Crosslight August 2015

Crosslight No. 257 August 2015

Standing united

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Rev Jean Mayers recently took part in a ‘minister swap’ and shares the experience of a lifetime.

Rev Dr Darcy Wood accepts a unique invitation to crown a king.

The Major Strategic Review team discusses its work within the church.

THE 14th Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia stood as one to oppose the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities in a symbolic action outside the University of Western Australia’s Winthrop Hall. More than 300 members of the Uniting Church in Australia met last month in Perth to discuss issues such as our relationship with Australia’s First peoples, multiculturalism, same-gender marriage, asylum seeker policies and foreign aid. This month, Crosslight brings you a snapshot of news and reflections from the eight-day Assembly.

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Garth Jones reviews Supermarket Monsters, a book that questions the reality of a ‘free’ market.

Regulars

Meet the man from Humpty Doo, the UCA’s new president, Stuart McMillan.

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

Letters - 17 Reviews - 18 to 19 Notices - 20 to 21 Opinion - 22 Moderator’s Column - 23

Editorial Constant change PENNY MULVEY

NEWSPAPERS described the cold snap that descended on the east coast of Australia last month as an ‘Antarctic vortex’. Snow in Orange and southern Queensland, overnight lows of minus two degrees

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in country Victoria and minus three in Launceston, central heating turned up and beanies and wraps were all testament to a chilly winter.

However, this vortex did not deter the daffodils and jonquils. Pushing up through frozen earth, these cheery flowers act as a yearly reminder that new life follows. No doubt the parks and gardens near you are blanketed in yellow and white heads bobbing in the breeze, just as these daffodils are defying the frosts of Fitzroy Gardens.

The physical seasons help us navigate our own metaphorical seasons.

It seems appropriate that the triennial Assembly is always held in July. Members meet in the knowledge that spring is fast approaching. The promise of new life is

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

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evident as members break bread together, discerning the spirit of God as they sit with reports and proposals, meet in working groups and hear stories of our partner churches.

This Assembly a new general secretary was appointed, as well as the installation of president Stuart McMillan.

The Major Strategic Review team, tasked with the massive job of recommending strategic direction for our season prepared a series of Bible Studies entitled A New Season (http://listeningpost.victas.uca. org.au/a-new-season). It is clear that the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania is preparing for change.

The annual cycle is a comfort. Change is constant. We observe it as we look in the mirror. As we read the news. As we

experience hardship and achievement, joy and pain. And yet, despite the inevitability of change, of new seasons, we still try to halt its progress.

Change is to be endured, the Basis of Union makes clear, because of the completed work of Christ.

“The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church is able to live and endure through the changes of history only because its Lord comes, addresses, and deals with people in and through the news of his completed work.” (BoU para 4) Whatever is ahead of us, as the people of God, we can go forward with certainty, “as [the Church] has the gift of the Spirit in order that it may not lose the way.” (BoU, para 3)

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ucavictas

ucavictas

News Progress on clothing industry AS a direct result of global pressure from advocacy groups such as the Uniting Church, more than 200 companies have now signed the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord.

The Accord aims to ensure Bangladesh clothing factories are safe and that the tragic 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, which killed more than 1,100 people and injured thousands more, never occurs again.

Many Uniting Church members campaigned for Australian companies to sign the Accord, writing letters and sending postcards for companies to join the campaign.

To date the Australian companies that have signed the Accord include: Designworks Clothing Company Pty Limited; Cotton On Group; Forever New; Kmart Australia; Licensing Essentials Pty Ltd; Pacific Brands; Pretty Girl Fashion Group Pty; Specialty Fashions Australia; Target Australia and Woolworths Australia.

More than 200 companies have signed the Accord globally, covering 1,600 factories in Bangladesh. The Just Group (made up of the brands Just Jeans, Jacqui E, Jay Jays, Portmans, Peter Alexander, Dotti, and Smiggle) have refused to sign the Accord.

With the Accord in place for two years, Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector for the Accord said significant improvements have been made.

“There has been especially good progress on electrical remediation, which is positive as most factory fires are caused by electrical hazards,” he said.

“As a result, we have helped prevent fires in factories covered by the Accord.”

Dr Mark Zirnsak, director of the Justice and International Mission unit commended the efforts of Church members.

“We are thankful for all Uniting Church members who wrote letters and signed postcards, asking Australian clothing companies to sign up to the Accord,” he said.

“These actions have resulted in making factories in Bangladesh safer, which is likely to have saved lives.”

The owner of the Rana Plaza factory, along with dozens of government officials, has been charged with murder. They are accused of ignoring warnings that the collapse was

UCA withdraws from ACCESS Ministries THE Synod Standing Committee recently made the decision to withdraw as a Supporting Church of ACCESS Ministries.

The decision, made at the Standing Committee’s 24 June meeting, comes after more than three years of consultation with groups including ACCESS Ministries, the Department of Education and Training and Uniting Church religious instructors.

The Christian Religious Education Task Group, on behalf of the synod, engaged over 2012-2014 with ACCESS Ministries to consider the contemporary context of SRI and the Church’s ongoing involvement with ACCESS.

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imminent. A compensation fund for victims of the collapse has reached its funding target of $30 million from the international brands that were sourcing clothing from Rana Plaza at the time.

Since the Rana Plaza collapse, 65,000 clothing factory workers in Bangladesh have joined trade unions. However, the minimum wage in the garment industry in Bangladesh remains at $87 per month (or just over $4 per working day) – one of the lowest in the world.

As reported in Crosslight, the synod Commission for Mission also requested Church members to write letters to the clothing giant Pacific Brands asking to ensure their workers in Cambodia are paid enough to live on.

Pacific Brands owns such well-known brands as Bonds, Sheridan, Berlei, Tontine, Holeproof, Jockey and Voodoo.

Wages of workers in the garment sector in Cambodia remain inadequate for the workers to live a decent life.

In 2014, eight global companies (C&A, H&M, Inditex, N Brown Group, Tchibo GmbH, Next Retail, Primark, New Look) who source garments from Cambodia wrote a joint letter to the Cambodian Government in support of a living wage for garment workers.

The Cambodian Labour Advisory Committee released a new minimum wage level for garment workers set at $152 per month (around $5 a day). However, this is still far below a level that would allow workers to escape a life of poverty.

Pacific Brands has responded to letters sent

by Uniting Church members stating that they source 3 per cent of their manufactured products from three factories in Cambodia.

The reply states “Pacific Brands acknowledges that the principle of a living wage is an important step towards workers being able to provide for themselves and their families’ basic needs – such as housing, food, education and healthcare.”

Dr Zirnsak said there are positive aspects in Pacific Brands’ response but there was much more work to be done.

“They should be ensuring all people working full-time in the factories they are sourcing from get the USD 177 in pay per month, at a minimum,” he said.

“Further, the letter fails to offer any explanation about why Pacific Brands has not joined with other international brands in calling for a living wage across the whole of the clothing industry.”

The Synod meeting in September 2014 subsequently resolved to withdraw support if there was not an adequate response to its requests of ACCESS Ministries.

The Synod requested five specific responses from ACCESS by 31 May 2015. These request involved governance, communication and the UCA’s ability to be involved in SRI material.

The Standing Committee evaluated the responses and resolved that they did not adequately address the issues raised by the Synod.

In announcing the decision moderator Dan Wootton acknowledged the faithful work of Church members associated with ACCESS Ministries.

“The decision is a significant one and the Standing Committee has given thanks to God for the many UCA members who have served as members, on the Council and on the Board of ACCESS Ministries,” he said.

“Acknowledgement has also been made of

Garment factory worker

Protesting for better conditions

the foundational relationship established by predecessors of the UCA in guiding the development of ACCESS Ministries over many decades.”

The moderator also encouraged individuals or congregations who wish to continue supporting ACCESS to do so.

“Your ministry is valuable,” he said.

“The decision of the Standing Committee does not affect those who choose to contribute to local Special Religious Instruction programs.”

The Uniting Church has raised the possibility of discussions with ACCESS regarding establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (or similar), given that a number of Uniting Church members and congregations are likely to continue to be involved with ACCESS. Should ACCESS follow up on this possibility, the Standing Committee has authorised the moderator and general secretary to appoint a task group to

undertake this work.

The September 2014 Synod resolved to consider the UCA’s involvement in chaplaincy in state schools. The Standing Committee has appointed a task group to undertake this work, which will report to the 2016 Synod.

In acknowledging the decision ACCESS CEO Dawn Penney thanked the Synod Standing Committee for working through the issues of concern with honest dialogue.

“While we acknowledge that the nature of the relationship with the UCA will now change, we are confident that individual UCA members and many local UCA congregations will continue to engage in supporting both the delivery of SRI and Chaplaincy programs to hundreds of Victorian schools,” she said.

“The comments recorded by Moderator Dan Wootton encourage this.”

For more information visit victas.uca.org.au/access

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News

Tongan ties NIGEL TAPP IT is not every day you receive an invitation to crown the ruling monarch of another nation. But that was the honour bestowed upon former Uniting Church president Rev Dr D’Arcy Wood last month.

Dr Wood, who lives in Gisborne, was invited to crown the Tongan King Tupou VI at a ceremony in the national capital of Nuku’alofa, on 4 July.

He was first approached about officiating in 2013 when King Tupou VI assumed the throne following the death of his brother, King Tupou V, in 2012.

Dr Wood admitted it was an invitation which came out of the blue.

“It was a surprise and a great honour, not for me so much but for the Uniting Church and my family,” he said.

“I have not done it before and I do not expect to do it again.”

Dr Wood said he understood there was a desire for the service to be conducted by someone from the Methodist tradition, given that the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga is the dominant church in the

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country with its membership including the royal family.

He said the service followed a very British tradition with music a dominant presence.

“The choirs were quite wonderful.”

The coronation is always conducted by a non-Tongan because of a local custom which dictates that no Tongan can touch the head of the monarch.

Dr Wood got to know King Tupou VI and the Queen, Nanasipau’u (pictured) when the King was the High Commissioner for Tonga with responsibility for South-East Asia and Dr Wood was the minister at the City Uniting Church in Canberra.

“I got to know the Queen fairly well but the King was often away travelling,” he said.

It was the latest chapter in Dr Wood’s long family association with the Pacific nation which stretches back 90 years.

Dr Wood was born in the country where his parents, Rev Dr Harold Wood and Dr Olive Wood, served as missionaries for 13 years. His sister, Janet Secomb, also served as a missionary in the country and another sister, Dr Elizabeth Wood-Ellem, wrote much of the history of the tiny nation.

While Dr Wood was only three months old when his parents returned to Australia, Tonga was an ever-present subject during his formative years.

“It was constantly a topic around the dining table and I remember the sound of the language growing up, even though I do not speak it,” he said.

Dr Wood is not the only Uniting Church connection with the coronation.

Manningham Uniting Church minister Rev Jason Kioa, and his wife, Fotolina, were also invited and the former president Rev Prof Andrew Dutney preached at a Service of Thanksgiving the following day.

Mr Kioa grew up with the King’s late brother and also attended his coronation.

He said Queen Nanasipau’u had attended the Tongan National Conference – an annual gathering of all the Tongan congregations of the Uniting Church – and was an active participant.

Dr Wood said he hoped the Church’s involvement would further cement the relationship between the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga and the Uniting Church.

“There was a period a few years ago when the relationship was a little strained and hopefully this (coronation) service will help to strengthen the ties,” he said.

Cleaning up on dirty money THE Commission for Mission (CFM) is encouraging support for the ‘Stop Australia being a Haven for Dirty Money’ postcard campaign. The campaign calls on the Australian Government to combat stolen money coming into Australia, in particular from developing countries.

The CFM has conducted an investigation into prominent businessmen and politicians from Papua New Guinea who have been convicted or charged with stealing money from the PNG Government.

The investigation found tens of millions of dollars “of potentially stolen money” has been transferred into Australia from PNG. In late June The Age revealed further evidence relating to allegations of Australian lawyers assisting to pay bribes to PNG authorities and funnelling money into Australia.

There is also evidence that stolen money has been transferred to Australia from China and Malaysia.

In May the federal government announced the development of a national scheme on unexplained wealth. Unexplained wealth laws will target ‘big fish’ criminals by forcing them to prove large amounts of wealth come from legitimate sources. The wealth can be seized if no proof is provided.

A national scheme will allow the federal, state and territory governments to combine investigative tools, intelligence and resources to better target serious criminals.

Justice and International Mission unit director Dr Mark Zirnsak said the initiative could include people from developing countries who have shifted stolen money into Australia.

“Media attention and people sending postcards and letters have seen the Federal Government starting to move in a number of areas,” he said.

“Laws and law enforcement will curb money stolen from developing countries being shifted to Australia.

“Ordinary people taking action on these issues is important to show the government that ordinary voters are concerned that Australia plays the role of a good global citizen.”

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News The cost of family violence NIGEL TAPP FAMILY violence is no longer an issue to be kept ‘behind closed doors’. High profile cases, such as the tragic murder of Luke Batty at the hands of his estranged father, have brought the reality faced by many families into sharp public focus.

Prior to the last Victorian state election, the ALP promised to establish a Royal Commission into Family Violence. The Commission opened last month and has been tasked with providing practical recommendations on how Victoria’s response to family violence can be improved.

The Commission is due to provide its report and recommendations to the government by Monday, 29 February 2016.

A forum recently held at Kildonan UnitingCare examined one area of abuse where practical assistance can make a huge difference.

More than half of the women who suffer violence at the hands of their partner also experience economic abuse within the relationship.

Kildonan wants utility providers, banks, telecommunications and debt collection companies to understand the direct link between financial hardship and family violence, and take responsibility for tackling it with their customers.

The forum was attended by almost 100 frontline staff, team leaders and managers keen to investigate ways to help reduce the impact of family violence on their clients.

