New Times - July 2015

Issue 34, No 6, 2015

The voice of Uniting Church SA

July 2015

Discipleship UNITINGWOMEN 2016

A LANDMARK ORDINATION

Khadija Gbla to share

Rev Denise Champion is

a story of hope

ordained as a Deacon

p. 9

p. 24

Contents FEATURES June 2015 Presbytery and Synod summary

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Uplifted in faith and hope Planting seeds of faith A landmark ordination

9 10-11 24

REGULAR PAGES Moderator ’s comment

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CEO/General Secretary ’s comment

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Getting to know...

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Letters 21 Diary 21 Editor: Catherine Hoffman Editor-in-Chief: Bindy Taylor Advertising: Communications Design: Winaya Kamaputri 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/NewTimesUCA ISSN 0726-2612 New Times is the voice of Uniting Church SA. Published 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: 9,750 Uniting Church SA Level 2, 212 Pirie St, Adelaide p. (08) 8236 4200 f. 8236 4201 country callers. 1300 766 956

Placements News There have been no placements finalised since the June edition of New Times. There are no upcoming inductions at the time of printing.

Vacant placements: The following is the current list of vacant (or soon to be vacant) approved placements: Profiles available – Ascot Community Church; Adare (from 1 February 2016); Brighton (from 1 November 2015); County Jervois (Arno, Cleve, Coolanie, Cowell, Driver River); Goolwa; Kadina Wallaroo Parish (0.8); Keith “One Church ” (Uniting Church and Church of Christ together); Walkerville (from 1 February 2016); Whyalla.

Profiles not yet available – Berri Barmera (from 1 February 2016); Malvern and Unley (from March 2016); Moonta and Districts (from 1 April 2016); Salisbury (from 1 January 2016); South West Fleurieu Linked Congregations (0.6); Tumby Bay & Districts (0.5); Windsor Gardens (0.5); Covenanting Officer (0.5) (advertised on page 20).

For more information on any of these placements, or to view national placements, please visit sa.uca.org.au/pastoral-relations/ placements-vacant

Next issue: Diversity Nowhere is the diversity of the Uniting Church in Australia more clearly expressed than at its triennial Assembly meetings. The August edition will provide insightful articles about the decisions and presentations made at the 14th Triennial Assembly, demonstrating the diversity of opinions, culture, backgrounds and ages of people within the Uniting Church.

DEADLINE FOR AUGUST 2015 Wednesday 8 July

Cover details

Rev Denise Champion was ordained as a Deacon in the Uniting Church on Saturday 20 June at Adelaide West Uniting Church. The service was held after business was closed at the June Presbytery and Synod meeting. Read more about the service and Aunty Denise ’s ministry on page 24.

editorial

Actions informed by faith “Through human witness in word and action, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ reaches out to command people ’s attention and awaken faith; he calls people into the fellowship of his sufferings, to be the disciples of a crucified Lord; in his own strange way Christ constitutes, rules and renews them as his Church. ” – Basis of Union In the Uniting Church, our actions, decisions, insights and beliefs, as individuals, congregations and the Church, are all tied to discipleship – a term that encompasses both our desire to follow Christ ’s teachings and to share his message with others.

Over the past few weeks, as I considered our June Presbytery and Synod meeting (more details on page 6) and the fast-approaching 14th Triennial Assembly, I have often thought about the role of discipleship.

While it can be easy to get caught up in the politics of these meetings, it is important to remember that the decisions we make are one of the ways we live out our faith and put Christ ’s teachings in action.

With this in mind, I hope you will prayerfully and thoughtfully consider the items being raised at Assembly this month. Many of you will not be attending, but I encourage you to offer your support by sharing your thoughts and praying for those who are taking part.

Catherine Hoffman

Gearing up for Assembly 2015 Deciphering the 60+ Assembly proposals and reports before the meeting is a challenge even for the Assembly ’s members. Check out some of the highlights below and get the jump on the me 1. Anglican-Uniting Church dialogue Assembly Standing Committee commends the adoption of the “Weaving a New Cloth ” document, which advocates local cooperation between Anglican and Uniting churches throughout Australia.

2. The Royal Commission The chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Justice Peter McClellan AM will address the Assembly on Wednesday 15 July. Later, Assembly Standing Committee will ask for authority to make any changes to Uniting Church Regulations required to respond of the Royal Commission without having to wait for the next full Assembly meeting.

3. Marriage In response to the Discussion Paper on Marriage submissions, Assembly Standing Committee proposes further exploration on how multicultural groups can engage in further discussions on same-sex sexuality in culturally appropriate ways, and establish a task group investigating the implications of changing the church ’s current relationship with the government regarding marriage. Another proposal by two Queensland ministers is asking the Assembly to reject public covenants for same-gender unions.

4. Annual week of prayer and fasting The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) would like the week of prayer and fasting observed during the “Destiny Together ” demonstration to become an annual event.

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5. Living out the Covenant The UAICC also proposes a higher degree of scrutiny for issues affecting First Peoples, continued work on how councils of the church can give authority to Congress, and support for Congress ’ opposition to fracking on Aboriginal land.

6. Necessity of synods The Presbytery of the Illawarra suggests the Uniting Church is overgoverned and wishes to authorise Standing Committee to commence a review into Uniting Church governance, specifically with an eye to whether synods are really necessary to the life of the church.

7. Asylum seekers and refugees UnitingJustice has an extensive proposal calling Uniting Church members to advocate for asylum seekers and refugees, and to demand the Australian Government end offshore processing.

8. Palestine Rev Prof Andrew Dutney and Rev Felicity Amery propose an awareness-raising campaign about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, and to determine the Uniting Church response to requests for action from the World Council of Churches and Palestinian Christians.

A full list of proposals and reports can be found at assembly2015.uca. org.au/proposals-and-reports Not going to Assembly? Keep informed by signing up to the Assembly ’s mailing list at uca.org.au The 14th Triennial Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia will be the focus of New Times in August. Articles, including a profile of the new Uniting Church President Stuart McMillan, will also be featured on Across (sa.uca.org.au/across) before, during and after the meeting.

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moderator

Called to follow Over the past month, I have heard Christian discipleship expressed in a number of places. I spent time with children, aged between three and 11, who spoke of how they show love through caring for a younger sibling or helping a parent. When joining together as friends and family at the funeral of Rev Rob Drummond, we heard moving witness to the ways his life was given in service to Christ, particularly through his compassion, advocacy and care for people in rural and urban South Australian communities and congregations.

Christian discipleship is about following Jesus. People of all ages are called by God to live in the way of Jesus. Discipleship has been at the heart of the Christian community ’s life from its very beginning, shaping and defining us. In community, we encourage, support and equip one another as we seek to faithfully follow Jesus.

In Mark ’s Gospel (Mark 1:16-20), Jesus sees Simon, Andrew, James and John going about their daily work, and says to them: “Follow me. ” As followers of Jesus today, Jesus calls us with these same words: “Follow me”.

Those who said “yes ” to Jesus saw something in him that led them to follow.

We read in Mark 1:21-22: “They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

What is it that they see in him? They see one who taught with authority, who had integrity and who proclaimed the kingdom of God in his words, actions and very being.

In Feasting on the Word, Lee Barrett notes: “Jesus is more than a model teacher, spiritual guide, or activist; Jesus is the presence of the transformative power of God. ” What is it that you see in Jesus that calls you to follow, to listen and to be open to God transforming and equipping you to participate in God ’s mission of love in the world?

Christian discipleship is a shared journey. It is both personal and communal.

As commentators on the text of Mark have noted, Jesus announces that the kingdom of God is at hand (embodied in his person), and he gathers a community of followers around him to proclaim and embody this good news.

We are called into a personal relationship with God and with community, woven together by the Holy Spirit, empowered to witness to the good news of Christ in the way we live.

When the disciples decided to follow Jesus, they could not have imagined where this following would lead. They could not have known that he would use them to proclaim God ’s word, be instruments to feed and heal people, or that they would be called to give up their own lives.

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In saying “yes ” to following Jesus, we are called into a way of life that may take us into places beyond our imagining. When we say “yes ” to Jesus, the Spirit invites us into a life-giving relationship with God and with each other. This relationship touches on every aspect of our lives – our sorrows, joys and hopes, our social, political, economic and cultural contexts.

