at the drug itself. I looked at the reasons behind the drug and why I took the drug. So I had to face a lot of fear that was there, a lot of terror that I’d been through and a lot of trauma,” she said.

For Sarah, participating in Torque

If you or someone you know is looking for drug and alcohol addiction treatment options, visit UnitingCare ReGen’s website at www.regen.org.au or call 1800 700 514.

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Reflection Read for reformation day TO mark Reformation Day this October, consider visiting a theological library. The anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting on 31 October 1517 to announce 95 theological issues that needed urgent discussion could be marked in many ways, but time browsing shelves to find and read a well-crafted book would be a fitting tribute to the events that revolutionised Western Christianity in the 16th century.

The Christian community has had libraries of one kind or another from the outset.

The early church aimed to protect texts and documents in time of persecution, giving explicit instructions to the ‘lectors’ or ‘readers’ about what they needed to do.

We have a reader’s ticket from the library founded by Alexander of Jerusalem in that city in the 3rd century CE. The library established by Eusebius at Caesarea collected a breadth of source material to support research and preserve the memory of the community, as well as pioneering new technologies of indexing.

We do not have the same detailed knowledge of the early libraries at Aksum in Ethiopia, or at Tai Qin in China, but we do know they were centres of scholarship and church life; and in Calabria in the 5th century Cassiodorus left the service of

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the Goths and established a collection of classical and Christian authors. He dubbed it the ‘Vivarium’ because he hoped students would integrate scholarly reading and Christian living.

The hope for the integration of faith and life through reading and reflection fuelled the monastic collections of the middle ages, and it also motivated the re-founding of libraries by both Protestants and Catholics as the violence of the Reformation abated.

Thomas Bodley, for example, who refounded the Bodleian library at Oxford in the 1550s, had been a student at John Calvin’s Academy in Geneva as a boy.

Wesley Kort is one scholar who argues that just as Luther took ‘vocation’ out of the monastery and into the everyday work of ordinary Christians, so Calvin took the practice of reading from the confines of religious specialists and made it central to Christian life for all.

The trajectory of making theology more public, of moving knowledge from behind the cloister walls and into the public domain has opened theology to wider scrutiny and more open debate. Crucially too for Calvin and others it was not a matter of reading Scripture to identify support for particular doctrines, but rather to read widely in order to clarify, protect and deepen the reading of Scripture and the understanding of God. And as printed pamphlets made it easier for ideas to spread, and for unusual voices to find a public (including lay women like Katharina Schütz Zell and Argula von

Grumbach) the reformers hoped that all believers would be equipped to play their part in theological conversation. Reading lies close to the heart of the Reformers’ hope for a church grounded in Scripture; and reading of all kinds, not only of the Bible, nourished and supported the reformers’ work.

The image ‘Prayer without End’ (above) painted by the Flemish artist Nicholas Maes in 1656 is sometimes seen as summary of Reformation theology.

In a humble domestic setting an ordinary elderly woman is surrounded by objects that symbolise Christian faith and the life of the church. The Eucharistic elements on the table, keys of the kingdom on the hook below the shelf, and the battered book open above. She is praying alone, and reading is also often a solitary activity.

But Calvin insisted that for ordinary Christians reading, like prayer, is always corporate; it is imbedded in an implied community. So Maes’s praying, reading woman is also an icon of the church.

There is more on Maes, Calvin, Zell, Grumbach, Scripture, and the Reformation in the rich theological collection that is Melbourne’s Dalton-McCaughey Library.

Jointly owned by the UCA Synod of

Victoria-Tasmania and the Australian Province of the Society of Jesus, and housed at the UCA Centre for Theology & Ministry, its holdings were built carefully by the partners from the mid-19th century, and first combined in 1971.

Built on visionary ecumenical collaboration that grew from the friendship of the UCA’s founding president Davis McCaughey with the Jesuit Biblical scholar William Dalton, the Dalton-McCaughey Library mission statement enshrines accessibility, and a ‘fully contemporary’ approach to preserve the holdings for the future.

The library is a gem. Most of the collection is on the open shelves and readers are always welcome to browse and test out the Reformation hope (shared by Ignatius of Loyola who founded the Jesuits as it was by Luther, Calvin and Wesley) that theological work would be readily available. Visit soon and make this the year you read for Reformation.

Katharine Massam Coordinator of Studies in Church History Pilgrim Theological College

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Letters Unfair boycott IN the September issue of Crosslight there was a call from the recent UCA Assembly meeting to support Palestinian Christians with a “boycott of goods from illegal settlements in the West bank”.

To be even-handed on this perplexing issue, I would recommend that this boycott should be adopted for every other country worldwide which is persecuting, and even killing, Christians. Yes, the plight of the Palestinian Christians is one of many issues emanating from this conflict; however, boycotting of goods from the West bank will hurt both Palestinian and Jewish people.

Further to Professor Dutney’s last paragraph, he should explore further the underlying problems with this issue and look at it from an Israeli point of view also, i.e, how and what happened with the outcome of the 1967 war. This problem will not go away until surrounding Muslim countries accept the right of Israel to exist.

His last eight words state “an affront to the gospel of Jesus Christ” and this issue is one of the many ‘affronts’ facing Christians in the world at this present time.

D Stephens Boronia, VIC

Revelling in Revelations FIELD days in rural areas are great opportunities for people to come together to see the latest equipment and technology, hear information and discussion sessions on agricultural and scientific breakthroughs, to share ideas, products and craft, but primarily to meet up with friends and hear what is going on in your region and beyond.

North Eastern Victoria presbytery took this idea and developed its own version of theological field days.

This is the fourth time we have gathered for a day-and-a-half to meet and share together.

It is open to anyone in our presbytery and beyond, and is free. We know that people travel significant distances and stay overnight so we don’t want to exclude anyone on grounds of cost. We simply ask

those who can to make a donation to the cost of the day and the meals.

This year 40 people sat down to a three course dinner on Friday night, provided by our caterer extraordinaire, Janette Smith, to hear Rev Dr Sunny Chen introduce us to the book of Revelation in his own inimitable style. He had braved the Hume Highway and driven north out of Melbourne for the very first time and discovered a whole new world en route to Wangaratta. We discovered a whole new world through him in Revelations.

Sixty people came the next day to hear part 2 of Sunny’s talk, and then to engage with a smorgasbord of workshops. Workshop topics ranged from learning about leadership and councils of the church with Rev Dr Jenny Byrnes, to unpacking myths about refugees. We explored PowerPoint in worship and discussed how to create meaningful devotional spaces in an op shop or anywhere.