Kildonan UnitingCare chief executive officer Stella Avramopoulos said about 1.86 million Australians experience economic abuse each year.

“In many cases abusive partners will refuse to contribute to household bills, transfer utility bills into the victim’s name leaving the victim to accrue substantial debts, or get the energy or water disconnected as a means to control, manipulate or punish their partner,” Ms Avramopoulos said.

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Young mum ‘Jane’ from Wollert in Melbourne’s north, experienced physical and emotional abuse shortly after her daughter was born, when her partner started using ice.

“He was very violent, I don’t even know where to start,” said Jane, who declined to reveal her name for fear of reprisal from her former partner.

“He was earning enough but he wasn’t supporting us at all. He used all our savings to feed his drug habit and I was depending on benefits to pay the bills.”

Jane said becoming a client of Kildonan prevented her from spiralling into overwhelming debt.

Kildonan’s new community and corporate partnership, CareRing, adopts a holistic early-intervention approach to vulnerable people by addressing the issues that can cause significant financial pressures.

Forum keynote speaker OurWatch chief executive officer Paul Linossier said violence against women and their children cost the Australian economy about $14 billion each year.

“Primary prevention is at the heart of our strategy – we want to ensure women and their children are safe and can thrive with support from the community. Banks and utility companies have a large role to play in helping people get back on their feet,” Mr Linossier said.

Mercedes Lentz, from the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre, said most energy retailers did not list domestic or family violence as a criterion for hardship.

“We’d like to see, among many things, industry guidelines specifically addressing the treatment of customers who are victims of domestic violence,” Ms Lentz said.

“We find these women and their support workers experience great difficulty resolving utility debts and dealing with call centres and hardship departments.

“Economic stress, such as the liability for significant debts, can also hinder a victim’s ability to free themselves from an abusive environment.”

The forum also featured representatives of Yarra Valley Water, Western Water, NAB and the Energy and the Water Ombudsman.

New direction for UnitingCare THE Standing Committee recently approved a new strategic direction for the UnitingCare agency network as part of the Major Strategic Review of all activities and operations of the synod.

A new agency board will be established to oversee delivery and support functions of community services across Victoria and Tasmania.

Governance of the UnitingCare network will subsequently move from the Commission for Mission to the new agency board. The new board will be a skills-based board that will connect the many specialist skills of UnitingCare staff and volunteers and allow agencies to share best practice and expertise.

A project control group will be established to work on the detail and implement the new direction.

UnitingCare agencies included in the new strategic direction span both metropolitan and regional settings throughout Victoria and Tasmania.

The agencies cover a diverse range of speciality services areas including emergency relief, housing, financial support and treatment for alcohol and other drugs.

Agencies outside the scope of the new strategic direction include Uniting AgeWell, Wesley Mission Victoria and Uniting Housing. These agencies sit apart from the new ‘agency board’ as they have different governance structures that already report directly to the Synod and its Standing Committee.

General Secretary Rev Dr Mark Lawrence said reviewing the Church’s community support operations has been a focus of the Major Strategic Review since October 2014.

“The work of UnitingCare agencies is a vital expression of mission within the Uniting Church,” he said.

“Through this decision, the Standing Committee has confirmed the Church’s commitment to effectively address disadvantage in our community well into the future.”

The strategic direction will be implemented over the next 12 to 18 months.

All agencies and service delivery will continue to operate as normal during this transition process.

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News Prayer vigil for asylum seekers MORE than 50 people braved the cold on a Sunday morning last month to pray for asylum seekers at a vigil held outside St Mark’s Uniting Church, Mornington.

The 90-minute vigil was organised by three Uniting Church ministers: Rev Cameron McAdam from Mount Eliza Uniting Church, Rev John Haig from St Mark’s Uniting Church and Rev Paul Chalson from Mount Martha Uniting Church.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are now almost 60 million refugees worldwide, with almost half of them children. This means that one in every 122 people globally is either a refugee or an internally displaced person.

Mr McAdam told The Mornington News the vigil was for all asylum seekers seeking protection throughout the world.

“We prayed not just for asylum seekers trying to reach Australia but for all displaced people in the world including Africans trying to reach Europe, and Rohingya from Burma and Bangladeshis trying to escape persecution and crushing poverty in Asia,” he said.

Speakers at the event included Berlin

Guerrero from the synod’s Justice and International Mission unit. Mr Guerrero was serving as a pastor in the Philippines when he was abducted and tortured by state security forces. He was released after spending more than 15 months in prison and successfully applied for asylum in Australia, where he is now an ordained Uniting Church minister.

The vigil came in light of the recent Border Force Act, which could jail immigration workers and doctors for sharing information about the conditions of detention centres.

In an open letter, more than 40 former detention centre staff challenged Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to prosecute them.

Mr McAdam vowed to continue speaking out against the government’s immigration policies until all children are released from detention.

“There are still 81 children on Nauru and 138 children in detention on the Australian mainland,” he said.

“The government must release all children from detention, close offshore detention centres, and introduce a fairer and more reasonable policy approach including a regional solution in the future.”

The vigil was followed by a sausage sizzle with all proceeds going to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

This story originally appeared on Crosslight Online.

Berlin Guerrero addresses the crowd

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Did you know?

Consulting, reviewing, reporting – the MSR journey CROSSLIGHT last spoke with the Major Strategic Review (MSR) team in August last year. Since then we have reported on workshops, surveys and other engagements. People have also written letters to Crosslight commenting on the MSR. Crosslight sat down with the MSR team to discuss what is happening and what has been achieved so far.

At what stage is the MSR? What is happening now?

Last year we were involved in some broad, big vision discussions with a long list of councils, committees, agencies, institutions, groups and individuals throughout the synod. This year we have focused our discussions on issues specific to different groups. This has included discussions with groups and individuals leading lay and ordained ministry within the Church about support and training they need. We have also had direct conversations with congregations and presbyteries to help us better understand the support needed to enhance mission and leadership. At the same time, we have been speaking with synod-based ministries and operations about their services, plans and resourcing.

We have held frank conversations with relevant committees and groups about finances, governance, ministry and mission.

It sounds like you have done a lot of consultation?

We have been asked to look at the whole of the Church in Victoria and Tasmania. If we recommend a change in one area, we know it will affect other areas in the Church.

We have, deliberately, spent a lot of time talking with a lot of people and groups across the life of the Church so we can better understand the interdependencies.

The MSR is only in a position to advise the Church. Decisions regarding how to approach implementation will be considered progressively by the Synod Standing Committee or other appropriate councils of the Church. We need to demonstrate to these councils, and the wider Church, the discussion, thought and due diligence behind all our proposals to ensure trust and confidence in our advice.

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What areas are being considered by the Review?

This MSR is broader and deeper than anything we or any other synod has done before. We are covering all facets of the Church in Victoria and Tasmania, including the various councils of the Church; synod-based ministries like the Centre for Theology and Ministry, the Commission for Mission and UCA Funds Management; synod support services; UnitingCare, UnitingAgeWell, other agencies and community services; schools and other institutions of the Church.

We often reflect on Paul’s image of the ‘body’ when faced with the reality of the unity and diversity within the many parts of the Church (1 Cor 12). We are taking a whole-of-Church perspective and giving a lot of consideration to the breadth and interconnectedness of the mission and ministry of the Church, as well as our commercial and compliance obligations.

Are there any common themes emerging?

Following our consultations last year we presented an interim report to the September 2014 Synod meeting and the following themes were affirmed for the MSR. These themes continue to be matters of consideration and exploration regularly raised with us.

• The changing nature of the Church; • Faith formation and discipleship; • Leadership, training, governance; • Relationships and communication; • Resources: people, property, social capital; and • Our financial future.

as we continue to consult throughout the synod. These principles will inform our thinking when developing proposals.

The culture survey, conducted in February and March, provided some deep insights into the synod. The survey findings will inform strategic planning, but we are also talking with different teams within the synod about how to affect change in areas identified in the survey.

Since October 2014 we have undertaken a focused review of the mission and operations of the UnitingCare network in Victoria and Tasmania. We met and spoke with all community services agencies, reporting back to each on our findings.

All the information gathered was collated and shared with the Synod Standing Committee before it considered and approved a new strategic direction for the UnitingCare agency network.

We have produced A New Season Bible studies and resources, which have been well received.

We have hosted a national discussion on governance. As part of this ongoing national discussion, we will be focusing on the composition and functioning of synod standing committees.

What have been the highlights so far?

Our people – our shared faith, passion and dedication. The energy and enthusiasm we have experienced at youth, family and social justice camps. Hearing of the compassion and resourcefulness of the many mission activities of congregations.

Meeting, praying and talking with so many people about their Christian faith.

Our goal is to establish a helpful environment by which all of us in the Church can continue to faithfully engage in worship, witness and service in the future and as part of a changing world.

How can people find out more?

We share news, reports, invitations and resources everywhere we can. We provide quarterly updates to presbyteries, submit news to the Synod E-newsletter which goes to groups including ministers and church council secretaries, contribute to Crosslight, publish news to our MSR Facebook group and have a MSR newsletter that people can sign-up to get updates.

If people don’t hear about the MSR through these channels, they can visit our website to find out more.

Who is the team?

• Rev Dr Mark Lawrence (MSR Chairperson) • Dr Jason Talbot (Program Director) • Dr Andrew Glenn • Rev Nigel Hanscamp • Rev Graeme Harrison • Ms Leeanne Keam • Mr Ken Tabart • Ms Wendie Wilkie Read more about the MSR team and program of work at www.listeningpost.victas.uca.org.au/msr

Is the team still consulting?

When will the MSR be complete?

We will prepare a final report for the Synod Standing Committee by the 31 December 2015.

What has the MSR achieved so far?

We have been asked to advise the synod on vision, plans and sustainability into the future. That is what we have been doing and will continue to do with our final report in December.

We have developed a statement of vision and mission principles that we are sharing

Yes definitely. We would like to thank the many people and groups who continue to engage and support the work of the MSR, especially presbyteries and synod teams.

We know some people feel like we have over-consulted. But we know there are others, as we read in Crosslight’s letters page, who are frustrated with the lack of time or the scope of facilitated discussions.

We encourage people to be proactive and contact us directly. If you want to share any thoughts, discuss issues or follow up on an MSR discussion you’ve been involved in – email us, join our Facebook group, ask a question or leave a comment via our website.

Major Strategic Review contact details • E: msr@victas.uca.org.au • Facebook group: www.facebook.com/ groups/msr.ucavictas • W: www.listeningpost.victas.uca.org.au/msr

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Profile Community connections in Warrnambool BEN GRUNDY WARRNAMBOOL is a regional centre with historic ties stretching back to the 1840s. Like many rural areas in Australia, early settlement was characterised by harsh conditions that highlighted the need for regional communities to be well connected.

The coastal city has been fortunate to have successive generations of leadership with strong ties to local churches and an appreciation of existing community needs, particularly in a rural context.

While the regional hub has undergone immense changes, some things have remained the same.

Today, Uniting churches in the Warrnambool region are engaged in a breadth of community orientated activities. From childcare and chaplaincy, to welfare and the creative arts, there isn’t much that the UCA community in Warrnambool isn’t involved with.

Chatting with various members of Uniting churches in the region, most are quick to point out the range of connections made through the churches.

As well as local initiatives many congregations have wider links.

Warrnambool’s monthly visit from a Korean congregation in Essendon (which includes shared services and a community lunch) is just one example.

Social groups, ecumenical services and celebrations, fundraising and support for local charities and hospitality are all staples in the life of these churches.

Trevor Fraser is a Warrnambool Uniting Church member and chairperson of its property committee. He cites the influence and ongoing legacy of early church leaders in how the church operates in Warrnambool.

One example of this is the church’s properties, rented to local businesses, which serve to fund missional and community support activities in the region.

“This is something that has been going for 90 years so in a way it’s not hard to continue the tradition because that framework is already there – but it’s up to us to make sure that it stays alive and active,” Mr Fraser said.

As well as commercial businesses, the church is active in seeking missional opportunities via these properties. Most recently the congregation was able to strike up a partnership with the Warrnambool District Food Share.

Food Share, which provides food to community support agencies, was in need of a new home after its existing location was sold – luckily the church was able to step in. The Warrnambool church purchased a suitable building and provided it to Food Share at a significantly reduced rent.

Last year Food Share distributed approximately 105 tons of food throughout the region. This amounts to thousands of food parcels for families in need.

“It’s such a great missional opportunity,” Mr Fraser said “The church is supported by the buildings and that in turn allows us to support organisations like Food Share.”

The seven congregations in the Warrnambool region are linked by a regional preaching plan that sees Rev Geoff Barker, Rev Malcolm Frazer, Pastor Marjorie Crothers and lay preachers supporting various congregations in the area.

Ms Crothers, who is heavily involved with pastoral care in palliative care contexts, regularly runs services in aged care facilities and the Warrnambool Hospital.

While quick to downplay her individual role,

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Ms Crothers is emblematic of numerous active UCA members working in this community.

Many church members in this part of western Victoria similarly work behind the scenes supporting social justice and community support initiatives.

“We do try to recognise the needs and not just continue on with what we’ve always done,” Ms Crothers said.

“We are always looking to do other things that support the needs in the region.

“I think making people feel welcome is really important. We’ve always got someone at the door greeting people and we always make a point of reaching out and welcoming new faces.”

Discussing the community’s strong missional mindset, Ms Crothers says it comes from a vision of a church that’s truly embedded in the wider community.

“The region came out of a vision started many years ago,” she said.

“The breadth of involvement isn’t an accident but rather a considered approach to working with the community in the Warrnambool area.”

“Our congregations are ageing, which is sad, but everyone helps out and gets involved.

There’s still a lot happening out here and that’s really important for people in more remote areas.”