When Jesus calls us to be disciples, he is inviting us to participate in his own ministry and life. We know that following Jesus will not always be a comfortable experience. His wounds are reminders to the disciples, and to us today, that this one who is risen has suffered because of who he was, and the life and message he lived.

In his book, Transforming Mission, David Bosch writes: “When the risen Christ commissioned his disciples to go on the same mission that he had received from the Father, it was the scars of his passion that revealed to them who he was (John 20:20).”

Jesus, the crucified and risen One, has a way of disturbing and challenging us. He has a way of persuading us to rethink and reimagine how we see God, each other and the world around us, and how we share our lives together.

Christ invites us to travel into the unknown, trusting that God will nurture and equip us. We are given the courage to live in ways that reflect Christ ’s light and life to the world, so that God ’s love and healing will be known and experienced in the whole creation.

Dr Deidre Palmer

ce o / ge n e ral se cre ta r y

Authentic love The greatest liberty and joy that any person can have is to love and be loved without condition. A disciple is one who lives in this freedom through a relationship with Christ. Discipleship is a way of life in which a person embodies the truth that “we love because he first loved us ” (1 John 4:19). Therefore, discipleship can never be restricted to a programme or uniform way of being. Love is far richer than any prescribed method of “doing Christianity ” that might seek to inform what being a disciple looks like. A disciple is not constrained by regulations or legalistic requirements, but is set free to be and do all that ’s possible when Christ ’s love draws them into his life.

When a person continually delights in the splendour of Christ ’s love, they begin to exude it –what is received is then given away. The way that Christ loves a person transforms and strengthens their capacity to return that love to God. Thus, the relationship deepens. However, life in Christ is much more than a contained relationship between an individual and Jesus. The flourishing of Christ ’s love within a person finds a natural, uncontrived outworking in the relationships that a person shares with others. Therefore, the hallmarks of Christ ’s love emerge within our relationships. As Christ ’s love is manifest through us to others it resembles truth such as: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) The love of Christ at work in and through a person is the preeminent discipleship characteristic. Christ ’s love releases his followers from needing to make attempts at being a perfect Christian or to measure up to God ’s standard. Discipleship is not about being perfect, it ’s a lot more about being authentic in our love for Christ and others.

The relational fabric of Christ ’s love brings authenticity to the ups and downs of a disciple ’s life. We know full well that life has its joys and challenges. To lovingly stand with others through their joys and challenges and to experience it in return is a rich dimension of Christ ’s community.

The Uniting Church is often called a broad church for various reasons. However, our breadth finds its greatest expression in the many ways that we stand with people through the joys and struggles of life.

It is our future calling to grow in strength as a church that lives out the

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power and presence of God ’s love and to proclaim the amazing truth that Christ ’s love is freely given to all people.

My humble perspective is that God is calling disciples in this church to be an extraordinary community of Christ ’s love. What we do in being this community is point others to Jesus. The best part is that Christ draws ordinary people, like you and me, into a life of love and grace that makes this extraordinary community possible.

Rev Nigel Rogers

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news

Meeting makes strides The June 2015 Presbytery and Synod meeting was jam-packed with items of importance – ordinations, proposals and reports, which were all featured in just one day and one evening (Friday 19 to Saturday 20 June). Below is a summary of a few of the noteworthy events from the meeting.

New Zealand musician Rev Malcolm Gordon (left) leading the worship team.

Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler (left) and Dr Deidre Palmer commissioning Adrian Nippress.

Left to right: Susan Doughty, Dr Deidre Palmer and (now Rev) Denise Champion.

International worship leader contributes Rev Malcolm Gordon, the Worship, Music and Arts Enabler of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand, was visiting Adelaide to contribute to two conferences. He lent his considerable skills as a songwriter and musician to worship at both the Friday and Saturday sessions of the meeting.

Transforming Justice Coordinator commissioned During the Friday night session, Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler, the Mission Resourcing Executive Officer, and Dr Deidre Palmer commissioned Adrian Nippress as the new Uniting Church SA Transforming Justice Coordinator. He adds this to his role as International Mission Officer.

On Saturday, Deidre also spoke about two campaigns relating to social justice – Beyond Violence and Jesus was a Refugee.

She directed people towards a powerful video relating to Beyond Violence, the Uniting Church SA ’s campaign concerning domestic violence and abuse, which was recently made available on the website (sa.uca.org.au/beyond-violence). She also noted that the Jesus was a Refugee campaign will be continuing in 2015. Updates relating to both campaigns will be shared through New Times, UC e-news and Across.

Ready for ordination Proposals regarding the readiness for ordination of Denise Champion and Susan Doughty were presented to the Presbytery and Synod on Friday 19 June - both passed by consensus. Denise was ordained as a Deacon in the Uniting Church during the Saturday afternoon session of the meeting – the first Aboriginal woman of any denomination to be ordained in South Australia (more details on page 24). Susan will be ordained as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church once a placement has been confirmed.

Conference to unite women On Saturday 20 June, Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer and Bindy Taylor, Communications Manager and Editor-in-Chief, launched the UnitingWomen 2016 conference. The event will be held in Adelaide from 28 April to 1 May and will take place at Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church. Over four days, women from across the Uniting Church in Australia will participate in workshops and discussions, form relationships and listen to powerful speakers. Bindy also revealed the identity of one of the opening speakers, Khadija Gbla (more details on page 9).

For further information about UnitingWomen 2016, please visit unitingwomen.org.au or contact Bindy on 8236 4249.

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Congregational website capabilities Web Developer Josh Curtis gave a short presentation about the new congregational website programme, which will provide congregations with greater capabilities than those offered by the exisiting platform. The changes include the ability to easily share content, videos and articles from the Uniting Church SA website.

For more information please contact the Communications team on 8236 4249 or email communications@sa.uca.org.au

news

Collaborative church partnerships Dr Deidre Palmer and Adrian Nippress visited the North Luzon region of the Philippines in April this year. The purpose of the visit was two-fold – to further strengthen the relationship between the Uniting Church SA and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Middle Luzon, and to renew the partnership with the UCCP in the North Luzon region.

Adrian briefly summarised the report prepared on the partnership visit, emphasising the mutual learning and collaboration that the relationship will provide. He also thanked the Uniting Church SA for the significant contributions that its communities and congregations have made in bettering the lives of people in the Philippines.

The Presbytery and Synod received the report and acknowledged the value of continuing the partnership between the Uniting Church SA and the UCCP in North Luzon.

For more information about the North Luzon partnership report, please visit sa.uca. org.au/pres-synod-meetings For more information about International Mission and international partnerships, please visit sa.uca.org.au/international-mission or contact Adrian Nippress on 8236 4203 or internationalmission@sa.uca.org.au

Action on climate change After a thorough review process undertaken by the Ethical Investment Working Group, the Presbytery and Synod made the decision to divest the Uniting Church SA investment portfolio from companies who are involved in the extraction or exploration of thermal coal. They also decided to seek ways to further decarbonise the Church ’s investment portfolio over the coming years, and committed to reducing the Church ’s carbon footprint.

“In making this decision we are demonstrating our Christian responsibility for taking action on climate change. The earth is God ’s gift and we are called to care for it in ways that reflect God ’s trust in our stewardship for present and future generations." commented Dr Deidre Palmer “As the Uniting Church, in partnership with churches across the Pacific, we join in advocacy for those peoples who are vulnerable to climate change. We have an ongoing commitment to minimising our impact on our environment and contributing to the renewal of the earth.”

Eager for more?

The items featured on this page encompass only some of those discussed at the June 2015 Presbytery and Synod meeting. Other topics included stipends, finance and investment, Mission and Service Fund contributions, property sale proceeds, Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning, Mission Resourcing, and Reconciliation SA. If you would like to see any of these topics covered in future editions of New Times or online articles on Across, please consider sending an email or Letter to the Editor to newtimes@sa.uca.org.au or contact Editor Catherine Hoffman on 8236 4230.

Meeting minutes provide more detail about the items covered at Presbytery and Synod meetings. They are available online here: sa.uca.org.au/pres-synod-meetings To receive daily summaries during future Presbytery and Synod meetings, as well as updates on the upcoming 14th Triennial Assembly, please consider signing up for UC e-news, the Uniting Church SA ’s electronic newsletter. More information is available at sa.uca.org.au/uc-e-news

Celebrating lay leadership Lay Preachers ’ Sunday falls on 5 August this year. Preparations have already begun with an order of service and liturgy readily available on the Uniting Church SA website (see link to the right).