We are blessed with a strong tradition of education in our presbytery. Keen lay and ordained leaders are willing to share their knowledge and get involved in planning this annual event of the Mission and Education Committee. We also continue to be supported by staff at the Centre for Theology and Ministry and appreciate that greatly.

Most of all it is a gathering of the people of God in the north-east and beyond, encouraging one another and gaining new insights and skills to continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ and grow in their faith. The rural church is alive and well.

Look out for Field Days again next year.

Wendie Wilkie

Well done THANKS for a great Crosslight for September. Your interview with Gillian Triggs was a cracker. It enabled this outstanding Australian to speak without the continual political ‘white noise’ and get her inspiring story told. Your article ‘Blooming Marvellous’ was a fine tribute to those many, many floral artists who Sunday by Sunday, enhance worship with the beauty of flowers.

Jim Foley Via email

Right decision UNLIKE another writer who expressed his disappointment over the Synod Standing Committee’s decision to withdraw from ACCESS Ministries, I believe that it was the best possible step with regard to ACCESS we could take as a church.

This comment is made from experience. In a number of my placements in congregations, from the early 1980s until 2009, I served as a CRE teacher in local primary schools.

In the 1980s, the old Religion in Life curriculum was excellent. It reflected a broadly ecumenical understanding of the Christian faith, as well as respecting the diversity of the school communities, including people of faiths other than Christianity as well as people of nonreligious viewpoints. As well, the material was age-appropriate for all grade levels.

By the time I chose to conclude teaching CRE in 2009, the material had deteriorated to reflect a very narrow understanding of Christian faith, along with being rather ‘babyish’ for the 5th and 6th grade pupils I taught.

However, the worst factor I experienced with ACCESS Ministries in recent years was an inconsistency in how they described their program, depending whom they were speaking to.

• On the one hand, when they were in communication with principals, school councils, parent groups, governments, the media, and mainstream denominations such as the UCA, they described their programme in essentially educational terms.

• On the other hand, when in communication with their volunteers, and with churches and individual donors within their ‘conservative evangelical’ support base, they spoke of the schools as ‘mission fields’ for the supporting churches (with the context implying an older and narrower use of the word ‘mission’ than most of us would use in the UCA).

As a minister of a mainstream denomination who was also a CRE volunteer, I saw both descriptions of the program – frequently.

In 2009, I felt I could no longer personally participate in what I increasingly regarded as the deliberate dishonesty of ACCESS Ministries, so I resigned as a volunteer CRE teacher.

While I recognise that the decision of Synod Standing Committee reflects a sad situation over which none of us should rejoice, I believe it is the only decision that our church could take with integrity.

Rev Dr Bob Faser Claremont, TAS

Eureka moment I was most interested in the article by Bryan Long (September). I am a member of the Forest Hill congregation of the Uniting Church, and have been involved with the Uniting Church, (and previously Methodist and Presbyterian Churches) all my life.

My great, great grandmother, Anastasia Withers, was one of the three women who sewed the original Eureka flag that was used at the Bakery Hill bloodbath at Ballarat on the 29 November, 1854.

I have a didgeridoo and singing routine and I have today offered my services (free) to Fie Marino and NextGen. Geoff Walker via email

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Costs per church member?

HOW many cents in the dollar of our weekly offering is needed to operate the UCA bureaucracy? Bryan Long makes a telling point in his letter in the September issue ‘Rethinking Church Structure’.

How many staff are employed in the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania with its eight presbyteries? At what annual cost?

What is the breakdown of staff between, say, financial, property services, clergy placement, local mission, overseas mission, theological education, chaplaincy and social justice? What percentage of that total salary cost is attributable to each activity?

If a flow-chart was drawn up to show the movement of issues between presbytery and synod, what overlap and duplication exists?

How many committees exist at each level of governance and to whom do they report?

If the decision making process of the UCA was shown in diagrammatic form, would there be clear demarcation of reporting and decision making responsibilities?

Looking at the realistic number of church members in Victoria and Tasmania, how much per member does it presently cost to run our church structure?

Turning to other states in Australia, what are their comparable costs? More importantly, how much does it cost to operate their church bureaucracies per member?

Is there duplication in, say, servicing overseas missions or liaising between the different Australian synods?

Although it may be a more difficult exercise, what are the comparable costs in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and do their episcopal, hierarchical structures deliver these services more cheaply?

We expect our governments, federal, state and local, to deliver uniform services to every person in Australia in a timely and cost efficient manner, so the same standards should be applied to all levels of church governance, no matter in which state we worship.

Alan Ray Mont Albert, VIC

Response from Rev Dr Mark Lawrence, General Secretary: Every year, the following year’s Mission Support Fund budget (which includes many aspects of synod-based ministries and operations and grants to presbyteries for presbytery ministers and general expenses), is developed by BOMAR (Board of Mission and Resourcing) with input from the synod’s Finance Committee. Robust discussions are held relating to balance between mission and ministry activities and the essential administrative tasks of the Church. All costs, including staff numbers, are analysed and compared to previous years and future need requirements assessed also. The final budget is then presented and approved to the Synod Standing Committee (SSC), and income and expenditure analytics against the budget is reported to at every SSC meeting throughout the following year. The Synod Property Board has oversight of the Property and Insurance budget, providing the same degree of scrutiny in both the development and oversight of this budget, again with input from the synod Finance Committee. The Church’s finances are presented in detail to the Synod meeting every 18 months and annually through its published annual audited accounts. The Major Strategic Review is addressing a number of issues raised in this letter.

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Review

Preaching to the converted

Reflection on faith

Leading the way

REVIEW BY EMMET O’CUANA

REVIEW BY BOB FASER

REVIEW BY REV DR PAUL CHALSON

BOOK | LIVE LOVE LEAD | BRIAN HOUSTON

BOOK | KURINA KUWARA MILAYTHINA: THE PLACE OF THE EAGLE’S FEATHER | TIM MATTONJOHNSON

BOOK | WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP – A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITING CHURCH AND VANUATU AN unexpected partnership between women in the Uniting Church and women in Vanuatu has given rise to a new publication, Vanuatu Women in Leadership, to be launched at the Centre for Theology & Ministry on 6 October.

The enthusiastic response in Vanuatu means further volumes in the series are already under way. Cyrilline Baniuri is the national leader of the PWMU (Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union) in Vanuatu. Ms Baniuri described the book as “a wonderful example of a genuine partnership between the Uniting Church and the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu”.

