New Times Feb March 2017

Issue 36, No 1, 2017

The voice of Uniting Church SA

February / March 2017

Stories worth hearing UNITING CHURCH CHAPLAINCY

CALLED TO SERVE OVERSEAS

Proclaiming the gospel with

Trusting God when it matters

our ears pp. 12-13

most pp. 16-17

Growing Leaders To Grow The Church

Contents

Uniting Leaders 2017 (UL17) Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 August, 2017

FEATURES Potential new school for Brooklyn Park

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The Uniting Church: gestation and birth

8

Experiences of Yuróra 2017

10-11

Trusting God when it matters most

16-17

The untold stories

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REGULAR PAGES Moderator’s comment Getting to know…

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Diary 21

Editor: Catherine Hoffman Editor-in-Chief: Bindy Taylor Advertising: Communications Design: Gareth Pennington Print: Graphic Print Group For editorial inquiries: p. (08) 8236 4249 e. newtimes@sa.uca.org.au m. The Editor,

New Times GPO Box 2145

Adelaide SA 5001 For advertising bookings: p. (08) 8236 4260 e. newtimesad@sa.uca.org.au

w: newtimes.sa.uca.org.au facebook.com/UnitingChurch.UnitingPeople ISSN 0726-2612 New Times is the voice of Uniting Church SA. Published bi-monthly, February through December, New Times represents the breadth, diversity and vision of Uniting Church members in SA. News policies, guides and deadlines appear online at newtimes.sa.uca.org.au. Articles and advertising do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor.

Print circulation: 9,000 Uniting Church SA Level 2, 212 Pirie St, Adelaide p. (08) 8236 4200 f. 8236 4201 country callers. 1300 766 956

DEADLINE FOR APRIL/MAY 2017 EDITION:

Friday 17 March Cover details: Rev David Prior, a Uniting Church army chaplain, is featured at the Edinburgh RAAF base on the cover of this edition.

David shares his experience as a minister and chaplain, and the importance of listening to others, in the article “Proclaiming the gospel with our ears” (page 12).

Join keynote speakers Nancy Beach and Mark Conner at Hope Valley Uniting Church for the Uniting Leaders 2017 conference.

Grow in your ministry leadership and connect with Uniting Church ministry leaders from across Australia.

Cost: $165 Students: $99 Group discount: Buy five tickets get one free All prices include lunch and morning & afternoon tea.

For more information or to register visit unitingleaders.org.au or email info@unitingleaders.org.au UL17 is one of the President’s National Ministers Conferences for 2017

editorial

How’s your 2017?

It’s hard to believe it’s February already. Last year is well and truly behind us, and all of those things we promised ourselves would be different in 2017 should now be underway!

I really enjoyed reading Mark Conner’s blog post, “Are You ready for the New Year”, published on Friday 30 December. In the post, Mark encourages readers to reflect deeply on the year that was, and to determine ways to change and grow into the New Year.

He says: “It is only when we reflect on and review our experiences that we have the potential to turn them into insight and hopefully into lasting life change.”

Sometimes it can take a few tries to realise repeating the same action isn’t going to produce the change we need to move forward.

We set goals and New Year's resolutions and want change, but often find ourselves in a state of equilibrium – sitting with the comfortable status quo. In order to grow we need to change.

I love the Uniting Church SA Moderator’s 2017 vision of ‘Growing’,

which is expanded upon on the ucasa.org.au website. It highlights each key area the Uniting Church SA will grow in during 2017 and includes the strategy to follow this through. Each area involves a significant amount of change on behalf of the church and all its members. Over the next year, we’ll continue to discuss the new projects and initiatives the Uniting Church SA community are undertaking through articles in New Times, and in other ways you usually receive information from the Church.

There are already so many fresh developments and stories throughout the Uniting Church SA! This year will certainly be a year a change for our Church. Will it also be a year of change for you?

Bindy Taylor

Placements News Placements finalised as of 30 January 2017: Rev Anne Butler to Port Elliot (0.5) from 1 February 2017 Rev Priscilla Hein (Deacon) to Resthaven (0.8) from 1 February 2017 Rev Trevor Whitney to Resthaven (0.2) from 1 February 2017 Ruth Parker (MOP) to Tumby Bay & Districts (0.8) from 19 February 2017 Vacant Placements as of 30 January 2017 The following is the current list of vacant (or soon to be vacant) approved placements: Advertised positions/placements – Pilgrim

Profiles available – Campbelltown; Christ Church (0.7); County Jervois (Arno, Cleve, Coolanie, Cowell & Driver River); Gawler Parish (from 1 January 2016), Kimba; Morialta; Naracoorte; Payneham Road (0.5); Port Augusta & Quorn; Westbourne Park (0.5); Western Eyre (Cornerstone (Cummins), Cummins, Lock & Yeelanna).

Profiles not yet available – Athelstone; Hallett Cove; Mannum (0.3).

For more information about any of these placements, to view national placements or to find out more about upcoming services, please visit sa.uca.org.au/pastoral-relations/placements-vacant-and-finalised

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moderator

Seeds of hope in South Korea Left to right: Rev Naomi Duke and Moderator Sue Ellis with Moderator Sung Chun Lee and Rev Bang Hwan Na holding the new Memorandum of Understanding.

On 28 December 2016, local news reported the defection of Thae Yong-ho, former North Korean Deputy Ambassador to London, to South Korea. Thae chose to leave North Korea because of his “growing disappointment towards Kim Jong Un’s oppression, and the North Koreans who are living as slaves”.

In late November and early December, a delegation from the Uniting Church SA travelled to South Korea to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding with our long-term church partner, the Presbytery of Iksan in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK).

Rev Naomi Duke from Goolwa Uniting Church led the team, which also included Bev Tredrea (Morialta Uniting Church), Rev Diane Bury (SA Synod Office), Rev Do Young Kim (Adelaide Korean Church), Rev Yongsoo Song (Heaven Springs Korean Church) and his son Moses Song, who acted as interpreter, Jack Harington (Adelaide West Uniting Church), Jacob Mading (Dinka Congregation), and Alex Burt (Goolwa Uniting Church), along with Rev Deok He Cho from the NSW/ACT Synod.

Throughout our trip, we were made very aware of the longing of the people of South Korea for the reunification of the Korean peninsula.

This was a constant prayer that was offered.

During our visit, there were also very large demonstrations in Seoul and Jeonju, calling for the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye. (An impeachment vote was eventually held on 9 December with 234 out of 300 members of the National Assembly voting to impeach Park and suspend her from office.)

A visit to the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea was especially poignant for us as we ate lunch listening to cannon fire.

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We used every opportunity, every day, to pray in solidarity with PROK for the reunification of South and North Korea, for families to be reunited, and for oppression and poverty in the North to cease.

During the visit, we also spent time with Pastor Bang Hwan Na, one of the ministers from Iksan Presbytery who visited Adelaide in 2015. We were excited to hear about his call to begin a new church plant in Iksan. He left a large congregation and has begun a new church called the Jesus Vision Church, while also supporting his family through his camping goods business. While Pastor Na’s congregation is still small in number, he is forming new connections and relationships with people who are not yet Christian, nurturing their seeking faith. We were pleased to pray for him, his family and the Jesus Vision Church.

The daily work of prayer embraces big things and small things. In Thessalonians 5:17, we are urged to “pray without ceasing.” Praying for the unification of the Korean peninsula, for a church plant in rural Iksan, and for effective and stable government for any country – as well as for those things that touch daily on our lives – is part of the intimate relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. It is the Holy Spirit who urges us to pray. So even when we may feel it is pointless, when history or politics seem to be against us or against peace, let us pray anyway. Every prayer is a mustard seed of hope.

Rev Sue Ellis

n ew s

Raising disciples in a "Big World" “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” – 1 Peter 4:10 Caring for our children and raising them as disciples and leaders is an important part of our life together as the Uniting Church. The Mission Resourcing Intergen team is asking congregations and individuals to prayerfully consider ways that they can support the mountain-top discipleship experience of KCO (Kids Camp Out) at Victor Harbor in 2017.