In 2011, the Presbytery and Synod of South Australia set aside the first Sunday in August each year as a celebration of the contributions lay preachers make to the life of the Uniting Church.

The Ministry of Lay Preacher Review – organised by the Uniting Church in Australia ’s Ministerial Education Commission and released as a report and response paper in 2012 – emphasised the importance of lay leadership in Uniting Church congregations across the country.

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Rural congregations were reported to be amongst the most dependent on lay preachers and leaders.

As more and more churches have come to rely on lay leadership, the Uniting Church SA encourages all congregations and faith communities to celebrate the contributions of lay people – whether they assist with worship, preaching, church leadership, music, children ’s ministry, Bible readings, or in other essential roles.

The Uniting Church SA Lay Preachers ’ Committee has prepared a liturgy and order of service based on the lectionary readings. These resources are available at sa.uca.org.au/lay-preachers

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discipleship

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples ’. ” – John 8:31 We are called to be disciples and to disciple to others. Acts of discipleship are important in our personal spiritual growth, our relationships with others and our communities, as we practice Christ ’s teachings both inside and outside our church buildings. This edition explores how discipleship is demonstrated in the lives, work and faith of Uniting Church members and communities.

Uplifted in faith and hope Bindy Taylor

Spending time with Khadija Gbla is an uplifting experience – she is as passionate and vocal one-on-one as she is speaking to a gathering of 1,000 people. Khadija has squeezed a lot of life into her 27 years, and she feels compelled by God to share her life experiences, both the ups and the downs, to instill hope in others.

At the age of nine, Khadija underwent female genital mutilation (FGM), an unnecessary and cruel act of violence. At the time Khadija had no idea what was happening to her, but she is now able to name it for what it was – human rights abuse, child abuse and sexual abuse. It is an experience she wants no other girl or woman to go through.

FGM, also known as female circumcision, has no known health benefits and is largely practiced in countries within Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Common reasons used to justify FGM include social acceptance, hygiene, ideas relating to female sexuality, purity and modesty, religion, and cultural identity. While it has been restricted or outlawed in many of the locations where it is practiced, FGM procedures continue to be performed. The dangerous act can lead to ongoing health problems, inability to concieve a child and complications during childbirth.

Khadija was told that FGM would prevent her from falling pregnant.

But she held tight to Jesus ’ teachings and never let go of hope.

“When we hope we are waiting for God to act; without hope there is nothing. After all, isn ’t faith hope? ” After marrying, Khadija and her husband yearned for a baby. She recalls him reaching for her hand and saying: “In God ’s kingdom anything is possible – we need to believe, pray and hope that God will

act. ” Prayers were answered with the news that Khadija was pregnant.

She and her husband are now the elated parents of a four-month old son named Samuel, meaning “heard by God.” Khadija will share her experiences of God responding to hope and prayer in all facets of her life when she speaks at the UnitingWomen conference, which will be held in Adelaide next year.

“Women need to be uplifted in life, to keep in faith and remain strong. God just needs a mustard seed to be able to act. Women all have a point of need - what hope looks like for one woman looks differently for another, ” she says.

“We have all started somewhere and sometimes we need to hear from others how we have journeyed in life. Testimonies give us hope.”

Khadija will speak on Friday 29 April at 9am as part of the four-day UnitingWomen 2016 conference. Hers is just one of the stories that will be shared at the conference, which focusses on the theme “Stories of Hope.”

Stories of hope UnitingWomen conference: Thursday 28 April – Sunday 1 May 2016 Over four days in April next year, Christian women will gather to share the ways Christ is inspiring hope in their lives and communities. More than 20 speakers and workshop presenters will take part in the UnitingWomen 2016 conference, with new speakers to be announced over the coming months.

The conference will open at 6pm on Thursday 28 April with a welcome and opening workshop presented by Rev Dr Vicky Balabanski and Dr Liz Boase. The event will close on Sunday 1 May at 12 noon. It will be held at Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church in Adelaide, while workshops will be hosted at the nearby Prince Alfred College.

Registration costs $195, which includes workshop materials, a welcome bag, supper, and morning and afternoon teas. Delegates are responsible for organising their own accommodation and meals, although guidance in these areas is available.

To register for UnitingWomen 2016, please visit unitingwomen.org.au/register or contact Tim Molineux on registrations@unitingwomen.org.au or 8236 4221 (Tuesday to Thursday, 10.30am-4pm).

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discipleship

Sowing seeds of faith Suzanne Leong-Scott

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches. ” – Matthew 13:31-32 Based in Port Augusta, Ninnal Seed is a Uniting Church faith community that engages children, youth and young families with the work of God. The Ninnal Seed community, which has a very close relationship with the Port Augusta Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, aims to provide safe spaces where members of the wider community can gather together in the presence of God. The local word ‘ninnal, ’ the roots of which are unknown, is widely understood to mean ‘little ’ in the Port Augusta community, and ties in with the parable of the mustard seed.

The Ninnal Seed community was created by a group of young adults based in Port Augusta, moved by a growing concern to care for the young people in the area.

“I remember one night we met together and started thinking about what the parable of the mustard seed might mean for our little community, ” recalls Jesse Size, one of the young adults behind the Ninnal Seed programme.

“We talked about the little ones who were hearing about Jesus and desperately wanted to meet him. We talked about the young people as the future of our Church and wanting to see them grow into leaders in our community.

“It was pretty obvious to us that if God ’s dream for the world could happen anywhere in Port Augusta, we wanted it to happen among the ninnal ones.”

While the programme began through the work of Jesse Size, Chelsea Size, Rhanee Tsetsakos and John Tsetsakos, the leadership group has expanded to include other young adults who share an interest in growing God ’s ninnal seeds.

Ninnal Seed differs from other faith communities as their activities are organised

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around ‘Seed Projects, ’ as opposed to a worship program. Chelsea explains that a Seed Project is “an initiative that engages children, youth, young adults and young families in ways that help them to flourish.”

Ninnal Seed members gather together monthly on a Sunday afternoon to discuss God ’s plans for their community. Through sharing, listening and prayer, the members determine which ideas will receive their attention and support.

There is also a weekly gathering, the nature of which changes every week. “Sometimes this is a Bible study, sometimes it ’s planning, sometimes it ’s just dinner and a catch-up, ” says Jesse. “Hopefully it will soon involve being able to learn some language and stories, now that Aunty/Pastor Denise Champion is minister at the Port Augusta Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.”

One of these initiatives is the Ninnal Seed Kids Club, which provides a friendly and safe environment where children can play, sing songs and learn about God. The programme, which runs on Fridays from 4-5.30pm at the Port Augusta Congress Church, encourages the little ones in the community to discover God, and learn about Jesus ’ teachings in a fun and engaging way.

Originally focussed on primary schoolaged children, Ninnal Seed has plans to develop a crèche, and a space for adults to chat and have a coffee due to an increasing interest from other groups within the community.

The positive results of the programme are indisputable. “We ’ve seen our kids really grow in their confidence since the Kids Club started, ” affirms John. The programme provides the much needed “presence of caring adults in the lives of these children, some of whom have pretty serious stuff occurring at home, [and] provides support and community.”

It is not only the children of Port Augusta who are benefitting from the sense of community nurtured by this programme. The adults find the kids ’ enthusiasm contagious

and inspiring, and have often found their own faith strengthened through their involvement with the programme.

“The other afternoon at Kids Club, the kids were so excited about the story of Abraham and Sarah... The kids have this joy and this trust in God that deepens us in our faith! ” says Jesse.

The positive results of the programme are also apparent in its contribution to the wider community. It seems that, through involvement with Kids Club, there has been an increase in attendance of Sunday morning worship. “With their growing confidence and their genuine enthusiasm for God, they have quite a presence at the Sunday services, ” laughs Jesse.

On a more intrinsic level, Jesse believes the community “offers a way for people to tangibly make sense of their faith beyond church attendance.”

“I think a lot of people are often really hungry for this kind of participation, ” he says, “but it doesn ’t always happen without a community that has a high degree of intentionality and support.”