The partnership began in November 2011 when 34 women leaders from the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu came to Victoria on a pilgrimage to the grave sites of the two deaconesses – Amy Skinner and Cath Ritchie – who helped to found the PWMU in Vanuatu 70 years ago.

During their visit to Melbourne, the CTM convened a day conference titled Women in Leadership.

The event so stimulated and enthused the visitors from Vanuatu that, on their return home, they persuaded their national church to take up the issue of women in leadership. The church, aware that this issue is both challenging and controversial in their cultural context, agreed it should be addressed as a national priority. One part of the project has been to publish material from the CTM conference to share with the whole church.

Thus the first volume of a series on Vanuatu Women in Leadership has just been completed. Perhaps, from these stories, we may all learn something of what it is like for women in leadership in the church.

THIRSTY GROUND is a small group of singers who meet at Scots Memorial Uniting Church in Hobart to explore faith and life through writing songs together.

Seven songs which have emerged from the life of this group are now available on their self-titled CD. This is a lovely CD, often joyful, sometimes profoundly moving and consistently of a high standard of performance and production. That this is a community group of diverse capabilities is at times clearly reflected yet I found this to be a strength which added, to rather than distracted from, the overall character of the CD. From the first track I found myself drawn into the sense of spirit which breathes through the entire work. The bluesy ‘Jesus walking over the sea’ gets my feet tapping whilst I am deeply affected with each listen to ‘The Spirit Moves and Shines’.

I have high expectations of what I listen for in lyrics and I was not disappointed by these honest songs which reflect the joys and struggles of the life of faith. The acoustic instrumentation ably enhances the overall sound whilst never overshadowing the vocals of this singing group which remain the focus of the CD throughout.

The members of Thirsty Ground are also members of The Choir of High Hopes which is dedicated to revealing the gifts of people coping with disadvantage in its many forms. The full choir joins the group on several tracks. Noted Tasmanian songwriter and performer John Coleman lends his considerable skills to facilitate the groups’ writing, performance and the recording.

Scots Memorial Uniting Church has long supported the Choir of High Hopes and generously funded this project. All proceeds from the sale of the CD will go towards supporting the work of the choir.

I’ve had the chance to listen to this CD a number of times now and I’ve enjoyed it on each occasion, both for the musical pleasure and the encouragement in faith that it gives.

“Your Heavenly Father didn’t create you to live a life of mediocrity. He created you to live life in the faith lane.”

I HAVE a feeling Pastor Houston has an amazing collection of dad-jokes for any occasion.

Having read Live Love Lead I find myself at an awkward juncture. How can I review a book that is written in such a way to obscure a critical reading? This feels less like a personal memoir from a well-known religious leader – the head of one of the fastest growing churches in Australia, itself a topic of much interest – than a collection of sermons.

Even there I find myself, as both a reader and reviewer, stymied. Because the faithful this book is aimed at are clearly familiar with the various shibboleths and allusions made. There are frequent mentions of the ‘spacious life’ offered by Jesus. As I am descended from several generations of Paddy Cooneys who faithfully tilled the same patch of land in County Cavan while observing their faith in secret, I find the concept of spiritual upward mobility, and grace in materialism, baffling.

It is that intersection of faith and fame within the pages of Live Love Lead that is most fascinating, if only for the circumspect manner Houston writes. A movie producer expresses an interest in capturing the joyfulness of a Hillsong event for a cinema audience. Who is the producer? I am not entirely clear, but the suggestion is quite an important one. A young woman sadly misses Christmas with her family, but thanks to an impromptu recording session, becomes a Hillsong record singing celebrity.

I am not suggesting that there is anything untoward about these anecdotal asides, but they are clearly more meaningful for those who are ‘on the square’.

Perhaps there we can see the confidence and self-assurance of Hillsong. From the opening chapter quotes of popular music tracks to the familiar tone of Houston himself, clearly this is a book intended for purchase by the many followers of this particular Pentecostal faith.

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THIS is a book that we’ve needed for some time in Tasmania.

Tim Matton-Johnson is a Uniting Church minister of Tasmanian Aboriginal descent.

Throughout the years, he has served both as a minister to congregations and as an ecumenical staffer, as well as working in secular employment. He is presently minister of the Uniting Church’s Bridgewater-Gagebrook Parish Mission in southern Tasmania.

In the course of his ministry, Tim has sought to relate his Christian faith and his Aboriginal heritage to each other, as well as to relate both to his active concern for the environment and to a post-Enlightenment, scientific worldview. This book is the result of this on-going reflection.

The fact that the Aboriginal stories of the ‘Creation Beings’ to which Tim refers are specifically Tasmanian stories gives particular value to this book for those who are involved in ministry in a Tasmanian context.

I’d strongly recommend this book to anyone (Indigenous or otherwise) who seeks to build bridges between the Christian faith and Aboriginal people, particularly in Tasmania. I’d also recommend this book to anyone who seeks to relate the Christian faith to the Tasmanian cultural context.

The Place of the Eagle’s Feather is available at Narana Creations in Geelong or contact jill.ruzbacky@victas.uca.org.au or P- 03 9251 5266

REVIEW BY RANDALL PRIOR

The book Vanuatu Women in Leadership will be launched at the Centre for Theology & Ministry on Tuesday 6 October at 4.30pm. It is available for purchase from the CTM for $20; contact David Caldecoat at david.caldecoat@ctm.uca.edu.au.

Music to sustain faith CD | THIRSTY GROUND

For a copy of the CD contact John Coleman: E - colemansongs@yahoo.com, P- 03 6278 9520 or M - 0401 489 728

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Review

Familiar families REVIEW BY EMMET O’CUANA FILM | GAYBY BABY | PG OPENING with now very familiar statements from politicians, pundits, and the then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard, opposing gay marriage, this documentary is both timely and oddly dated.

The debate feels to have moved on, given recent events in the Republic of Ireland and the United States, even though in Australia the rhetoric remains the same (promises of a future-plebiscite notwithstanding).

What marks out Maya Newell’s film as a different kind of proposition – a break in

Political power and passion REVIEW BY GARTH JONES FILM | MACBETH | TBC THIS latest cinematic adaptation of Macbeth is South Australian director Justin Kurzel’s sophomore film, following in the grim footsteps of 2011’s Snowtown.

An assured interpretation of Shakespeare’s short, brutal play, Kurzel’s film stars Michael Fassbender as its tormented protagonist, while French actress Marion Cotillard essays a blank, detached Lady Macbeth.

