Issue 27, No 2 March 2008 www.sa.uca.org.au/goto/NTmar08
Saying sorry
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Another step towards reconciliation
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inside… Church members respond to the Government’s apology 2 – 7 • What people think of the UCA 8
Awards for members 10 • The ELC turns ten 12 • Lenten Appeal 13 • Scottish ethicist arrives 15 • Pancake Day 16
2
NEWS
New Times
Church welcomes PM’s apology The Uniting Church and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) have congratulated the Federal Government on its formal apology to members of the Stolen Generations. The Uniting Church made its own formal apology to Australia’s Indigenous people more than a decade ago. Uniting Church President Rev Gregor Henderson said the Christian view of confession was that it recognised wrongdoing. “We take confession to mean that what has been done is not in accordance with the hopes and possibilities that God has for us,” Gregor said. “Confession is both an acknowledgement of this and an expression of resolve to live, by the grace of God, differently in the future. “Our partnership and covenanting agreement with the UAICC is one way in which we have demonstrated our resolve to walk alongside our Aboriginal and Islander brothers and sisters; to seek forgiveness and reparations. “The Government’s planned apology to the Stolen Generations marks the beginning of a sense of renewal and we hope it will be backed up with practical measures for better outcomes for Indigenous Australians.”
Practical outcomes sought
The UAICC says the significance of the Government’s apology will be measured by practical outcomes. UAICC national administrator Rev Shayne Blackman hopes it will result in healing and greater collaboration in working to end the disadvantage experienced by Indigenous people. “We believe that true repentance involves both an apology and a change of attitude,” said Shayne. We hope the Government takes further action to clearly demonstrate its commitment to the apology, such as tailored Indigenous programs and opportunities for socio-economic equality. “As a first step, the apology is an historic moment for Australia. We also hope to see a framework put in place, following the lead of countries like Canada and New Zealand, where rights-based approaches have been successfully implemented. “The word ‘sorry’ holds special significance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. It goes beyond admitting wrongdoing to helping restore respect, healing and a commitment to doing things differently in the future.
“An apology from the Government for the mistakes of the past is an important symbolic step towards building bridges toward equality and understanding. However these need to be built upon policies and programs that will truly restore equality to the lives of Aboriginal and Islander people. “The reality of Australia’s stolen generation is not a thing of the distant past. Up until 1969 Indigenous children were still being removed from their parents by the government and their collaborators. “This has meant for many, a complete loss of connection to family, traditional culture, identity and language which has resulted in life-long disabling consequences such as psychological trauma, depression and emotional suffering. “The fallout from this dire legacy has contributed to appalling facts such as the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It affirms the need to work collaboratively to restore equality, healing and justice to Australia’s first people. “There can be no better expression of an apology for the mistakes of the past than a commitment to programs and policies that truly deliver on our lifelong hopes and dreams for the future,” said Shayne.
Holy horror Church shocked at another The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania is investigating if religious goods sold in Australia have been made with slave labour in China. The church investigation was prompted by a US National Labor Committee (NLC) report called “Today, Workers Bear the Cross”. The report alleges the Colorado based Association for Christian Retail (ACR) sold crucifixes that had been manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop. The Synod’s Justice spokesperson Mark Zirnsak said there is something grossly hypocritical if Christian shops are trading on the exploitation
and dignity of the poor. “It is also exploiting the good intentions of people who purchase such material. Many would be shocked if they knew religious items were made through the exploitation of young people,” said Mark. The sale of Christian trinkets and paraphernalia is a multimillion dollar business, with many US based companies selling Chinese-sourced products in Australia. The NLC report found the ACR had purchased crucifixes made in a factory near Hong Kong where fifteen-year-olds worked up to 15.5 hours, seven days a week.
Cover design by Les Colston for Joie Creative. Photo of “The Fountain of Tears” on the site of the former Colebrook home on Shepherds Hill Road, Eden Hills. The sculpture is a memorial to the Stolen Generations and features faces of angry men and sad women beneath an empty Coolamon (baby carrier).
Filipino pastor’s murder Uniting Church President Rev Gregor Henderson is shocked at the latest in a series of murders of protestant pastors from the United Church of Christ (UCCP) in the Philippines. Gregor said he was appalled by the murder of Pastor Felicisimo Catambis, who was devoted to caring for the poor and disadvantaged in Leyte Province. Pastor Catambis was gunned down at the end of January, while riding his motorbike. The 60-year-old is the third member of the UCCP murdered in the Leyte province in as many years. Sixteen UCCP ministers and members have been murdered between 2004 and 2006. “There is a record of attacks on people who are working in Christian ministry in the Philippines,” Gregor said.
“The murders, assassination attempts and death threats have been going on for years and these cases have a tendency to remain unsolved, despite the fact that people like Pastor Catambis have no known involvement with any militant or progressive groups. “The President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is aware of the situation, but there has been a lack of progress in bringing those responsible to justice. “We would like to assure the UCCP of our continued solidarity and our prayers at this distressing time,” Gregor said. The United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the Uniting Church in Australia established a relationship of solidarity and support in 1984.
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COMMENT
New Times
3
The fruit of forgiveness I have a recalcitrant peach tree. It’s a good one – an Elberta. It is four years old and last year we draped some bird netting over it so the fruit did not get eaten. The weight of the fruit and the way that we put the netting on it meant that the tree was bent over. The trouble was that by the time all the fruit had been picked the tree was permanently misshapen. It was bent right over one way with growth just on one side of the trunk. I gave the tree a prune but it refused to shoot out on the bare side of the trunk. The other side of the trunk, which had branches, produced new shoots with great abundance. So I cut the main trunk of the tree so that there was no green growth at all. I thought the trunk itself would produce a lot of new shoots all around and produce a tree of good shape. Then it did shoot – below the graft! Recalcitrant is the only word. Except the shape of the tree was produced by me! I can’t
blame the tree. The shape of the tree is the result of my husbandry of it. I will dig around it, fertilise it, water it and give it another year.
Last month an apology was made to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. I found it profoundly moving and a day of great significance in our history. It felt like a great weight was being lifted from our nation’s shoulders. We know the power of forgiveness! My sense is that Australia had become one sided. We needed some pruning and ‘sorry’ has begun that. I know some have struggled with last month’s events. Often that is because they know people who adopted Aboriginal children and loved them, cared for them and did all they could for them. But thousands of Aboriginal Australians have felt the pain of separation from their family, culture, language and homeland. With 1 Corinthians 12 we may well say, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.” This
Uniting Church and Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress members were amongst the thousands who gathered in Elder Park last month to hear the Prime Minister’s moving apology to the Stolen Generations.
is true of Australia as well. When I listened to Aboriginal Australians after the apology was delivered they talked of a new future, of hope, of being listened to and I rejoice in this.
Confession – a fresh start for sorry people Rev Dr Andrew Dutney Principal Parkin Wesley College Being sorry and saying sorry: Christians get why it matters. We understand what the Prime Minister was getting at when he described the struggle to arrive at a formal apology to the Stolen Generations as “wrestling with our own soul”. That struggle corresponds to a core spiritual discipline of Christianity, confession. Reflecting theologically on confession is a way of entering more deeply into this moment in the nation’s life. Confession is to Christians what meditation is to Buddhists. As Martin Luther said in his ‘Large Catechism’ (1529), “when I tell you to go to confession, all I’m doing is telling you to be a Christian.” Why is it so important? It’s because confession is the fundamental act of faith in the Gospel. In acts of confession, Christians write themselves into the Gospel – identifying their own sins among those for which Christ died, their own wounds among those that have been healed by his wounds and seeking to be restored to God themselves, (1 Peter 2:24-25). Confession is an act by which Christians demonstrate their personal trust in the message that God loves them and that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ God frees them from sin and its devastating effects in their lives. There’s more to being a Christian than that personal trust, of course, but it’s hard
to imagine a genuinely Christian way of life that didn’t include at least that. Confession isn’t about wallowing in self-pity or shame. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, a Baptist pastor and spiritual director, puts it well when she says that confession “is a way of opening myself to God within the safety of his love so I can authentically seek transformation”. For “transformation” is what it’s all about. We confess not only because we want things to be different but because we discover through that process of self-examination that we want to be different. The purpose isn’t to feel bad about yourself but to be honest about yourself with God. It’s not to judge yourself but to be turned again towards God and the promises of the Gospel as the source of forgiveness and transformation. Being sorry and saying sorry within the safety of God’s love gives crucial impetus for transformation and growth. It is the fresh start that sorry people crave. Paul put it like this: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret...” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV). It’s that kind of sorrow and that kind of sorry that’s needed for the reconciliation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to be advanced in this generation. I pray that time will tell that it’s that kind of sorry that was said by our church and that has finally been said in all the parliaments of Australia.