The Ninnal Seed community also has a major focus on building relationships with local schools where they help run wellbeing and leadership programmes. They aim to provide a supportive and consistent presence in the lives of school children.

“Schools are always looking to build positive partnerships with people in the community, ” says Chelsea. “We know that these kids are future leaders and need positive role models.”

Currently, the Ninnal Seed team is in the process of developing an intern programme where these young, future leaders can be trained. The Ninnal Seed leaders believe this initiative will “make a difference in the lives of our Ninnal Seed interns by providing mentoring, training, a sense of purpose, and ultimately, an alternative, positive pathway.”

God ’s call to action within the Ninnal Seed community is undeniable; discipleship is the

discipleship

The young people involved in the Ninnal Seed Community often take part in performances and activities, including face-painting. They recently performed at Rev Denise Champion ’s ordination service (top, bottom centre).

root of the programme.

“It is really the engine of Ninnal Seed, ” John confirms. “It ’s what enables us to become positive role models for children and youth in Port Augusta.”

“God is the driving force behind this project, ” Rhanee adds.

The community sees every young

person as a ninnal seed – full of life and potential, and it is the duty of Ninnal Seed members as disciples of God to nurture these young people.

Although the Ninnal Seed program is still in its early stages, this does not stop its young leaders from dreaming about future possibilities.

“My ultimate vision is that we help to create a space where young people can come and grow spiritually and become leaders in their own family, friends and community, ” says Rhanee.

Through the love and support of the Ninnal Seed community, the lives of people in Port Augusta are being changed for the better.

Collaborative education and discipleship At the national Assembly meeting this month, Formation, Education and Discipleship, more commonly called “FED”, will launch an exciting new initiative – the Uniting Learning Exchange.

This project will provide new avenues for collaboration and access to resources – two of the key focusses of FED National Director Craig Mitchell and the FED Working Group. The Uniting Learning Exchange is made up of two central components.

An online database of learning resources and courses is the first component, and will assist congregations and individuals in their teaching and learning.

The second element is an online portal for educators, which will encourage collaboration in areas of shared interest, such as worship, evangelism, intergenerational ministry and mission.

This project will complement other FED initiatives and projects, many of which have a strong focus on intergenerational education and leadership. FED gives oversight to the National Christian Youth Convention and About FACE (Faith and Cultural Exchange), in addition to running the National Young Adults Leaders Conference.

It is expected that the Uniting Learning Exchange will be completed by the end of 2016.

Formation, Education and Discipleship is the Christian education and faith formation unit of the Uniting Church in Australia Assembly.

For more information, including links to resources, podcasts and news, please visit the Formation, Education and Discipleship Facebook page at facebook.com/UCAFED or contact Craig Mitchell on craigm@nat.uca.org.au Return to Contents

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discipleship

Tongan Uniting Church members of all ages joined together at the recent Tongan National Conference (TNC). Rev Charissa Suli (pictured at the conference bottom centre and bottom right) is the chair of the Second Generation Committee of the TNC.

Crossing borders and living faith Rev Charissa Suli is a second generation Tongan Australian who is passionate about cross cultural, multicultural and intergenerational ministry. Catherine Hoffman speaks to Charissa about her roles in the Uniting Church and the importance of building bridges.

Growing up with the rich traditions of the Methodist Church and Tongan culture, Rev Charissa Suli quickly discovered an admitted “gift for singing”. While long accustomed to utilising her voice for song and worship, it has only been in recent years that she has extended it to the areas of teaching and ministry.

Charissa had been working in a corporate environment when she first felt called to enter a leadership role within the church.

“I ’d been a member of the Uniting Church for about 15 years, ” she recalls. “One day I was invited to sing and lead worship at a cross cultural gathering coordinated by the Rev Salesi Faupula, the [New South Wales/ Australian Capital Territory] Synod ’s Cross Cultural Consultant at the time. Many people of various cultures, male and female, lay and clergy shared their stories at the event. It really stoked my passion for cross cultural and

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intergenerational ministry.”

Charissa was given the opportunity to funnel this passion into ministry when she accepted a position as the new NSW/ACT Cross Cultural Consultant from 2009 to 2011.

“I recognised the tension between first and second generations, particularly parents who migrated to Australia and children who grew up here, ” she says. “While my own experiences as a second generation Tongan woman informed how I viewed the situation, I could also understand the difficulties facing parents.”

Charissa ’s role as Cross Cultural Consultant provided her with an avenue to bring people together, across generational and cultural divides. Working for the Board of Mission (now known as Uniting Mission and Education), Charissa and a team of others recognised that the generation gap between first and second generations was

widening. An intergenerational workshop called “Shaping Pacific Generations ” was created to address these particular tensions in Pacific Islander communities within the Uniting Church – but it soon grew beyond the community it had been created for.

“I found that the issues and challenges confronting Pacific Islander families were similar to those faced by communities of many cultures and even in work environments – community services, the police, youth crisis centres and Korean families were a few of the groups who engaged with the workshop we created.”

The success of the workshop seemed to reflect the needs, within the Church and the wider community, for programmes and discussions aimed at helping people to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of one another – despite their differences.

In 2011, Charissa decided to step down as

discipleship

Cross Cultural Consultant and begin travelling toward ordained ministry. She was ordained as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in December 2014, taking a position at Dapto Uniting Church in New South Wales earlier this year.

While her job title has changed, Charissa is still passionate about connecting people with one another, and continues to prioritise this in her ministry and her role as Chair of the Second Generation Committee of the Uniting Church ’s Tongan National Conference.

“I think building bridges – between genders, generations, cultures and other differences – is vital to the life of the Uniting Church. Jesus built bridges and crossed borders, bringing people together to walk alongside one another, ” she says.

“To me, building bridges is also about focussing on communication and the Gospel, rather than on our differences and ‘issues ’. It ’s

about creating positive learning environments where people feel encouraged to communicate their different interpretations within faith and culture, and to follow Christ ’s teachings.”

Charissa believes it is vital for Uniting Church congregations and communities across Australia to begin engaging in building bridges.

“Within our communities and as a whole Church, we need to begin having conversations. We need to talk about what the Uniting Church says about being a multicultural church. We need to begin a conversation about young people, looking at the society we ’re living in and the church we ’re engaging with. We need to recognise the voiceless people within the Church.

“I encourage you to have these conversations and to begin a journey. Don ’t rush it. Access resources, take time to talk to a variety of people and converse with one

another honestly. Once those conversations start we ’ll begin to have a deeper understanding of what it means to build bridges and then live out our faith.”

In her new role as a minister, Charissa has had to put these words into practice.

“In ministry, I ’ve discovered that I have to lose some part of my culture and biases in order to meet and understand my neighbours, the people I am called to minister to. Jesus certainly crossed cultures, he crossed borders, built bridges, and at the very same time, lived out his faith. I am no longer afraid to cross borders but I am also well aware of my limitations, ” she reflects.

“Crossing borders, building bridges and living out faith requires a great deal of thinking, listening, time and energy to take into consideration each other ’s experience, history, feelings and perspective.”

Second generation Tongans let their light shine Every June, more than 1,000 Tongan members of the Uniting Church in Australia gather in Sydney for three days of fellowship and sharing at the Tongan National Conference (TNC). A standout feature of the weekend is the contribution of the young people, the “Second Gen”, to every aspect of the conference – from the music and technical operations on stage, to leading faith discussions and providing input into decision-making.

This year more than 400 Tongan young people from 20 congregations all over Australia attended the TNC from Friday 5 to Monday 8 June. The annual gathering is clearly a much-anticipated highlight for Tongan youth each year.

The focus for the young adult leaders at this year ’s conference was to learn more about worship in the Uniting Church. One activity involved looking at the meaning of popular Tongan hymns and the specific metaphors that relate to Tongan culture.

“We found many of us didn ’t actually understand the meaning of the words, even though we ’d sung these hymns many times, ” said Second Gen member Semisi Kailahi. “It ’s inspired me to think about learning the Tongan language.”

Rev Charissa Suli heads up the Second Gen leadership team, which includes representatives from every state and the Australian Capital Territory. Her role is to mentor and grow emerging leaders.

“The TNC is an important event for encouraging and training emerging leaders in the Uniting Church, ” states Charissa. “They gain insights into effective leadership and new ideas for ministry to take back to their own congregation. ” Return to Contents

Charissa says many Tongan young people face significant challenges that come from living between two cultures.