Support may involve coordinating a group to attend KCO, but could also include preparing and leading a craft activity or financially sponsoring a camper. It could also involve volunteering to serve with the welcome, security or worship teams, or joining another congregation as a leader or cook.

Held in March at Adare Camp and Caravan Park, KCO 2017 will provide primary school-aged kids with a fun weekend infused with the theme “Big World.”

“There are big issues in our children’s lives and around our world.

At KCO we will explore God’s promise to be with us in all things and God's plan to make all things new – for us and the world,” explains Melissa Neumann, a member of the Intergen team. “Campers will be encouraged to share God’s love as we care for others and for God’s big world.”

For more information about KCO visit sa.uca.org.au/kco or contact the KCO Office on 8236 4246 or kco@sa.uca.org.au

Potential new school for Brooklyn Park site Emmaus Christian College has announced their intention to establish a second campus at 34 Lipsett Terrace, Brooklyn Park, adjacent to Adelaide West Uniting Church, the Uniting College for Leadership & Theology, Adelaide College of Divinity and the Adelaide Theological Library.

As stated in the October/November 2016 edition of New Times, the Uniting Church is currently planning a refurbishment of the southern section of the existing building. The northern section of the site will no longer be required for College operations, leaving a surplus building facing Lipsett Terrace. The plan is for Emmaus Christian College to establish their campus on this part of the site.

The new Emmaus campus will mirror the same values, mission and vision of their South Plympton campus, but will function separately as an Early Learning to Year 6 College.

Emmaus will now embark on the process of satisfying Local, State and Federal Government approvals in order for the proposed campus to go ahead. It is hoped an Early Learning Centre will be established at

the end of 2018, with a Reception to Year 6 College to be established in 2019, coinciding with Emmaus’ 40th anniversary celebrations.

“The new Emmaus Christian College campus site will form part of a wider western community hub, incorporating the College, ministry and parent services, a vibrant Adelaide West Uniting Church community, and the Uniting College of Leadership & Theology,” says Emmaus Christian College Principal Andrew Linke.

“As symbolised by our College name ‘Emmaus’ [Luke 24], our intention is for every member of our growing school community to have a personal and profound encounter with their risen Lord and Saviour, and base their life and career impact on his teachings.”

Further information about the Brooklyn Park refurbishment will continue to be provided in New Times, in UC e-News (sa.uca.org.au/uc-e-news) and on the Uniting Church SA website (sa.uca.org.au).

For updates on the proposed Emmaus campus, please visit emmauscc.sa.edu.au/news.html

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n ew s

Easter postcard orders are now open!

Postcards and posters are a great way for Uniting Churches to let members of the congregation and wider community know about Easter services and events. Orders are now open for the Uniting Church SA’s 2017 Easter postcards and posters – themed “New life, new season”: New life…

At Easter, we reflect on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection – a time of mourning and celebration. On Good Friday, we grieve together as we remember how Jesus died upon the cross and our own role in his suffering. But as Holy Saturday draws to a close and Easter Sunday dawns, we celebrate the resurrection, the rolling away of the stone.

We are reminded that Christ was sent for us and died for us – so that we could be raised into new life with him.

New season…

The Easter story reminds us of the power of God’s enduring love in an ever-changing world.

For our Uniting Church congregations and faith communities, Easter offers an opportunity to be refreshed and enter a new season.

Easter 2017 – new life, new season Each postcard provides space for a short custom message, your congregation name and address, and the dates and times of your Easter services.

For further information, please visit sa.uca.org.au/postcards or contact the Communications team on 8236 4230 or communications@sa.uca.org.au

Postcard details Back cover verse: Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life…”

(John 11:25).

Postcard cost: $75 per 1,000. Congregations seeking to order fewer than 1,000 can contact the Communications team to find out more about pricing. Poster cost: $20 for 10 A3 posters (minimum of 10).

Orders close on Monday 27 February, 2017.

Postcards and posters will be available for pick-up from the Uniting Church SA Synod Office (Level 2, 212 Pirie Street, Adelaide) from Monday 6 March. Registered post can also be invoiced for those who would like the items to be posted once they have been printed.

sa.uca.org.au/ea

ster

Anniversary Sunday 26th March at Chapel Street Anniversary service at 10am followed by luncheon Anniversary Dinner Saturday 25th Central’s Sporting Club, 6.00 for 6.30pm RSVP by Friday 17th March to G Bull on 0429 810 332, 0400 010 332 or gbshoebox@gmail.com

PortAugusta Uniting Church

Relocation for Stillpoint The Stillpoint Spirituality Centre recently relocated from Nunyara in Belair to Christ Church Wayville. Office operations began at the site on Thursday 2 February, 2017. Activities will continue to be run by Stillpoint at various locations across South Australia in partnership with a range of local congregations.

Stillpoint is a mission centre of the new Mission and Leadership Development ministry centre. To find out more about Stillpoint’s activities and events, please visit stillpointsa.org.au or call the Stillpoint office on 8271 0329 (Thursdays, 10am – 2pm).

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The Uniting Church: gestation and birth In June this year the Uniting Church in Australia will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Over the coming months, New Times will publish articles reflecting the history and diversity of the Church over its first four decades – and our expectations for the Church into the future.

In this edition, Rev Dr D’Arcy Wood – a former Moderator of the Uniting Church SA, secretary of the Joint Commission on Church Union 1968-72, and former President of the Uniting Church (1991-94) – reflects on the establishment of the new church in 1977.

The early decades of the 20th century saw rapid international developments in ecumenical activity – conferences, cooperative ventures titled “mission fields”, and the formation of the World Council of Churches.

In Australia, the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches first held a vote in the 1920s to form a united Church.

The vote in the first two churches was clearly in favour, but not so clear in the Presbyterian Church, and so the union lapsed. It was another 30 years before moves for union were re-started.

In the 1950s, the three denominations agreed to negotiate with a view to church union. The Joint Commission on Church Union (JCCU), with seven representatives from each church, began work in 1957.

But a major difference of opinion soon appeared.

Some representatives wanted a quick negotiation leading to a short “basis of union” on which all members of the three churches could vote. A different opinion, which eventually prevailed, was to study the basics of the Christian faith in Scripture and the early Church. This project resulted in a booklet called “The Faith of the Church”, which was published in 1959. The contents of the booklet, which set out how church union is an aspect of the renewal of the Church, were studied and discussed throughout Australia.

Meanwhile, the JCCU went on to produce a second report called “The Church: its Nature, Function and Ordering” (1963), to which was attached the first attempt at a Basis of Union. Debate on this document focussed mainly on two issues: the introduction of a three-fold ministry consisting of bishops, presbyters and deacons; and a Concordat with the Church of South India, defined as “a covenantal relationship between two churches with different constitutions, yet one in mission, with agreement in faith and order and a membership and ministry recognised and interchangeable”.

These two issues were vigorously debated at local, regional and national levels of the negotiating churches. Written responses from

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The Thursday 7 July, 1977, edition of Central Times (now New Times) had a section dedicated to the formation of the Uniting Church. individuals, groups and councils were gathered over a period of several years. The overall picture was fairly clear – the majority of respondents did not favour either the Concordat or the introduction of bishops. But it was also clear that the churches wanted their representatives to press on with a revised Basis of Union. There was real momentum for change at this time: new ventures in mission; a more international outlook; dialogue between churches and ecumenical projects locally. Christian unity was part of that whole picture.

The JCCU resumed its work in 1968. A new basis document was drafted, largely by Rev Dr Davis McCaughey, who later became the first president of the Uniting Church. Every sentence of his draft was carefully discussed – and not many sentences were left untouched!

In revisions that took place in 1970 and 1971, the Basis saw a number of different church roles recognised, while bishops disappeared and presbyters became “Ministers of the Word”.