Rev Geoff Barker echoes this sentiment in his approach to missional activities across the community. As part of the ministry team he is involved with the life of the Church across the region’s congregations and further afield with other community activities.

“My vision for outreach is that it’s not a matter of the Church just doing stuff for other people but rather it’s partnering with other people in mission,” he said.

“It’s more about ‘come and join us in this mission sort of church work’ and the gospel gets shared in that – it’s about working with like-minded people.”

Mr Barker highlights not only the support of grassroots community groups but also quirky initiatives that utilise the region’s popularity as a tourist destination.

“For every community project or social justice initiative in the Warrnambool region, chances are that a Uniting Church member is involved,” he said.

“But we try other things as well. The Port Fairy Folk Festival is a huge event so we always try and do something special.

“This year we did a Seekers’ inspired service featuring Seekers’ songs – so we do try and look at things like that as well.”

Whether it is through the UCAF, links with local schools, discussion and craft groups or recording and distributing worship service DVDs to those in remote areas, there is a strong sense of inclusion amongst the area’s congregations.

As well as these socially driven activities, the church is involved with more structured large scale missional projects.

UnitingCare Heatherlie Homes, the 92 independent-living units adjacent to the church, as well as the childcare centre also on church grounds, are two notable examples.

Commenting on the diversity of people with church connections in the area, Mr Barker notes the importance of the church in

supporting community connections.

Prominently featured on the street-facing window of the Warrnambool church is an ever-changing message. Mr Barker says they can be a bit provocative for some people such as challenging statements about climate change or asylum seekers.

However a recently displayed message (Joy, Courage – have a heart) served as an apt reflection of the UCA community in the Warrnambool region.

“We’re lucky in that we do have so many creative people,” Mr Barker said.

“That helps us to be really involved with the community across the board.”

UCA member Elaine Oliver runs knitting and craft groups in the Warrnambool region.

Ministry team Rev Malcolm Frazer, Pastor Marjorie Crothers and Rev Geoff Barker.

Elaine Oliver, June Morris, Glenda Grayson, Marjorie Crothers, Trevor Fraser, Lex McRae.

Childcare volunteer Muriel Mackenzie.

Childcare centre staff Gill Gladman and Liz Sparrow.

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Profile From Numurkah to Amritsar DEB BENNETT REV DEACON JEAN MAYERS has been a minister with the Uniting Church for 12 years, for the last five at Numurkah and Nathalia/Picola churches. While juggling commitments as a minister in three congregations with grandmother duties would be enough for most 77 year olds, Jean decided that she wanted more of a challenge.

Last year, Jean decided that she wanted to ‘trade places’ for a month with a minister from the Church of North India (CNI).

Jean spoke with her long-time friend and Bishop of the Church of North India,(CNI) Bishop Samantaroy, (Bunu), who shared her excitement at the idea.

“The aim of the exchange was to ‘swap places’ – to be totally submerged in each other’s church and to learn from one another’s ministry, comparing and contrasting with one’s own, each other’s cultures and customs,” Jean said.

After consulting with a myriad of people throughout the Uniting Church – church councils, presbytery, moderator and general secretary, and UnitingWorld – it became clear that this initiative had not been undertaken before. Although all expressed enthusiasm, Jena found there was little anyone could offer in the way of practical advice.

Rev Vijay Kumar was chosen by Bishop Bunu to take part in the exchange. The congregations of Numurkah and Nathalia/ Picola helped to pay for Vijay’s visit, and UnitingWorld offered to pay for his travel insurance. April of this year was chosen as the time for the swap to take place, as the weather in both countries would not be too challenging.

Mindful of the difficulties inherent in overseas travel, Jean said she also planned well in advance in case there was a “spanner in the works’. As she explained, there were plenty of those.

“I had had previous experience in sponsoring an Indonesian deaconess on a visit some eight years ago and so was aware of the difficulties which can arise – especially with visas,” Jean said.

It turned out Jean was right to be concerned.

After a lot of paper work and phone calls, the visa was finally granted after the Office of the Minister for Immigration intervened in the week Vijay was due to depart.

In the meantime, Jean’s congregation was busy preparing for Vijay’s visit.

“It was decided that a month would be a good period of time for the exchange,” Jean said.

Rev Deacon Jean Mayers in India

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“Timetables were drawn up for both of us in order that we experience day-to-day life as a minister in each other’s placement; a ‘Vijay committee’ was formed consisting of people from my congregations, and roles and jobs assigned.”

Vijay finally arrived on 25 March this year, a week before Jean headed off to India.

Jean arrived in Delhi on 1 April and flew on to Amritsar. She describes her experience in India as truly ‘life changing’.

While issues such as poverty and the unjust caste system were challenging, the faith of the people in the face of adversity was inspiring.

“To hear of female infanticide from mothers, talk with people recovering from HIV, and to see how UnitingWorld – on our behalf – is helping in education, brought forth mixed feelings including powerlessness, anger and admiration at the way people made the best of their lives.

“I was invited to preach in the Amritsar Cathedral and participated in worship, aided by an English speaking interpreter with the Hindi speaking congregation.

Home praying and laying-on of hands, pastoral visiting, Easter foot-washing, praying in the cemetery, Bible study, requests from pregnant women praying for a son, driving out demons, made up aspects of my daily timetable.”

While understanding the cultural and economic reasons why women wanted boys, Jean explained she declined the invitation to pray for a son.

“I learned that 99 per cent of the congregation had been members of the Dalit caste (lowest caste in the Hindu caste system) and that they are very passionate about their faith and love of God. There were differences when compared with my ministry, such as administering communion to 400 communicants compared with 60 at Numurkah.

“Nevertheless there were many similarities in both the Indian and Australian experience. It truly was a learning experience.”

Jean stayed in Amritsar for a week after Vijay returned so they could discuss their experiences together. Both agreed the exchange had been a successful learning experience.

When asked, Jean is unsure who suffered the greatest culture shock.

“It took both of us a couple of weeks to settle back into our respective placements and we both suffered stomach upsets and sleeplessness on return. After seeing so much deprivation, I found it hard to adjust to my western lifestyle; Vijay of course had experienced western excesses and comparative luxury. How much harder it must have been for him on his return.”

Rowena Allen with Equality Minister Martin Foley

Taking church justice to parliament house DEB BENNETT VICTORIA’S recently appointed gender and sexuality commissioner, Rowena Allen (pictured), knows a thing or two about social justice.

In fact, she feels her passion for speaking up for the vulnerable is inevitable, given her background in the Uniting Church.

The establishment of a gender and sexuality commissioner was a commitment of the Labor party prior to the state election. The role is the first of its kind in Australia, if not the world.

Rowena has been a strong advocate for LGBTIQ rights for many years, and was founding CEO of UnitingCare Cutting Edge, where she established Victoria’s first rural support group for young LGBTIQ people. She currently chairs the Adult, Community and Further Education Board and is a former chair of the Victorian Skills Commission and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria.

Speaking on her second day in the newlycreated role, Rowena is keen to let the church community know how important they have been to her, both personally and professionally.

“The Church has had a massive influence on my life,” Rowena said.

“It has taught me how to stand up for the oppressed, how to do public speaking, leadership – nearly everything I do, I got from the Church.

“When people ask me where I developed my skills and experience I tell them the majority of my working life has been with the Uniting Church. That’s where I honed my skills in advocacy, in negotiation and in social justice, it gave me the framework.”

Although social attitudes towards the LGBTI community have changed significantly throughout the years, Rowena said that subtle forms of discrimination still exist. A personal experience within the health-care system a few years ago highlighted the concerns.

“My partner was asked to leave the room when they wanted to do a procedure that generally a husband or wife would stay for,” Rowena said.

“At the time, I was chairing a gay and lesbian advisory committee and my partner was very assertive.

“These things happen when you are at your most vulnerable. For me, I was lying in bed and I was in pain and even as the chair of the state advisory committee I couldn’t

advocate for my rights. So if it can happen to us then it can happen to anyone.”

Research released by the Victorian education department states that 61 per cent of same sex attracted young people have experienced verbal abuse and 18 per cent have experience physical abuse on the basis of their sexuality. More than 80 per cent of this abuse occurs in schools. Experiences of homophobia can increase the risk of selfharm, suicide, drug and alcohol use.

Rowena will be heavily involved in the Victorian roll out of the safe schools initiative to combat such bullying in schools. As well as highlighting areas for improvement, her role will involve encouraging positive behaviour.

“Schools are doing great stuff, but there are pockets that need to catch up,” Rowena said.

“I’m much more the carrot than the stick approach. I will go where I’m invited. My job will be going to support and highlight the people who are already doing good work and name and shame the discrimination along the way.”

Rowena points to the work already being done within the Uniting Church network as an example of the Church leading by example.

“In aged care, the Church is the leading provider around diversity for same-sex attracted elderly people.

“They have broken all the barriers. They are the first faith-based community service organisation to run training for all of their aged-care staff on how to work with gay and lesbian people.

“That’s another area of your life where you’re very vulnerable. You could live with someone for 40 years and in the twilight years be separated because you’re too scared to say that you’re a couple.

“That is the Uniting Church. We are social justice focussed and you would expect nothing less. It’s easy to be the second faithbased organisation to do this stuff, it’s not always easy to be the first.”

Rowena hopes that her experience within the Church might challenge people’s perception of faith-based organisations when it comes to issues such as sexuality.

“I always felt supported within the Church.

I came out and was supported by my mentor, Rev Dorothy Macrae McMahon, who took me under her wing and showed me it wasn’t a choice between my sexuality and my spirituality. That was incredible – it was lifesaving, life giving.

“I actually came out at NCYC (National Christian Youth Convention) in Canberra back in the early 90s. I came out to myself and to my friend there when I was 20 years old.

“I was the first to come out in our group, so I think for all my social justice friends it was exciting – they had a new justice issue, one of their mates!”

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

14th Assembly 2015

Perth pilgrimage Members of the 14th triennial Assembly recently gathered in Perth to discuss and debate the Uniting Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to a range of issues.

MORE than 300 people were housed at Trinity Residential College and shared meals and conversations in a communal environment.

Each day began with devotions, singing and Bible studies led by prominent Uniting Church theologians before a wide range of proposals were discussed.

Overseas guests from partner churches shared stories of faith, resilience and inspiration through a series of UnitingWorld lunches.

Assembly was also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Uniting Church members. Two Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress ministers from the Western Australia synod were ordained on the final night of Assembly. NIGEL TAPP reports.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

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14th Assembly 2015 Assembly overview NIGEL TAPP SOME within the Uniting Church would deride the triennial Assembly gathering as a bit of a talkfest.

Yes, there is a lot of talking throughout the six days as the members deal with a range of issues. Topics discussed include issues confronting contemporary society as well as questions about how the Church ‘does church’, and how it engages with is congregations, synods, councils and one another.

Much is achieved. Some of those truly special – or most powerful – moments actually come in silence before God. Such was the story of the 14th triennial Assembly in Perth last month.

The gathering tackled weighty subjects such as same-gender marriage, the role of elders within the Uniting Church, church governance, federal government cuts to overseas aid, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the treatment of asylum seekers and federal and state government policies aimed at closing remote Aboriginal communities.

The most powerful moment came on the Wednesday, when members stood in silent respect to all those who had suffered from child abuse.

It came after the chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan AM, had informed members that 399 of

bisexual, transsexual, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ).

If a change to the Marriage Act is made between now and the next Assembly in 2018, the general secretary will issue a letter to all Uniting Church authorised celebrants advising them of their freedoms and constraints under that legislation and in their church-authorised role.

Members were encouraged by UnitingWorld to advocate strongly for increases in government aid funding and to increase their own support for development aid through personal and church giving, and through advocacy and encouragement of their community.

This call follows a massive cut in overseas aid by the federal government in the May budget which will slice $2.7 billion from the forward estimates over the next few years.

The Assembly members stood as one to oppose the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities.

The symbolic action was the result of a heartfelt plea by a contingent of youthful members who pleaded with the Assembly to respond to the potential closures.

All members – including president Stuart McMillan, Nyungar elder Rev Sealin Garlett and Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress chairperson Rev Dennis Corowa – moved outside the hall to signal their solidarity with Indigenous people in threat of being forced off their land by federal and state government policies.

The Assembly also demanded that the Australian government adopt policies which genuinely sought to support rather than demonise asylum seekers and refugees.

In adopting a proposal from UnitingJustice, the Assembly outlined a nine-step plan. The plan calls for a response to asylum seekers

When the Church is in a position of being at the margin, it will be more likely to be like Jesus Christ - Rev Dr Lin Manhong

the 13,256 allegations within the Commission’s terms of reference were in respect of abuse by members of Uniting Church institutions. This represents about 3 per cent of the total figure.

Following Justice McClellan’s presentation, members stood in silence to honour those who had suffered in a sign of solidarity, respect and support.

Justice McClellan said the power of institutions must never again be allowed to silence a child, nor must it be allowed to diminish the preparedness or capacity of adults to protect children.

Those representing the Church clearly endorsed that position, with president Stuart McMillan putting those who had suffered at the forefront of the Church’s thinking.

“Their wellbeing and the opportunity for those people to be afforded justice, healing and perhaps, with time, some reconciliation is our utmost concern,” Mr McMillan said.

“His Honour has outlined the changes in our society over a period in time when children were not to be seen or heard, which allowed them to be quite vulnerable.

“Fortunately, that has changed. The Christian community understands the value Jesus placed on children and we place that same value on the safety and welfare of children, not only in our care, but in our community.”

The Assembly has committed to continue to engage in a culturally-appropriate conversation about marriage and samegender relationships, even though it did not change its position on marriage.

In addition to this conversation, the Assembly resolved to issue a pastoral letter to the Church affirming the Uniting Church as an inclusive Church embracing those members who identify as lesbian, gay, 12

and refugees based on humanitarian principles.

Declining numbers of Church adherents was also discussed.