All these are new shoots and care and pruning will need to continue if we want good fruit to come from last month’s statement. There is much to be done in areas such as health
care, education and housing. Now is the time of mutual responsibility. Now is the time to work together and listen to one another. Now is the time for prayer.
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4
MAGAZINE
The Church’s 1997 apology In 1997 the Uniting Church in South Australian made a formal apology to the Aboriginal people for the Stolen Generations. The church’s apology came just a few months after an apology made by the South Australian State Government – the first government in the nation to apologise. The church’s apology was written by a Synod Task Group on Separated Children. The members were Bernard Clarke, Jack Goodluck, Kingsley A’Hang, Norm Baxter, Denise Champion, Bill Edwards, Marelle Harisun, Kaylene McKenzie, Ken Sumner and Bob Teasdale. This is the formal apology read at the annual Synod meeting by then Moderator Don Hopgood.
We Confess Conscious of our place in the present generation of a communion of believers that extends far into the past and into
the future, we confess before God and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters that we, the people of the South Australian part of the Uniting Church in Australia, have not done enough to protect the Indigenous people in this region from degrading and disempowering treatment, or from the deliberate dismantling of family and community structures; but have stood by while the Indigenous people were dispossessed of land, liberty, life-support systems, culture, ceremonial life and much more, including their parents and their children. We acknowledge, also, that, in collaborating with government child seizure policies, we did not act in ways that were consistent with the firm judgement of our Lord, Jesus Christ, about any who put stumbling blocks in the way of the little ones. We confess that the parts of the Church that formed the present day Uniting Church in Australia were here,
conscientiously going about other Christian duties, but letting government and Church agents deal with children in care without calling them to account before the Law of the land or the throne of God for the ways that they treated the vulnerable ones in their care.
We Apologise We express our sorrow for all the pain caused to so many families, and especially to the children and parents who were forcibly separated; we regret the part that the Church has played in allowing the generations of separated children to be dispossessed of so much. We apologise, without reservation, to each person who had a right to expect better of us, for whatever child abuse occurred to them when they were dependent on us for protection. We apologise to all of the Aboriginal people for our failure to prevent the destruction of family life and dispossession of the Indigenous nations.
We apologise unreservedly, as the Uniting Church, for collaborating with, rather than confronting and changing, destructive programmes which past governments introduced for redirecting the lives of Aboriginal Australians with the intention of encouraging them to cease to be Aboriginal, and to have lives designed for them by those who had dispossessed them.
We Pledge We pledge ourselves to listen to the cries of the Indigenous people of South Australia who still suffer because of past oppression; to heed the call of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in our midst; to stand in solidarity with its members in bringing Christ’s good news to all people in all areas of life; to seriously consider the recommendations of the report “Bringing them home”’; and to work to ensure that justice, freedom and hope can at last be secured in the Church, the State and the nation.’’
A prayer for members of the Stolen Generations Last month Uniting Church SA Moderator Rev Rod Dyson and UAICC leader Rev Ken Sumner called the church to pray as the nation waited for the Government’s historic apology. We confess that what has happened in the past in this nation has not always been done in accordance with the hopes and possibilities that God had for us. We confess our hardness of heart and lack of compassion. Cleanse us from the racism that lurks in the dark corners of our souls. We pray for healing, forgiveness and restoration for all peoples who call Australia home. We resolve that by the grace of God we shall strive to make good as much as we are able and to live differently so that our Aboriginal brothers and sisters may share equally with us in the bounty of this land. We pray that we will support in any way we can the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, its ministers, elders and congregations as they minister to the spiritual, social, mental and emotional well being of Aboriginal Australians. May the power of your Spirit move us to acts of true reconciliation and change us so that we might make a difference. Amen.
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MARCH 2008
Charlene Kent will be weighing up justice issues as the Uniting Church SA’s new Solidarity and Justice officer.
New Justice officer Charlene Kent is the Uniting Church SA’s new Solidarity and Justice officer. For the past six months Charlene has been working in the church’s Mission Resourcing Network (MRN) as the project officer for the Strategic Mapping Project. She takes up the Solidarity and Justice position from March 1. Charlene has worked as a policy, project and liaison officer for state, federal and local government as well as the not-for-profit sector; and has been involved in a number of environmental and justice issues. She worships at Rosefield Uniting Church.
NEWS
New Times
5
Sorry… then what? When UAICC minister Rev Ken Sumner heard that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was going to say “sorry” to the Stolen Generations his immediate response was: “Then what?” “What happens next is crucial,” said Ken. “I don’t think you can say “sorry” and leave it at that. “Saying sorry is a small part of the healing process. There needs to be a commitment to do something about Aboriginal poverty and injustice. This apology will only feel like half an apology if it doesn’t deliver.” Last month, Ken was with hundreds of others in the Great Hall at Parliament House to hear the Federal Government’s apology. Ken said it was very emotional and he was moved by the tears streaming down the faces of school girls sitting in front of him. “Sometimes we think the young ones don’t get it, but they were really crying.” He is hopeful that the Prime Minister’s apology will make a difference.
“Aboriginal people seem to be stuck in one place. For some reason, we can’t move forward. We’re stuck and that is partly because we don’t see any future. We haven’t grown up looking towards the future. “I’m hoping this apology will bring about some changes that will enable us to look towards the future with hope. That would be wonderful. “I’m disappointed the Government isn’t interested in compensation. That really doesn’t help the struggle. “Compensation comes in many forms. It is not necessarily about monetary gain. Aboriginal people are not asking for something that doesn’t belong to them.” Ken believes that there are many practical things that could be done including better access to housing and quality education. “Every Australian’s dream is to own their own home. It’s no different for Aboriginal people. Why can’t the government help our people into homes?
“We don’t want to be welfare dependant but we do want the same basic rights as any other person.” When Ken talks about outcomes, he’s thinking of partnerships. Practical projects like Congress’ work in Port Augusta. “In Port Augusta, Congress is running a special school for Aboriginal kids because mainstream education is failing them. These kids might not become doctors or lawyers, but we can equip them to survive in society.” While Ken is still waiting to see what the Federal Government’s apology will mean for Aboriginal people, he does believe that the Uniting Church SA has come a long way since we made our apology to the Stolen Generations more than ten years ago. Ken was part of the task group that brought the apology to the 18th Synod in October 1997. “Our apology was about doing something – not just saying something. There have been
UAICC minister Rev Ken Sumner is hoping wonderful things will flow from the Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations.
significant changes since then. I think the attitude towards Congress and Aboriginal people has improved. People are no longer scared of us. “I think when we first begun talking about covenanting and
the transfer of assets, people thought we were just after money and that we were going to be silly with it. We have a role and a responsibility to minister and that’s what we are doing.”