An important provision was one that allowed for constitutional change. The Basis itself is a historic document and is not changed, but paragraph 17 says that “law” (i.e. Constitution and regulations) will be kept “under constant review”.

Such review, with resulting changes, has of course happened in the 40 years of the Uniting Church, but the Basis lives on. It is a missionary document that calls the Church to pray and work for the renewed proclamation of the Gospel, for effective service of humankind, and for a wider unity of the Church.

The inauguration of the Uniting Church in Sydney on 22 June 1977 was an unforgettable event. Despite the sadness of a sizeable minority of Presbyterians staying out of the union, there was great enthusiasm for the new Church. It was a movement of renewal, a movement of the people, and, I believe, a movement of the Holy Spirit.

This article was written for Crosslight magazine and has been reprinted with permission. A longer version of the article will be published on New Times online at sa.uca.org.au/new-times

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The importance of church planting

Since the launch of Generate 2021, the new church planting initiative of the Uniting Church SA, Rev Dr Graham Humphris has had many questions to answer – most commonly, why plant new churches when existing ones are declining?

As the Church Planting Officer for the Uniting Church SA, this is a topic that Graham has given considerable thought.

“There’s a lot happening to support current congregations. Most of the Presbytery and Synod’s resources go into supporting existing communities – Property, Finance, Mission Resourcing, Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning are some of the most obvious examples. The latter two departments are particularly involved in helping to support growing and stable congregations, and helping ageing or declining congregations to revitalise and sustain their ministry,” he explains.

“Church planting, on the other hand, is given minimal resources.

But this is not a competition – new churches are not competing with old ones, we’re all part of the wider Church and want to see the Kingdom of God grow.”

When Graham talks about planting churches he’s not referring to Fresh Expressions or Messy Church – he’s talking about planting that leads to a new community meeting for worship, witness and service.

The aim of Generate 2021 is to see 10 of these communities established over the next five years.

“Church planting is an adventure of faith, grounded in Jesus’ promise and command, which involves a planned process of starting and growing churches that grow through conversion, make disciples, and plant more churches,” Graham explains.

“Planting churches is not a new idea or a fad – it’s something in our DNA as the Uniting Church. We are commanded to go out and make disciples, and studies show that new churches are significantly more likely to reach new people and grow more through evangelism.”

There are three common models church plants tend to follow – the campus model where an existing church plants a new community, the start-up model, and the re-plant or regeneration.

“This last model actually provides an opportunity for some of those congregations that are declining,” says Graham. “Is your church open to something like this? Let us know! As long as your church is open to change we’re open to going out to re-plant. I’m also eager to talk to people interested in the other models or church planting in general.”

From 27 February to 3 March, Graham will run an intensive church planting course with Rev Tim Hein. The course will cover why we plant churches, essentials of church planting, context and culture, characteristics of church planters, the process of church planting, and more. Anyone with an interest in church planting is encouraged to attend. There are no fees for people who audit the course, and meals will be provided (fees may apply for those taking the course for assessment purposes).

“We’ll be holding interactive lectures and seminars, holding discussions, and bringing in practitioners with experience in planting churches. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about this exciting area, and we’re really hoping to get a lot of people coming along,” Graham says.

“I really believe that planting new churches is going to be the most important and effective way forward for the Uniting Church in SA as we seek to reach people and disciple them for Jesus.”

For more information about church planting, Generate 2021 or the upcoming church planting intensive course, please contact Rev Dr Graham Humphris on 8236 4235 or email Generate2021@sa.uca.org.au An article with more statistics on the benefits of church planting and the creation of Generate 2021 was published on pages 10-11 of the October/November 2016 edition of New Times. This article is available online at sa.uca.org.au/new-times/generate-2021

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We are the church: experiences of Yuróra 2017 In early January, young people from Uniting Church congregations and faith communities across Australia joined together for Yuróra, the 2017 National Christian Youth Convention held at Stanwell Tops in New South Wales. Approximately 1,000 delegates aged 16-25, along with Uniting Church leaders, united for a time of community, culture, worship, teaching and friendship.

A group of young people from the South Australian congregations attended this year’s event and have shared their reflections and experiences with New Times.

The theme of Yuróra 2017 was “Uniting Culture” so there was a real emphasis on appreciating, sharing, and understanding our cultural differences within the Uniting Church.

We were encouraged to pursue our yuróra (passion), and to look towards the future with the confidence that young people are part of the church now, as well as into the future.

We were entertained by musicians, singers, dancers and comedians such as Jack Vidgen (2011 winner of Australia’s got Talent), comedians (Pirate Church) and Indigenous dancers Dusty Feet Mob, our Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress brothers and sisters from Port Augusta, among many others artists and performers.

Under the leadership of Intergenerational Discipleship Developer Mike Wardrop, many of the SA delegates led a community whilst at Yuróra. With the opportunity to lead morning worship, create community through games, and bring a message or reflection to our peers.

“Communities” was a highlight for many people, as it was the space to get to know other people more deeply, pray together, and hear stories of how God was encouraging and challenging other people through their Yuróra experience.

The thing I love most about an experience like Yuróra is that you get the chance to sit alongside leaders in the Uniting Church, such as

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Moderators and the President, and they listen to your experiences, challenges and hopes.

For me, the most valuable thing at this Yuróra was the #ModSquad – Women in Leadership panel. I heard the stories of more experienced women leaders in our church, and was inspired and encouraged to keep taking steps towards God in the areas of my life I feel called. I was encouraged to ask questions and talk with these women about ministry and the future of the Uniting Church.

I am hopeful for the future of our church with the leaders we have now, and the way our leaders are already giving opportunities for young people, like myself, to step into leadership for the future.

Nicole Mugford, 24, Naracoorte Uniting Church Yuróra was a really great experience. It was fantastic to meet like-minded people from around Australia and the world. Personally, I enjoyed community time in the morning, where I got the privilege of being part of the worship team from SA. It was a great opportunity for me to learn some new songs, which I can now take back to my local church community.

Evan Grear, 19, Bridgewater Uniting Church

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Age no barrier for baptism Tom Mitchard

At Yuróra 2017, I attended a multicultural festival – this was different cultures having the opportunity to perform. It was really amazing to see how many different cultures came together to worship God. What I learnt from this experience was that no matter how different each culture was to the last, everyone was at Yuróra for the same reason – to worship God and deepen their faith.

Renae Simpson, 17, Modbury Uniting Church A highlight of Yuróra 2017 was the #ModSquad panel with all four female Uniting Church Moderators in one room talking about women in leadership. It was great to see a mix of ages and genders in the room to hear what they had to say. They shared their personal stories of coming to faith, and also their paths to becoming Moderator.

They particularly encouraged young women who feel called to ministry to continue to follow that path, even when it’s not clear or looks hard.

The session closed with prayer for the young people of the Uniting Church, and encouragement that we, as young people, aren’t the church of the future – but we are the church now.

This was a recurring theme throughout all of Yuróra – encouraging us to step up as young leaders now. In the words of Fa Matangi, “Uniting Church, We Comin’.”

Beth Duell, 22, Westbourne Park Uniting Church

New Year’s Day is a time for change for many people. It’s a time for leaving troubles and fears behind in the outgoing year; a time for embracing the blank slate of a new year and the opportunities it brings.

For 86 year-old Uniting Church member Noel Brook, this meant getting baptised.

On the first day of 2017, members of Seeds Uniting Church, along with Noel's family and friends, gathered on the beach where Noel was baptised by Rev Jonathan Davies and Pastor Shane Rayner. All those who attended felt the significance of the occasion.

“It was an incredibly, unique and powerful way to begin the year,” says Christy Rayner, the youth pastor at Seeds.

“It’s inspiring and powerful to witness how God is speaking and working in all of us, regardless of age and stage.”

Noel has been a part of many different congregations over the course of his life, starting with Victor Harbor Congregational Church, and including a number of Uniting Churches across South Australia. But it was only recently that he decided to be baptised – and he wasn’t about to let his age keep him from this experience. He says he felt called by the Holy Spirit to be immersed.