While at last Census only 5 per cent of Australians identified themselves as being Uniting Church compared to 14 per cent identifying themselves as Presbyterian, Congregational or Methodist in 1976, members were encouraged to not see being on the margin of society as necessarily a bad thing.

The associate general secretary of the China Christian Council, Rev Dr Lin Manhong, argued that Jesus Christ was the marginal person “par excellence”. He was born in a lowly stable, was considered an outsider by his own and befriended those on the edge of society – such as Zaccheus the tax collector, the sick, the poor and the woman at the well.

“If Jesus Christ, the incarnated God, was a marginal person, we Christians are definitely called to be the marginal people of God,” she said.

“When the Church is in a position of being at the margin, it will be more likely to be like Jesus Christ to relate to and embrace those who are marginalised, because the Church itself is one of them, as Jesus Christ was,” Dr Lin said.

“It will be more likely for the Church to join the voices from the margins and not just to listen to and speak for them from a distant, central and privileged position.

“It will be more likely for the Church to be a more active agent of missionary activities to counteract injustice, inequality and exclusivity that have kept people at the margins.

“It will be more likely for the Church to remember its original nature and what it ought to be.”

Foreign aid THE Uniting Church in Australia has encouraged Church members to advocate strongly for increases in government overseas aid funding.

Australia’s overseas aid budget represents only 1 per cent of federal expenditure but the deep cuts in the 2015-16 Federal Budget amounted to more than a quarter of the budget savings measures.

Introducing a proposal demanding the federal government restore the cuts, the national director of UnitingWorld Rob Floyd said foreign aid had become an easy and expedient area for the Australian government to cut.

“What this ignores is the vital contribution Australia’s aid program makes to solving the world’s shared problems such as the effects of climate change, of increasing conflict and instability, of changing migration and refugee patterns, and global disease,” he said.

In 2015-16, total Australian Overseas Development Aid (ODA) will make up only 0.9 per cent of overall federal expenditure, falling from around 1.2 per cent in 2014-15.

The 2015-16 budget confirms further cuts of $2.7 billion in the forward estimates with a $1.332 billion cut in 2016-17 and $1.377 billion cut from 2017-18.

As a result, total ODA in 2016-17 will be $3.912 billion and will represent only 0.22 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI), the lowest ever level since records began.

“Australia is a prosperous nation surrounded by developing countries.

Though we are in the top 20 wealthiest countries, we live in a region home to some of the world’s poorest people,” Mr Floyd said.

“This budget confirms Australia’s position as one of the least generous countries in the OECD.” Mr Floyd said Australia’s aid program reached millions of vulnerable people and communities around the world.

Yet the proposed cuts will slice funding for programs in Asia and the Middle East by 40 per cent and 70 per cent for Saharan Africa.

The Assembly also urged the Federal Government to announce a credible timetable to allocate 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income to Australia’s overseas aid program commensurate with our international obligations.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

14th Assembly 2015 Justice Peter McClellan AM at Assembly THE power of institutions must never again be allowed to silence a child nor must it be allowed to diminish the preparedness or capacity of adults to act to protect children.

That was one of the key messages delivered by the Chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan AM, to the Assembly.

Speaking to a hushed gathering, Justice McClellan said the tragic personal stories and institutional failures revealed by the Commission’s public hearings to date would serve as an important reminder that both individual institutions and governments had failed in their responsibility for children.

“Where once silence was demanded, a child’s complaint, however tentative in its communication, must be heard and given an appropriate response,” he said.

Justice McClellan confirmed that the Commission would conclude at the end of next year. It was still averaging about 50 applications a week for private sessions.

He also said: • The Royal Commission has, so far, received 13,256 allegations within its terms of reference. Of these, 399 were in respect

Asylum seeker support THE Uniting Church has demanded that the Australian Government adopt policies which genuinely seek to support rather than demonise asylum seekers and refugees.

In adopting a proposal from UnitingJustice, the Assembly has also called for: • The human rights of asylum seekers and refugees to be upheld at all times.

• Australia’s response to asylum seekers and refugees to be based on humanitarian principles.

• The abandonment of the policy of mandatory and indefinite detention for asylum seekers.

• Australia’s policies and legislation should refer particularly to the rights and needs of child asylum seekers and refugees.

• The conditions of detention to be humane and uphold people’s dignity.

• Australia to support and uphold the legal rights of all asylum seekers, including a fair, transparent and timely process for assessing people’s refugee claims.

• The provision of adequate psychological, social and medical care, and access to education for all asylum seekers.

• Australia to take a lead in the development of a genuine regional approach and take a global approach to the protection of asylum seekers and refugees and; • People whose refugee claims have been rejected should be treated justly and humanely.

In its proposal, UnitingJustice argued that as Christians we were called to love our neighbour, welcome the stranger, challenge

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

of abuse by members of Uniting Church institutions, representing about 3 per cent of the total figure.

• A further 106 allegations have been received in respect of abuse by members of Presbyterian Church institutions and 62 in respect of abuse by members of Methodist Church institutions, the majority of which relate to incidents before 1977.

Of the 399 allegations against members of Uniting Church institutions, 173 relate to institutions involved in out-of-home care and a further 164 relate to boarding schools.

The Uniting Church institution with the highest number of allegations is Sydney’s Knox Grammar School with 137 allegations. Knox was the subject of a public hearing of the Royal Commission in February this year.

In total, the Commission has received allegations in relation to 132 institutions which were either Uniting Church, Presbyterian or Methodist institutions.

Justice McClellan said it was obvious that when the Commission’s work was completed it will have documented a period in Australian society when institutions failed the children in their care.

“I do not mean to condemn every institution. It is clear that many were managed and sustained by the efforts of both volunteers and paid workers who understood how to manage an institution that provides for the welfare of children,” he said.

“But even then we can recognise that many well-intentioned people did not understand

and did not respond to failures which should have been obvious in the institutions of which they were part.”

Speaking in response to the speech

by Justice McClellan, UCA president Stuart McMillan reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to supporting and assisting the survivors of sexual abuse within its care.

Mr McMillan said the Church would continue to engage constructively with the

unjust systems and offer refuge and care to those who are marginalised and in exile.

We have a particular responsibility in our society when it comes to responding to issues related to asylum seekers and refugees.

It said policies relating to asylum seekers should be driven by bipartisan commitments to a humanitarian response focussed on protection needs and to upholding our obligations under international law.

“As one of the wealthiest, safest and most secure countries in the world, Australia should do its fair share to ease people’s sufferings in the context of what is a global problem,” the report said.

“We must not shift our responsibilities to poor and developing countries.”

UnitingJustice Reference committee chair Rosemary Dawson said all people were well aware of the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia at present.

“We have heard reports from Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission about the appalling conditions in detention centres and the devastating effects of prolonged detention particularly on children,” she said.

Ms Dawson said she wished such motions did not need to be made.

She said the proposal aimed to provide a sound understanding of the situation and concrete suggestions for a way forward.

“It enables us to open our eyes, our ears and hearts to their (asylum seekers and refugees) story.”

In seconding the proposal UnitingJustice Reference committee member Rosemary Hudson-Miller said there were currently more than 50 million refugees around the world, the highest since World War II. The number Australia accepted was small compared with many other nations.

Marriage proposal requires more consideration

Royal Commission and looked forward to the Commission’s final report.

At the conclusion of Justice McClellan’s presentation, members of Assembly stood for a minute’s silence in tribute to all of those affected by child sexual abuse.

For a longer version of this article, go to: http://crosslight.org.au/2015/07/15/justicepeter-mcclellan-speaks-at-assembly/

Justice Peter McClellan

REV ALASTAIR MACRAE introduced the Doctrine Working Group’s The theology of marriage and same-gender relationships within the Uniting Church report to the Assembly, noting that the report is based on the 1997 resolution on marriage and the Uniting Church and the marriage liturgy found in Uniting in Worship 2.

He acknowledged that the theological framework of creation/fall was not the only theological framework in relation to marriage, but that there are few which are so broadly used across the Christian Church.

However, Mr Macrae was keen to point out that use of this material in the group’s report was not intended to single out any group for criticism.

“To attribute goodness to one sexual orientation and fallenness to another is not only destructive and alienating but also poor theology,” he said.

Mr Macrae encouraged the Assembly to carefully consider the proposal.

“The view of the working group is there is more work to be done and while in the short term legislative changes may place churches under a certain amount of pressure … our Church should take as long as necessary to discern the Spirit’s leading in this matter,” he said.

Rev Dennis Corowa spoke to the report on behalf of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).

“Congress had a very open discussion about marriage in January,” he said.

“The National Committee met in March and once again had a frank conversation

around these issues.”

Mr Corowa told the Assembly the National Committee opted to avoid making any comment on the issue, but to continue to be part of the conversation in private, for fear that “anything that is said would be used by one side or another to co-opt the whole of Congress into their camp”.

The Assembly’s discussion of the proposals on marriage took place over several days.

Rev Dr Jenny Byrnes from the Facilitation Group told the meeting that the reordered and amended proposal took into account two elements that are necessary when discussing marriage.

“The first is that the Uniting Church needs to exercise its own agency in the public space rather than being driven by the timelines or movements of federal politics.

“The second affirms that the Uniting Church’s understanding of marriage can only be considered by the full Assembly meeting and not by the Assembly Standing Committee.”

It was acknowledged that there is a spectrum of views within the Uniting Church.

The Assembly resolved to engage with members of the LGBTIQ community and the wider Church in discussions about marriage and same-gender relationships and to issue a pastoral letter affirming the Uniting Church as an inclusive Church embracing those members who identify as LGBTIQ. Another proposal outlining procedures for respectful conversation with the multicultural bodies of the Church was referred to Assembly Standing Committee.

Finally, a proposal reaffirming the Uniting Church’s existing stance on marriage and rejecting any public celebration of a samegender union was rejected by the Assembly.

After a period of discussion, the Assembly opted not to put it to a decision and the proposal lapsed.

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14th Assembly 2015 No consensus on eldership proposal THE Uniting Church in Australia has been unable to achieve consensus on a proposal to amend regulations regarding eldership and church councils.

The results from the facilitation group on the issue of eldership in Uniting Church congregations was presented by Rev Jenny Byrnes.

“Eleven of the 20 working groups only gave qualified support to the direction,” Ms Byrnes said.

Two groups indicated it was unnecessary for the Assembly meeting to consider this issue at all, and there was concern among working groups that small congregations, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and congregations without a minister would not be served well by the proposal.

The need for education around the nature of spiritual leadership was also identified.

“After reading feedback, the facilitation group noted what might be described as an

apparent lack of passion or energy for the discussion,” Ms Byrnes saidt.

The facilitation group brought a slightly amended form of the proposal, but the Assembly indicated a significant lack of support.

As a consequence, the issue was passed back to the Assembly Standing Committee to undertake further work on “the nature, role and function of leadership within the life of a congregation and the place of eldership within the congregation.”

Special Circumstances ANY synod seeking to invoke Special Circumstances in the future will be bound by a clear and prescribed process of consultation following a decision of the Assembly.

The Assembly endorsed a proposal which called on the synod or its standing committee to consult fully with all bodies which may be affected by a declaration of

Special Circumstances, taking note of the purpose, functions, responsibilities and rights of those bodies as described in the Regulations.

Affected Church Councils and agencies must also be given the opportunity to respond in writing to the declaration and those responses must be seriously considered.

Special Circumstances allows synods to make decisions to sell properties without the usual level of consultation with other councils of the church. However there was some concern that this could lead to a lack of consultation if the expectations were not made clear.

It follows a decision to invoke Special Circumstances by the synod of Victoria and Tasmania in 2013. The decision was made to sell properties to extinguish a debt after the failure of Acacia College.

In moving the proposal, submitted by the Presbytery of Port Phillip East, Rev Allan Thompson said while the move to Special Circumstances in Victoria and Tasmania was undertaken for good reasons, it led to properties, including churches, being sold

which were used by congregations.

Mr Thompson said the perceived lack of appropriate and sufficient consultation with affected parties caused deep grief in some quarters of the synod. He said it was later conceded that the consultation had not been thorough enough.

“There was considerable pain caused by the perceived disenfranchisement as a result of the failure of the Synod to negotiate as it should have,” he said Mr Thompson said the proposal was not asking for a repeal of Regulation 4.6.3 as it was recognised that the clause could be helpful if any other synod found itself in a situation similar to Victoria.

Rather, it sought to amend the Regulation in such a way as to minimise the risk of the level of pain experienced by some people in the synod of Victoria and Tasmania.

Mr Thompson said it did not require approval by congregation or agencies to a proposed sale but just ensured all involved were given sufficient time to make their considered responses.

“It is about one council of the church giving heed to another council,” he said.

VicTas voices at Assembly Allan Thompson

Maureen Postma

It’s been a good Assembly. There’s been very respectful listening. I experienced that particularly with the Indigenous members of Assembly, who I think have played a very creative part in the life of this Assembly.

In terms of my own involvement with the Royal Commission issues, I think the Assembly appreciates the significance of the issue and appreciates that, despite the pain, the Royal Commission has been helpful and necessary for the nation and the Church.

It is interesting to come to the Assembly and meet over 300 people from across Australia. You think you’ll get to see everybody, but of course you don’t, and even after the fifth day you meet people for the first time. But it’s a great opportunity to hear the work of the Church nationally, to hear the issues concerning people in the synods and presbyteries across Australia and then look at some of the big picture issues that are affecting Australian society as a whole. There are a lot of different things to think about and talk about.

Lauren Mosso We’re such a diverse Church and we’re alive and well. There’s this really deep desire to care for one another and it’s been a great privilege to hear worship in so many different languages.