“This can affect their identity growing up in Australia as young Tongans. Some parents who come from a clearly structured and authoritarian culture struggle to find frameworks that will assist them to parent in a society where choice is a predominant factor.

“One of the things we explore through the TNC is how we build the bridge between first generation and second generation Tongans. We ’ve done this by giving young people a platform to have a voice in the conference. In society, we see this gap between generations widening because of the changing context, lifestyle, structure and culture.

“It is important that both parents and young people are able to stand within and across their culture of heritage and their Australian culture to be able to appreciate and operate within both cultures.”

Despite the challenges, Charissa believes there is much to celebrate about the young Tongan members of the Uniting Church.

“The wider church needs to continue to give space for these young people to tell their stories, which encourages them to grow in faith, grow in leadership and grow their identity in Christ, ” she says.

“It is when they find their true identity in Christ that their lives, the way they relate to others and the way they see themselves changes for the better. Their faith in Christ no longer becomes something they are part of in our Tongan culture but actually permeates deep into their soul and becomes a transforming experience where their lives are changed forever.”

The full version of this article is available at sa.uca.org.au/across/ tnc-2015

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2016 Calendars Each year, Uniting Church SA calendars provide congregations and individuals with lectionary readings, important dates and the proposed Mission and Service Fund budget. This year, some changes have been made to ordering.

COST: Printed 2016 calendars will attract a charge of $1.00 per calendar to supplement the cost of printing.

ORDER: All congregations and organisations wishing to receive printed calendars must place an order no later than Monday 12 October 2015.

Updates regarding ordering and distribution of the 2016 calendar will be provided through UC e-news and at sa.uca.org.au/calendars-annual-reports

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discipleship

To learn Mary Jo Zwar, the Uniting Young People Resource Writer, shares her thoughts on children, discipleship and discipline.

When we talk about discipline and children, the discussion generally gets to the old adage ‘spare the rod and spoil the child ’ (based on Proverbs 13:24).

For years I assumed that the ‘rod ’ was a stick or ruler, applied to the ‘seat of learning ’ as punishment for wrongdoing. Only recently did I consider the term ‘rod ’ alongside the Bible image of a shepherd. It seems to me that the shepherd ’s rod was used to guide, prod and rescue more than to strike. I like thinking of parental discipline as guiding, prodding, and (when necessary) rescuing.

In dealing with children today — whether we are parents, grandparents, friends or neighbours — we are encouraged to set clear boundaries, provide positive reinforcement for good behaviour and to use appropriate consequences, followed by discussion and reconciliation, for misbehaviour.

The Parenting Place website (theparentingplace.com) puts it this way: “Discipline is not something you do to your child because you are angry. It is something you do for your child because you love them.”

It ’s curious, isn ’t it, that the word ‘discipline ’ sounds a lot like ‘disciple ’? Both words have roots in the Latin word discere, which means ’to learn ’. An easy way to think of the two words is: being a disciple is about who you learn from, discipline is about how you learn.

For us as Christians, the ‘who ’ and the ‘how ’ are both found in Jesus Christ. Disciples of Jesus follow what Jesus taught in words and by his

example. At the heart of his teaching is the cross — what he did for us because he loves us. We have been invited to take up the cross and follow him.

What do we learn as we follow Jesus? The Bible ’s answers are summed up in these familiar statements. …believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. If you believe this, you will have life because you belong to him. (John 20:3) In everything, do to others what you would want them to do to you.

(Matthew 7:12) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Love him with all your mind… Love your neighbour as you love yourself.

(Matthew 22:37, 39) How do we learn from Jesus? Jesus calls us to be his disciples. He spends time with us; he demonstrates by example everything he wants us to learn. Jesus talks with us, tells us what is expected, tells stories, sends us with his blessing and his Spirit to make other disciples. And, most wonderful of all, Jesus dies and lives forever for all of us.

The Uniting Young People team create and share a wide range of resources to help congregations and parents in discipling young people.

They also share links and news about external resources available from places like MediaCom and The Parenting Place. For more information, please visit sa.uca.org.au/uyp/resources or contact the Uniting Young People team on 8236 4239 or uyp@sa.uca.org.au

On Across The Uniting Young People team provides articles like this one, as well as updates on children ’s and youth events, through Across, the Uniting Church SA ’s new online magazine. Recent articles have included “Parenting for peace”, which provides practical parenting tips, and an article on youth event Live Life Loud, “One night, six locations”. The Uniting Young People team will continue to provide timely, insightful articles through this space. For more information, please visit sa.uca.org.au/across Return to Contents

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magazine

The Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project provides educational and nutritional support for children in Mwandi Village.

Lifting up Mwandi ’s vulnerable The Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project (OVC Project) was established in 2004 to offer educational, nutritional, social and spiritual support for children in Mwandi Village, Zambia. Since its establishment, individuals and congregations within the Uniting Church have offered practical and financial assistance, in addition to prayer, for this project. Katie Wallis shares some of her experience working as an international volunteer with the OVC Project.

The sun sets over the majestic Zambezi River, and I wonder if I ’ve ever seen something quite so beautiful in all my life. Moments later, the bliss of the orange-red fire in the sky is interrupted when a flock of mosquitos begin attacking my feet, forcing me inside. In this moment, I ’m reminded that great beauty and great discomfort often sit side by side. That great love always sits closely beside the possibility of great loss and grief. That, as humans, we only understand the heights of great joy because we have experienced the depths of great sadness.

This reality is ever-present in Mwandi Village, Zambia. There is great joy in the form of laughing children playing soccer. There is great beauty in the voices of church choirs and the faces of people I meet in the marketplace. There is great love as families live simply in community with one another. But in the midst of beauty, joy and love sits despair, sadness and loss. The presence of disease, most notably human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and of natural disasters (the Western Province of Zambia is currently facing its worst drought in decades) means that life is tough for my friends here.

In a village of 10,000 people, the Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project (OVC Project) is currently feeding over 250 children, educating around 800, and providing social services to hundreds more in the form of clothes, blankets and

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counselling services. World Renew, a Christian charitable organisation, estimates that due to the current drought, the number of families needing assistance, especially in the form of food, could double over the next 12 months.

The OVC Project aims to be a carrier of hope in the midst of despair.

We strive to provide relationships and healing where orphans and vulnerable children have experienced the pain of loss. We endeavour to create a beautiful space where children can be nurtured in the face of life ’s worries. There is food for hungry stomachs and love for hungry hearts.

Many local children have lived their whole lives under the oppression of abuse, and the discomfort of poverty. But every day at the OVC Project we see children being lifted above their circumstances as they are cared for by our staff. We see them realise their worth and their capacity for greatness. We see hope in the midst of despair, beauty in the midst of harsh realities, joy in the presence of grief and loss.

This year the OVC Project will likely face their biggest challenge ever due to the drought. Food will be scarce, and those families who have only just been scraping by in years past will find themselves struggling.

The OVC Project will continue to undertake vital work in order to provide for the most vulnerable children in Mwandi – the generation of children who will grow up and change the face of their community.

magazine

Two children benefitting from the support provided by the Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project.

The Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project is seeking churches to partner with in providing support for children in Mwandi Village. For more information about the project,

please visit mwandiovc.com or contact the Mwandi Support Team at mwandisupportteam@gmail.com or Mwandi Support Team, Leonie Dixon-Thompson, c/- PO Box 191, Port Lincoln, SA, 5606.

Can we be monks and still live at home?

Mandy Harvey

Until recently, the Uniting Church might seem an unlikely environment to hear the words “monk”, “nun ” or “monastic ” bandied about in ordinary conversation. After all, monks and nuns live in monasteries, and monasteries are all Catholic, aren ’t they? Besides, who would want to live in a monastery?

But at the March Presbytery Synod, the Uniting Church SA welcomed Elaine Heath from the Missional Wisdom Network to talk about the relevance of intentional monastic communities within the mission of the church today – an important topic to declining congregations when New Monastic communities are clearly on the increase. But is this all pie-in-the-sky for us ordinary church folk with families, jobs and “a life ” who can ’t give up everything to live in community? Can we be monks while living at home?