“I don’t really know why… I felt that something was missing,” Noel reflects. “What convinced me was readings from the Old Testament.”

Noel made the decision to be baptised earlier in 2016, but only told his daughter, Wendy, about his decision after she had arrived from New Zealand. She was then able to help organise and take part in this amazing event.

“Dad’s willingness to do this at 86 years old when many would say ‘it's not necessary’ is quite a significant witness,” Wendy says.

“He’s not one for the water, and can't walk without an aid. But regardless of any potential obstacles, he knew this was something God was telling him to do, and I know God will honour his obedience.”

Reflecting on the baptism now, Noel says he felt like “Jesus was standing up against [his] sin and guilt”.

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Proclaiming the gospel with our ears

Chaplains touch the lives of many, working in areas such as mental health, private and public hospitals, the defence forces, sporting groups, prisons, and beyond. New Times spoke to Rev David Prior and Rev Leanne Jenski about their experiences of chaplaincy and the connection it builds between the church and the wider community. In this article, David shares some of his reflections as an army chaplain.

I am not sure about you, but the best way to get my attention is to call me irrelevant. Although buying me a coffee also works.

After 23 years as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church, with the past nine years as an army chaplain, I am still occasionally surprised by peoples’ assessment of clergy.

For example, while I was deployed to Afghanistan from September 2015 to March 2016, the Regimental Sergeant Major, who is responsible for maintaining discipline, said to me: “Padres or religious men (sic) have no place in the army, let alone being embedded with units or battalions.” (Note: This is also a good advertisement for why the army needs female chaplains.)

I considered a number of responses and then chose to say: “Chaplaincy is being present to provide pastoral care with compassionate ears.”

This statement about chaplaincy was forged from my many years of pastoral work at Enfield, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Dernancourt and the Army, as I cared for people and shared God’s Word.

To my surprise, the Regimental Sergeant Major nodded at my response, meaning he felt we had reached consensus on my job description. This conversation opened up further discussions about faith, and his own experiences of grief and loss within his life.

Reflecting on my comment now, I would expand my statement further to say: “Chaplaincy is about being present, allowing pastoral care to evolve at the point of need. Connecting and building relationships through listening assists in exploring life issues before the problem becomes so entrenched that the individual sees themselves as the problem.”

My focus on pastoral care has shaped my role as a Minister of the

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Word, allowing me to see that preaching must be grounded in our experiences of life. Chaplaincy has shaped me to the point where I “proclaim the gospel with my ears!” What I’m trying to say with this phrase is that listening is about “hearing with compassion” another’s pain. Listening can function as a bridge, connecting our lives through the hearing of another’s story.

Soldiers are no different from the rest of society. While many may dismiss the church, God and clergy, they regularly seek me out when grief and loss fragment their sense of self and meaning in life. They know I will listen to them with compassion. Hope can re-emerge through this shared encounter, as it has done within my own life and journey with Jesus.

As our society continues to become more secular, with increasing numbers of Australians no longer identifying with Christianity, our capacity to connect and be relevant is as much an issue for local congregations and clergy as it is for chaplains. Reflecting upon my ministry in both congregational and secular environments, I am convinced we all need to wrestle with what “proclaiming the gospel with our ears” looks like.

In summary, the key point for me is this – if I want people to take my words seriously, I must love them enough to listen to their story first.

Rev David Prior is posted to the 7th Royal Australian Regiment, an Infantry Battalion based at Edinburgh RAAF Base; 7 RAR have recently completed a deployment to Iraq, and are mid-way through two deployments to Afghanistan. David invites anyone interested in army chaplaincy to email david.prior1@defence.gov.au

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Being that ‘god-person’

Rev Leanne Jenski (left) with Ruth Wickham, a member of Adare Uniting Church.

Since her ordination in 2000, Rev Leanne Jenski has served in ministry in Western Australia and South Australia.

Currently in her fifth year as the Uniting Church Chaplain at Flinders Medical Centre, Leanne has many stories demonstrating the importance of chaplaincy.

Prior to my appointment, I had wandered the many corridors of Flinders Medical Centre visiting family and members of the congregation. I grew up in a family of nurses and have always been very comfortable around hospitals. At one point, I discovered I had begun to imagine myself as a hospital chaplain. I had been an ordained minister for 12 years at the time, serving in various roles, and I felt that those placements had equipped me with the experience and skills for the major responsibilities of hospital chaplaincy.

People are at their most vulnerable in hospital; life seems precarious and there is a lot of time to think. In these moments, chaplains can be a symbol of something bigger.

Families often seek a stronger connection to God through requesting the presence of a ‘god-person’ (aka chaplains). For awhile, we walk alongside them, offer pastoral care and become the hands, ears and feet of God. For some families we are the reconnection to a faith they had lost and a faith community they had walked away from years before. I know many people who have reconnected with a faith community once they are well and have returned home.

However, the most rewarding part of being a hospital chaplain for me is being that ‘god-person’ for people who don’t have faith or a faith community. It is such a privilege to walk alongside people, and offer a listening ear, especially if a patient’s journey is towards dying.

I think chaplains are points of connection between the church and society. Patients will often ask which church I’m with. I feel proud to say that I belong to the Uniting Church and that we fund a ministry to anyone who comes through the doors of Flinders Medical Centre.

Uniting Church chaplaincy placements tell the Australian community that the church does care for them.

I think, historically, hospital chaplains have been here to visit the

people who belong to their denominations, and to provide religious care and rituals. Now chaplains are being seen as a resource for the whole hospital. We are the only staff members who don’t have medical ‘tasks’ to do – we are the ‘sitters’, the listeners, the ‘being with’ people who can give their time to a patient and their family. I sit with anyone, regardless of their faith tradition or lack of faith tradition, and I listen.

Sometimes people need to say what they can’t say to anyone else, and to be heard without judgement. Sometimes I am able to offer a prayer or ritual such as baptism.

Chaplaincy is moving from religious care for ‘their own’ people to spiritual care for anyone.

When I’m asked what chaplains do my brief description is that “we listen or distract depending on what is needed”.

Event to recognise chaplains A special service of recognition and blessing will be held for Uniting Church SA chaplains at Rosefield Uniting Church on Friday 17 March. The event will begin with refreshments from 5.30pm, prior to the service at 6pm. The service of chaplains in their fifth year or beyond will be especially recognised. The address will be given by Prof Ian Olver AM. Ian is a renowned bioethicist, oncologist and cancer researcher who also holds a Certificate of Ministry in Lay Preaching from the. His talk is titled “Probing prayer and healing”.

RSVPs are sought by Wednesday 1 March to Gill Morel on 8236 4204 or email gmorel@sa.uca.org.au. If you would like to talk to someone about chaplaincy, please contact Chaplaincy Manager Rev Beth Seaman on 8236 4253 or email bseaman@sa.uca.org.au

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leadership

What we can learn from Nancy Beach Bindy Taylor

Nancy Beach is a self-confessed optimist. This outlook has served her well throughout the many trials and triumphs she has faced as a female leader, mentoring and inspiring church leaders and communities around the world.

Over the past three decades, Nancy has served in significant roles within Christian ministry in the United States. Feeling a call to leadership in the church, she worked as the Programming Director of Willow Creek Community Church for over 20 years, was a leadership member of the Willow Creek Association for five years, and also served as a teaching pastor. She was the first woman on Willow Creek’s church management team, and later, the first female teaching pastor.

Always seeking to undertake ministry to the best of her abilities, she hoped that her gender would not be the main focus of her ministry work.

As a pioneer of female leadership, Nancy experienced mixed responses to her roles in the church. She was often forced to navigate challenging gender stereotypes and barriers, relating largely to theology, tradition, culture and denominational policies.

“When it became difficult, I would go back to that sense of calling and ask God if He was releasing me yet – and the answer was ‘no’. So I would keep going,” she says.

Over the years, Nancy has fine-tuned the art of leading as a woman in the church. Overcoming stereotypes, she has made full use of her God-given gifts in teaching, leading, ministry and the arts – helping and mentoring others to do the same.