Rachel Prewer It’s all been really overwhelming and I haven’t really had time to process it, but I think the biggest thing that stuck out that I will remember going home is the Uniting Church and Congress partnership and covenant. Coming from a very white part of Melbourne, it’s something I haven’t really been aware of and it’s been really powerful hearing Congress members and learning about the covenant between the Uniting Church and Congress.

Swee-Ann Koh This is my fourth Assembly and it’s been a very interesting Assembly. Members of Assembly are engaging and meet often to discuss proposals coming forward to the Assembly and that’s really good.

I think the CALD communities need to talk to each other a lot more. There’s a possibility that we might be organising a Uniting CALD conference in 2018 so we are really excited. The CALD community is very diverse. We don’t all have the same views but I think we need to learn how to disagree with one another when we come to a national Assembly.

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Sharon Hollis Three highlights of Assembly. To see how consensus holds us so that we can begin to have difficult conversations and treat each person with respect. It’s not perfect but I think it creates space to be kind to each other. Another highlight was the diversity of languages spoken at Assembly and the glimpses of how we might begin to live out the covenant with the First Peoples.

A third highlight was Dr Lin’s lecture on marginality, the incarnation as Divine marginality and marginality as the place from which ministry emerges.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

Profile Meet the president MATT PULFORD SIX WEEKS after being interviewed in Sydney for an accountant position at the UCA’s Northern Synod, Stuart McMillan found himself standing alone with his swag on the edge of a dirt airstrip at Ramingining, 560 km east of Darwin.

No one got the message that he was coming. No one knew who he was, and more practically, no one was there to pick him up. So he hitched a ride into the community with some locals.

The year was 1982. Stuart McMillan was 27 years old. He and his wife Ros, a behavioural scientist, had made the big decision to leave their comfortable community in Sydney’s suburban northwest to move to Darwin with their young family. For some time, Stuart and Ros had known that they wanted to do something in their lives that would make a difference in the world and to live out the values of their shared Christian faith.

Stuart remembers feeling a deep concern for Australia’s First Peoples from the time he was in primary school in the 1960s. By the early 1980s Stuart and Ros were active in social justice issues at the Chester St Congregational Church in Epping, and keenly followed news about Aboriginal land rights that would filter through from Darwin via Rev Jim Downing. From time to time Mr Downing would send telegrams to his friends down south, urging them to advocate for various Aboriginal causes to their local Members of Parliament.

After consideration and discernment, Stuart and Ros’ opportunity came when they spotted the northern synod’s job ad in the newspaper one Saturday. Six weeks later, as he stepped off that deserted airstrip in the middle of Arnhem Land, Stuart McMillan began to live out his lifelong passion, and form his personal covenant – to use the modern UCA expression – with the First Peoples of Australia.

“Things went well,” Stuart says – despite the initial logistic challenges.

“My job was to work with Aboriginal

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bookkeepers so that we had a summary of monthly information for various businesses and operations. I learnt a lot that first week about the capacity of Aboriginal people to do things. Everything was in great shape. These people really knew what they were doing, and I’d been led to believe anecdotally that wasn’t the case. They were as good as any bookkeeper that ever worked for me in Sydney.”

In the 33 years since, Stuart McMillan has had many roles – accountant, operations manager, general manager, pastor, cultural awareness trainer, resource worker, community developer and moderator.

He will now add President of the Uniting Church in Australia to that list.

He will be one of three lay people to serve as UCA president. Sir Ronald Wilson and Dr Jill Tabart were the others. His path to the presidency has been uniquely informed by the lives of Australia’s First Peoples, particularly the Aboriginal people of northern Australia and members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.

“My life has been so deeply enriched by Aboriginal people sharing their spirituality with me. I have been shaped by Aboriginal mentors. They have strengthened and shaped my faith,” Stuart says.

Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, the first Aboriginal Moderator of the northern synod (1985-87), chair of Congress Elders

Council Vince Ross and past Congress chairperson Rev Rronang Garrawurra are all names that come up.

Stuart’s education about Aboriginal Australia has been a long journey. Ten years into his life in the Territory he was general manager of the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA) – the largest employer of Aboriginal people in the NT with a turnover of around $20 million a year. Over time, though, he realised that his inability to communicate with Aboriginal people in their own language was holding him back from deeper relationships.

To the people he worked with he would always be Bunggawa – the big boss and a whitefella to boot. So he stood down as general manager and began an intensive course of study in the Yolngu language.

The relationships that opened up from his language study led to a new level of spiritual connection. In due course the old men of Elcho Island sat down with Stuart in the dirt under the trees and schooled him in their law. A man he knew adopted him as his brother in the Gupapuyngu clan of the Yolngu nation with the skin name Bulany, meaning red kangaroo.

To complete the induction, the man’s wife adopted Ros as her sister to make sure Stuart and Ros’ relationship was proper in Yolngu kinship terms. The intricacies and responsibilities of Aboriginal relationships across Arnhem Land and the traditions and taboos that came with them were now fully part of Stuart and Ros McMillan’s everyday lives.

“This meant maintaining protocols – such as not addressing or looking directly at Djiniyini’s wife – because in Yolngu terms she is a person with whom I’m in what’s called an avoidance relationship,” Stuart explains.

Stuart worked for Djiniyini Gondarra for 12 years, through the heady days after the High Court’s Mabo decision established native title. Aboriginal and Islander groups all around the country were making their cases. This meant a lot of research for Stuart and trips to Canberra

to resource Rev Dr Gondarra and others as they gave their input on the drafting of the Native Title Act under Prime Minister Paul Keating.

While they were drawn ever deeper into Aboriginal Australia, the Uniting Church has remained a core part of the McMillans’ lives and spirituality.

After settling down at Humpty Doo on Darwin’s rural fringe the McMillans joined with five other couples to set up a new congregation, the Humpty Doo Uniting Church, now the Living Water Uniting Church. Following two ordained ministers in placement, Stuart took on the role of pastor, presiding over weddings, funerals and “everything a normal ordained minister would”.

Stuart and Ros both went on to hold senior leadership roles in the northern synod with Ros serving as Moderator from 1996-9 and Stuart finishing an extended five-year term as Moderator last month.

As a lay-president, Stuart’s role in worship will be slightly circumscribed. Under Uniting Church regulations he won’t be able to perform baptisms or preside over communion outside his synod without the authorisation of the host presbytery.

So what kind of leader will Stuart McMillan be for the whole Uniting Church? One who will work for a more inclusive, intercultural Church across generations to bring about reconciliation and renewal for the whole creation.

“We are challenged to be a community of Christ, to bring that unity of Christ into play across the many different cultures in God’s Church,” says Stuart.

“With our Indigenous brothers and sisters, the challenge remains for us to really listen to them and to the Spirit and to find ways to grow our relationship so that it becomes a truly interdependent one.

“I am energised by the way our next generation is embracing our diversity and applying their gifts and talents in leadership right across the Uniting Church.”

Whatever other challenges may lie ahead, Stuart McMillan is set to face them with patience, perseverance and a profound spirituality.

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People Joy Williams farewells UnitingCare UNITINGCARE Victoria and Tasmania early childhood consultant Joy Williams enjoyed a morning tea with her colleagues before she officially ended over 20 years of service with the organisation.

More than 50 people gathered on 1 July to give Ms Williams a memorable send off as she embarked on life as a retiree.

Joy said the reason for her long tenure with UnitingCare came down to job satisfaction.

Fashion show at Ocean Grove OCEAN Grove’s Uniting Church Adult Fellowship (UCAF) group has raised $1400 through a volunteer-led fashion parade for Share’s Winter Appeal.

More than 140 people flocked to Ocean Grove Uniting Church hall to watch preloved and donated clothing shown off in spectacular fashion.

Ocean Grove UCAF president, Judy Greer, said the church was overwhelmed with the community’s support.

“Well I was absolutely amazed because it wasn’t just the church folk who were there in the audience, there were other fellowship groups as well,” Mrs Greer said.

Attendees generously donated towards the appeal to help families in crisis with food and clothing supplies as well as accommodation.

Alongside the church is an Outreach Centre Opportunity Shop, known to most as ‘The Dove’, which offers quality second hand clothing, books, linen, jewellery, toys and bric-a-brac.

Golden brush relay PRIMARY school students will once again take part in the ‘Golden Brush’ painting relay held at St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Stratford.

Teams of four to six children are each given a topic to paint. Every child is given one colour and one brush and take turns painting for two minutes. This creates a fast-paced environment and encourages the children to work together as they race against time to create an artwork.

When the final whistle is blown, a judge chooses the winning painting. The winning school is awarded a shield, which they will hold until next year’s exhibition.

Last year, seven schools participated and the team from St Patrick’s Catholic Primary

16

“It shows how fabulous the job has been over the years and the diversity of the job in what I have been able to do,” she said.

“Also, the church has been very supportive in working in the communities and setting up services in the communities.”

Joy kicked off her career in early childhood as a kindergarten teacher then diversified into childcare and administrative roles in both federal and state government.

“I worked in childcare in the days when kindergarten teachers really didn’t work in childcare,” Joy said.

“I was coordinator of a child care centre.

After that I went and worked for the state government as a children’s services advisor, which involved going out and inspecting

“Clothes come into the shop by donation and we get a really great range of garments,” Mrs Greer said.

Share’s Winter Appeal is an annual donation drive to help families in crisis with food and clothing supplies as well as accommodation.

“It’s amazing how many people walk through the door from all walks of life and they always say they feel lovely and welcome, clean and fresh and it’s just a buzz all the time,” Mrs Greer said.

Share raises funds to resource UnitingCare and Uniting Church community services in Victoria and Tasmania.

“We see it as a way where we can help people beyond Ocean Grove that are desperately seeking assistance,” Ms Greer said.

For information on Share or how you can make a charitable donation go to shareappeal.org.au

to ensure our services were adhering to the regulations.”

Joy has seen many changes and worked across many floors at the 130 Little Collins Street building.

“Where kindergartens sit within government has changed many times; it’s been in health services, community services, education and now we are nearly back to community services again.”

Joy plans to spend time travelling the world and continue with some consultancy work on a casual basis.

“I will miss a lot of the people in the building that I work with because I’ve built some really great friendships over the years.”

Running in the family WHEN federal Labor MP Andrew Leigh laces his runners in preparation for a halfmarathon in November, he hopes the spirit of his Methodist minister grandfather will spur him on.

In 1970, Rev Keith Leigh (pictured below) decided to run up Mount Wellington in Hobart to raise money for ‘The Methodist Million’, an overseas aid program that supported programs in places such as Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and the Middle East.

Although Andrew is inspired by the determination of his grandfather, as he explains, he hopes history won’t repeat itself.

“In 1970 the Methodist Church held its annual conference in Hobart, for the first time in many years,” Andrew said.

“At the conclusion of the conference, Keith arranged for a run from the springs to the summit of Mount Wellington, the majestic and tranquil mountain overlooking Hobart.

The run was publicised by Hobart TV, and sponsored by a number of Tasmanians, including the Cascade Brewery. Cascade

Vaso Howard and Joy Williams

sponsorship contained a nice irony, given the Methodist ‘wowser’ image at that time.

“On October 22, 1970 a snow storm hit the mountain during the run, and Keith died running – not far short of the summit.

“His death was reported on the front page of the Hobart Mercury the next day. Though in a further irony, the paper erroneously said that he had been doing the run as a ‘wager’ – Methodists had a strong aversion to gambling.”

Andrew has been running 60 to 90 kilometres a week in preparation for the run. His favourite run is through the Canberra bush, around Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie, where kangaroos present the biggest obstacle.

He is putting together a team of runners to join him on 15 November when he will honour his grandfather and raise money for overseas aid.

The Point to Pinnacle half-marathon starts at Hobart’s Wrest Point Casino and makes its way to the top of Mt Wellington.

Anyone who wants to join the 21-kilometre run can contact Andrew on: Andrew.Leigh.MP@aph.gov.au.

School Stratford was awarded the shield.

The paint, easels, painting boards and brushes are supplied by the local paint store. They also provide the children with a healthy lunch after they finish the relay.

This year’s Golden Brush relay will take place on the opening morning of the St Andrew’s Art Exhibition. A collection of artwork and photography created by artists from the Gippsland region will be on show.

The official opening of this year’s exhibition will be held on Friday 21 August at 7.30 pm.

Robert Natoli, Education Coordinator from Gippsland Art Gallery, will be the guest speaker.

The exhibition will run from 21 to 30 August.

Last year’s winners

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

Reflection Humanity Remade

by Kindness “IF OUR impulses were confined to hunger, thirst and desire, we might be nearly free, but now we are moved by every wind that blows and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

The Emerging Man, a series of statues in Prague, by Olbram Zoubek, depict humanity being re-made to ‘fullness’ after the end of the de-humanisation of communism.

Pic credit: Kim Cain

Access denied I WRITE this letter concerning the Uniting Church withdrawing its support for ACCESS Ministries. You published my letter following Synod last year and in that letter I stated “it begs the question have we had the appropriate people negotiating”. It turns out we definitely have NOT had the right people negotiating with ACCESS Ministries. (This includes the members of the standing committee and Church leaders). To gain an unbiased opinion on this matter, go to the www.victas. uca.org.au website and read the script under the moderator’s video. Then go to the www. accessministries.org.au (about us – news) website and read the response to the Uniting Church dated 9/3/2015.

It will leave you wondering why does the Uniting Church wish to withdraw its support for ACCESS Ministries? It will also give you great concerns about who is, and who isn’t, having a say in the Uniting Church.

Geoff Scott St Andrews Uniting Church Bendigo VIC

Response to ‘Called to Our Diversity’ REV PROF ANDREW DUTNEY has made a serious case for an evolving Uniting Church with a re-emphasis on reconciliation in the July Crosslight.

Nevertheless, there are assumptions in his writing which seem to me misconceived.