Why is ‘sorry’ such a difficult word to say? Dr Don Hopgood, a past Uniting Church SA Moderator and former Deputy Premier of South Australia, reflects on why ‘sorry’ is so hard to say. Don says that, although he didn’t agree with them, people had many technical and philosophical objections to saying sorry. “One of the standard objections was that delivering an apology could result in us being taken to court for millions of dollars of compensation,” says Don. “I would hope that Christians understand the concept of contrition. It is the gateway to moving forward in any pilgrimage. It is about the clearing of the slate. “This is what Christianity is about. This is about repentance. This is about saying sorry and moving on.” Don remembers that when the Uniting Church SA apologised more than ten years ago, a few people objected on the grounds that it did not respect the wellmeaning Christians who served in orphanages and homes. “They thought we were dishonouring an important
Former SA Moderator Don Hopgood delivered the church’s apology to the Stolen Generations in 1997.
group of people - people I’d call heroes of the church – people who did good work but were not necessarily aware of the circumstances which led to Aboriginal people being placed in care. “Part of the process of the church getting to a point where it could make an apology was hearing from people who were personally involved. We heard the stories of Aboriginal people
who were treated badly. We also heard from people who genuinely thought they were doing the right thing at the time. None the less, we still apologised and moved on.” Don was immensely moved by the Federal Government’s apology. “It represents a new beginning in race relations. “We are now where New Zealand was in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. “Maoris can point to that and say they were equal partners in making that treaty. We have never had anything like that.” Don applauds the Prime Minister’s commitment to form a joint policy committee with the Opposition. “We need a bipartisan approach to issues such as Aboriginal life expectancy, heath standards and access to education. “There is a lot of imaginative work to be done. This is not just about spending money. We’ve spent money before. This is about new approaches in consultation with Aboriginal people to ensure this apology brings about the reforms we all think are necessary.”
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MARCH 2008
6
COMMENT
‘Thank you Prime Minister’ Bernard and Andrew Clarke We were staggered at the persistent refusal to accept the reality of “the stolen children”. Some people approach the issue from the wrong angle altogether. The issue is not about the goodwill of the many people who cared for Aboriginal children, often with great love. The issue is not about whether we, as persons of the post stolen children era, are guilty or not guilty. The issue is that for a generation, the Australian government, most churches and voluntary agencies believed, wrongly, that the best way to help children of mixed Aboriginal and other ancestry was to remove them from their families - to place them in institutions, foster or other arrangements designed to equip them for a life in the house next door. For a generation this intervention policy was widely accepted and universally applied throughout Australia. Police and welfare officers were empowered to arbitrarily remove children. We have
personal experience of this policy at work in three States: Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia. Despite having loving carers, we saw first-hand the policy’s destructive force. We arrived in Mogumber in August 1951. Previously it was the terrible and hated Moore River Penal Settlement – the place where kids, misbehaving or running away from institutions and trying to get back home, were incarcerated. Recognition of injustice to our childhood friends at Mogumber became a driving force in our lives. It remains so today. As we came to know their families, the “fringe dwellers”, from whom many of the children were stolen, and as we heard their stories, we knew how terrible the policies were. We are sorry our friends and so many, many others had to experience such total dislocation and destruction of personal self esteem - the major outcome of this policy in so many lives. It was simply an erroneous, racist and misguided policy.
Bernard and Andrew Clarke are Uniting Church SA members who grew up alongside some of the Stolen Generations at the Mogumber Methodist Mission north of Perth. Their father, a Methodist minister, was the mission superintendent. The brothers are grateful that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has finally said ‘sorry’ on behalf of the nation to the Stolen Generations. We are delighted the Australian Government is prepared to call a spade a spade and to acknowledge a terrible wrong to this group of our own citizens, liberating us all to move forward. But we are also fearful.
Fearful that for the most compassionate of reasons we are moving towards the kinds of interventions in Aboriginal communities that destroyed so many lives in past years. The language being used to justify intervention to protect children
from abuse is reminiscent of language justifying the policies which led to the disaster of the “stolen children”. Surely, we have learnt no imposed solution will work. Where we must act to prevent injustice let us do so together, side by side!
Still seeking Aboriginal justice Marelle Harisun The most important session during Synod 1997 was the church’s apology to the Stolen Generations. Seated in the centre front rows in Maughan Church were Aboriginal people who had been forcibly removed from their parents and some of their children. Lowitja O’Donoghue accepted on their behalf the apology delivered by Moderator Don Hopgood. There was hardly a dry eye in the house when, in two separate groups, the children of Congress and the children at Synod came from down the side aisles carrying red, yellow and black balloons. There they mingled and sang in an Aboriginal language. As one who was involved in writing the apology, this was an emotional and symbolic moment. The Synod followed this apology with actions - an Indigenous Employment Strategy within the Synod, and transferring two per cent of some assets annually to a Congress Capital Fund. This policy was reviewed in recent MARCH 2008
years and the proportion of some transfers has been increased to ten per cent. Congress has an agreed annual income from the Synod budget as well as ten per cent of Gift Funding. More recently the Synod appointed half-time Covenanting coordinator Peter Russell and adopted a policy acknowledging the Aboriginal custodians of the land in all Synod events, and requested congregations to do the same. Some have responded. A number of congregations now have contact people and are part of the Covenanting Network. The Covenanting Committee works closely with Congress, and is delighted at the growth in Congress congregations (now three in SA) and their creative ministry. My dream is that every congregation in SA will commit an annual proportion of their income to support Congress in extending their ministry and facilitating more educational programs like the one in Port Augusta for
Dr Marelle Harisun helped draft the Uniting Church SA’s 1997 apology to the Stolen Generations. She also chairs the church’s Covenanting Committee. disaffected Aboriginal school students. I celebrate the long overdue apology by the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and the Parliament. But an apology is just a beginning. There is much to do if Aboriginal people are to experience
justice across this land, with adequate and equitable health services, housing, infrastructure, education and employment, enough to close the yawning gap between their circumstances and those of the general population. I urge the Synod to continue
its political action in these areas and every member to continue to exert pressure on politicians at every level towards the Realm of God for Aboriginal people. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream” (Amos 5:24).
COMMENT
New Times
7
What the PM’s apology means to one of the Stolen Generation Jill Freear Mona Olsson is a member of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) congregation at Salisbury. She is also one of the Stolen Generations - taken from her mother when she was five. Now nearly 77, Mona is cautiously optimistic about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s recent historic apology on behalf of the nation to the Stolen Generations and their descendents. “I hope that Kevin Rudd’s apology is genuine and sincere and that it is not just a stance to gain votes,” says Mona. “If it is just words – that’s not much. We will have to wait and see what it will mean. “Saying sorry doesn’t mean much unless we can leave that part of our history behind, having addressed it, and go forward in forgiveness, healing, restoration and partnership with the rest of Australia. “To be able to do that you
have to feel another person’s pain. There also has to be some action, so that we can put that injustice behind us. “I know some people are sick and tired of hearing about the Stolen Generations. But it was a reality. It is a part of our history that has got to be made right, for the healing of the nation.” When asked what action is needed to right past wrongs, Mona is non-specific. “Who’s really got the answer? From my perspective it is in the forgiving. That’s the only way that true healing will come. The suffering we have endured has made us strong and courageous. But it is only as we choose to forgive that we will be truly healed. “And it is not only in forgiving but also in being forgiven, because we have had wrong attitudes towards white people as well.” Until recently Mona was known as Muriel, the name she was given by the missionaries. But she has reclaimed her original name as a step in her own healing.
She believes her God-given purpose is to be an instrument of healing and reconciliation. “I am amazed at God’s plan and purpose for every single one of us. I was a naked desert child who was brought into the world to reconcile people to each other and heal emotions.” Because of this she would like Uniting Church congregations to hear the stories of the Stolen Generations. “People need to hear these stories to change their thinking. It’s not a blame thing, it’s a God thing. He came to reconcile people to each other.” She is also grateful to the Uniting Church for standing alongside Aboriginal people and giving them a voice through Congress. As the interview ends Mona reads from Ecclesiastes 3: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven...” “I hope this will be a time of healing and moving forward,” she says. See more on page 10.