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Nancy’s hope and prayer is that more churches open up dialogue with female leaders and offer opportunities for women to fully express their gifts – not just in historically ‘female’ roles, such as children’s and women’s ministry, but in other areas of leadership. She envisions churches offering women opportunities to fully express their gifts and to teach from the pulpit on a regular basis.

Nancy attributes much of her success in ministry leadership to her calling from God and the encouragement of her close friends.

“I intentionally found great support from close friends who were a safe place for me. I doubt I would have made it this far in ministry without the women in my tribe,” she explains.

By “tribe” Nancy is referring to the close-knit group of women who have helped and encouraged her throughout her leadership and life journey. She recognises how significant the support of close friends can be as a way to overcome hard times – it’s something she frequently mentions in her latest book, Gifted to Lead: the Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church.

Nancy’s idea of women building a ‘tribe’ or regularly joining with a group of other women is something that also received attention in Lynne Hybels’ book, Nice Girls Don’t Change the World. A fellow Willow Creek leader, Lynne writes: “When we do this, when we help one another, cheer one another on, call one another to our truest and highest selves, we become a powerful force for good – for God – in this world.”

Nancy reiterates and adds to Lynne’s wisdom, encouraging women

leadership to support one another – and to consider mentorship.

“Many women – really of all ages – long for a mentor. When I first heard that word, ‘mentor’, it scared me and I didn’t feel qualified!”

Nancy recalls.

“But I grew to understand it's mostly about coming alongside a woman and being available, modelling as best you can a surrendered life, allowing yourself to be vulnerable and share some of your own mistakes.”

Nancy also offers practical insights and wisdom – in her book and in person – and openly shares the learning she has gleaned from serving so closely with predominantly male leaders.

“Sometimes, a woman finds herself working with men who are not accustomed to having women on the leadership team, and so it can feel awkward for everyone,” Nancy says.

She believes that having a sense of humour and the ability to talk about awkward things – those proverbial ‘elephants in the room’ – is important in leadership positions.

“Too often we begin to take ourselves and our situations so seriously that we miss out on the fun and discovery that makes any ministry experience one of joy rather than a constant battle. Laugh with your colleagues – your burdens will be lighter and ministry will prove to be much more fun.”

Many women have shared their challenging and celebratory leadership stories with Nancy, helping her to identify ways women successfully utilise their leadership gifts.

“As one woman leader at a time steps into whatever leadership opportunities do exist, and leads with character, skill, and grace, I believe her example will help open other doors,” she explains.

“I also think women with leadership gifts can pray about what bold conversations they might want to initiate with male leaders to explore this territory.”

But while Nancy is eager to provide advice for women, she acknowledges the barriers and challenges that many face in exercising leadership within the church.

“Many women serve in churches where the theological position on women leading and teaching is on the conservative side – so they have a limit to how much they can lead or who they can teach,” she explains.

“I think this will continue to be a challenge.”

It is Nancy’s hope that more churches will become open to exploring ministry beyond certain theological barriers – to create movement and steps to empower women as far as the church’s theology allows.

She believes that male leaders in the church have a significant role in making progress in this area – an entire chapter of her book is dedicated to encouraging men to advocate for women with teaching and leadership gifts. Nancy also urges men to better understand women in their church, engage in diligent study on the topic of female church leaders, and make this an important issue of discussion.

But women remain the key audience of her book, and it’s to them she provides the most encouragement: “God made no mistake when he gave you the gift of leadership. You will be held accountable one day for doing the best you can with what

you have. So get on with it, stop apologising – and LEAD!” Nancy Beach will be a keynote speaker at the second annual Uniting Leaders conference, which will be held at Hope Valley Uniting Church from 22-24 August, 2017. Her book Gifted to Lead: the Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church is available from the Uniting Church SA Synod office through Bev Freeman at bfreeman@sa.uca.org.au

Passionate about evangelism & leadership?

Uniting Leaders 2017 (UL17) is a two-day conference featuring worship, plenary input from guest speakers, and opportunities for peer learning, networking and connecting with others in leadership.

The keynote speakers at the event are Nancy Beach (featured on this page) and Mark Conner, an Australian leader with experience in ministry, training, writing and coaching.

The first Uniting Leaders conference was held in Queensland in 2016; this year’s event will be held in Adelaide at Hope Valley Uniting Church and will also be one of the Uniting Church President’s Minsters’ Conferences for 2017. The program is geared toward lay and ordained Uniting Church leaders who are passionate about evangelism, mission and church growth.

From Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 August, church leaders will gather for a time of community and growth. Registration opens at 11am on Tuesday, and the conference closes on Thursday evening with worship led by Nancy Beach.

Tickets cost $165 or $99 for students, with a discount available for groups (buy five tickets, get one free). Prices include lunch, in addition to morning and afternoon tea.

For more information about UL17, please visit unitingleaders.org. au, email info@unitingleaders.org.au or call 8236 4249.

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fafai tiht h

Trusting God when it matters most

Charlie on her new roller blades on her 7th birthday.

Katherine eating breakfast at a family friend's house in rural Cambodia.

Moving to a foreign country is a huge step – particularly for those with young families. For Chris and Stacie Ellinger, moving to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, offered an opportunity for them to use their social work and community development skills, and to work with local Christian NGOs (non-government organisations). But it also meant bringing their two children into an unknown country.

In this article, Chris Ellinger reflects on trusting God in difficult times When we had been in Cambodia about a year and half, our elder daughter, who was six at the time, got into rollerblades in a big way.

She didn’t have her own set, but she would borrow the pair belonging to the neighbour at every opportunity. We watched without real concern – she and her sister had been riding bicycles up and down our little street since we moved in six months earlier. The neighbour had no safety gear, but we insisted she wear her bike helmet, and thought that would probably be fine.

One night at bed-time, she complained that her hand was bothering her, and showed me a little mark on her palm.

“Is it a mosquito bite?” I asked. She only shrugged, so I put some of our bite cream on it, and thought nothing more of it.

It was another three days before she finally came back, after a morning of unexplainable tears and tantrums, and said that her hand was sore and itchy.

“Your mosquito bite?” I asked. She held out her hand. The area around what I had thought was a bite was badly inflamed, and she had a track of infection running along the vein from her wrist, and half way up her forearm. It turned out the original wound was from falling backwards off the roller-blades, and she had hidden it as it grew more and more septic, thinking we would tell her she was not allowed to skate anymore. Although I generally try to remain calm in the face of medical issues around my children, I think that day

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she saw the fear in my eyes.

By the time we got her to the hospital she had a fever of 40°C, and the process of cleaning the wound and sorting out antibiotics was unpleasant for everyone. However, within 24 hours the infection had retreated to a localised area around the wound, and in a week it was as though it had never happened.

Well, sort of.

Cambodia can be a place of mystery fevers, stomach bugs, and unidentifiable illnesses. It’s also home to dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya, and a lot of other serious nasties. Although illness is unpleasant for us as adults (we’ve each spent a couple of weeks in bed since being here due to mosquito-borne viruses), it’s much more worrying when it’s our children who are sick. And for me, this rollerblading event triggered a lot of questions in my mind: Was God protecting our family?

What might happen to our children, living in this place?

Could the worst occur, and what would that mean?

It was a friend of mine who helped me identify the questions I was really asking in those night-time hours, when I lay awake thinking through the what-ifs and worst case scenarios: Is God really trustworthy?

Is God really good?

And what does that mean anyway?

fa i t h

The Ellinger family - L-R Chris, Katherine, Charlie, Stacie.

Charlie reading on a family-friend's phone in a hammock.

In one sense, they’re not complicated questions. The Bible says that God is love, that he is good, and that he will be with us always.

On the other hand, it says some less encouraging things, as well. In the book of John, Jesus promised his disciples that in this world they would have trouble. He also said he has overcome the world, but what does that mean? Paul said in Romans that “we glory in our sufferings”.