Jesus is recorded at least six times in the New Testament as saying the condition for entering eternal life – the whole point of salvation, after all – is to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

I have just discovered the joy of the talking book. It might be a consequence of getting to a particular ‘stage of life’, but there is great pleasure to be found in listening to someone read aloud whilst I drive along in my car. And so it was I embarked on the discovery of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

I grew up awash with Frankenstein mythology and the monster depicted in cartoons and horror movies. I can well remember chomping through many boxes of Marella Jubes and choc tops watching Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s Curse and Revenge of Frankenstein at the 2:30pm session at Hoyts cinemas in Bourke Street.

So I was somewhat surprised to discover Frankenstein, the book written

by Mary Shelley in 1818 at the age of 20, was nothing like those cinematic interpretations.

You know the basic plot – a monster, created by the young Victor Frankenstein, is given life and eventually seeks tragic revenge on its creator. Yet surprisingly Frankenstein’s monster (who is never given a name) is not the foolish oaf of mythology, complete with bolts in the side of his neck, but rather a clever, articulate, almost super-

human creature with superior intellect, sensitivity and endurance.

Frankenstein’s monster is not a creation of the matinee B grade horror movie but a desperately lonely creature driven by a need for love, beauty and intimacy.

Early in the tale the monster learns of human love by watching, in secret, a family living out their daily life. He sees the gestures of intimacy and small actions of love. He learns of the human capacity for care and weeps as he sees the love shown toward the blind father.

Slowly the monster’s heart is opened and he desperately yearns for love such as this.

Yet when he finally works up the courage to make contact with the family he is brutally attacked and driven away.

It is a heart breaking scene when the creature seeking only dignity, truth and affection is forced to flee, sowing the seeds for the story’s future destruction.

What could Frankenstein’s monster possibly have to do with the 14th Assembly of the Uniting Church which I have just attended over the past week in Perth?

Maybe I am reminded there are some fundamentally central needs in all human interactions, even a Church meeting.

Maybe when you put 200 odd people in the one space for seven days from every synod, from rural and urban communities, congregations, agencies, schools, synod offices – all with different backgrounds, different needs, different theologies, different political affiliations, different understandings as to what is central to their life of faith – you realise how important it is to always hold central the fundamental human need for dignity, truth and love.

I have been fortunate enough to attend a

number of Assemblies over the years, but not for a while, and it was evident to me a few things had changed.

For want of a better word, there seemed to be a growth in just basic kindness. Members dealt with each other in their debates and disagreement with just a little more care.

This might seem a flimsy, lightweight comment – kindness – but its power cannot be underestimated.

There are many big issues facing the Church as she works out her doctrine, polity and order. And the debates and differences of opinion still continue to bloom. This is a good thing. For some people decisions to talk further about key issues such as samegender marriage, leadership in the Church and governance may seem unnecessarily prolonged. But the desire was also strong that any future conversations recognise the wide embrace of God’s grace.

The call to love one another is sorely tested when we are placed in an arena with people we fundamentally disagree with. Time and time again I have seen church communities and families fall apart when different opinions could not be held and dealt with adequately.

Perhaps immersing oneself in Mary Shelley’s gothic tale of the desire of an outcast to be treated with simple love and regard was good preparation for an Assembly. It is clear to me any business conducted in the spirit of love, truth and dignity these days is a subversive act. Kindness is not to be sentimentalised. It is sheer hard work, but work surely worth doing.

Sue Withers Field Education Co-ordinator Centre for Theology & Ministry

Letters The Basis of Union replaces this statement of Jesus with a statement of Paul about reconciliation, thereby dividing of the Uniting Church from all other denominations at the point of defining the highest priority for church members. If this divergence is because we think we know more of God’s purposes than Jesus, we had better retrace our ways, and quickly.

Dr Flett’s article in the June Crosslight diagnosed a strong sense of insecurity in the Uniting Church leading to multiple anxieties.

There will be those who think it naïve to attribute anxieties to poor theology, but the teachings of Jesus about foundations lead me to this very conclusion.

The issue concerning Paul’s statement about reconciliation is that it simply won’t bear the theological weight we want to put on it – as Dr Parkinson points out in her July Crosslight article. We are using sand instead of rock at a central foundational point.

If we stick to our knitting and, to mix metaphors, cultivate the ground we have inherited, we will be less presumptuous, better informed and more secure in our faith. I sometimes think that our present neglect of Charles Wesley’s hymns is because we can no longer believe them. We have sacrificed our Reformation heritage – our birthright – for that modern heresy: we need to feel we can make a difference.

Ian Gibbs New Town 7008

Corners and Q&A on ABC channel 2, not to mention others, such as Mad as Hell (Shaun Micallef), should be safeguarded.

We need to have satire and questioning debate, as well as informative material.

I am fearful that, in this country, these freedoms are under threat. After all, we have just celebrated 800 years since the “Magna Carta”.

This should have made us think that our longheld freedoms are very precious, especially freedom of speech.

In Nauru, anyone being critical of the government is liable to lose his position and have his visa confiscated.

In early 2014, a registered magistrate and Supreme Court registrar, Peter Law, was fired and deported.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Eames then had his visa cancelled by Nauru’s president .

Another man, an MP, now has no visa and cannot re-join his family here.

Our Church wanted to send school supplies to Nauru, but was told that blank exercise books were the only ones that were acceptable – no printed matter from Australia.

Recent worrying developments in our country make me afraid that we might see assaults on our freedom, such as these in Nauru and in a number of other countries around the world.

Wendy Hebbard via email

Threat to freedom of speech

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

I THINK that we should be very thankful that in Australia we have the privilege of being able to write ‘Letters to the Editor’ and enquiries and complaints to our MPs. The ability to watch TV programs like Four

THE July editorial, entitled ‘Timeless Beauty’ describes how the editor was “taken to a place of worship and awe and into contemplation and prayer”, as she visited the great cathedrals of Europe. Can

we too experience our own antipodean places of worship and awe? Rather than seek to use a modern utilitarian hall on the grounds of cost of repairs to heritage buildings, we should celebrate our patrimony of recognisable sanctuaries.

My own church is a century-old arts and crafts style Methodist chapel. With liturgical banners, woodcarvings, ceramics and the existing stain glass windows, in the words of the editorial, it encourages worship of the Almighty as the logical and necessary response. All these are not essential to the praise of God, but they are extremely helpful. A palimpsest of architectural modifications to the interior reflects the changing devotional practices over the last century.

It is not idolatry to want to conserve an edifice which evokes thoughts of the transcendent. People passing such buildings see the church as a visible part of the fabric of society, even though they may not have entered its doors for some time. A witness in stone and testimony to the fervour of our ancestors, ecclesiastical interiors are an opportunity to showcase the faith when the public attends for concerts or services, even if only on special occasions.

How ironic that it is often the secular authorities in their town planning regimes which classify the exterior of such structures with heritage overlays. To them, the building has merit. Many property committees may grumble about the cost of repairing the slate roof or re-wiring the building, but we should be aware of the value of a broader spiritual audit of what has been bequeathed to us by our forebears.

Let us enjoy the visual theology of great churches overseas, but let us also appreciate what we have here beside us.

Alan Ray Mont Albert

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Review Faith on the frontline REVIEW BY CHIP HENRISS BOOK | FROM DUNTROON TO DILI |

BY GARY STONE IT’S 1990 and, in the middle of the wasteland that divides the opposing armies of Iran and Iraq, drives a small vehicle sporting a big United Nations flag. On board are international peace keepers including Australian Gary Stone.

“As far as the eye could see to the left and to the right, Iraqi T 72 tanks have pushed forward into firing positions with their barrels all directed at us. ‘Oh dear God.’ Fear grips my body as I contemplate that just one itchy trigger finger from either side will set off a lethal engagement with us as sitting ducks in the crossfire.”

Gary Stone is a unique man within the Australian Army. He is perhaps the first and only person to have risen to command an Australian Infantry Battalion, leave a very promising career only to return after following the call to become a deacon in the Catholic Church and return to the army as a chaplain.

From Duntroon to Dili is a story of one man’s life and spiritual journey during a career which spanned nearly five decades in both the Australian Army and Federal Police.

This book is like sitting down with Mr Stone as he speaks of his experiences in the trenches in the aftermath of the Iran/ Iraq war (where he worked with the United Nations), or of his spiritual journey within an environment often scathing of those who profess to believe.

The story is interesting for anyone of faith or no faith as the author’s passion for life, his family and his friends is what really drives the narrative.

This passion runs alongside Mr Stone’s intense love for the athletic world of the Army, with its physical and adventure training and opportunities for travel. It includes his experiences in the Middle East, the Solomon Islands, Bougainville and East Timor.

He shares his unique story in a matter of fact way that would be comforting and familiar to those who have served.

From Duntroon to Dili can be found: http:// www.echobooks.com.au/duntroon-dili

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Give me that old time religion REVIEW BY EMMET O’CUANA BOOK | GUARANTEED PURE | BY TIMOTHY E W GLOEGE GLOEGE’S Guaranteed Pure sets out to establish how American business culture in the late-19th century became an essential element of middle-class Protestantism. In effect, the author is tracing the roots of contemporary America’s religious identity.

Guaranteed Pure claims that at the base of what is termed ‘corporate evangelicalism’ we find – Quaker Oats cereals?

It all seems very unlikely, but Gloege has chosen a fantastic subject to explore.

Accordingly Guaranteed Pure is broken into two parts. First it traces Dwight Lyman Moody’s rise to prominence in religious circles, with the support of Chicago’s business elites, by promoting a ‘plain speaking’ non-denominational personal relationship with God. Henry Parsons Crowell enters the proceedings after Moody’s death, lending business acumen to the Moody Bible Institute (MBI) and transforming it into a commercial enterprise.

All told the book traces the development of this new approach to religion, very much a reaction to the labour unrest of the time and economic depressions, between the years 1870 to 1920.

Moody’s life and the road that led him to founding the Chicago Evangelization Society (renamed the Moody Bible Institute after his death in 1899), makes for interesting reading and has been well documented elsewhere. Gloege’s task is to establish how this man’s influences paved the way for Crowell’s appearance on the scene.

An early life of financial struggle as part of a large family and an escape from poverty through excelling at sales in Chicago, informed Moody’s perspective on religion.

Distrustful of theological jargon, he instead addressed Bible study groups and meetings in his own working-class speech.

Though Gloege observes his outspoken nature met with resistance early on, Moody ingratiated himself with respected members of Chicago’s business circles.

They would even sit behind him on stage when he addressed the growing crowds at his revival meetings. This visible endorsement cemented Moody’s association of business methods and structure with a personal interpretation of how God exists in this world.

“I believe we have got to have gap-men,

men to stand between the laity and the ministers,” he is quoted as saying, which clearly informed his concept of what would become the MBI. Fellow revivalist R.A. Torrey – who led a large meeting in Melbourne in 1902 – went so far as to profess a belief that he had a binding contract with God that his faith would be rewarded with good fortune.

Again and again, Gloege establishes how the economic insecurity of the age influenced the development of faith – particularly this non-denominational concept of a ‘personal relationship’ with God. This strongly indivualised stance was sufficiently generalised to give Moody a popular push in his leadership, but also gave rise to the likes of faith healing.

Crowell’s belated arrival in the text marks a shift in the discussion. Gloege reiterates Crowell’s concept of ‘corporate evangelicalism’ and tells the story of how Crowell’s oats company created an association between a brand logo of a Quaker and an organisationally unaffiliated product.

Crowell’s true value to the MBI was his ability to provide the leadership and purpose it had been deprived of with the death of its founder.

Intent on establishing the Institute’s middle-class bona fides and respectability – in short, by making the MBI profitable and leaving behind its doctrinal clannishness – Crowell masterminded the publication of The Fundamentals, a 12 volume correspondence series. The MBI, however, was also openly hostile to more liberal theology, such as critical interpretations of the Bible.

The fraught class-warfare of Moody’s time still informed his legacy.

Gloege’s history covers a broad area, with much tantalising detail alluded to, but the

execution falls short. Crowell’s entry marks the point where the premise of the book becomes muddier, the exhaustive tracing of Moody’s own life and times giving way to dry administrative struggles within the MBI. Ironically it is exactly at this point that the meat of the matter is introduced, with Moody’s philosophy of a Christian worker - one loyal to the corporation instead of trade union rhetoric - an essential aspect of MBI teaching and enshrined by the orthodoxy of Crowell’s The Fundamentals.

The book also suffers from a confusion of language, with academic speech giving way to theological reflections – not to mention the digressive asides that open most chapters. Historical figures enter the proceedings like new characters entering the plot of a novel.

It is ironic that Guaranteed Pure is so stuffed with jargon given Moody’s views on theology. For instance: “Moody’s death marked the end of respectable evangelicalism’s hermeneutical innocence, when a ‘plain’ meaning of the Bible could be embraced, at least ostensibly, without concern of negative externalities,” is close to unreadable.

There is an intriguing suggestion that revivalist religion became twinned with American business in the late-19th century.

This was when the concept of the godhead as relatable, as well as the legal personhood of the corporation, both surfaced.

However, Gloege largely does not expand on that, or on how his concept of corporately inflected religion developed into the American century. Guaranteed Pure feels like a primer on how branding helped establish religious orthodoxy – but this is a claim asserted, rather than proven, by the author.

Call for photos for 2016 Calendar Do you have a photo that showcases a unique aspect of your congregation?

The synod is seeking photo submissions for the 2016 Giving is Living calendar. Photos should capture activities in your congregation or faith community that celebrate a spirit of generosity.

A caption explaining the scene should accompany each photo. Each person included in the photo must complete a permission form, which can be downloaded from this link: bit.ly/GiLForm

Please send your photos and permission forms to tim.lam@victas.uca.org.au by August 1. Please call Tim Lam on 9251 5203 for enquiries.