Mona Olsson is a member of the UAICC congregation at Salisbury and one of the Stolen Generations.
‘Sorry’ strengthens reconciliation UnitingCare Wesley has welcomed the Australian Government’s formal apology to the Stolen Generations and has called for the recommendations of the ‘Bringing them home’ report to be promptly implemented. “The forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families and culture caused unimaginable suffering for generations of Aboriginal people,” says Rev Peter McDonald. “Saying ‘sorry’ won’t wipe out all of that pain but it can breathe new life and hope into damaged relationships and strengthen the healing process. “The heart of the Christian gospel is that saying sorry leads to reconciliation and hope for the future. “I am glad we are hearing sorry from the
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Federal Government as this will strengthen reconciliation and create hope for all Australians. “The Government’s apology is a momentous occasion but it should not be simply thought of as a one-day event. We look forward to the Federal Government acting on its commitments to Aboriginal people. “More than ten years ago, Australia’s Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission released the ‘Bringing them home’ report. It contained 54 recommendations, one of which called for official apologies from Australian Parliaments and ‘appropriate reparation’. “The Australian Government must resist the temptation to cherry-pick recommendations from the report. We want all of the recommendations implemented rapidly.”
Saying ‘sorry’
Should the Stolen Generations be given financial compensation?
To take part in this poll go to www.sa.uca.org.au/goto/NTpoll
Online forum
Moving beyond ‘sorry’
What further action could the Uniting Church take to ensure Aboriginal people have a brighter future? How can the church support the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and help address Aboriginal disadvantage?
To take part in this poll go to www.sa.uca.org.au/goto/NTforum
Rev Peter McDonald, the minister at UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide. Peter also chairs the Uniting Church SA Letters Patent and Treaty Working Group.
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New Times
How does the wider community view the Uniting Church? Shannon Short
We need a point of difference
Knowing what people think about the Uniting Church SA is pivotal to the effectiveness of our ministry. While the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) monitors attitudes within the Uniting Church, little research has been carried out to discover what people outside our denomination think of us. As the Uniting Church SA continues to develop its strategic plan, the ‘Raising our Profile’ core team commissioned a survey to explore that very question. Local market research company McGregor Tan was engaged to conduct 400 telephone surveys last October. The survey examined several areas including: • What is the awareness of the Uniting Church in SA? • What perceptions do people have of the Uniting Church?
• Are we perceived to be, as our vision statement states, innovative, growing and transforming the world? • Do people make the connection between the Uniting Church, UnitingCare and our agencies?
While awareness was high, few could differentiate between the Uniting Church and other denominations. Forty-seven percent were unsure how the Uniting Church was different from other churches and a further 14 percent thought we were basically offering the same thing. Seven percent thought we compared favourably and a further 6 percent thought we were more open, tolerant and friendly.
We don’t measure up While we aim to be “an innovative, growing church proclaiming Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit to transform God’s world,” few of those surveyed believe we measure up. Only 16 percent perceived us as innovative. The image of a growing church is also not widely accepted, with only 12 percent believing we’re growing in numbers. Only 15 percent believe we are transforming the world in a positive way. Our justice profile ranked higher than any other characteristic. Almost one in four (23 percent) believed that the Uniting Church spoke out on injustice.
Low awareness of agencies More than half of the respondents (57 percent) could not name a Uniting Church agency. While UnitingCare was only launched in 2000, we still have considerable work to do in helping people to make the connection between our church and its agencies.
The Uniting Church is well recognised for speaking out on issues of social justice such as the treatment of refugees in immigration detention centres.
We’re on the radar The overwhelming majority (92 percent) of those surveyed have heard of the Uniting Church. According to McGregor Tan researcher Peter Hine, this is considered an exception level of brand awareness. Unprompted awareness was lower, with more people aware of the Catholic and Anglican denominations than our own. When asked what Christian denominations they could name, 70 percent named the Catholic Church, 52 percent named the Anglicans and 38 percent the Uniting Church. This mirrors the relative size of the denominations. It is worth noting that our profile is slipping with younger generations. Just under a quarter of those under 40 could name our church. This confirms ABS and NCLS statistics that show our church is losing its relevance and profile with younger people. MARCH 2008
When respondents were read a list of our agencies, 41 percent recognised the link between UnitingCare and the Uniting Church. UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide had the highest profile of all our agencies.
How are we perceived? Participants were asked the open-ended question: ‘what are your perceptions of the Uniting Church and what words would you associate with it?’ We were positively labelled with words like ‘community minded’ (eight percent), ‘friendly’ (eight percent), ‘helping others’ (seven percent) and ‘caring’ (six percent). Significantly, despite lengthy internal debate, the ordination of people in same-sex relationships hardly rated a mention in the anecdotal responses. When asked about barriers to attending the Uniting Church, one percent claimed we were too conservative and the same number said we were too liberal.
Making connections Just five percent said they would be interested in getting involved in the Uniting Church.
Uniting Church SA Communications manager Shannon Short believes the church needs to be viewed as credible and relevant, in order that our Gospel message might be heard.
Respondents were asked what they would be looking for, if they were to go to a Uniting Church. Most (41 percent) were unsure. Companionship and friendship rated most highly (12 percent). Seven percent were looking for a warm and friendly atmosphere. There was more emphasis on a warm welcome and friendship than theology. A further seven percent were looking for a church that was relevant to them. It is important to note that relevance needs to be defined by the church searcher and not by us. Making connections with the almost one third of respondents who indicated “no interest in religion” will prove more challenging.
Contemporary church a turn off Perhaps the biggest surprise from the survey is that new forms of church are not that appealing to the wider community. While there are a number of successful examples of churches worshipping in parks, pubs or cafés, these new styles may actually turn more people off than they attract. Respondents were asked if they were more or less positively disposed to a church that meets in one of those settings. In all three cases, more people were less interested than attracted. And for the majority, the venue made no difference. While we often believe that neutral venues are more attractive to those outside the church, it seems that if people want to connect to a church they expect it to look and feel like a church.
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New Times one third of people under 40 were less interested in churches meeting in contemporary venues. As the Uniting Church SA, (as part of its strategic plan), looks at how it might further raise it’s profile and develop new models, these results provide food for thought.
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To breathe new life into our ministry, we need to listen to what people are searching for – not what we think they need. To offer new life in Christ to our community, our Gospel message needs to resonate.
When the news media is looking for a church spokesperson, they expect to see someone wearing a collar or liturgical robe. It seems that when members of the community are looking for the church, they are also looking for a traditional model. The wider community may be more interested in traditional churches rather than the new models of church emerging in cafes, hotels and parks.
Digging deeper into the survey, I wondered if the results might be slanted by conservative church attendees, but that is not the case.
Our message must resonate So what do we take away from the McGregor Tan Survey? If we are serious about our relevance, these findings should help us examine who we are and what message we are sending to the community.