The theology of that is interesting, but the implication that we will have sufferings is clear.

And we need only look around.

Ten Christian workers serving in Afghanistan were murdered by the Taliban in 2010 as they travelled between towns providing medical care. Even in our own Cambodian team, a family of six, having finished their formal language training in 2013, set out from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to begin their ministry. Part way there, a bus crossed the centreline and hit their car. The parents and two of the children were killed. One of the children lost her arm but survived.

She and her sister had to return to their home country to be cared for by their grandparents. It shocked and frightened everyone.

Suffering comes, death comes, and being in the place where God has called you does not make you immune. Are there no guarantees? What do we rest on? We don’t have simple answers, though we have spent a lot of time thinking about the questions. But there is this: our children do not, in the final calculation, belong to us. We care for them and love them deeply, but they belong to God. And while it seems it would rip us apart were anything to happen to them, we know that God loves them more even than we do, and no matter what happens, he is holding onto them. I should note that’s not an idea we always enjoy, but it’s one we recognise.

So what does it mean, to say that we trust God with our kids, but we

also know that bad things can happen? Right now, it means we trust that, whatever happens – prosperity or suffering – God will be with us.

Don’t get me wrong, I still pray for the safety of my family, sometimes with something like desperation. But trusting my children to God means trusting my heart to him and trusting in the knowledge that he has overcome the world – that eternity is bigger than Cambodia, bigger than an infected wound, bigger than malaria. Bigger than death.

“Oh, you’re so brave,” people said to us when we told them of our plans to live in Cambodia. But we always rejected that because we felt called by God to be here.

Following God where he leads is not primarily about courage.

It’s about a recognition that, ultimately, it is better, richer, greater to walk with him, than to walk away from him.

You don’t have to go to Cambodia to risk your heart following God. You don’t have to be in Cambodia to trust him with it.

For her seventh birthday, our daughter asked for rollerblades – and we bought them for her. We want her to live a full life, and fear is a lousy reason for saying no. But still, we pray.

And we make her wear wrist guards now.

Chris and Stacie Ellinger work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in partnership with Connexions Uniting Church and Interserve Australia.

The Ellinger family has been in Cambodia since the beginning of 2014, making the move after God put the country and its people on their hearts several years earlier. To find out more about their work, visit interserve.org.au/people/chris-stacie Photos by Chris Ellinger.

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SUPPORTING HAPPY AND HEALTHY FUTURES. “We are grateful of the ongoing support that UC Invest has provided us to develop modern facilities for our residents.”

– Clayton Church Homes

Invest with someone who invests in your community.

Visit us at ucinvest.com.au or call us on 1300 274 151.

UC Invest has provided financial support to Clayton Church Homes over the years, as well as a $10,000 grant from Golf Day 2016.

UC Invest is an activity of The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (S.A.) ABN 25 068 897 781, the legal entity of the Uniting Church SA. Investment services are provided on behalf of the Uniting Church SA pursuant to ASIC Policy Statement 87 exemptions and APRA Banking Exemption No. 1 of 2011 (“The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (S.A.)”). Neither UC Invest nor the Uniting Church SA are prudentially supervised by APRA. Investments and contributions lodged with UC Invest will not benefit from the depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act (1959). All products offered by UC Invest are designed for investors who wish to promote the charitable purposes of the Uniting Church SA.

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Geoff Lewis General Manager

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g e t t i n g t o k n ow

Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation The Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation, located in the scenic Murray Mallee region, is home to a small but dedicated group of Uniting Church members.

The congregation was formed after the closure of the Parilla and Pinnaroo Uniting Church buildings, which were both decommissioned on 11 March 2012. While some members of the Parilla congregation decided to begin worshipping at Lameroo Uniting Church, others joined the members of Pinnaroo who continued to meet in the church hall.

Built in 1961 to cater for over 200 children who were attending Sunday School at Pinnaroo, the church hall continues to be the base for the Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation. The space has been converted into a cosy worship area with air conditioning and comfortable chairs to ensure older members are at ease and able to focus on the services.

Although the congregation struggles without a full-time minister in the Murray Mallee region, services are well supported by church members and regular visitors. Monthly visits are made by members of Adare Uniting Church, including quarterly visits from Milton and Wendy Hender. Hope Network representatives and a team from The Fish Gate Uniting Church also make regular visits. Recent oversight has been provided by Rev Darren Lovell, who is based in Murray Bridge and started a part-time role in the region in 2016.

Two local members, Enid Wurfel and Stephanie Michell, ably support worship at the church, taking on preaching duties when visitors are unable to attend. Stephanie also takes care of the music for worship services using a Clavinova (electric piano) and projector.

Other members of the church assist in leading worship.

A shared lunch follows the service, allowing members time to build strong bonds of fellowship and friendship (pictured above left).

The Uniting Church also leads services at the local “day care” (hospital) on the third and fifth Wednesday of the month. Sometimes the older people who attend these services are also driven to Sunday services by generous members of the Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation.

Despite a decline in numbers over recent years, the congregation continues to work in ministry and community outreach.

This year, the Women’s Fellowship will celebrate 100 years

of support. While their numbers have dwindled in recent times, there is a core group of women who remain committed to this ministry.

The church prayer chain is one of the most vital activities of the Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation. Originally started as a purely Uniting Church-based venture to meet the needs of members, it has expanded to become a general prayer chain for the local community. As most members now have access to mobile phones, the ability to reach one another quickly with prayer requests has greatly increased.

The prayer chain has offered support to people who have entered hospital, as well as their families, and many have expressed how comforting it is knowing others are praying for them. Many feel a sense of comfort, strength and peace because of this outreach.

A member of the local Catholic congregation who had received prayer through the chain commented that it “is the best thing that has happened in Pinnaroo.”

Other ecumenical ventures undertaken by the church include involvement in the Inter-Church Council, which is responsible for establishing chaplaincy and religious education at Pinnaroo Primary School, and contributions to joint services around Easter and Christmas. A Kids’ Club held at the local Lutheran Church is attended by children from a variety of churches in the area.

Connecting with others in the local community is a priority for the Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation. Nine members of the church have been recognised for different kinds of leadership and community service as recipients of the Citizen of the Year Award. Members also contribute to the local Strawberry Fete. This event is held annually and is hosted by the Uniting Church with assistance from other community organisations.

As with many rural Uniting Churches, the Pinnaroo/Parilla Congregation faces a number of challenges associated with lower numbers of attendees, many of whom are ageing. However, they continue to pour life into a number of important community activities and to support one another in their weekly worship.

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Uniting Church in Australia ASSEMBLY

POSITIONS VACANT • Associate General Secretary, Assembly Resourcing Unit • National Consultant (3 positions), Assembly Resourcing Unit • National Director, Frontier Services The Assembly is the national council of the Uniting Church with responsibility for matters of doctrine, worship, government, discipline, policy and promoting the Church’s mission in the world. We currently have four (4) positions effective July 2017 for the newly-created Assembly Resourcing Unit (ARU), as well as one (1) position for Frontier Services effective March 2017.

All incumbents will require outstanding communication skills, along with high attention to detail, project management experience and the ability to multi-task across various projects, multiple entities and a diverse range of stakeholders. A deep understanding of the Uniting Church is essential for success in the ARU roles, whilst fundraising and communications in a church or similar NFP environment is essential to the Frontier Services position.

For more information about each of these positions, please go to our website: assembly.uca.org.au/jobs

Pilgrim Uniting Church Congregation, Adelaide Expressions of interest are invited for a Minister of the Word (1.0) to join a diverse ministry team that includes a full-time Deacon and lay leaders.

Strategic emphases for this position in a central City congregation: • creative worship of three Sunday morning and two weekday services • pastoral care and faith development of the Congregation • public liturgical celebrations, especially a “church for the city” activities • relationships with the Chinese (SA) Christian Congregation at Pilgrim • Pilgrim’s three year vision and mission priorities(see below) For more information see www.pilgrim.org.au or contact Rev Diane Bury for copies of congregation profile and supporting documents.