The lean script distils the nihilism at the heart of the Macbeths’ vaulting ambition and ruthless sense of entitlement and predestination. Fassbender and Cotillard are deftly supported by a cast including Sean Harris as Macduff, Paddy Considine as Banquo and David Thewlis as the noble, doomed King Duncan.

Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw employs a stark, primary coloured tableau, his frame capturing the horror of medieval bloodshed undertaken on the surreal, blasted heaths of Scotland.

As always, Shakespeare’s preternatural understanding of human nature, of our hubris and foibles, remains unmatched

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

this cacophony of talking points – is how it then cuts from politicians using the concept of the family as their own personal soap box to a boy named Gus. Gus likes wrestling, loves his little sister, is a bit of a brat and a dab hand at pester power. He is obsessed with convincing his mother to let him go to a WWF wrestling show in Australia.

That he has two mothers – and the circumstances of his coming into his world do not follow the approved method laid out in the introductory sequence of family-values campaigners – is something Gus cheerfully dismisses with a shrug. The wrestling is what matters.

Newell concentrates on the ordinary lives of Gus and the other children interviewed, along with their families.

This focus makes this a truly remarkable film. Instead of talking points and sound bites we are presented with families – caring, supportive families who are treated differently because the parents are of the same gender.

That awareness of difference, of what their lives will be like as they enter puberty, is shown to be shifting these children’s senses of self. Gus loves wrestling – but how much of his interest is framed by a desire to be seen as more manly? Ebony is desperate to be a performer but, again, her interest in Newtown’s school for the arts is influenced by her desire to have more liberal peers. Matthew has been raised in a devoutly Christian family, but is confused as to how his mother can believe in God when Leviticus is frequently cited

in condemnations of homosexuality. Then there’s Graham and his brother, recently moved to Fiji for their father’s work, being instructed by their dads to not reveal they have been raised in a gay household for fear of bigotry.

The absence of any documentarian narration or framing device allows these stories to emerge – and confirm the ordinariness of these children. The recent school banning of the film in New South Wales only served to draw even more attention to the simple, yet powerful message presented.

These are families, just like yours.

For more information about screenings, go to thegaybyproject.com

almost 400 years after his death. Consider especially that our preview screening took place in a week when a sitting prime minister was deposed in his first term, arguably reinforcing many of ‘the Scottish play’s’ themes.

Macbeth is concerned with the key protagonists’ arrogant rejection of morality in favour of the pursuit of power and influence. As the narrative grinds towards its harrowing conclusion, the Biblical maxim “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) is illustrated in gruelling, tragic relief.

Illustrating the futility of a thirst for unbridled power, the broad sweep of history highlighting its doomed folly, Kurzel’s adaptation is compelling. Evoking modern cinematic fare such as 300 and Lord of the Rings, Macbeth nonetheless embraces the existential meditations and expressionism of Ingmar Bergman and his ilk.

An accomplished, spare film, Macbeth reinforces Kurzel’s status as a director of note. Fassbender and the ensemble deliver haunted, committed performances, embracing the doomed, supernaturally charged ambience of Shakespeare’s portentous tale.

A spellbinding meditation on the absence of God, the promotion of selfish ideals and power’s corrupting influence, this latest iteration of Macbeth is elemental, powerhouse cinema.

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Placements CURRENT AND PENDING PLACEMENT VACANCIES AS AT 11 SEPTEMBER 2015 PRESBYTERY OF GIPPSLAND Koo Wee Rup-Lang Lang-Corinella Presbytery Minister – Mission and Education PRESBYTERY OF LODDON MALLEE Dunolly (0.5) (P) Eastern Mallee Rural (Lake Boga, Manangatang, Meatian, Nyah West) (0.5)-Kerang (0.5) (P) Nardoo Loddon (Boort, Charlton, Powlett Plains, Wedderburn) North Central Living Waters (Birchip, Donald, St Arnaud, Wycheproof) (P) Presbytery Minister – Mission and Education (P) Robinvale (0.5) (P) PRESBYTERY OF NORTH EAST VICTORIA Mansfield (p-t)** Rutherglen (Rutherglen/Chiltern-Corowa) (0.5) The Scots School Albury Chaplain Upper Murray (Corryong, Walwa) (p-t)** Wodonga (St Stephens) Wodonga West, North Albury, Kergunyah PRESBYTERY OF PORT PHILLIP EAST Brighton (Trinity) Frankston (High St) Monash PRESBYTERY OF PORT PHILLIP WEST Macedon Ranges Partnership (2 placements) (P) Pascoe Vale-Glenroy ReGen (P) PRESBYTERY OF TASMANIA Presbytery Minister – Leadership Formation (P) PRESBYTERY OF WESTERN VIC PRESBYTERY OF YARRA YARRA Diamond Valley (0.8) Queens College Chaplaincy (p-t)** Strathdon Uniting AgeWell Chaplain SYNOD Royal Childrens Hospital Chaplaincy Royal Melbourne Hospital Chaplaincy** ** These placements have not yet lodged a profile with the Placements Committee, therefore they are not yet in conversation with any minister. There is no guarantee that the placement will be listed within the next month.

(P) These placements are listed as also being suitable for a Pastor under Regulations 2.3.3 (a)(ii).

A non-ordained minister may offer to serve the church in an approved placement through a written application to the Synod.

Further information on these vacancies may be obtained from the Secretary of the Placements Committee: Ms Isabel Thomas Dobson.

Email: placements.secretary@victas.uca.org.au.

Formal expressions of interest should be put in writing to Isabel.

MINISTRY MOVES CALLS AND APPOINTMENTS FINALISED Ian Wheeler (OD) appointed as Chaplain to Kings Meadows-Aldersgate Uniting AgeWell commenced 28 September 2015 Barbara Allen called to Pascoe Vale-Glenroy (0.5)commencing 15 October 2015 Andrew Boyle called to Ormond commencing 1 November 2015 Rosemary Carter called to Creswick-Clunes (0.5) commencing 1 January 2016 Paul C Blacker called to Melton (Priority placement) commencing 1 February 2016 Kevin Barton called to Yarriambiack Creek (Warracknabeal, Beulah, Brim) commencing 1 February 2016 CONCLUSION OF PLACEMENT (Retirement) Jean Mayers (Deacon) retired from Numurkah-Nathalia 31 August 2015 David Peel to retire from Bentleigh 31 December 2015 Judy Berridge (P) to retire from Presbytery of Loddon Mallee, Presbytery Minister, Administration 30 April 2016 CONCLUSION OF PLACEMENT Martin Prewer (P) concluded Royal Melbourne Hospital Chaplaincy 18 September 2015 Grant Finlay to conclude as Congress Minister, UAICC Tasmania 31 December 2015 Iose Tuigamala to conclude Lara (0.6) 3 January 2016 John Tansey (Deacon) to conclude St Kilda (Chapel St) 31 January 2016 Colin Thomson (Lay) to conclude as Presbytery of North East Victoria, Presbytery Minister, Administration 30 April 2016 INTER-SYNOD TRANSFER Jean Mayers (Deacon) transferred to the Synod of Western Australia effective 1 September 2015 Permanent Retirement.