The strategic plan’s ‘Raising our Profile’ core Twenty-seven percent of respondents were church goers. If they are taken out of the equation, there is team will also use this research as a benchmark to little difference in the results. In fact, non-attendees measure the effectiveness of any future programs designed to raise our profile. are less likely than church attendees to be open to the new venues. Raising our profile is more than about “being Age does not appear to make a difference. Those known,” it is about creating an environment of under 40 were more open to the alternative venues, credibility and relevance so that the Church’s Gospel message can be heard. but the turn-off rate was still significant. Around
Listening to the ‘dechurched’ Why do some people leave the church and never return? That’s a question that Uniting Church SA member Karen Granger is not afraid to ask. Karen is a member of the church’s Resources Board and has also developed Human Resources Management Systems for the church. She is conducting a research project into the ‘dechurched’ as part of her Master of Business Administration (MBA) studies. Karen will be listening to the stories of dechurched people with the assistance of a professional market research company. “We are interested in hearing the stories of people who were once part of the Uniting Church and for whatever reason have ceased their association,” said Karen. “This is really unexplored territory. The Uniting Church SA has not previously used professional market research and statistical analysis to get good information on why people move away from the church. “These people present the church with a real missional challenge and we need to find out more about their needs and motivations. “The whole aim of the project is to reach dechurched members, share their experiences and help them return to UCA life.
“The research will help us understand why people leave and help us identify and implement measures that might help bring them back. “This is really valuable research – these stories may help us transform the church for the 21st century. “Religious researcher George Barna believes dechurched people have some of the most informed and intuitive perspectives that will uncover great insights and ideas for change. “Part of the church’s Strategic Plan is to increase attendance through ‘Conversion Growth’. “But I think we also need to work at regaining people who used to be members. “I see these people as the low hanging fruit at the bottom of a tree – they haven’t yet dropped off and there is still an opportunity to bring them back. “They may not necessarily have lost their faith or be disillusioned with the church. They may be people who attended church as children or youth and simply through a change in life circumstances are not presently attending. “We want to help them reconnect and continue their faith journey.” Karen hopes to complete her research by the end of April. The Uniting Foundation has granted money to pay for the professional market research component of the study.
Karen Granger is a Uniting Church SA member and a member of the Church’s Resources Board who wants to find out why people have left the Uniting Church. MARCH 2008
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Fiona’s award
Fiona Dixon-Thompson from Port Lincoln’s Unity Hill congregation has been named ‘Citizen of the Year’ by the Port Lincoln City Council. The award was made in recognition of Fiona’s significant work as a Uniting Church cross cultural worker and head of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) project in Mwandi, Zambia. Fiona - or Fred as she is affectionately known in Uniting Church circles - has established an extensive ministry in recent years, caring for hundreds of children orphaned through AIDS. Fiona’s dedication to the children of the OVC was formally recognised at Port Lincoln’s Australia Day breakfast and community award presentations. Unity Hill minister Rev Rob Tann said it is not often that Christian mission work in foreign lands is recognised in such a way at a local community level. Fiona returned to Africa in January after spending Christmas with her family in Port Lincoln. Fiona announced her engagement to Rury Waddell while in Port Lincoln. Rury is the son of Scottish missionaries who are also working in Zambia.
The ‘Fountain of Tears’ stands as a lasting memorial to the Stolen Generations on the site of the former Colebrook Training Home at Eden Hills. Mona Olsson lived in Colebrook for a time.
Mona Olsson’s story Port Lincoln’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ Fiona Dixon-Thompson with her fiancé Rury Waddell.
Australia Day honours
Neal Andrew from Walkerville Uniting Church has been awarded an officer (AO) in the general division of the Order of Australia in the recent Australia Day Honours List. Neal was recognised for his service to Parliament through the advancement of parliamentary administration and reform and also to the community in the areas of agricultural research, development and education. Other honours recipients in the Uniting Church SA community include Kenneth Smith from Meadows Uniting Church and Linda MacGillivray from Brougham Place Uniting Church who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to children.
Award for Ceduna Uniting Church
Ceduna Uniting Church’s ‘Community Carols’ event in December 2006 has won the Ceduna District Council’s Community Event of the Year. Minister Rev Sybil Peacock said the ecumenical event has been running for more than 50 years, with various denominations taking it in turns to be responsible for the event. “In 2006 we had a ‘full house’ for our modern and humorous take on the Christmas story,” said Sybil.
Mona Olsson had an Aboriginal mother and a father of English and Scottish descent. Now a member of the Congress congregation at Salisbury, she was one of the Stolen Generations. Mona has vivid memories of when she was taken in 1936 and of the time she spent in children’s homes in Oodnadatta, Quorn and at Colebrook, Eden Hills. This is part of her story. I was taken away when I was only five. I was living with my mother and father and sisters between Mimili and Fregon, in the north-west corner of South Australia.
One day our mother decided to take us to Ernabella to visit our cousins. It took us a few days to walk there. In those days there were only tracks. My baby sister Daisy was only 18 months old. My older sister Aileen was seven. Nancy, the eldest, was not with us. She had been taken away to a children’s hospital when she was three because she had polio. The Aboriginal trackers, or police aids, betrayed their own people. It was through them that the police knew all the men were away on ceremony. Therefore the mothers, grandmothers and old people had no protection – they were vulnerable. That’s when the police came and took us and our three cousins. We didn’t know what was happening. There was no common language to communicate. The police had guns and they just took us. There was a lot of screaming.
“Back to Tea Tree Gully Uniting” celebrating 30 years of ministry
We were thrown into the back of a mail truck. Mother came too. She was curled up in the foetal position. I think she had an awful sense that she was going to lose her children. My cousins were like her children too – because that’s the Aboriginal way. It was the hottest part of the year. The dogs were given a drink, but we were not offered a drop of water between Ernabella and Oodnadatta, where we were taken. We were dropped off at the United Aborigines Mission. This was to be a place of transition where we would begin our ‘civilisation’.
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When we got to the mission it was dark. Our mother wasn’t invited in and we had no opportunity to say goodbye. It was terrifying. We were put into beds. We were used to sleeping in a grass hut on the ground - lying next to each other for warmth. If we needed comfort we just reached out and touched someone or looked at the embers of the fire, or looked up to see the stars. We had never been inside a house, let alone in separate beds. Our three cousins were in another room across the corridor. The next day I tried to run back through the desert with my four-year-old cousin. We managed to climb through a fence. But when a train came along we were terrified. We thought it was the devil himself, shooting out steam. That put a stop to that. We were lucky we didn’t get any further because we would have surely perished. That was God’s way of protecting us. So we went back to the mission house. We had to learn to eat different foods and to wear clothes for the first time. After a month at Oodnadatta we were sent to the children’s home at Quorn. For a while we had no means of communicating with each other. We were forbidden to speak our own language and we couldn’t yet speak English. We were in deep mourning for the loss of our mothers, fathers and families. Everything meaningful had been taken away from us. We had lost our language, our culture, our homes and our family. We were crying out in our distress and cutting the soles of our feet on sharp stones out of sheer grief. Thirty two years after I was taken I returned to my homeland to see my mother. I stood there with my husband and two little ones and had no way of communicating with my family. It was very painful, like being stabbed in the heart. My mother had wailed for me every day at dawn for 32 years. Because the missionaries had changed my name, she had heard no news of me and had presumed I was dead. I only saw her three more times before she died.
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Supporting villagers in PNG When Western Link Uniting Church member Ruth Sellick decided she wanted to donate money to an international mission project, little did she imagine the journey she would end up taking. Ruth wanted to know exactly where her money would be going and how it would make a difference. She discussed this last year with Rob Floyd from Uniting Church Overseas Aid. Next minute she was invited to under-take ‘People In Mission’ (PIM) training and went on a trip to PNG, to visit people from the United Church of PNG - in one of the Uniting Church’s overseas partner churches. Ruth discovered that she loved PNG people, whom she describes as “passionate, vibrant and spiritual”. “It was wonderful to be around them because they are such a joyous, thankful people, although they have very little,” she says. “When I went over last year I talked non-stop to people for three weeks. I realised that teaching village women business management skills was a viable concept.