This question has been pondered for many years by Rev Gary Stuckey, Director of the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre. Two years ago, Gary founded the Companions of St Benedict, a dispersed monastic community within the Uniting Church, aimed at those who feel called to nurture their relationship with God through a monastic way of life, but who don ’t feel called to live together.

“What most people don ’t realise is that the precursor of what became monasticism began in the homes of ordinary people who felt called to a life of prayer within their daily lives, ” explains Gary.

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“The monastic way of life recognises that we can seek God in every part of our lives, our homes, our families, our work places, as well as in church, so it does not mean that everyone has to live in a monastery.”

But if you ’re not actually living together, what makes a monastic community different to any other church?

“In many ways they are the same. Both aim to help people grow in relationship with God, and through this to love the world around them, ” Gary says.

“There are many forms of monastic community, but the Companions of St Benedict is a group of seekers inspired by the spirituality and practices of monks such as St Benedict, the ancient desert mothers and fathers, and by more modern monastics like Thomas Merton and Joan Chittister.

“We also find inspiration from others who, like us, seek to live contemplatively outside of monastery walls, including Esther de Vaal, Cynthia Bourgeault and Richard Rohr. We find guidance and wisdom within monastic and contemplative spirituality for discipleship and deepening our relationship with God.” The strength of the Companions of Benedict community suggests that the monastic way of life may not be quite as alien to ordinary life as people think. Monastic communities such as this can provide unique pathways for people seeking wisdom or to strengthen their faith.

magazine

A great responsibility Rev Dr Brian Phillips provides an insightful take on the relationship between stewardship, sustainability and creation.

This article is one in a series submitted by the Uniting Church SA Environment Action Group.

In today ’s society, ‘sustainability ’ has become a buzz word. ‘Is the business sustainable? ’ ‘Is China ’s growth sustainable? ’ ‘Is this congregation (or this ministry) sustainable? ’ Sustainability is often taken as being merely an economic concept, but there is much more to it than that. The health and resilience of our social fabric are also crucial elements – whether it refers to a struggling congregation, a giant nation state like China or a business looking to be successful within its social environment.

Economic and social sustainability are both necessary, but alone they are not sufficient. We must also consider environmental sustainability.

Without an environment healthy enough to sustain them, there can be no nation, no business, no faith community, and no life. This is so obviously true that we are often blind to its importance.

The ‘environment ’ provides us with clean air, drinkable water, fertile soil, rain and essential minerals. Without a supportive environment there is no life! This is true not only for humans, but for the millions of species of living plants and animals, which can survive only in the right conditions. When those conditions change, species disappear.

We see this illustrated all over the world – the orangutans in Java, fish stocks in the oceans, tigers in South East Asia, pandas in China, just to name a few. There have been approximately 130 extinctions of birds, amphibians and mammals in Australia in the last 200 years, and roughly 20% of the remaining mammals are also in danger of extinction.

Human beings continue to be the most destructive of all species on earth. We destroy precious resources like rainforests, pollute the oceans with a current total of 270,000 tonnes of throw-away plastic, dump the by-products of our fossil fuel-burning lifestyles into the air, and

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destroy the habitat of many living creatures – often disregarding the consequences of our actions. The way we treat our natural environment is a pressing moral issue.

The whole, wondrous universe is here because it has been loved into existence by One who is beyond our richest imagination. Love brought this beautiful planet into being – its wondrous, complex systems where nothing exists alone, where everything is part of a network of giving and receiving. When we take and take and take, disregarding the relationships between the earth, the atmosphere, oceans and rivers, plants and animals, we are in denial about our own and our earth ’s origins. To wilfully degrade this creation is to wound God. Even now, the world is consuming resources one and a half times faster than we can sustain. How we live on this earth needs to be addressed. Every time we buy more stuff, we might ask ourselves, do we really need this? Every time we buy food or goods imported from another country, we might remember the fossil fuel consumed in shipping it to us. Every time we discard superseded or obsolescent gadgets, we could pause to reflect on what this waste of resources means for the earth and for future generations. By considering these things, we can become more conscious of how the way we choose to live affects the environment. We can be alert to the pleas from poorer nations who are already suffering the consequences of the developed world ’s profligacy. And we can remember that future generations – our children and grandchildren – are going to live tomorrow with the consequences of our choices today.

Being responsible stewards of the wondrous gift of this earth is not an easy task, but it is one we are called to attempt.

g e t t i n g t o k n o w. . .

Edithburgh Uniting Church Step inside Edithburgh Uniting Church any Sunday and expect to experience the welcoming, somewhat noisy chatter from the small congregation as they greet each other and visitors, while enthusiastically carrying out preparatory tasks. Songs, both familiar and new, set the tone and lead into the theme for morning worship. The leader might be the congregation ’s own pastor, a retired minister, a lay preacher, an invited visitor or a congregation member. Congregation-led services are held two or three times a quarter.

At these services, Elders and musicians take responsibility for the planning, with help from congregation members.

Edithburgh is one of the 10 linked congregations known as the Southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP) Uniting Churches. Resource Minister Pastor Rob Morgan, with the support of the Ministry Reference Group, is often challenged by how best to address the needs of this extensive geographical area with its large number of settlements and proclaimed townships. Members of the SYP churches visit one another and attend an annual SYP-wide gathering.

Over 141 years, the church has

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maintained a strong sense of the community for Edithburgh and the nearby town of Coobowie. The current church building, which seats well over a hundred, was established in 1910 to cater to the needs of the growing local population. Edithburgh was an important commercial centre and major South Australian port at this time.

By 1979, the local population had dramatically declined and the congregation dwindled to a mere handful. With the foresight of Rev Graham Vawser, the minister at Edithburgh during this period, in addition to the faith and tenacity of its members, the small congregation never gave up hope of growing once more.

Today, coastal towns have become desirable retirement locations. With the arrival of retirees to Edithburgh and Coobowie, the Edithburgh Uniting Church congregation has grown again, and has renewed its vision and mission in the community. This enables the church to be a witness for Christ for the community and visitors to the area. The congregation hopes to continue growing as a nurturing and caring community, discovering new ways of sharing faith with others.

Edithburgh has a committed nucleus supported by multi-skilled members.

The congregation members are active in a multitude of local community groups, and often invite the wider community to join them for church barbeques and other activities.

Being one of four denominations with few people, Edithburgh Uniting Church embraces strong ecumenical links. Weekday worship is held in rotation in various churches in Edithburgh once a month, and is led by local lay people. On Easter Day, a single service for the whole community is held in a local institute – this year ’s service was attended by over 200 worshippers!

Those visiting Edithburgh Uniting Church for Sunday worship are encouraged to join the community for a ‘cuppa ’ after the service.

The friendly atmosphere and chatter that precedes the service is overshadowed by that experienced afterwards, as the church’s caring members gather for a special time of fellowship.

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magazine

Women join for justice The Australian Church Women (ACW) SA is an organisation dedicated to supporting people in a way that makes God ’s justice evident. As disciples of Christ, Christians are called to walk alongside people who experience marginalisation, for whatever reason, and to empower them with God ’s love, care and concern – just as Jesus did.

Through the ACW Community Concern events, the group provides financial assistance to a chosen charity or group who is supporting people through a difficult time in their lives. Last year, Seeds of Affinity was chosen as the focus of their Community Concern events.

Seeds of Affinity is a group that supports women when they are released from prison. There is currently no government funding to assist women when they are released from prison. Seeds of Affinity offers programmes and resources to these women, raising funds for their projects by selling biscuits, soaps and lotions. They have also produced a book, Captive Minds – Truth Behind Bars, which provides powerful insights into the experiences of women in prison.

Women from both the ACW and Seeds of Affinity joined together to speak at the official launch of the 2015 ACW Community Concern programme on Friday 8 May at Pilgrim Uniting Church. The event had a particular focus on justice and discipleship, particularly through the words of Barbara Grear during the opening devotion. Barbara shared touching quotes from Eddie Askew and Mother Theresa, focussing on practical caring and love in action.

“It seems to me that both Australian Church Women and Seeds of Affinity are, in different ways, putting love into action, ” reflects Rev Frances Bartholomeusz, a leader with Seeds of Affinity and a deacon with the Lower Murray Uniting Congregations.

“As disciples, we must remember that faith without works is dead, but a faith complemented by good works is alive and well.