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CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Notices and Advertisements TOGETHER IN SONG St David’s UCA, Newtown, Geelong, is seeking additional copies of Together in Song. If you have copies no longer needed or you know where redundant copies are, will you please contact church secretary Geoff Neilson, P O Box 1, Geelong Vic 3220 E: Geoff.neilson@crowehorwath.com.au Ph: 03.5221 4061 (home) or 03.5224 7700 (office).

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Uniting AgeWell Strathdon, Forest Hill.

We need volunteers to support the congregation of more than 50 elderly people with reading the Bible or being a steward during the 10.30 am Sunday worship service.

Contact, Deborah Hildebrand, M: 0488 033 996, Ph: 8822 3636 or E: dadelladah@gmail.com THE HUB – A WELCOMING AND FRIENDLY PLACE FOR ALL TUESDAYS AND THURSDAY (10.00 AM – 2.00 PM), WEDNESDAYS (10.00 AM – 12.00 PM) DURING SCHOOL TERMS Glen Waverley Uniting Church, corner Bogong Avenue and Kingsway.

You are welcome to come in for a hot drink, some company or to practice speaking English in an informal way.

Information, Ph: 9560 3580 UPCOMING THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND FORUMS “A Thoughtful Faith” is a new service to the church, collating information about opportunities for deep reflection about faith and world via theological conferences and seminars taking place locally and broadly.

For more information, see: www.marktheevangelist.unitingchurch.org.au CELEBRATORY MORNING TEA WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 10.00 AM – 12.00 PM Glen Waverley Uniting Church, corner Bogong Avenue and Kingsway.

Come and join us as we mark 6 successful years of The Hub - a friendly place for people of all ages to enjoy some company, a cuppa and a chat.

Information and group bookings, Ph: 9560 3580 NATIONAL YOUTH MINISTRY TRAINING 2015 TUESDAY 6 TO SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER Tweed Heads, Gold Coast.

This year, the first two days will focus on the Uniting Church while the remaining time incorporates the ecumenical NYMC2015 (National Youth Ministry Convention). The training prepares Uniting Church youth, young adult ministry volunteers and ministry agents, so they feel better equipped, inspired and motivated to carry out effective youth ministry; better connected with their UCA and ecumenical peers; feel supported in their service.

Information, Tom Kerr, E: tomk@nat.uca.org.au, W: https://assembly.uca.org.au/nymt2015 or http://www.nymc.org.au/ WERE YOU ORDAINED OR COMMISSIONED IN 1975?

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM Place to be confirmed.

If you are a minister; pastor or deacon(ess) in the Uniting Church and were ordained or commissioned in 1975, this is for you!

A reunion, sharing-time, and luncheon is proposed for ministers; pastors and deacons and partners. To indicate interest and get more details, contact Valerie Johnson, Ph: 5367 3074, M: 0412 240 056 or E: vbeanland@bigpond.com HOME PRODUCE AND CRAFT MARKET SATURDAY, 10 OCTOBER, 2015 10.00 AM – 2.00 PM Heatherton-Dingley Uniting Church Cnr. Kingston and Old Dandenong Rds, Heatherton.

Cakes, preserves, jams, sausage sizzle, morning tea, plants, craft Further info: Margaret Ph: 9551 9494

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

JOURNAL WORKSHOP – TUNE INTO YOUR LIFE FRIDAY 16 AND SATURDAY 17 OCT, 10AM-5PM. 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

The Intensive Journal is a psycho-spiritual instrument that has been used for over 40 years. You will be introduced to structure and meditative journaling exercises as a whole-oflife approach. Develop increased awareness, authenticity, vitality, purpose and creativity.

It is especially useful at times of transition, searching and exploring, feeling ‘stuck’, addictions and dealing with health issues.

Cost: $210, includes lunch.

Facilitator: Jan Watson; Jan has used this method for many years and has taught it often since her accreditation in 2004.

Bookings & Enquiries: Habitat Office, 9819 2844.

DECLINE: THE ABIDING STORY OF OUR TIME ONE DAY SEMINAR WITH REV. DR JOHN G. FLETT SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER, 10AM-4PM Port Phillip East Presbytery Offices, 1 Allan St, Noble Park.

John Flett’s observation is that the Uniting Church is an anxious church. Do you find this is so? John, writing in Crosslight in July, observes that we “appear to be tied in knots and lacking in grace … mired in an anxiety which declares the message to be false”.

Come and explore the causes of decline in the church, and how we don’t have to be defined by this narrative, rather be shaped by “creativity … excitement, the discovery of the pearl of great price?”

Catered lunch.

Cost $20; $15 for 2nd or more enrolments from the one congregation.

Enquiries to Christine: 0427 375 760; Bookings and dietary requirements to pm-me@ucappep.org WORSHIP ANGELICA SERVICE SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER 9.15 AM St Leonard’s Uniting Church, corner New Street and Wolseley Grove, Brighton.

Cellist Kate Green is the guest artist on 18 October, playing Rachmaninoff, Bach and the hauntingly emotional Jewish prayer ‘Kol Nidrei’ of Max Bruch.

Information, Ph: 9592 9333, E: contact@stleonards.org.au or W: http://stleonards.org.au HELEN KIM MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP WORLD FEDERATION OF METHODIST & UC WOMEN Two women, aged 18 to 30 with leadership potential and an active interest in women’s issues and church work will be chosen to participate in the WFMUCW World Assembly, Houston, Texas, 29th August – 3rd September 2016. Travelling & accommodation costs will be paid.

Contact David Wang for an application form for return to him by 20October.

E: david.wang@victas.uca.org.au MERTON UNITING CHURCH DE-COMMISSIONING SERVICE SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 2PM Shaw’s Road, Merton.

Followed by afternoon tea All past ministers, congregations and friends Welcome.

Enquiries: Ph - Kay 0421 632 650 PUBLIC FORUM – ‘LAST CLIMATE TANGO IN PARIS’ TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 7.00PM FOR A 7.30PM START Hawthorn Arts Centre (formerly Hawthorn Town Hall), 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn.