“I discovered that their previous business ventures hadn’t been successful because they had no idea of how to cost a project, market it, or how to add value.” Last month Ruth returned to PNG to teach small business skills to village women. “I may be a little old grey haired lady but I am eminently qualified,” says Ruth, who is a lively retiree with a background in geology, education and business. “Ruth hopes to establish a pilot project in the village of Korobosea, on the outskirts of Port Moresby, enabling at least ten village women to develop their own small scale businesses with the help of small personal loans of up to $A200. “This doesn’t sound like much to us, but it is massive wealth to them,” says Ruth. “They can spend this money buying pig pens, chicken coops, fishing nets, fabric, or whatever they need to establish their businesses.” Ruth says the project is all about empowering the villagers and helping them to become self-sufficient.
Western Link congregation member Ruth Sellick with Uniting Church SA International Mission officer Rev John Minch before her second trip to PNG last month.
She says it’s been difficult for PNG villagers to make money because their culture involves a collective village sharing practice and an obligatory family help system.
“While this has enabled them to live successfully in the past, it won’t work in future because they are now surrounded by a ‘cash economy’. “They need cash for school
fees, for uniforms, school books and medicine. “Hopefully this project will help some villages move from subsistence living to something better”, says Ruth.
Right man for Mannum’s moment in the spotlight
Bright young talent
Murray Hills and Plains minister Rev Rod Mann was in the spotlight in January when he was asked to bless the fourth stage of the ‘Tour Down Under’ between Mannum and Strathalbyn. It was the second year running that Rod had been asked to convey a sense of the sacred to the race which attracts some of the world’s elite riders. Rod admits it was a somewhat nerve-racking experience standing before a mass of international cyclists who were rearing to race. Rod hasn’t ridden a bike in more than a decade and after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, he definitely prefers to keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. He was delighted to bless the race and its riders – seeing it as yet another opportunity to create a bridge between the church and the community. Visit the New Times website for a full account of this story.
Telling people about God in a 30 second television commercial may sound like a daunting task. But it didn’t faze young Athelstone Uniting Church Youth Group member Matt Barker. Matt put together his submission for the Christian Television Association’s annual Jeffreys Award in one night - as it was a more exciting prospect than his school homework. His entry titled ‘Out Existence’ was highly commended and earned him a $50 encouragement award. Matt’s entry features a moving collage of photos and art, and the following script.
Our Existence We are created from something smaller than a spark of light, We are thrust into a world of adventure, of beauty, of laughter, pain and suffering, But just look at your hands, Your hands are made to inspire … to create, God makes ordinary humans extra-ordinary, You are the light of the world, So like the spark from which you came Shine. Matt will be continuing to exercise his creative streak – he has just started a Murray Hills and Plains minister Rev Rod Mann was called upon to officially Bachelor of Creative Arts in Drama at Flinders bless the fourth stage of the ‘Tour Down Under’ in Mannum in January. University.
Athelstone Uniting Church Youth Group member Matt Barker’s television commercial about God was highly commended by the Christian Television Association. MARCH 2008
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New Times
The Effective Living Centre – ten years on Rev Sean Gilbert
dogma or coercion. Indeed, we have sought to offer a genuine sense of mutuality to all who seek a more thoughtful, spirited and inclusive society, irrespective of religious convictions.
It all began as something of an experiment; the perceived need to bridge a widening gap between church and secular cultures, matched by the strong desire to achieve that goal in innovative, if not imaginative ways. Ten years ago this month, the Effective Living Centre was officially opened by the Mayor of Unley, its heady vision being in stark contrast to the modest financial and human resources then available. We had a very part time (volunteer) coordinator in search of a favourable job reference, a small vestry furnished with a donated desk and rustic filing cabinet, a dodgy phone and an already antiquated 386 computer. Positive-Parenting courses financially supported by the Unley Council gathered momentum. A generous grant from the Synod enabled us to employ a coordinator for 15 hours a week and build an office. Federal and state funding opportunities helped create an impressive and functional infrastructure. Key to all of this was a growing list of volunteers who staffed the office and made sure all events ran smoothly with due hospitality (real coffee and wine). Slowly but surely the ELC’s mission took eclectic shape as we sought to explore important ‘life’ issues from spiritual, political, social, artistic and relationship-building perspectives. And as a space for reflection, learning, new beginnings, vitality and joy, the centre progressively built respect in the non-church going community by virtue of its willingness to promote an intentional approach to life, refreshingly free of religious
Rural resilience Visit the New Times website and forum to find out what congregations in Murray Bridge and Mannum are doing to support drought affected people in their regions.
Admittedly, this conscious stance has not always been understood by the wider church or the Christ Church community at times. Yet it is the relational foundation upon which we proudly stand that we now celebrate. Over the years, eminent Australians such as Lowitja O’Donohue, Julian Burnside QC, Mem Fox, David Tacey, John Menadue, Frank Brennan SJ, Louise Porter and many others have contributed to our mission, as have international notables such as (retired) Bishop Jack Spong and Professor Mark S. Burrows. One of the greatest impacts the Effective Living Centre has had, has been upon the (parent) Christ Church community. We are not only a different group of people after ten years - many by virtue of an ELC event or its unique missional emphases - but we’ve been gently transformed by a broadening of intellectual and spiritual horizons; thus by a deepening of compassion. It is hard to say where the next few years might take us. Our volunteer base is getting older, and as is the case with all organisations, cycles of rise and decline are inevitable. All we know is that we have sought to make a creative and constructive contribution to what it means to be Christian in our post modern world. In our own small and perhaps idiosyncratic ways, we’ve done very well.
Visit www.sa.uca.org.au/goto/ ntforum. This month’s forum asks if members of the Stolen Generations should receive compensation.
Good Old Fashioned Sound Advice
Effective Living Centre (ELC) coordinator Dot Crowley with Rev Sean Gilbert, who chairs the ELC management committee and is also the minister at Christ Church.
New faces in rural resourcing The Uniting Church SA’s rural ministry team has expanded with the addition of rural resourcing ministers Matt Curnow and Alan Dutton. Matt has many years experience as a Uniting Church minister and chaplain, with special roles in education programs within the Army. He will be serving the Mallee and Riverland regions, as well as Kangaroo Island. Al has been serving the Uniting Church in Tasmania as a mission planner and consultant. He is a former director of Scripture Union and brings a wealth of experience in congregational
planning. He will be serving congregations in the rural/urban transition region surrounding Adelaide. Matt and Alan join rural resourcing ministers Deane Meatherington, Eric Kirkham and Malcolm Wilson. Deane focuses on the Northern Region and the upper portion of Eyre Peninsula, Eric oversees congregations in the South-East and Malcolm supports congregations in the Mid-North, Yorke and Lower Eyre Regions. One rural resource minister placement is yet to be filled.
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The Uniting Church SA’s rural resourcing ministers from left Deane Meatherington, Alan Dutton, Eric Kirkham, Matt Curnow and Malcolm Wilson.
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Lenten Appeal ‘08 The Uniting Church SA is participating in its 33rd annual Lenten Appeal this year. Lent began on Ash Wednesday, February 6 and will continue through to Easter Sunday, on March 23. Lent provides an opportunity to share in the life of the Christian communities in our partner churches. Since 1975, the SA Lenten Appeal has connected with and resourced UCA partner churches in Asia and the Pacific via specific projects. This financial support is an expression of our long-term relationship with these churches and support for their evangelistic and other outreach ministries. The three projects this year are: • Serving the Poor Foundation Organisation, in Cambodia, with Enfield Uniting Church; • Supporting health care in the Protestant Church in East Timor; and • Supporting children and youth of the Kalparrin UAICC community, near Murray Bridge. (See separate story).
Serving the Poor Foundation Organisation, Cambodia Under an agreement with the Cambodian government, Sophoap ‘Poppy’ Cheng from Enfield Uniting Church directs this holistic ministry in southwest Cambodia. The Serving the Poor Foundation Organisation provides basic medical care, evangelistic outreach and income generation projects via a cow bank and rice seed bank. An area called The Lord’s Garden is also being developed with a fish dam, fruit trees and medical clinic. The Lenten Appeal aims to raise $20,000 to support these projects. Poppy is a survivor of the Pol Pot regime and is available to talk to small groups or congregations during Lent.