Find us at uca.victas.org.au

ucavictas

ucavictas

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

Review “WE ARE an oligopoly community. We shouldn’t fight it.” Andrew Robb, Federal Minister for Trade, August 2013

Something rotten in our supermarkets REVIEW BY GARTH JONES BOOK | SUPERMARKET MONSTERS: THE PRICE OF COLES AND WOOLWORTHS’ DOMINANCE | BY MALCOLM KNOX

What is truth?

REVIEW BY PENNY MULVEY PLAY| DEATH AND THE MAIDEN “PEOPLE can die from excessive doses of the truth.”

These words, uttered by Gerardo Escobar (Steve Mouzakis) in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s latest production, Death and the Maiden, speak into the very heart of the play.

Playwright Ariel Dorfman wrote this play as a tribute to those people struggling to tell the truth in a country that wanted to forget, as Chilean society sought to return to democracy after 17 years of oppression under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Dorfman, a cutural advisor to the Allende government, was forced into exile in September 1973, as the Allende government was overthrown and people began disappearing. His life was one of exile and return.

His Jewish parents settled in Argentina in the 1920s as children after their families fled war and repression in Eastern Europe.

Dorfman was just a boy when his family was forced to flee the fascist junta of Peron in 1944, settling in New York. The McCarthyera focus on those with leftist politics led the family to move to Chile in the mid-’50s.

It was here he found his identity and put down roots, only to be wrenched away again.

Death and the Maiden is named after a piece of music by Schubert, music that was played incessantly by Paulina Salas’s (Susie Porter) chief tormentor when she was abducted at gunpoint 15 years before. Paulina is a broken woman. Prior to her abduction, she had been studying medicine and involved in student politics. After months of relentless brutality Paulina was released, a woman

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

The ethics and morality of food production, distribution and consumption are prominent topics in the news of late.

From the ACCC’s ‘unconscionable conduct’ case against Coles’ treatment of its suppliers, to Council of Small Business Australia chief executive Peter Strong’s allegations of collusion with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, our two major supermarket chains are under heavy media scrutiny.

In Supermarket Monsters: The Price of Coles and Woolworths’ Dominance, former Fairfax journalist Malcolm Knox expands on his August 2014 investigation of the same name, published in The Monthly.

Using clear, dispassionate language, Knox cites statistic after sobering statistic, forensically highlighting the anticompetitive practices at work behind the scenes of the weekly shop.

Many of us would be surprised to discover, for example, that the retail duopoly also compete for our consumer dollar in the supply of petrol, liquor, hardware and even poker machine facilities, with plans to move aggressively into gymnasiums and even hair salons mooted.

In fact, it is highly likely that a good

reduced to fear and obedience.

That is until the night unfolding before the audience. The night her husband Gerardo, a high flying lawyer just named as one of the commissioners investigating murders committed by the Pinochet regime, brings home a stranger.

Paulina hears his voice from another room and she knows, this is her torturer. This is the man who destroyed her life, leaving her cowering in their house, afraid of shadows.

Eugene Gilfedder plays the stranger, a Good Samaritan who rescued Gerardo, stranded in the countryside with a flat tyre, no spare and no jack. He is a doctor, with a family and a love for classical music. How could such a man also be capable of inflicting such horrors and degradation on another human being?

The ensuing drama takes the audience into a place of confusion, anger, uncertainty and anguish. Paulina’s husband does not believe her. The stranger defends his innocence.

Could Paulina be wrong? It was a long time ago. Is she just desperate to blame someone, and this person’s muffled voice from another room fed her nightmares?

How could her husband respond in such a way, given that he is about to sit on a commission and hear people’s stories of that time? Is he merely protecting his political career?

Is Paulina being abused all over again by these men’s rejection of her story? Is the stranger a pawn in a family domestic dispute?

This is a powerful and personal play.

Dorfman struggled to write it initially. It was too close. But it is also a universal story. It taps into both important political themes, as well as our personal struggles, our cultural and gender biases, and the big philosophical question of what is truth. You decide.

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, The Sumner Theatre, 18 July to 22 August 2015

proportion of your dollar goes directly into the pockets of either Coles or Woolworths on a daily basis, owing to their market dominance and ability to pressure smaller retailers across the country.

Knox refers to this two-headed beast as ‘Colesworth’, illustrating that the two brands (the 19th and 25th biggest retailers globally) are an interchangeable entity in consumers’ minds.

Detailing a century of parallel competition, from general stores to franchises to all consuming corporations, Supermarket Monsters deftly illustrates the two brands’ domination, accelerating their parallel expansion strategies.

Complicit in this, of course, are we, the consumer. Ever-more convenienceobsessed and time-poor, we secure our food and alcohol ‘solutions’ (vast swathes of profit come from the sale of ‘stimulants, nicotine, caffeine’) from these one-stop shops which now even boast cafes and sushi bars, voraciously targeting niche small businesses.

Employing a combined 400,000 workers (only our state governments employ more), Knox highlights the murky web of suspect hiring practices, low pay, unfair dismissals and ‘restructures’ at the heart of the business strategy of the two chains.

Drawing attention to the downwards pressure exerted on primary and secondary producers, Supermarket Monsters

questions just where the inexorable drive to expand and dominate markets will lead us. Quoting Milton Friedman’s well known dictum, “a corporation’s only responsibility is to shareholders”, Knox wonders, conversely “just how expensive is that cheap product?”. What are the ultimate knock-on effects of the duopoly’s practices in terms of the ecosystem of trade, production and community? And what of the effects of cheap processed food and beverages on the nation’s health and wellbeing?

Supermarket Monsters lays bare the cut-throat business of bringing you your weekly shop, teasing out the meaning of the corporations’ success and subsequent impact on everyday Australians fact by frightening fact.

Knox’s carefully researched book offers us a timely opportunity to reflect on the ethics and morality of corporations, and also challenges us to assess our own buying habits. What cost does our craving for convenience and loyalty to brands have on our sense of community and consumer rights?

Most pertinently, Supermarket Monsters asks us to reconsider Andrew Robb’s call to acquiesce to the might of oligopolies, making an arresting case for fighting for our right to choice and ethical consumption.

Image courtesy of the Melbourne Theatre Company

Susie Porter in Death and the Maiden

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Placements CURRENT AND PENDING PLACEMENT VACANCIES AS AT 17 JULY 2015 PRESBYTERY OF GIPPSLAND Koo Wee Rup-Lang Lang-Corinella Lakes Entrance** Presbytery Minister – Mission and Education PRESBYTERY OF LODDON MALLEE Cohuna (0.5)** Dunolly (0.5) (P) Eastern Mallee Rural (Lake Boga, Manangatang, Meatian, Nyah West) (0.5) (P) 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) Upper Murray (Corryong, Walwa) (p-t)** Wodonga West, North Albury, Kergunyah Wodonga (St Stephens)** PRESBYTERY OF PORT PHILLIP EAST Beaumaris (0.5)** Berwick (St Andrews)** Brighton (Trinity) Dandenong North (0.3)** Endeavour Hills (0.6) Frankston (High St) Gardiner (St Andrews) (0.5 Korean Church Melbourne-0.5 Gardiner)** Monash Noble Park (St Columbas) (0.7)** Ormond Sandringham** PRESBYTERY OF PORT PHILLIP WEST Macedon Ranges Partnership (2 placements) (P) Melton (P) Pascoe Vale-Glenroy ReGen (P) Pascoe Vale-Glenroy (Pastoral) (0.5) PRESBYTERY OF TASMANIA Hobart Scots Memorial Hobart (Wesley)(0.75)** Kings Meadows-Aldersgate Uniting AgeWell Chaplaincy Presbytery Minister – Leadership Formation (P) PRESBYTERY OF WESTERN VIC Corangamite-Otways Region – Middle (Camperdown, Derrinallum, Apollo Bay) Creswick-Clunes (0.5) (P) Yarriambiack Creek (Warracknabeal, Beulah, Brim) (P) PRESBYTERY OF YARRA YARRA Montrose-Lilydale Strathdon Uniting AgeWell SYNOD Royal Childrens 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 There was no Placements Committee meeting in July due to Assembly.

Notices and Advertisements Reading groups considering Marcus Borg’s Meeting Jesus again for the first time, over 6 weeks in July and August - Tuesday nights in North Melbourne and Friday mornings in Hawthorn. All welcome! For more information, www.marktheevangelist.unitingchurch.org.au “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 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Uniting AgeWell Strathdon, Forest Hill.

We need volunteers to support the congregation of more than 50 elderly people 20

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, P: 9560 3580

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

Notices and Advertisements THOMAS HEYWOOD CONCERT FRIDAY 14 AUGUST 7.30 PM Bairnsdale Uniting Church, corner Omeo Highway and Lanes Road.

This internationally renowned organist will be performing his magic with his incredible hands and feet – brought closer to the audience by on-screen projection. Light refreshments will be served.

Cost: $25 adults, students free RECLAIMING AN ANCIENT HERITAGE SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 1.00 – 5.00 PM Bayswater Uniting Church.

Based on her recent book, Rev Gen Masters will lead an interactive workshop on Celtic spirituality for today’s world.

Information, P: 9729 2620 or E: ucabayswater@iprimus.com.au 150TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 10.30 AM – 12.30 PM Romsey Uniting Church.

The day begins with a communion service and concludes with lunch.

Information, P: 5429 5447, 5429 5231 or E: strackhesket@hotmail.com CLOSURE SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2.00 PM Little Hampton Uniting Church.

This is the closing service of the church, with afternoon tea afterwards.

Information, George Wicker, P: 5424 1825 or E: janetblain@bigpond.com FREE SEMINAR: EXPLORING ECOSPIRITUALITY – FAITH, EARTH ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE TUESDAY 18 AUGUST 6.00 PM Ceres Van Ray Centre, Corner Stewart and Roberts Streets, Brunswick East.

At its essence, ecospirituality encapsulates a belief about the deep and sacred interconnectedness of all life and lifesupporting systems on earth. At a time when industrial societies face deep challenges brought about by climate change and our destruction of the natural world, can ecospirituality help foster earth ethics and earth centred professional practice?

Please join us for this fascinating and important discussion. The seminar begins with 3 speakers, including environmental lawyer Dr Michelle Maloney, who then facilitate group discussions.

Information, E: ecospirituality@earthlaws.org.au or W: http://www.earthlaws.org.au Reservations, W: trybooking.com/IHGQ ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION FRIDAY 21 TO SUNDAY 30 AUGUST St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Stratford, The exhibition opens at 7.30 pm on the Friday. For session times during the week, contact Marjory, Ph: 5145 6878 or Roslyn, Ph: 5145 6330.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

BORN IN THE USA! SATURDAY 29 AUGUST 7.00 PM Balla Balla Community Centre, BerwickCranbourne Road (next to library).

This fundraising event is in aid of the Cranbourne Regional Uniting Church food truck. It features performance of American music by the Cranbourne Lions Concert Band, with guest vocalists and instrumental soloists.

Cost: $15 adult, $12 concession or $50 for a family of 4. BYO dinner (cabaret style) Donations of non-perishable food greatly appreciated.

Information and tickets, W: trybooking.com/138863 or cranbournelionsconcertband.org.au CENTENARY CELEBRATION SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 10.30 AM Deepdene Uniting Church.

Come and re-unite for old times’ sake.

We are also having a local talent concert on 6 September at 2.00 pm. All are warmly invited.

Enquiries and suggestions of names to invite, Alison Head, P: 9816 9962 or E: kandahead@gmail.com WORSHIP ANGELICA SERVICES THIRD SUNDAYS OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 9.15 AM St Leonard’s Uniting Church, corner New Street and Wolseley Grove, Brighton.

The 20 September service features guest artist Jasmine Evenden, a 12-year-old skilled flute and harp player. She will perform the music of Pachelbel, Handel and Rutter.

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, P: 9592 9333, E: contact@stleonards.org.au or W: stleonards.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, P: 5367 3074, M: 0412 240 056 or E: vbeanland@bigpond.com IRRESISTIBLE RICHMOND ART EXHIBITION SUNDAY 11 TO FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER Gallery 314, Church Street Uniting Church.

This watercolour display by Bruce Hargrave features 50 framed originals of Richmond landmarks and scenes. Renowned Melbourne organist David Johnston OAM opens the exhibition at 2.00 pm on the Sunday. The display is then open nearly every day, typically from midday to 6 pm. 20 per cent of all sales support the Richmond Hill Churches Food Relief Centre.

RICHMOND CHURCHES HISTORIC ORGAN RECITALS SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER 3.00 PM Running in conjunction with Irresistible Richmond, the recital commences at St Stephen’s, proceeding to St Ignatius and then to the Uniting Church. It concludes with a reception and afternoon tea at Gallery 314.

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. P: 0418 537 342.

E: suetansey@yahoo.com

150TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 11.00 AM St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Gisborne Road, Bacchus Marsh.

This event begins with a special worship service, followed by lunch, a memorabilia display and a historical presentation. Past members and clergy are invited to attend and share their memories. Historical items are welcomed for the memorabilia display.

Information, Barry Wilkins OAM, M: 0408 823 413 or E: barrybegonia@gmail.com

GRAMPIANS WORSHIP When visiting The Grampians, join the Pomonal Community Uniting Church congregation for worship each Sunday at 10.00 am

METHODIST BABIES’ HOME SOUTH YARRA REUNION SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER 12.00 – 4.00 PM The Terrace restaurant, Melbourne Botanical Gardens (entry via gate A).

Former mothercraft trainee nurses, staff, children and anyone with a connection to this home are invited to this reunion.

Information, Anne Bremner, M: 0473 161 826 160TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER 10.00 AM Brown Hill Uniting Church, corner Humffray and Thompson Streets, Brown Hill.

Featuring Moderator Dan Wootton as a special guest, this service is followed by a luncheon. Past members and clergy are invited to share their memories and reunite with each other.