Speakers: Anglican Archbishop Genieve Blackwell Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Federal member for Kooyong Professor Ross Garnaut Professor David Karoly

SENIORS’ MORNING TEA AT THE HUB THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER, 10AM - 12NOON. Glen Waverley Uniting Church, corner Bogong Avenue and Kingsway.

All donations to research into Motor Neuron Disease. Come and celebrate with our seniors at this special morning tea.

All ages welcome. Bring your family and friends. Info. and bookings, Ph: 9560 3580.

THE 16TH WINCHELSEA UNITING CHURCH ART & PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER – MONDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2015 Winchelsea Uniting Church Social Committee The Globe Theatre.

Willis Street, Winchelsea.

Opening night - Friday from 7.30 pm; Saturday, Sunday 10.00 am - 5.00 pm; Monday 10.00 am - 4.00 pm.

Light refreshments & Devonshire Teas will be available throughout the weekend.

Admission $5.00 - Students & Exhibitors free.

“BERRIES” REUNION. FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER Former players and supporters of the Canterbury Presbyterian Football and Cricket Club are warmly invited to a reunion lunch. Bruce Rogers: Ph: 9786 7449 David Finn: Ph: 9857 8874 RICHARD MCKINNEY MEMORIAL ECUMENICAL ADVENT LECTURES: Title : Naming God Again: To Whom shall we Turn?

Speaker: Rev Dr Donald Saines Tuesday 17 November, 2015 8 pm Lecture 1:Beyond Tribalism to the Logic of Jesus East Ivanhoe Uniting Church Cnr. Lwr. Heidelberg &Maltravers Rds. Tuesday 24 November, 2015 8 pm Lecture 2 Resurrection and Human Community St. George’s Anglican Church 48 Warncliffe Rd, East Ivanhoe Tuesday 1 December, 2015 8 pm Lecture 3: Hope in an Age of Scepticism Mother of God Catholic Church 63Wilfred Rd. East Ivanhoe Refreshments and Fellowship at 9.15pm Gold coin donation Contact Rosemary: Ph: 9497 1017 TIME FOR REMEMBERING SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER 11.45 AM FOR A NOON START. Queen’s Hall, Parliament House, Melbourne.

Since 2001 the Uniting Church has partnered with Road Trauma Support Services Victoria to organise an annual Time for Remembering ceremony for people affected by road trauma: including those bereaved, injured, witnesses, emergency services. The event is supported by the Victorian Council of Churches, the Faith Communities Council of Victoria and the Humanist Society of Victoria.

Further information: Ph: 8877 6900 and RSVP 6 Nov. 140 YEARS CELEBRATION SUNDAY 22ND NOVEMBER. 11AM SERVICE. St. John’s Uniting Church, Streatham.

A shared cold lunch to follow.

Past clergy, members & interested friends, are invited to catch up & share memories.

All are welcome.

Information : Ph: 03 5350 6515.

THE MESSIAH PORTARLINGTON ST. ANDREWS UNITING CHURCH SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER, 2.30PM. Newcombe Street, Portarlington.

Portarlington UC presents Melbourne Opera, conducted by Mr Greg Hocking, 4 quality soloists and the Essendon Choral Society Chorus, to present Handel’s Messiah in Parks Hall.

Tickets a very reasonable $30 for adults and $15 for students under 18 years. Tickets available now Barry Ruler: Ph: 5259 3304, E: bruler@bigpond.com Pre-purchase of tickets advisable.

150TH ANNIVERSARY SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER St Andrews Uniting Church, Kirkland Avenue, Euroa.

Commencing with a fellowship meal on Saturday, at 6.30pm.

Service of worship, Sunday at 9.30am with guest preacher Rev Joe Wilson, former minister, this will be followed by morning tea.

Past members and clergy are invited to share their memories and reunite with each other.

Information: Ph: (03) 5795 3103 150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION SUNDAY 17 JANUARY 10.30 AM Penguin Uniting Church, Main Street, North-West Tasmania.

Moderator Dan Wootton, will be the guest preacher at the thanksgiving service. Other commemorative events include a historical display, luncheon and concert. All former members and associates of the Penguin Methodist, and now Uniting Church, are warmly invited to attend this day.

To register your interest, Lynn Templar: Ph:: 6435 4633 or W: http://penguin.unitingchurch.org.au ADVANCE NOTICE OF ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS 5 - 6 MARCH, 2016 Forest Hill Uniting Church (formerly known as Mt Pleasant Uniting Church) 333a Canterbury Road, Forest Hill.

Saturday 5 March – 4.00 pm social event and dinner Sunday 6 March – 10.00 am Thanksgiving Service Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first worship service on this site and 100th anniversary of the dedication of the current Church building.

Contact: Marion Goldsmith: Ph: (03) 9878 3847 or Glenys Coates Ph: (03) 9801 4653

CLASSIFIEDS CAPE WOOLAMAI Summerhays Cottage. Sleeps 3. Tranquil garden. Stroll to beach. Discount for UCA members. Ring Doug or Ina M: 0403 133 710. www.summerhayscottage.com.au SENIORS’ SPECIAL: Enjoy a break in luxury surroundings. Three days and three nights, dinner, bed and breakfast for $450 per couple (including GST).

Jindivick Gardens. Ph: (03) 5628 5319.

CALOUNDRA, Sunshine Coast, Queensland: Beachside units, from $300/ week, for details, M: 0427 990 161 or E: rayandjean@hotmail.com LORNE: Spacious apartment, breathtaking ocean view, open fire, peaceful, secluded, affordable. P. (03) 5289 2698.

GOLDFIELDS HOLIDAY RENTAL: Fully equipped modern architecturally designed house. Situated in the Forest Resort Creswick, double storey house, four bedrooms, sleeps up to 11 people.

Contact Adam on M: 0414 725 887.

PSYCHOLOGIST Sue Tansey, BA (Hons), MPsych (Counselling) MAPS Individual and relationship counselling. Bulk billing for clients who have a referral from their GP and have a low income.

St Kilda. Ph: 0418 537 342.

E: suetansey@yahoo.com GRAMPIANS WORSHIP When visiting The Grampians, join the Pomonal Community Uniting Church congregation for worship each Sunday at 10.00 am WANTED Uniting in Worship – Peoples book (Blue cover) Seeking about 15, Will pay for books or donation to the congregation offering the books, and transport/packaging.