Supporting Health Care in East Timor This project aims to improve the health hygiene and
nutrition of poor communities in East Timor. It is being run in cooperation with Uniting Church Overseas Aid (UCOA) and one of our partner churches – the Protestant Church in East Timor. South Australians David and Christine Schreiber from the Journey Christian Church at Golden Grove are now part of this work in Dili. Following some time in Los Palos, Christine’s work as a nurse educator is being relocated to the medical arm of the Protestant Church of East Timor in Dili through its agency called YASONA. She will oversee the training of health workers and the implementation of a health education program in local communities. The Lenten Appeal aims to raise $20,000 to support the Uniting Church’s commitment to YASONA.
Support the Lenten Appeal 2008 Through these projects, Lent brings us face to face with people whose daily life involves the search for the most basic needs, such as adequate health care, a secure food supply, civil order and stable government. There is an emphasis on projects that are unlikely to attract support from government, aid or other similar sources. The appeal is managed by the Lenten Appeal Committee of the Presbytery and Synod of South Australia, under the oversight of the International Mission desk. For further information contact International Mission officers, Lyn Leane on 8236 4239, or email lyn@sa.uca.org. au or Rev John Minchin on 8236 4203 or email johnm@ sa.uca.org.au. Further Lenten Appeal information including photos, maps, and worship resources can be found at: www.sa.uca. org.au/goto/lenten_appeal.
The recently formed Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) worshipping community at Kalparrin is one of the Uniting Church SA’s Lenten Appeal projects this year. Pictured are some of the Kalparrin members and Uniting Church SA staff at the Presbytery and Synod meeting last November.
Support Kalparrin The rapidly expanding Kalparrin UAICC worshipping community near Murray Bridge is one of the Uniting Church SA’s newest congregations. It is also one of the projects to benefit from this year’s Lenten Appeal. Kalparrin is a Ngarrindjeri word which means “to help with a heavy load”. Rev Ken Sumner leads the Congress ministry focused on children and youth that has grown from a Sunday school that began in February 2006. Leadership of the ministry is shared between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal adults. More recently monthly worship times, the occasional barbeque tea and all-age sing-alongs have extended this ministry. The Kalparrin Community wants to increase its ministry to children and youth and provide more resources for their use. The 2008 Lenten Appeal aims to raise $20,000 for Kalparrin – for sports and playground equipment and for Sunday school and other Christian resources. This Easter members of the Kalparrin community are also inviting Uniting Church SA
Adelaide West Uniting Church
WESLEY KENT TOWN UNITING CHURCH
312 Sir Donald Bradman Dr. Brooklyn Park
sharing the vision, sensing the presence, in a spirit of openness
is holding an
ORGAN CONCERT of light classical music presented by
THOMAS HEYWOOD 2 pm Sunday, March 9, 2008. Tickets available at the door All tickets $20 Children under 12 free Afternoon tea included
Christine Schreiber from the Journey Christian Church at Golden Grove (right) is working as a nurse educator in Dili, East Timor. The Uniting Church SA’s Lenten Appeal will support health care for the East Timorese.
Air conditioned venue Free on-site parking Enquiries (08) 8234 1199
members to join them at an Easter Camp. The ‘Journey to Kalparrin’ camp will be held at Pompoota, on Kalparrin community property. Lenten Appeal spokesperson Lyn Leane says the Easter camp will be a great opportunity to meet, listen and learn from each other. Details of the Easter Camp can be found on the Uniting Church website: www.sa.uca. org.au/goto/lenten_appeal or contact Ernest Sorensen on 8236 4261 or email: ernests@ sa.uca.org.au.
Prince Alfred College Chapel Choir March 2nd 10am Palm Sunday March 16th 10am Upper Room Holy Communion March 20th 7pm Good Friday Service March 21st 9.30am Easter Sunday Service March 23rd 10am All Welcome Office Monday Friday 8362 2544
www.wesleykenttown.com
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SHELTERING RACIST POLICY Some community representatives have recently defended those who in the past “thought they were doing the right thing” by forcibly taking light skinned Aboriginal children from their families in order to assimilate them into the white community. I have no such sympathetic feelings toward those who instituted that racist policy; just as I have no sympathy toward those who supported the racism inherent in the indefinite detention of asylum seekers and the so called Pacific Solution. They all had opportunities to understand that the policy they supported violated almost every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, yet in the end they granted themselves exemption. Allan Nield Whyalla INDIGENOUS COMPENSATION The excellent letter by Kevin Moore in the February issue of New Times has stimulated me to
Stillpoint Centre Keep watch with me Holy Week Day Retreat Wednesday March 19 9am to 5pm Nunyara Chapel, Belair Leaders: John Blanksby and Gary Stuckey Cost $35 includes lunch and refreshments. Register by March 12 on 8178 0048 stillpoint@internode.on.net
New Times comment on this hot topic. The Tasmanian Premier has said ‘sorry’ to the Aboriginal people in Tasmania and has allocated a sum of money for compensation. Before any further decisions are made on a political level following Prime Minister Kevin Rudd saying ‘sorry’, (with the inevitable claims for compensation), could I suggest that we enquire about what has become of the money being handed out in Tasmania. If we want to help the Indigenous people to help themselves we must get alongside them and understand them. Handing money to any person in the grip of alcohol and drugs is not likely to solve health, education or housing problems. Let us identify with Indigenous people, get alongside them and discover and meet their real needs. Brian Jefferies A.M. Myrtle Bank RESOURCING RURAL CONGREGATIONS In the February New Times Rob Stoner provided an excellent summary of the changes in structures and leadership in our rural congregations. The needs
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for resourcing and oversight were clearly outlined and the challenge for the wider Church. Presently 50 congregations are led by lay ministry teams. This is a potential strength; but each of these congregations needs the well planned and sustained support Rob described, especially when they are isolated. Each of them should have the oversight of a caring, well equipped resource person because ministry to their communities needs to be both imaginative and stable in the midst of social and economic change. The appointment of six Rural Resource ministers is timely. People who capture the vision of a call to train, mentor and support lay members will not only experience the joy of seeing those members grow in their discipleship but they will see actual and real Christian ministry outcomes realised. The congregations that are invited to have an RRM appointment to minister to them should take it with both hands. I wonder whether we could re-visit the idea of urban-rural congregation partnerships. Those in such a partnership tell inspiring stories of the benefits. I look forward to reading stories of some of the reCLIMATE CHANGE is a major dilemma of our time. Hear how the church might address this challenge from Pilgrim Church’s visiting preacher Prof Michael Northcott. Michael is the speaker at the Presbytery and Synod resourcing day – Saturday March 29 at Maughan Church. To register contact Heather Bald on 8236 4243. STATE MISSION FELLOWSHIP will be held on Tuesday March 25 at 10.30am at Scots Church, North Terrace. The guest speaker is Rev Graham Nicholls on ‘God is still at work in the changing face of CMC in Vellor’. Lunch available at 12 noon for $3. Enquiries to 8261 3843. EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST are called for owners of coaches or drivers with access to coaches who may be prepared to drive to NCYC in Melbourne January 3 to 10, 2009 (costs covered by Delegates). Please contact Ernest Sorensen on 0400 127 717, 8236 4261 or ernests@sa.uca.org.au. KUCA News is available via email from next month. Topics to be covered this year include ideas for Pentecost and Mother’s Day, ideas and activities for environmental worship, mission resources for use with children linked to UIM projects in East Timor, West Papua and the Philippines, an Australian Christmas Eve worship outline,
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invigoration and blessing this most recent planning by Rob Stoner and his team will bring. David Houston Brighton FAREWELL Goodbye and thank you to everyone I have come into contact with during my ecoministry at Scots Church. My family and I are off to NSW, where I will be the minister at Bellingen, and mission practitioner/ecominister for the Mid North Coast Presbytery. The Ecofaith website will be managed by the ecofaith community, which continues to meet in Botanic Park. I may be contacted for the next few months at jason@ ecofaith.org. I look forward to hearing about the unfolding of the Uniting Church SA’s deepening relationship with the rest of creation. Jason John Bellingen UC, NSW ECOFAITH The Ecofaith community wish Jason John and his family well as they move to NSW. We give thanks for Jason’s leadership, support and encouragement. In the past two years this group has grown steadily and now approximately 30 people are sharing in worship. We will
miss Jason’s leadership, but he has given us a vision to continue to relate to creation and the environment in a spiritual way. Ecofaith members will continue to worship in Botanic Park and seek the support of the wider church. We have already been encouraged to continue, as the environment will be a major issue into the future. We invite all interested people to join us on Sunday mornings just east of Speaker’s Corner, off Frome Road between the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Adelaide Zoo. We worship at 10am during daylight saving and at 10.30am outside of that period, regardless of weather conditions. Further information can be found at: www.ecofaith.org. Chris Carter Ecofaith community
About your letters Please keep your letters short — about 150 words is ideal. Longer letters will be cut or rejected. You’re welcome to email letters to newtimes@sa.uca.org.au or they can be posted to us at GPO Box 2145, Adelaide 5001
For more Uniting Church events, visit Uniting Church online www.sa.uca.org.au and click on “What’s On”. There is an online form which you can fill out to contribute notices to Notebook.