“Jesus modelled this way of justice. Stories, such as the woman who was bleeding and the woman at the well, show how Jesus drew alongside of people, listening with great love and compassion.”

The Community Concern events programme for 2015 will see members of the ACW visit churches of various Christian denominations across South Australia. At these events, women from Seeds of Affinity will be able to share their experiences with church groups and highlight the issues faced by women when they are released from prison. People will be given the opportunity to walk alongside and share with one another, truly living out Jesus ’ teachings.

The next Australian Church Women SA event will be held at Royal Park Uniting Church on Wednesday 29 July at 1.30pm. Another event will be held at Broadview Uniting Church on Wednesday 5 August at 1.30pm. For more information about these events or the ACW, please contact Coralie Wright on wrightcoralie795@gmail.com or 8258 3580.

To find out more about Seeds of Affinity, including how to offer support to their projects or purchase items, please visit seedsofaffinity.org.au or contact Rev Frances Bartholomeusz on 0407 687 311.

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Goods to support Seeds of Affinity are sold at Community Concern events coordinated by the Australian Church Women SA.

Children Youth & Family Worker 0.4 FTE

LEFEVRE UNITING CHURCH TAPEROO We are seeking a Children Youth & Family Worker to lead our ministry with young people and families including, but not limited to Messy Church, Lighthouse Youth, KCO and SAYCO. For more information and a position description contact Rev. Jenny Walker 0437 616 212. Email: jen@uniting.com.au Closing date for applications is Monday 13th July

CONGRESS STATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER The Uniting Aboriginal & Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) in South Australia is seeking a half time (0.5FTE) person to help provide key leadership for the UAICC in SA. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders are encouraged to apply.

This person will work closely with the Regional Council to develop the life, mission and ministry of the UAICC across SA. For enquires and position description, please contact the Resource Officer, Ian Dempster on 0417 217 320 or idempster@ sa.uca.org.au, or the Placements Officer, Rev. Philip Gardner on 08 – 8236 4269 or pgardner@sa.uca.org.au Please forward applications addressing the selection criteria to: UAICC (SA), Box 1044, Salisbury, SA, 5108 Applications close Friday 31st July 2015

positionsvacant.sa.uca.org .au

diary CONVERSATION WITH INDIGENOUS LEADERS. The State of the Nation, a conversation with Indigenous leaders about the issues facing communities across Australia, will be held at Pilgrim Uniting Church (12 Flinders Street, Adelaide) on Friday 10 July at 6.30pm, for a 7pm start. This is a free event coordinated by TEAR Australia.

TEAR CONFERENCE. TEAR Australia will hold a South Australian conference titled “Redeeming today forTomorrow ” as part of its forTomorrow initiative. The event will be held at Austral-Asian Community Church (3/5 Kennaway Street, Tusmore) on Saturday 11 July, 9am to 9.30pm, and will feature a full day of workshops and speakers exploring themes of hope and lament. Tickets are available from $40, including lunch and morning tea. For more information, please visit tear.org.au/news/2015-sastate-conference MISSION GATHERING. National and World Mission will hold their mid-year gathering with a shared afternoon tea at 2pm on Sunday 12 July at Broadview Uniting Church (corner Galway and Collingrove Avenues, Broadview). For more information, please contact Rev Nita West on 8431 0145 or June Heath on 8278 5562.

MOVIE FUNDRAISER. Join movie-watchers at The Corner Uniting Church (corner Oaklands and Diagonal Roads, Warradale) for a screening of The Good Lie, featuring Reese Witherspoon. Orphaned by the civil war in Sudan, they were known simply as the Lost Boys. Fifteen years later a humanitarian effort would bring some of them to America. The movie brings the story of their survival and triumph to life. Sunday 19 July, 2pm.

Cost is $12, including tea, coffee, cordial, and afternoon tea. Soft drinks, popcorn, cappuccinos, and milkshakes for sale in the cafe. Fundraising for ministry and mission at The Corner. For more information, please visit thecorner.org.au STATE MISSION FELLOWSHIP will be held on Tuesday 28 July, 10.30am at Scots Church Adelaide (237 North Terrace, Adelaide). Rev Scott and Rachel Litchfield have returned from Cambodia and will provide an update on the Interserve activities in that region. All welcome. Morning tea and lunch available.

150 YEARS SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING. As part of their 150 year celebrations, Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church (27 Grenfell Street, Kent

letters to the editor

Church signs

The church sign at the front of Barmera Uniting Church is tired and due for replacement. I wondered whether other churches have recently tackled the task of choosing a design for their church sign and would be willing to share with us the reasons for their choice. We would be glad to receive photos of your church sign and any ideas which might guide and inspire us through the process.

D. Badger Barmera To discuss signage for Barmera Uniting Church, please contact David Badger on 0403 022 272 or davidandglenys@tpg.com.au Send your letters to: newtimes@sa.uca.org.au or PO Box 2145, Adelaide 5001.

Be topical, be brief, be timely.

Letters over 150 words will be edited; responses to previous letters /articles will be considered within two months of the original item ’s publication only.

All letters are published at the editorial team ’s discretion.

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Town) will hold a special Service of Thanksgiving on Sunday 9 August at 10am. The guest speaker will be Rev Dr Keith Garner, Superintendent/ CEO of Wesley Mission, Sydney. The service will be a chance for all of those who have had a connection to the church – through worship attendance, weddings, baptisms, school associations and more – to mark 150 years of worship at Kent Town. For more information, please contact Event Coordinator Belinda Tester on 0438 988 345 or wesleykt150@gmail.com RED DOVE CAFE – SEEKING HELPERS. The 2015 Royal Adelaide Show is from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 September. Morning, afternoon and evening shifts available. You ’re welcome to join this dynamic activity of the Uniting Church – raising funds for South Australian mission every year since 1951. Please note, all volunteers require a current Uniting Church National Police History Check. If you are interested in volunteering in this busy Christian café, please contact Lesley Williams on 8261 3843 or ljwilliams36@ gmail.com 140 ANNIVERSARY SERVICE. Cross Roads Uniting Church (MoontaKadina Road, North Yelta) will hold their 140th anniversary service on Sunday 20 September at 2pm. Rev Allan George will be the guest speaker at this special service, which will be followed by afternoon tea. All welcome. For further information, please contact Jill Luders on 8825 1808.

130 ANNIVERSARY SERVICE. Port Broughton Uniting Church (corner Harvey St and Edmund St, Port Broughton) will hold its 130th Anniversary Service on Sunday 25 October at 10am. Uniting Church SA Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer will officiate. There will be a dedication of a commemoration stone, followed by a luncheon. We welcome all past members and ministers to join us. For more information, please contact Coralie Bowley on 8635 2111 or Sandra Ireland on 8635 2217 or email pinebrae@bigpond.com To have your upcoming event or message published here, email diary@sa.uca.org.au with ‘Diary ’ in the subject line.

classifieds RESTORE your phonographic records or tapes to near original quality & preserve them on CD Restore your faded 35mm slides to bright colour and preserve them on DVD. Ask us about VHS or MiniDV video tape & 8mm film to DVD conversion, SA MEDIAWORKS, Kent Town SA Ph: 8362 2251 samediaworks@soundtrack.net.au Card Makers and Scrapbookers!

Regular workshops around Adelaide or I can come to you. Suitable for all ages and experience. All workshop details at www.cardsbyfiona.blogspot.com.au Contact Fiona Meier 0424-269-039 for program details to be mailed to you or to make a booking.

REFORMATION TOUR –June 2016.

Walk in the steps of Calvin and Luther in Switzerland and Germany. Visit the significant places and learn how our Protestant Faith was formed. 12 day tour Geneva-Berlin ($5150). 3 day Prague Extension ($850).

Optional 8 day Classical Danube River Cruise (from $4150). Flights extra. Prices subject to exchange rates.

Contact Tour Leader for Itinerary and details Rev Dr John Lucas Mob. +61448132262 Email:john@walkingfree.com.au

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Calico Bags of Love volunteers are invested in making a difference in the lives of Vanuatuan people affected by Cyclone Pam.

Locals collect calico for cyclone support Calico Bags of Love, a local Eyre Peninsula project, was launched on Sunday 31 May at the Cleve and Port Lincoln Uniting Churches. The initiative has been developed and led by Valerie Edwards of Cleve to help the people of Vanuatu affected by Tropical Cyclone Pam, which struck the region on the evening of Friday 13 March in 2015.