Contact David M: 0419 556 816 E: soils.jones@gmail.com

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Opinion Infectious youth leadership ADRIAN GREENWOOD “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead EVER had a conversation with a young person passionately telling you about the activity they just took part in? The excitement of leading, participating and playing their part to make a difference is truly infectious.

Empowered young people not only feeling that they can create change but knowing the community welcomes their efforts? So infectious is this hope that I am smiling now as I write this.

I presented at the Centre for Theology & Ministry’s recent Thriving: Resilience and 40 Developmental Assets Training workshop alongside Rod Dungan (Thriving Youth) and Drew Hanna (youth ministry

coordinator at the Centre for Theology & Ministry). The workshop’s keynote speaker, Andrew Fuller, director of Resilient Youth Australia, presented Australian youth data collected through developmental assets surveys.

Andrew is a renowned author and clinical psychologist specialising in brain functioning and development, and learning and resilience.

The 40 Developmental Assets are building blocks of development that help young people grow as healthy, caring, principled, and productive people. These 40 assets are grounded in extensive research in youth development, resiliency, and prevention.

They represent the relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need not only to avoid risks but to thrive. They are grouped into external assets (support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time) and internal assets (commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, positive identity).

Resilient Youth Australia has now completed 37,000 surveys of Australian youth in relation to the 40 assets. The results of these surveys can be focused into various demographic mixes such as cultural background and gender to enable

better understandings of the various groups that make up our communities.

Unsurprisingly, the Australian research shows that kids thrive when they are safe, happy, empowered, and belong. Belonging is seen as vital for youth finding resilience and transforming their communities.

Happily, providing belonging is also something we are well equipped to do as a church.

The research revealed a key issue and opportunity for those working with young people, which is extremely relevant to the church. It revealed that when 7 per cent of a population could be exercising leadership, but are not leading, then real problems are likely on the rise. Conversely, when that 7 per cent are encouraged to take up leadership, then real positive change occurs. The research shows that as this previously non-activated group takes up leadership they uncover and create more opportunities for others to participate and build healthy communities. It is infectious.

I am reminded of Luke 13:21, where the yeast spreads through the dough; we see the effect of the little through the whole loaf rising.

I wonder: What if we activate the young leaders in our churches, schools or wider community who feel there is no place

for them to lead? As adults, we are the ones who can create the space for new infectious, creative, and empowered young people to breathe life into our communities.

As a youth minster I have seen the power of one person’s interest in the life of a young person: the crossing guard or small group leader intentionally developing a supportive, challenging relationship with a young person makes all the difference to that young person’s resilience and belonging.

What young person in your community could be exercising leadership but is not?

How will you change this?

How will you encourage infectious youth leadership?

Adrian Greenwood is the discipleship educator – Young Adults at The Centre for Theology & Ministry. For more information: P- 03 9340 8800 or E- adrian.greenwood@ctm.uca.edu.au

Obituary

Rev Herbert (Bert) Rhead Stevens AM 16/05/1922 – 16/07/2015 DESCRIBED as “one of Australia’s foremost educators”, Bert was born at Rockhampton Queensland to Harry Charles Stevens and Margaret Rhead Stevens (Cook), the fifth child in a family of seven children.

Bert’s early education at Rangeville Primary School, where his father was headmaster and his eldest brother a pupil teacher, was followed by secondary school at Toowoomba Grammar School where he concentrated on sport rather than academic learning.

In 1939 he took up the offer of an apprenticeship at Toowoomba Electrical Light & Power Company.

22

In 1941 he enlisted in the RAAF-ground staff as an electrician, transferring in 1943 to air crew. During this period Bert found a new direction in his life and upon discharge in 1945 he completed his Matriculation through an army retraining program at South Brisbane hoping to qualify for theological studies at university.

He graduated with a BA (Hons) 1951 and B of Divinity 1954.

In the meantime (1946-1948) he was a home missionary and housemaster at Brisbane Boys’ Grammar School and later at Albury Grammar School.

Bert met Sadie Vine in Albury and they decided to marry at the end of 1948.

Both commenced university studies at Melbourne University in 1949.

In January 1955, Bert was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church and inducted into the exit charge of Morwell East housing estate by his mentor and friend Rev Stephen Yarnold. That year his elder daughter, Susan, was born.

In 1957 Bert’s second daughter, Wendy, was born in Ballarat where he had accepted the position of pastoral care master and history teacher. To help repay an education loan, Bert spent nearly three years locum preaching on a weekly circuit that included Patchewollock, Rupanyup, Hopetoun, Mittiak and Quyen. Leaving home at 5.30 am and preaching at three churches he would return home at l .30 am to sleep before rising early on Monday to take up school duties, preparation of lessons and study for his Bachelor of Education which was completed in 1962.

He was involved with the foundation of Eltham College and consultant to Braemar College.

Bert had a formative influence on Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, creating the joint school and leading it for nearly 25 years. Along with his family, this was his greatest achievement and one he dedicated his life to.

He also settled on a small working farm at Metcalfe, joining the community through the CFA, Shire Council, building a new church and offering preaching supply whenever there was a vacancy. Fencing, clearing land, and gardening absorbed some of his enormous energy.

Bert followed community service interests including treasurer of Western Hospital Board (1992-1996), Metcalfe CFA (25 years), councillor of Metcalfe Shire, leadership of Melbourne Opera, leadership of RAAFA. Throughout his 60 years of ministry Bert served the Church offering pastoral care in all settings, relieving ministers who needed unplanned leave or who were taking on additional responsibilities. In particular he served the congregations of Metcalfe, Mia Mia, Eltham and Canterbury. His ministry was expressed through the ethos he created

at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School.

Bert was devoted to his family and his love and care surrounded his wife Sadie, daughters Susan and Wendy. He adored and was very proud of his two grandchildren Jessica and Ryan Graham, always interested in their progress and development. He respected his son­-in-law Chris and his fine achievements.

Thank you for the years we shared, the independence you encouraged in us, the life lessons you taught us.

Compiled by Saide Stevens and Robert Gottliebsen

Appointments • 1960-61 Headmaster Hamilton College (Retired so the Council could join Alexandria College and Hamilton College) • 1962 Vice Principal and resident House Master Ivanhoe Grammar School • I963-1972 Principal Essendon Grammar School • l970 (With the consent of EGS Council) Acting Principal Penleigh Ladies College • 1973-1987 Principal of Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School • 1979-1981 Chairman of Scots School Albury • 1985-1986 Chairman Association Independent Schools Victoria • 1987-1988 National President Independent Schools of Australia 1990-1993 Principal Kingswood College Uniting Church Synod

Positions: • 1972 -1982 Chairman of Synod Education Committee.