resource reviews, playgroup ideas, crafts and much more. To subscribe contact editor Marnie Agnew, on 8236 4245, email: kucanews@sa.uca.org.au or visit the website: www.sa.uca. org.au/goto/children_youth/ to download a subscription form. ASSEMBLY OF CONFESSING Congregations National Conference will be held in Adelaide from September 11 to 13, 2008. The conference will be at Coromandel Valley Uniting Church. Enquires to the ACC national office on (02) 9550 5358 or www. confessingcongregations.com. ‘EASTER SIGHTS and Sounds’ – a dramatic portrayal of the Easter story - will be performed at Spicer Uniting Church, 44A Fourth Avenue, St Peters, on March 12,13 and 14 from 9am to noon; on March 14 from 6.30pm to 8pm; and on March 16 from 1.30pm to 3pm. Enquiries to 8362 3771. SOUL FACTOR GOSPEL Choir will present the Easter musical
“The Power of His Love”, at this year’s Adelaide Fringe. The venue is the Salvation Army, Adelaide Congress Hall, 277 Pirie St, Adelaide at 3pm and 8pm March 15 and 16. Tickets through FringeTIX. Enquiries to Howard or Sharon Raymond on 8391 2127. A MODEL RAILWAY show will be held at Vermont Uniting Church, 578 Cross Road, South Plympton on Saturday April 12 (9.30am to 5pm) and Sunday April 13 (10am to 4pm). A great day of family fun organised by the church.
Ministry Moves The following ministers are taking up new positions; Rev Alan Biglow at Enfield, Rev Carol Chambers at Colonel Light Gardens, Rev Matt Curnow as a Rural Resource minister, Rev Andrew Prior to Greenacres, and Rev Beth Seaman and Rev Mark Dickens are taking up positions as the Pastoral Care officer and Placements officer for the Presbytery and Synod.
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Scottish ethicist at ‘The Big Year Out’ begins Pilgrim Church Scottish ethicist Prof Michael S Northcott will be Pilgrim Church’s visiting preacher for seven weeks from late March to early May. An activist, author and priest of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, Michael is author of one of the few major theological interpretations of climate change, ‘A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming’. This publication follows his popular earlier works, ‘The Environment and Christian Ethics’ and ‘An Angel Directs the Storm: Apocalyptic Religion and American Empire’. Each of these publications reflects Michael’s major interest which is the interface between theological ethics and the human sciences. Michael has been guest lecturer at the G8 Summit Fringe in Edinburgh, the Greenbelt Festival and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. He is also a trustee of the Fair Trade organisation, Traidcraft and is Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral. While at Pilgrim Church, Michael will speak at four major series including 9.30am and 11.00am worship, a Sunday evening forum and at lunch time on Thursdays. Michael will be a guest at
the three evening sessions of Symposium to be held late in April. He will also speak at the SA Presbytery and Synod meeting on Saturday 29 March. His visit is being funded by Pilgrim Church and the Uniting Foundation. He will add valuable insight to the Key Direction Six of the church’s Strategic Plan - Championing Justice. For further information contact Pilgrim Church on 8212 3295 or visit: www.pilgrim.org. au.
‘Big Year Out’ participants from left: Sharnie Pattinson from Nairne Uniting Church, Grace Mitchell from Rosefield Uniting Church and Peter Grant from Ascot Community Uniting Church.
Book review:
A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming Author: Michael S. Northcott Published by Darton, Longman and Todd; RRP: $39.95 With more than 300 pages of detailed argument this book is not for the faint hearted, but it may emerge as one of the most important books of the decade. Visit the New Times website for a full review by Rev Dr Dean Eland.
Several young people have embarked on a new year-long discipleship program at ParkinWesley College which has the potential to change their lives. ‘The Big Year Out’ (BYO) is an adventure in Christian life and service which may help shape and influence future career pathways and vocations. The part-time program gives participants the opportunity to experience mission and service in a Uniting Church agency or with a Uniting Church chaplain and to also go on a mission exposure trip to the Philippines. BYO coordinator Craig Mitchell said the course is designed to help participants grow spiritually,
gain pastoral care skills and become more aware of social issues. Peter Grant (22) from Ascot Community Uniting Church is combining BYO with Bachelor of Ministry studies and hopes to eventually work in youth ministry. Sharnie Pattinson (18) from Nairne Uniting Church is also studying events management and tourism. She hopes to combine travel with youth work, once she has completed her studies. Eighteen-year-old Grace Mitchell is hoping the BYO will help her decide on a future career direction. Grace is combining BYO with part-time studies at Marden Senior College.
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New Times
Flipping out for the homeless
Members of the ‘Just for fun’ dance company supported UnitingCare’s Pancake Day in Rundle Mall on Shrove Tuesday. From left are Kirsten, Danielle, Jemma and Jade.
Uniting Church SA Moderator Rev Rod Dyson enjoying a pancake with Adelaide’s Deputy Lord Mayor Susan Clearihan.
Judith Wright from Woodville Uniting Church and Leon and Daphne Magrin from the Vines Uniting Church stopped under the Gawler Place canopy to enjoy a Pancake.
RAAF physical training instructor Corporal Brett Harris and Flight Sergeant Daniel Baynie were part of the winning Pancake Day Tossing Relay racing team.
Funds from this year’s UnitingCare national Pancake Day will support the homeless. More than 650 groups, including many Uniting Church congregations, registered to hold a Pancake Day event in South Australia last month. Organisers are hoping to raise approximately $80,000 from events throughout this state. More than $5,500 was raised from the UnitingCare event in Rundle Mall on Shrove Tuesday. Funds raised will help UnitingCare provide assistance to low income earning Australians who are struggling to access affordable housing, or who are homeless.
Soul Factor
Adelaide’s ecumenical ‘Soul Factor’ gospel choir will present the Easter Musical ‘The Power of His Love’, at this year’s Adelaide Fringe. The musical is one of a small number of gospel Fringe events this year. The cast are well known in the Adelaide musical theatre scene. Pictured from back left are Christian Polnitz and Sonya Heyne, and Sharon Raymond and Kim Hein. See ‘Notebook’ for further details. MARCH 2008