Please send Inquiries and Expressions of Interest (marked private and confidential) to Rev Diane Bury, Synod Office, PO Box 2145 Adelaide 5001, dbury@sa.uca.org.au Phone (08) 8236 4254 by 14 March 2017.

We are called by God to be a prophetic witness in the city of Adelaide so that new life and vitality will be generated in our city and its people.

We celebrate in our unity and diversity, our shared beliefs and past experiences, and value worship, teaching, creativity and justice.

Full Time (3 year contract, with option of extension)

Hope Valley Uniting Church is passionate about Youth and Young Adults.

Do you have the same passion? Then apply today!

We are seeking to employ someone to direct our Youth, Young Adults and Sunday evening worship service. You will need to provide strong leadership, vision, design and direction in this role.

This is an exciting opportunity within a thriving Church. For a position description please contact Rev Kynan Brookes Kynan.brookes@hopevalleyuc.org.au To apply please submit your resume, cover letter & written application to the job spec along with 3 current references by Friday 24 February.

Application close date: 24 February 2017 at 5.00PM Contact person: Rev Kynan Brookes By phone: 08 8396 0788 By email: kynan.brookes@hopevalleyuc.org.au

MARRIAGE MATTERS! To you, your children and to God

PRIORITISE MARRIAGE! Whatever your ageYOUR or stage, it’s a good time Restore the balance in your life as a couple. for a retreat weekend that allows God to nurture, even transform, your marriage, blessing your family and community, too. a programme of the Uniting Church

Programme Dates for 2017 Feb ........ 24-26 May .......19-21 June ..... 23-25 Sep ............. 1-3 Nov ............ 3-5

First weekend for 2016: February 26-28 For more information: Other weekends: May 20-22 Rob & Lee Allen (8331 7061)/FredJuly & Lesley Vince (8390 3332) - www.gtimsa.org 1-3 August 26-28 November 4-6

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For more information: Rob & Lee Allen (8331 7061) / Fred & Lesley Vince (8390 3332) - www.gtimsa.org

Postcards and posters help Uniting Churches to tell members of the congregation and wider community about Easter services and events!

Postcard cost: $75 per 1,000 (lower order numbers are allowed) A3 poster cost: $20 for 10 (minimum of 10) Orders close Monday 27 February, 2017 To order visit sa.uca.org.au/postcards or call 8236 4230

diary PREACHING MASTERCLASSES presented by Rev Craig Bailey & Rev Tim Hein. Tuesday evenings, 21 February to 14 March.

Adelaide West Uniting Church. Increase your preaching skills, learn how to craft an engaging sermon, find your preaching voice and grow in confidence. Whether you've preached many times, or never before, this VET unit is highly practical and useful for preachers of all ages and experiences. These four focussed and highly practical seminars can be taken for credit, audit or assessment. For more information, please contact Lynda Leitner on 8416 8400 or email college.divinity@flinders.edu.au TOOLBOX – THE EARLY YEARS COURSE. Wednesday mornings (9.30 – 11.30am), 22 February to 22 March. Adelaide West Uniting Church. Over five sessions, “Toolbox – The Early Years Course” will help attendees to discover and apply new tools and strategies to use with their families. By the end of this course, participants will have the skills to set appropriate boundaries for their children and to develop a strong and loving bond with them. Cost: $70 per person – includes extensive manual to keep. For more information, please contact Kylie Roberts on 0400 522 119 or kjroberts@internode.on.net THE CORNER GARAGE SALE. Saturday 25 February, 9am – 1pm.

The Corner Uniting Church. Come grab a bargain, enjoy a sausage and cold drink, or have a cuppa and scones at The Corner Garage Sale! The event will feature lots of wonderful stalls, including cakes, plants, clothes, books and toys. For more information, please visit thecorner.org.au or call 8350 5400.

150 YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Sunday 26 February, 2pm. Moonta Uniting Church. This anniversary celebration will mark 150 years since the opening of the first Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Moonta township. Moderator Rev Sue Ellis will present the message at the service. Afternoon tea will follow in the hall (the original church building). All former ministers and members of the congregation are invited to attend. For more information, please contact Anita Woods on 8825 3409 or email woodso1@bigpond.com

BLANK CANVAS. Saturday 11 March, 7 – 9.30pm. The Corner Uniting Church. Blank Canvas is a youth and young adult’s visual arts cafe run once a month at The Corner Uniting Church. It’s a place to chat, create, play music, eat and drink while exploring faith and life. People don’t have to be artistic to come along – just willing to explore. It's free, but there is a small cost for food and drink from the cafe. For more information, please contact Nina Luscombe on 0423 233 647 or visit facebook.com/BlankCanvasTCUC LENTEN COMMUNITY DAY. Saturday 25 March, 11am – 3.30pm.

Urrbrae. The Australian Christian Meditation Community SA will hold a Lenten Community Day on the "Stations of the Cross" in the Sacred Garden at The Monastery. Attendees will initially meet in the Sebastian Room, behind St Paul's Church (15 Cross Road, Urrbrae).

Sister Joan Mary Topor will lead the reflections. There is a suggested donation of $15, and attendees are asked to bring lunch to share.

For more information, please email chr.med.southaust@gmail.com 150 YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 March.

Port Augusta. The 150th anniversary celebrations for Port Augusta Uniting Church will run over two days. A dinner will be held at Central’s Sporting and Community Club in Port Augusta on Saturday 25 March. The anniversary service will be held at the Uniting Church and will commence at 10am on Sunday 26 March. Please RSVP by Friday 17 March. For more information or to RSVP, please contact G. Bull on 0429 810 332 or email gbshoebox@gmail.com To have your upcoming event published here, email diary@sa.uca.org.au or use the event form at sa.uca.org.au/events/submit-an-event

INTENSIVE CHURCH PLANTING COURSE. Monday 27 February to Friday 3 March. Uniting College for Leadership & Theology.

A five-day (6 hours per day) intensive course covering the essentials of church planting. Course content will include interactive lectures and learning from practitioners. This is the first time this course has been offered. It will be led by Rev Dr Graham Humphris and Rev Tim Hein. For more information, please contact Graham on 8236 4235 (Mondays and Tuesdays) or email generate2021@sa.uca.org.au 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Monday 27 February, 7 – 9pm. Mercedes College. All are invited to celebrate the anniversary of the Landmines Petition, and all it has led to – the formation of the SafeGround organisation and the changes in international legislation. Many Uniting Church members were involved in signing this petition. The anniversary event will reflect on the significance of the petition and cover current work in this area. For more information, please contact Helen Stanger on 8381 9928 or email helenstanger@iinet.net.au

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Send your letters to: newtimes@sa.uca.org.au or PO Box 2145, Adelaide 5001.

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reviews

Call to action goes on A book chronicling the Uniting Church in Australia’s history of advocacy has been recently released, coinciding with the year of the Church’s 40th anniversary. Rev Dr Brian Brown reviews For a World Reconciled: Justice Statements from the Uniting Church in Australia 1977-2015, edited by Cynthia Coghill and Elenie Poulos.

How good it is to now have a comprehensive account of the justice heart of the national Uniting Church at one’s fingertips!

The next time someone tries to tell you that the Uniting Church “does not know what it believes”, why not refer them to the Assembly publication For a World Reconciled – Justice Statements from the Uniting Church in Australia 1977-2015? There they will find strong, clear and well-researched documents laying out the convictions of our national church about matters of justice, both social and ecological.

It is true that our church may sometimes appear indecisive in its reluctance to endorse hard and fast statements of belief based on biblical and theological fundamentalism. This due to the fact that the Uniting Church embraces diversity, values the common ground of wisdom, and remains open to a wide range of contemporary scholarship. All of the really big issues are complex, and do not easily yield black and white answers. Nevertheless, the convictions expressed in the recent publication of justice statements from 1977 to the present are firmly based on a biblical ethic of the common good found in the scriptures in general and the prophetic literature in particular. Contrary to the populist view of ‘wishy-washiness’, the Uniting Church often speaks truth to power with conviction.