• 1978-1982 Chairman of Synod Business Committee.

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

Moderator’s column Happy chance LAST month The Age published a story detailing new research on the happiness of Australians, tracking how our satisfaction with life dips and soars during major transitions as we age. The basis of this ‘happiness index’ was the use of data taken from 27,000 Australians over a period of 12 years, analysed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

The story featured a graph, which was also shown on the television news that night and, perhaps like others, I found myself trying to apply it to my own life and was struck by how misleading it seemed. I concluded that the difficulty lay in my understanding of ‘happiness’.

The etymological root of ‘happy’ is hap, which means ‘chance’, as in ‘happenstance’.

It follows then that it is a temporary state or feeling – hence all the fluctuations in the graph.

Thinking about past (or future) happiness is of course a very self-centred activity. I have never found happiness by directly seeking it – when I have experienced it, it has always been a gift. As such, when I try to understand it or judge it in terms of past and future, I find myself unable to ‘reach the real’.

Peak experiences of happiness are, I suppose, those rare exciting moments that offer an enhanced perception of life.

For me they have often yielded a sense of wonder, awe and reverence. They can be times when my spirit is given ‘flight’.

By contrast there have been many times when I have descended into the valleys of what some might perceive as ‘the graph of life’, where I am drawn into the depths of the earthy and the ordinary. I like to think of these places as ‘rooted’ places, where I have invariably, and just as gratuitously, been given new life.

It seems to me that if I were to try and plot a ‘happiness graph’ over a period of time, my focus would not so much be on the soaring of the heights, it would necessarily be accompanied by the transcendence of everything that is ordinary, even dreadful.

The graph would be less about temporary haps and more about the whole journey,

which I have come to appreciate as blessedness.

Somewhere along the line of my life (and I have heard many people very precisely plot the x coordinate of this point) I began to feel an amazing sense of being accompanied, of not being alone – even when there was no one else around. It may be that I previously had it and lost it, but there came a time when I experienced some growth in my spiritual life that required an adoption of a conscious ‘habit of being’. Philosopher Simone Weil described it as, “a refusal to exist outside God”, offering that description as her definition of “humility”.

It doesn’t matter where this point was, but I believe that it involved tipping the graph over on its side so to speak, so that it was more like a river running along a plain – no longer in the vertical like a ride at Luna Park. The river continues to zig and zag but moves along without effort, yielding as it flows around obstacles, exposing roots on the bends and allowing driftwood to simply float by.

This perspective is best represented by a story, ‘The Joy of Fishes’ from a book by Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu: Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were crossing the Hao River by the dam.

Chuang said, “See how free the fishes leap and dart: that is their happiness.”

Hui replied, “Since you are not a fish, how do you know what makes fishes happy?”

Chuang said, “Since you are not I, how can you possibly know that I do not know what makes fishes happy?”

Hui argued, “If I, not being you, cannot know what you know, it follows that you, not being a fish, cannot know what they know.

The argument is complete!”

Chuang said, “Wait a minute! Let us get back to the original question. What you asked me was ‘How do you know what makes fishes happy?’ From the terms of your question, you evidently know I know what makes fishes happy.

“I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river.”

Dan Wootton Moderator

Giving is living Seeking a deeper story MORE than 500 women gathered in Sydney for the UnitingWomen conference last year (pictured).

It was the first Uniting Church women’s conference in nearly two decades. The last women’s conference was held in Brisbane in 1996.

UnitingWomen aims to provide a space for women in the Church to connect and share their experiences and stories. Attendees heard from a variety of speakers and participated in workshops on a wide range of topics. The 2014 conference featured workshops on leadership, feminism, discipleship, eco-spirituality, family violence, spiritual exercise and equality.

The idea for UnitingWomen was initiated

by UnitingWorld associate director of church connections Dr Sureka Goringe, along with Dayan McLeod and Ellie Elia.

They started a Facebook group to gauge the online community’s response to a Uniting Church women’s conference and within 24 hours more than 400 people had expressed interest in attending.

The theme for the inaugural conference

CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 15

was ‘Seeking a Deeper Story’. Through panel discussions, storytelling sessions, music and worship, participants were encouraged to deepen their faith and reflect on their relationship with God. Rev Nadia Bolz-Weber, founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in the United States, was the keynote speaker.

She shared her spiritual journey with the delegates and spoke about the importance of truth and sincerity. She entertained and inspired the audience with her refreshing honesty and challenged them to be authentic in living out their faith.

Notable female leaders in the Uniting Church also spoke at the conference.

This included Dr Deidre Palmer (South Australian Moderator and President-elect), Rev Elenie Poulos (national director of UnitingJustice) and Myung Hwa Park (Moderator of the NSW/ACT synod).

Due to the popularity of the conference, UnitingWomen will return in 2016. It will be held from 28 April to 1 May at Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church in Adelaide.

The conference is being organised by a team led by Dr Palmer and the theme will be ‘Sharing Stories of Hope’. Speakers confirmed so far include Khadija Gbla, Brooke Prentis, Vicky Balabanski and Liz Boase. Visit www.unitingwomen.org.au to register.

23

Synod Snaps

“The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness ” - Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Brunswick Uniting Church hosted the fifth annual service of the Church of Latter-Day Geeks.

The Swan Hill Uniting Church Community Issues Group hosted three year 12 Muslim students, who are now off to university. Their fathers came to Australia by boat. From left to right: Sadjada, Jan, Jenny, Joy, Khobra, Razia.

Congregation members at Harcourt Uniting Church enjoy a Mother’s Day morning tea prepared by the men.

The Cranbourne Regional Uniting Church’s Food Truck proDeepdene Uniting Church celebrated its 100 year anniversary.

Council of elders at Mulgrave Uniting Church (Indonesian congregation).

Winsome Sunderland and Robyn Angus at Fairfield Uniting Church - an Emerging Church. The knitting is for Robyn’s group from Ivanhoe to take to communities in Cambodia in January 2016. Contact robyn.angus64@gmail.com for information about the Ivanhoe Community Cambodia tour.

Keeping Children Safe Policy launch at the Melbourne synod office. From left to right: Charles Gibson (executive officer of the Royal Commission Task Group), Moderator Dan Wootton, Deb Tsorbaris (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare CEO), Georgie Crozier (member for South Metropolitan region) and Bronwyn Halfpenny (member for Thomastown).

Each month Crosslight will showcase images from throughout the Church. Send your images to crosslight@victas.uca.org.au