With peak wind gusts reported at around 320km per hour, the Category 5 cyclone caused widespread damage across five provinces – mainly Shefa, Tafea, Malampa, Penama and Torba. Among the reported 188,000 people that were affected by the devastating cyclone, an estimated 90,000 people, children included, required repairs to their homes and the replacements of basic items, including clothes, blankets, tools and kitchenware.

Valerie has previously worked as a volunteer in Vanuatu and developed long-standing friendships in the island nation. She wanted to do something that would help those in the affected regions. After arranging to meet with a few like-minded locals for discussion over a cup of coffee, the Calico Bags of Love project was born.

Calico Bags of Love has been developed to help children in need by replacing school supplies and clothes that were destroyed by the cyclone. Meeting these needs will also help to support the parents and families of these children, many of whom have had their sources of income destroyed during the cyclone. The school supplies and clothing with be placed in calico bags, which can be used and re-used by the families.

In order to effectively meet the needs of affected children, guidelines have been developed for different age and gender groups. Each bag is filled with practical items that can be put to immediate use. The bags

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will also contain some basic toiletry items, such as soap and toothpaste, to help maintain good hygiene and health. Volunteers with Calico Bags of Love are willing to shop for items for the bags, meaning that those who do not have the time, ability or inclination to shop for items can donate funds, knowing they will be put to good use.

The Calico Bags of Love project is being run under the banner of the County Jervois Uniting Church Parish. On the ground in Vanuatu, the project will be guided by Richard Tatwin, the Secretary of Health for the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu. Through his work with the church, Richard has actively participated in the local response to the disaster.

“In terms of schools for children, more than half of assessed primary and secondary schools were damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 34,500 children, ” Richard says.

The Calico Bags of Love team is hoping that the Eyre Peninsula community will get behind the project.

“There are many ways that you can support us, ” says Valerie. “The most obvious is to fill a calico bag, using the guidelines we provide, but assistance with freight costs, supply of toiletries and the purchase of calico bags are some of the other ways that you can help.”

For more information about this project, please contact visit the Calico Bags of Love Facebook page at facebook.com/CalicoBagsOfLove or contact Valerie on CalicoBagsOfLove@gmail.com or 8620 7176.

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Long term responses and responsibilities UnitingWorld, the international aid agency of the Uniting Church in Australia, has been active in supporting people in Vanuatu in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam. As well as providing practical support, they are looking at the longterm response to natural disasters like this in the area. UnitingWorld is especially aware of the impact of climate change on these communities and on natural disasters.

Rev Sefarosa Carroll, UnitingWorld ’s Manager of Church Partnerships in the Pacific, has spoken frankly about this issue. She believes that it is vital for the Uniting Church to recognise climate change and how it affects communities.

“The first step is to be aware of how this affects our brothers and sisters, for whom climate change is not a political debate but a daily reality. Really, the most helpful thing for people to do is to support our campaign to support leadership during this time of change, ” she says.

And why would Christians take a special interest in this issue?

“It ’s a faith response – a discipleship response. We ’re actually interconnected with creation, that ’s at the core. Our responsibility as stewards of creation is to manage our resource well – that doesn ’t just mean economies but creation itself. And our interconnectedness works in reverse – our care for creation affects how we live, our human lifespan. If we believe that the earth is a God-given gift, we need to honour that. We see creation as God ’s household and managing those resources is sacred, not to be taken lightly.

“The other issue of course is that we ’re also connected with our

The devastation caused by Cyclone Pam. Photo courtesy of UnitingWorld.

brothers and sisters and creation has a major impact on them through changing climate and extreme weather events. What affects others affects us all. When we see people suffering, we are part of a global spiritual crisis that impacts every one of us. As Christians, how can we fail to make a response?”

UnitingWorld will continue to work collaboratively with people on the ground in Vanuatu as they make strides in reestablishing themselves after Cyclone Pam. Read more about the “Leadership in Climate Change ” project and how to support the work of UnitingWorld, please visit unitingworld.org.au/ pacificchange or call 1800 998 122.

The full interview with Rev Sefarosa Carroll is available on Across.

Read more at sa.uca.org.au/across/after-cyclone-pam

reviews

Get in there!

Book: Keeping Faith in the Team Author: Stuart Wood Recommended for: Anyone with an interest in community chaplaincy In short: A season in the life of a sports chaplain.

RRP: $33.95 In a society where fewer people are attending church, and leisure activities are normative for weekends, it is encouraging to read about a form of ministry which meets people where they are on a Saturday. Not only does club chaplain Stuart Wood meet people where they are in a theological sense, he is also present with them in the physical sense. If you want to speak to a large number of men on the weekend then you need to be at the footy.

The author, who is club chaplain at Cambridge United Football Club in England, encourages local clergy and congregations to look beyond the hour (or two) on Sunday, and seek to make a difference in their

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local context by participating where the community congregates. Wood speaks of his unique ‘parish ’ and of the specific pastoral needs of players who are in transition between contracts, are injured or suspended. He is present with support staff as players and others deal with the highs and lows of professional sport alongside the task of running a business in a crowded marketplace.

Even as a former resident of England, I found this book rather ‘soccerish ’. However, this does serve to demonstrate how deeply embedded Wood is in the culture of the team. From supporting an injured player who has been left alone in the treatment room while the game continues, to organising clubroom Christmas carols, Wood ’s ministry offers a space where people can talk about their feelings and problems in their own situation and context.

Damien Tann

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People of all ages joyfully celebrated Rev Denise Champion ’s ministry at her ordination service on Saturday 20 June.

A landmark ordination On Saturday 20 June, Rev Denise Champion was ordained as a Deacon in the Uniting Church. She was the first Aboriginal woman to be ordained in any Christian denomination in South Australia.

Denise is an Adnyamathanha (Flinders Ranges) woman who has been following a call to ministry for many years through study and service within the Uniting Church SA. Having recently accepted a ministry placement with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress faith community in Port Augusta, Denise ’s ordination was able to take place a mere day after her readiness for ordination was confirmed by the Presbytery and Synod.

At 3pm, as the June Presbytery and Synod business meeting concluded, hundreds of people gathered in the foyer of Adelaide West Uniting Church, eager to celebrate this special occasion. Amongst the number were many of Denise ’s close friends and family, and several prominent Aboriginal elders, including Lowitja O ’Donoghue.

Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer led the service with Rev Ken Sumner providing a compelling key message. Both spoke about the power of Denise ’s ministry thus far and the promise of the future. Ken expressed confidence in Denise ’s ability to “help more people find holistic

freedom and discover new ways of seeing and being.”

Friends, family and members of the Port Augusta community contributed Bible readings, gifts and messages of support.

Sharonne Price, the Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning Executive Officer, presented Denise for ordination. She spoke about Denise ’s ability to inspire other young Aboriginal women within the Uniting Church.

Denise closed the service by thanking those who have supported her ministry and faith since she was a child.

“It ’s so important for us to recognise that we have this awesome responsibility of being able to sow seeds of faith for our children, [passing] on knowledge and shared wisdom to the next generation, ” she said.

Denise spoke movingly about how her sister, Colleen, had inspired her and journeyed alongside her in faith, even through difficult times.

She concluded by thanking the Uniting Church SA Covenanting Committee and Synod.

“I can see God has been with me every step of the way in this long journey. I give thanks to God for that.”

Looking forward In the lead up to the ordination service, Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer and Rev Denise Champion reflected on their hopes for the future of Denise ’s ministry in the Uniting Church SA and its impact on Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) communities.

“Denise ’s work in growing our understanding of Aboriginal culture and spirituality will continue to contribute to reconciliation in our church and nation, ” said Deidre.

“Her ministry will continue to enrich all of our lives – not only in her current placement at Port Augusta UAICC congregation, but nationally, as she continues to equip and support the Church in its mission of justice and recognition of First Peoples.”

Denise added: "As an ordained minister, I know I will be empowered by Congress [UAICC] to fulfil the mandate to have Aboriginal people ministering to other Aboriginal people. ” “It is a joy for us to affirm the ministry of Denise Champion as a Deacon in the Uniting Church in Australia, ” stated Deidre.

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