There are, of course, exceptions. Tracing recent documents in this compendium about sexuality, ministry and marriage, one finds a frustrating inability to resolve such matters to the satisfaction of the wider Uniting Church. We end up having to say that we cannot reach a consensus; and that the best we can do is stay open to the issues, and try to be present to one another as respectfully as we can. Even so, this is better than being stridently out of tune with the mind of Christ.

Another source for potential pessimism is the discovery that although our church has consistently spoken out on key issues such as the relationship between First and Second Australians (appropriately the most frequently addressed issue), asylum seekers, and ecological justice, our documents on these subjects seem to have had little to no impact on government policy. As former President Dr Jill Tabart puts it: “Clearly we have very little to cross off the wishlist in the approaching fortieth year anniversary of the Uniting Church in Australia.” She suspects that the Uniting Church is having a diminishing impact on government policy, and wonders whether this may now be more the time for individual Christians “…to make a difference in advocating for changed policies and in living changed lives that really make a difference to those suffering” (page 5).

There are, in fact, signs that this is already the trend, such as when individuals involved in groups like Love Make a Way occupy the offices

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of MPs (pictured right) demanding justice for asylum seeker children and their families, or when kayakers on Newcastle harbour try to disrupt the export of coal. For such individuals and groups, the key justice documents of our national church can provide an important theological underpinning for just action in the face of powers who have closed their eyes to human suffering, and their ears to the moral argument. In fact, I would argue we now need another contemporary document, one which builds on the conviction of our Statement to the Nation (1977) that our first allegiance is to God, and that we “realise that sometimes this allegiance may bring us into conflict with the rulers of the day” (page 7). This new statement would set out our church’s belief in the legitimacy of non-violent civil disobedience when other less confrontational efforts are ignored.

The compendium of statements is helpfully arranged in sections for easy reference. Each section has an informative introduction by a scholar of our church with a strong connection to the subject matter that follows. The way in which documents are set out provides readers with the opportunity to trace the development of theological thinking and conviction over the past 40 years. This is especially clear in the perception of the value of the natural environment.

Statements from 1977 and 1988 show the progress of thought about the way Christians relate to their environment, and this is also reflected in the 1991 resolution titled “The Rights of Nature and the Rights of Future Generations”, these two sets of ‘rights’ are placed alongside each other, implying equality (though the rights of future generations still come first).

Elenie Poulos, writer of the introduction to the section titled “For the Sake of the Planet”, reflects on this. “The shifting theological foundations for our ecological care can be seen in these resolutions as the language moves between the various expressions of a ‘stewardship’ approach (a natural environment given to us by God) and a more recently expressed understanding of the interrelatedness and mutual dependency of humanity and the natural world,” she writes on page 22.

The earliest statements in this section deal with the issue of uranium mining, and the concern that Australia not retreat from its stand on nuclear proliferation safeguards. Ironically, while this issue is one that faded somewhat from public consciousness at the time the statements were released, it may have to be revisited given the views on nuclear arsenal that are held by some current international leaders.

The final statement in this section is about climate change, drawing particular attention to Australia’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. This concern is picked up again in the following section,

reviews

Uniting Church members and others protesting in Adelaide as part of Love Makes a Way in June 2014.

“Justice for peoples in other Countries”, in the observed risk of rising sea levels to the people of Tuvalu and other Pacific countries.

Everything is connected, especially when it comes to the vulnerability of the poor and weak.

It is truly said by individuals who invest a lot of energy caring about big social justice issues that “one cannot worry about everything all of the time”. As a committed collective, however, it is possible, indeed necessary, to be concerned and active about most things, most of the time.

The collection For a World Reconciled illustrates the efforts of a church that has not missed much over the last 40 years. The really big issues, as expected, are comprehensively addressed. Some readers, however, might be surprised to find documents on such diverse topics as the manufacture of infant formula, the Armenian genocide, and military aid to the Philippines. Jesus exhorted his followers to take the Gospel to all the world. In his ministry he showed that this includes not missing the needs of the ‘little ones’.

These statements are not just empty words – the call to action is everywhere. A ringing message of these collected statements could be summarised as ‘Christian is as Christian does’. They encapsulate the ethos of the Uniting Church, and cogently describe who we are when we are at our best. As our current President Stuart McMillan says in his introduction: “While there have been times when we have failed to do what is right, and failed by not speaking out when we should have done so, we are known in our country and beyond as a church that ‘stands up for justice’” (page XIV).

This compendium is a great gift to teachers and preachers who now have the key justice statements of our church at their fingertips. It will hopefully also provide a resource for other members who want to be

informed about what our church has said and is saying about the big common good issues of our day. It has the potential to equip all of us to give an account of our faith, especially to those who think that we do not know what we believe!

For A World Reconciled: Justice Statements from the Uniting Church in Australia 1977-2015 is available from MediaCom (mediacom.org.au) for $42.75. Edited by Cynthia Coghill and Elenie Poulos, the compendium was released a short time before the announcement of Elenie’s resignation as UnitingJustice Director.

Elenie held this position for 16 years; she will now turn her attention to completing a PhD through Macquarie University in New South Wales.

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c u l t u re

The untold stories Alexandra Bingham

Working with UnitingWorld overseas, Alexandra Bingham spent time teaching locals to tell their own stories. Inset: Alexandra with Rev Tut Ngoth.

Jesus was the ultimate storyteller. His story of sacrifice and loving the ‘least of these’ literally changes lives and transforms hearts. It is a story for all and we have been invited to the table to listen and share.

I am a storyteller, drawn to those stories that often go untold and those people who often go unheard.

At the age of 26, I moved my life from Adelaide, South Australia, to the Philippines to undertake a one-year volunteer placement with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). In this role, I work together with the UnitingWorld co-sponsored Indigenous Peoples program to train communities and staff in the use of film, photography and communications to bring about positive change through storytelling. We focus mainly on exposing injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples of the Philippines, aiming to bring about transformed communities free from poverty and corruption.

As the Indigenous peoples are great storytellers themselves we work to ensure they are equipped to share their own stories.

Close to the end of my assignment, UntingWorld approached my colleague, Alex Baker, and I to share stories from other life-bringing projects around the world. We were tasked with travelling to India, China and Papua New Guinea to collect meaningful stories to share as part of the 2017 Lent Event campaign. First stop: Nairobi, Kenya, to document the Peacemaker program in South Sudan.

South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, but in its short life it has known an unimaginable amount of death, war and suffering.

After gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan experienced a short period of peace. However, since 2013, civil war has raged across the country and affected the lives of many. Alex and

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I would soon hear firsthand accounts of the impact of this violence on all South Sudanese communities.

Soon after our arrival, we were met by Rev Tut Ngoth, Deputy Director of the Presbyterian Relief and Development Association and a key player in UnitingWorld’s Peacemaker program in South Sudan. He shared his story of fleeing the country, of attacks on Nile Theological College, the destruction of the Presbyterian Church’s National Compound in Malakal, and the loss of those women, men, children and pastors who were caught in the crossfire between rebel and government forces.

The weight of Tut’s story dawned on us in the following days as we began to piece together all he had told us and saw the sorrow on his face as he recounted his lived experiences. But despite these many hardships, Tut’s hope for a brighter, peaceful future is unwavering.

This hope is reflected in his tireless efforts to deliver the Peacemaker program, including the rebuilding of schools and hospitals, and facilitating peace talks to bring about reconciliation.

Stories like Tut’s often go unheard – sharing them is a great privilege.

This year, Lent Event will include stories shared from people in China, South Sudan, India, Papua New Guinea, and beyond. I invite you to join us at the table this Lent, from 1 March, to hear these stories.

And I encourage you to take this experience a step further – to give up something from your everyday life and put that money aside to support one of the projects spoken about in these stories.

For more information about Lent Event and UnitingWorld’s projects, please visit lentevent.com.au or call (02) 8267 4267.