Information, M: 0411 121 134

CLASSIFIEDS CAPE WOOLAMAI Summerhays Cottage. Sleeps 3. Tranquil garden. Stroll to beach. Discount for UCA members. Ring Doug or Ina 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. (03) 5628 5319.

WANTED TO BUY Antiques, second hand/retro furniture, bric a brac and collectables. Single items or whole house lots. Genuine buyer – contact Kevin, 0408 969 920.

CHURCH FURNITURE The following items are available at no charge, as is, where is, to a Uniting Church: 7 small pews, two metre long; Baptism Font; Communion table; Wood rostrum; Large whiteboard. Contact, Noel Dennis, P: 9569 5716, Stonnington Community Uniting Church, Malvern East.

FREE 30 small Australian Hymn books (Catholic supplement). Collect from Mount Waverley area. Val, P: 9887 7507 or Frances, P: 9802 7412 SOLSTICE CONCERT Classical Guitarist Matthew Fagan and pianist Daniel Tucceri perform works of Beethoven, Rodrigo, Paganini and Vivaldi.

Sunday 9 August, 2.00 pm Trinity Uniting Church, Brighton.

M: 0438 881 985 WANTED Large print hymn books (AHB or TIS) for aged care facility. P: 03 5633 1462 SINGING WORKSHOP Gain confidence in this Singing for Older Adults course (45 years and over). Jill Scurfield has 20 years singing teaching experience. There are 4 x 2 hour sessions (2.00 pm – 4.00 pm Sundays). Starts 16/8, cost $120. Habitat Church, Hawthorn.

Contact: Ph 03 9808 5530 or E: scurfieldj@gmail.com

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 0414 725 887.

21

Reflection My first Assembly TIM LAM HAVING worked at the synod for only a few months, I was not quite sure what to expect when I attended Assembly for the first time in Perth. Meetings are normally long and dull affairs, but I was surprised by the eclectic mix of worship, music and inspiration that took place during the six days.

The first day opened with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony. The theme of seeking fellowship with Australia’s First Peoples featured prominently throughout Assembly proceedings.

I was particularly impressed with the respect showed towards First Peoples at the installation service of new president Stuart McMillan. Members of the Yolngu clan led Mr McMillan onto the stage, symbolising that the road towards reconciliation is a journey we need to take together.

I did not know much about Assembly prior to my trip to Perth. One Assembly procedure I did know about was the orange and blue cards, which indicated ‘warmth’ or ‘coolness’ to a proposal. The cards can help gauge the overall feeling in the room.

I was seated in the gallery overlooking the auditorium and this provided an excellent view of members flashing their cards below.

Even though I was not a voting member, I felt a rush of anticipation whenever members decided on a proposal. Being

present in the hall also meant I could sense the hushed silence during the intense and highly emotional sessions, as well as enjoy the celebratory atmosphere when a significant proposal was passed with unanimous consensus.

Coming from a Catholic background, such a system was unfamiliar to me.

Debates over the wording of a proposal

Assembly was an opportunity shape the future direction of the Church, but it was not all business and deliberation. Guests were housed at Trinity Residential College, which provided a communal environment for members to interact and get to know each other. Some of the liveliest conversations I had with Uniting Church members took place in the dining hall

can dominate discussions and it can be difficult trying to allocate enough time to discuss all proposals in details. Reaching unanimous support behind every proposal is difficult, but I believe it is important to try to seek consensus wherever possible.

This consensus model reflects the Uniting Church’s commitment to being a nonhierarchical Church.

as guests shared stories over warm food.

This recalls an observation Dr Rosemary Dewerse made during one of the morning Bible studies – it is by breaking bread that strangers become friends.

Another standout feature of Assembly was the pastoral care provided for attendees.

Staff from the synod office regularly checked up on me to see how I was

enjoying my first Assembly experience. The Assembly ‘veterans’ I met generously gave their time to share their knowledge and insights with me.

This pastoral care was extended to all members of Assembly, not just newcomers.

Chaplains were readily available to assist members who needed support. There were several sensitive issues discussed during Assembly, but conversations remained respectful. Even though members disagreed on some proposals, the atmosphere was mostly civil and there was a general acceptance that it is okay to disagree.

As Assembly came to an end, I felt a sense of optimism about the future of the Uniting Church. Church attendances may be declining, but I believe there is still much to celebrate.

I met many young members passionate about sharing God’s love with the world.

Migrant and multicultural congregations continue to thrive.

The Church’s commitment to being a voice for the marginalised remains as strong as ever.

This Assembly had an international flavour with 30 overseas guests from partner churches coming to share stories of how they maintained their faith in the face of oppression. Through their stories, I am reminded that it is not the size of the Church, but the strength of our faith, which matters the most.

Tim Lam was part of the Assembly communications team

Opinion Ethics and the gospel REV DR CRAIG THOMPSON IN HER response to Randall Prior in July Crosslight, Lorraine Parkinson takes issue not only with the ecumenical impetus which saw the birth of the Uniting Church but more generally with Christian faith and its reading of the significance of the person of Jesus.

Her intention is to propose a better basis upon which to build human unity. Yet Dr Parkinson’s dismissal of the Church’s traditional Christological understanding of the possibility of such unity in favour of an ethical basis for it – even an ethic purportedly from the lips of Jesus – misses the point of the kind of focus on Jesus the Church has taken since the beginning.

This is indicated in her statement that the death of the Messiah was the “greatest challenge” St Paul faced in his evangelical work. This was not Paul’s greatest challenge, nor the New Testament’s as a whole. The theological problem – the surprise – of the New Testament is not that the Good dies, but that it dies at the hands of the good, the people of God. In this, the elect act in a way expected of the Gentiles. Yet this is no mere irony.

The crucial point is that the crucifixion of Jesus was an act of piety on the part of the religious leadership, a gift to God which totally misread what Jesus represented.

The fact of such an error is the reason even something like the Sermon on the Mount provides no basis for human unity.

22

The reading or hearing of the Sermon leads to the death of the preacher: precisely the kind of sectarian human division Dr Parkinson seeks to avoid.

This being the case for Jesus, how is it conceivable that a return to the Sermon, or anything comparable, will now work? Only wishful thinking, tinged with not a little critique of the ethical failures of others, could imagine it possible.

While Dr Parkinson proposes discovering

human malaise: the presumption that we are able to judge ourselves as having acted righteously, the catastrophe of Eden’s apple.

Paul’s genius was not dreaming up the sacrificial theory for the death of Jesus but the realisation that our sense for what is right or wrong is unreliable: it is not possible to justify ourselves before God by keeping our understanding of the law. We cannot know ourselves to be right before God, apart from God declaring us so.

a general ethical basis for creating human unity, at the heart of the Christian story is a critique of such bases: the failure of ethical systems to give us certainty that we have acted righteously. The resurrection was God’s judgement on the ethical judgement of those who crucified Jesus, a divine ‘Yes’ to the human ‘No’.

The source of human dividedness – of which Jesus’ death is the epitome – is not religious sectarianism but the general

Thus Dr Parkinson’s dismissal of the prayer for unity in John’s gospel as mere Church theology much after the fact also misses the point. Whether or not Jesus actually spoke these words, they are important because the Church knew – and occasionally still remembers – that human unity is a gift of God, not an ethical achievement of Christians or people of any other faith or no-faith.

It is true that the Church continues to

get its message and its unity wrong but we ought to take this failure with utter seriousness when considering the approach Dr Parkinson proposes.

Given that the Church, with a message of reconciliation at its very heart, has failed to achieve human unity, what confidence can we possibly have that simply alighting upon some ethical system – even the lauded Sermon on the Mount (or, at least, bits of it) – will get us any further? A proponent for any such system is no better placed than Jesus, and in fact much less so.

For this reason, the gospel is not an ethical program. It is a word of ethical realism.

While we are constantly called to love mercy and live humbly before God – and must heed this call – even our obedient response does not finally create human unity, for things are too broken. Rather, in the face of the same kind of rejection Jesus himself met, such an ethic testifies to a unity which does not yet exist but which we wait for God to call into being – in spite of us, but for us.

In this way, the gospel wrapped up in the church’s traditional confession is beyond ethics. It is no mere call to be good, but the promise of a goodness made out of human ethical failure: This is my body broken by you, given now that you might be healed.

The “authentic role” of the Uniting Church, as with all Christian communities, is not merely issuing the call to love, or even being loving. It is to point to a source of unity and reconciliation which has comprehended us at our best and our worst, and yet still loves us.

In this, the church has not simply an ethic to hear and to declare to the world, but a gospel to celebrate.

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

Moderator’s reflection Challenge of Assembly IN HIS retiring address to the Assembly in Perth, former president Rev Professor Andrew Dutney quoted philosopher John Dewey who said, “We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.”

Readers who have never attended an Assembly meeting might be forgiven for thinking that there is ample time during a week-long meeting to reflect. Not so in my experience – not unless you get up very early and walk, and you won’t be surprised to learn that I did just that. I can’t seem to think clearly if I remain sedentary for too long – and there is much ‘sedentary remaining’ during this significant meeting in the life of the Church.

Each day the bible studies were based on Luke’s version of the disciples’ walk to Emmaus. One of the Bible study leaders, missiologist Dr Rosemary Dewerse, spoke of walking in terms of the Maori understanding of Hikoi. She said that, “when we go on our Hikoi, there is company on offer, if we would only lift our eyes and notice”.

Dr Dewerse said the story of travellers encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) offered many parallels to the journey of followers today. She reminded us that, like the two travellers on Resurrection Sunday, we also do not walk alone.

As a walker, Dr Dewerse’s alignment of walking to Hikoi really resonated. After each morning walk along the Swan River and around the University of Western Australia I would return in time for breakfast and then attend an optional communion service. For various reasons, I

part of the debate and discernment processes of the 14th Assembly. There were a number of times when I felt the urge to stand up and approach a microphone. My heart would began to beat a little quicker as I summoned the courage to speak into the at times difficult debate about

This was the sixth Assembly meeting I have attended and my sense is that the proportion of Assembly members who never speak is on the rise. In my mind, this is not necessarily such a bad thing. Of much greater importance I think, is the opportunity to come together regularly, even if that means spending some time a long way from home.

At the conclusion of the Assembly there was lots of chatter as we were herded on to busses and planes. I no longer felt the urge to walk (or talk) and I was thankful to be allocated a window seat on the plane next to unknown passengers. In the fading light I looked out the window to what I imagined were the plains of the Nullarbor.

Not for the last time, I was reminded of yet another saying of the Desert Fathers: Abba Macarius the great used to say to the brothers at Scetis when he dismissed the congregation, ‘Flee, brothers’.

One of the fathers said to him, ‘Where can we flee that’s more desert than this?’

He put his finger to his lips and said, ‘Flee this’, and so he would go into his cell and shut the door and sit down.

found these services particularly intimate and often moving. They helped me to be attentive to “the company on offer” prior to my daily attendance in plenary.

A number of challenging topics formed

eldership, marriage, justice, governance, and regulation changes. But someone else invariably stood up and said what I felt needed to be heard. Instead I opted to display my indicator card in silence.

Dan Wootton Moderator

Giving is living Korean Church continues to grow THE Korean Church in Melbourne, located in Malvern, is the oldest Korean church in Australia.

The congregation held its inaugural service at Burwood Presbyterian Church in 1973 and has since grown to become one of the largest Korean congregations in Melbourne.

James Chon worships at the Korean Church of Melbourne and appreciates being able to practise his faith in his native language.

“I enjoy being part of my congregation because it provides an opportunity for the Korean migrants in Melbourne to gather every week for a Sunday service or a Bible study or praise and worship, all in my mother-tongue,” Mr Chon said.

The church hosts a wide range of activities on any given week. Congregation members participate in cultural classes, sports activities, choir groups, prayer meetings and Bible studies.

“Obviously it is a big congregation and a big community, and you can be engaged in many different ways within this community.

“Three generations of Koreans come for the service, from kindergarten kids to high school students to young adults all the way to elderly Koreans.”

The Uniting Church’s Korean population is growing at a rapid rate. According to the most recent census by the Victorian Multicultural Commission, there are more than 1,600 Korean-born Uniting Church

CROSSLIGHT - AUGUST 15

members in Victoria, which is a 25 per cent increase from the previous census in 2006.

This does not include the next generation youth who form a large percentage of the congregation. The Korean Church in Melbourne includes a number of children and young adult members and hosts a youth service every Sunday at noon.

“We have some 50 kids at kindergarten level, 100 primary school students, another

60 to 80 high school kids and two groups of young adults, one speaking in English and the other in Korean. Each of these young adult groups has about 50 members,” said Mr Chon.

The Korean Church in Melbourne is one of several Korean churches throughout the synod. Other Korean churches include: Hanbit Korean Church (Box Hill), Joong Ang Church (Kew), Melbourne Keunsam

Church (Thornbury), Korean Uniting Church in Western Melbourne (Werribee) and Chiel Korean Church (Hobart).

Mr Chon said he feels blessed to be able to worship in a friendly and familiar environment.

“It is a very lively congregation and we are grateful for this. I certainly enjoy serving this church, just by watching it.”

23

Synod Snaps

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”

- Karl Lagerfeld

Dawn Sayers celebrates her 90th birthday with congregation members at St Leonard’s Uniting Church, Brighton.

NextGen Youth gather at Merricks Lodge for their annual youth camp

Presidents past, present and future at Assembly. From left Rev Alistair Macrae (2009-2012), Dr Deidre Palmer (2018-2021), Stuart McMillan (2015-2018), Dr Jill Tabart (1994-1997) and Rev Prof Andrew Dutney (2012-2015)

Manningham Uniting Church members at their shared garden (from left to right, Andrea Boundy, Faye Tse, Adele Gaudion, Helen Bartlett and Matt Boundy).

Congregation members at Korean Uniting Church in Western Melbourne celebrate the six-year anniversary of their Bible seminars.

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